During the Future of Memory and Storage 2024 (FMS 2024) conference (previously Flash Memory Summit), Phison debuted its latest Gen4 SSD controller, the Phison PS5023-E29T. This SSD controller is targeted at upcoming NVMe Gen4 drives in the M.2-2280 and M.2-2230 form factors and is now nearly the fastest SSD controller in Phison's lineup, beating all of them in sequential read performance and only beaten by the enterprise-grade PS5020-X1 controller for U.2 and U.3 SSDs, which has a slight advantage in sequential write performance and (of course) exponentially higher maximum capacity.
Phison PS5029-E29T SSD Controller Specifications vs Other Phison PCIe Gen 4 Controllers
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Interface | Form Factor | Capacity | Maximum Sequential Read/Write | Maximum Random Read/Write (in IOPS) |
| PS5029-E29T | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280 and M.2 2230 | Up to 8 TB | 7400 MB/s Read; 6800 MB/s Write | 1200K IOPS Both |
| PS5018-E18 | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280-S2 | Up to 8 TB | 7200 MB/s Read; 6850 MB/s Write | 1000K IOPS Both |
| PS5025-E25 | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280 | Up to 4 TB | 7200 MB/s Read; 7000 MB/s Write | 1200K IOPS Both |
| PS5019-E19T | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280-S2 and M.2 2280-D2 | Up to 2 TB | 3600 MB/s Read; 3000 MB/s Write | 500K IOPS Read; 600K IOPS Write |
| PS5021-E21T | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280, 2242, 2230 and BGA and CFX | Up to 4 TB | 5000 MB/s Read; 4800 MB/s Write | 800K IOPS Read; 950K IOPS Write |
| PS5021-E21TI | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280, 2230, and BGA Type 1620 or BGA-to-M.2 2230 | Up to 2 TB | 4700 MB/s Read; 3900 MB/s Write | 600K IOPS Both |
| PS5018-E18DI | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 22110 and M.2 2280 | Up to 3840 GB | 7200 MB/s Read; 6400 MB/s Write | 750K IOPS Read; 1000K IOPS Write |
| PS5018-E18DC | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 22110, 2280, and E1.S | Up to 3480 GB | 6600 MB/s Read; 1400 MB/s Write | 640K IOPS Read; 50K IOPS Write |
| PS5020-X1 | PCIe Gen 4 | U.3 and U.2 | Up to 30.72 TB | 7400 MB/s Read; 6900 MB/s Write | 1000K IOPS Both |
| PS5027-E27T | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280 and M.2 2230 | Up to 8 TB | 7400 MB/s Read; 6500 MB/s Write | 1200K IOPS Both |
In the overall lineup, it seems clear that the Phison PS5029-E29T SSD controller is meant to occupy the new high-end for M.2 NVMe SSDs, particularly those in "standard" size (M.2-2280) and the low-profile M.2 drives (M.2-2230) that have become more commonplace in laptops, mini PCs, and handheld PCs like Steam Deck.
We previously covered the very similar Phison PS5027-E27T in January, which also used the TSMC 12nm process to target similar devices but is slightly slower than the newer controller, managing only 6,700 MB/s write compared to the E29T's faster 6,800 MB/s write speeds, though read speeds are identical at 7,400 MB/s. Of note for Steam Deck and its class of handheld PCs is that these faster Gen4 M.2-2230 NVMe drives will only be helpful in devices that actually support NVMe Gen4 — as the Steam Deck and many others are still on Gen3.
Finally, the Phison PS5029-E29T also utilizes a DRAM-less design like its E27T predecessor and is driven by an ARM Cortex R5 CPU. The E29T supports both 3D TLC and 3D QLC NAND, with TLC (Triple-Level Cells vs Quad-Level Cells), of course, being faster and offering greater durability. NAND flash speeds on the E29T will top out at 3,600 MT/s either way, though, just like the E27T.
