Toshiba Memory, soon to be known as Kioxia, has introduced the RD500 and RC500 families of M.2 NVMe SSDs. According to the brand, the new SSDs focus heavily on delivering high-performance storage to mainstream gamers.
The RD500 and RC500 have a no-frills design. They come in the standard M.2 2280 form factor and slot into a PCIe 3.0 x4 slot. The RD500 utilizes a new unnamed Toshiba eight-channel controller, while the RC500 uses and unspecified four-channel controller. Both drives feature the brand's proprietary 96-layer TLC (triple-level cell) BiCS Flash 3D memory chips.
| Model | Capacity | Sequential Read | Sequential Write | Random Read | Random Write | Warranty |
| RD500 | 500GB / 1TB / 2TB | 3,400 MBps | 3,200 MBps | 685,000 IOPS | 625,000 IOPS | 5 Years |
| RC500 | 250GB / 500GB / 1TB | 1,700 MBps | 1,600 MBps | 355,000 IOPS | 410,000 IOPS | 3 Years |
The Toshiba RD500 is available in capacities of 500GB, 1TB and 2TB. The drive boasts sequential read and write speeds up to 3,400 MBps and 3,200 MBps, respectively. Random performance is rated for 686,000 IOPS reads and 625,000 IOPS writes. The RD500 is backed with a limited five-year warranty.
On the other hand, the Toshiba offers the RC500 in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB. With its performance numbers, the RC500 is the budget model. The SSD offers 1,700 MBps sequential reads and 1,600 MBps sequential writes. Random read and write speeds go up to 355,000 IOPS and 410,000 IOPS, respectively. The RC500 comes with a limited three-year warranty.
The RD500 and RC500 SSDs will hit the market in the fourth quarter of this year. Unfortunately, Toshiba didn't reveal pricing information, so we'll have to wait until launch day to find out how much these drives will set you back.
