Sabrent is about to unleash a high-speed PCIe 5.0 SSD — Rocket 5 delivers over 14 GB/s read and 12 GB/s write speeds

Sabrent Rocket 5
(Image credit: Sabrent)

Sabrent has unveiled a new PCIe 5.0 SSD, the Rocket 5, worthy of competing with the best SSDs of today. The drive is rated at read speeds of over 14 GB/s and will come in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. Sabrent says the new Rocket 5 will be available in its 1TB and 2TB variants shortly, while the more significant 4TB model will come later.

According to Sabrent, the Rocket 5 can speed over 14 GB/s in read speeds and over 12 GB/s in write performance. The SSD manufacturer showed off a screenshot of Rocket 5 2TB that was benchmarked in CrystalDiskMark. The drive achieved read speeds of 14,169.83 MB/s and write speeds of 12,756.03 MB/s, the fastest of the four benchmarks that were run with CystalDiskMark on the SSD. Regarding IOPS, the drive achieved 26,126.95 MB/s in read performance and 116,946.78 MB/s in write performance. In the Random 4K Q1T1 test, the drive achieved 107.02 MB/s in reads and 479.01 MB/s in writes.

According to Sabrent, the Rocket 5 can speed over 14 GB/s in read speeds and over 12GB/s in write performance. The SSD manufacturer showed off a screenshot of Rocket 5 2TB that was benchmarked in CrystalDiskMark. The drive achieved read speeds of 14,169.83 MB/s and write speeds of 12,756.03 MB/s, the fastest of the four benchmarks that were run with CystalDiskMark on the SSD. Regarding IOPS, the drive achieved 26,126.95 MB/s in read performance and 116,946.78 MB/s in write performance. In the Random 4K Q1T1 test, the drive achieved 107.02 MB/s in reads and 479.01 MB/s in writes.

(Image credit: Sabrent)

Sabrent Rocket 5 Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally
CapacitySequential ReadsSequential WritesRandom ReadsRandom Writes
1TB13,000 MB/s9,500 MB/s1,300,000 IOPS1,400,000 IOPS
2TB14,000 MB/s12,000 MB/s1,400,000 IOPS1,400,000 IOPS
4TB14,000 MB/s12,000 MB/s1,400,000 IOPS1,400,000 IOPS

The Rocket 5 is one of the first PCIe 5.0 capable drives to finally break the 12 "ish" GB/s barrier that has been all mainstream PCIe 5.0 drives since their inception. While an extra 2 GB/s might not sound like a lot, given that PCIe 5.0 SSDs can already achieve speeds well over 10 GB/s, we're finally seeing an SSD that can fully exploit Phison's E26 controller limits.

One of the biggest delays preventing 14 GB/s+ drives from arriving sooner was production delays related to Micron's high-speed 2400 MT/s NAND flash. Due to slow demand for DRAM and 3D NAND in 2023, Micron slowed the ramp-up time of its 2400 MT/s 232 layer 3D NAND, further delaying these new 14 GB/s+ capable drives.

Thankfully, this problem appears to be over, enabling manufacturers like Sabrent to create new high-speed SSDs like the Sabrent 5. We expect the Rocket 5 and another 14 GB/s+ capable drive to be announced at CES 2024 and released shortly afterward.

Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

  • danwat1234
    How about the idle power consumption though?
    Reply
  • Tom Sunday
    Will there really be an astounding and or huge noticeable performance difference! Bang for the buck? Do I need to have this? Meaning I should immediately ditch my 4.0 (64GB) Samsung 990s and upgrade towards PCIe 5.0 SSD’s? With me still playing Wolfenstein, Dishonored and Fallout4, will I truly revel in the 5.0 uplift and delight in the new speed when invading Nuka World or putting a new roof on the Sanctuary Houses?
    Reply
  • strobolt
    Tom Sunday said:
    Will there really be an astounding and or huge noticeable performance difference! Bang for the buck? Do I need to have this? Meaning I should immediately ditch my 4.0 (64GB) Samsung 990s and upgrade towards PCIe 5.0 SSD’s? With me still playing Wolfenstein, Dishonored and Fallout4, will I truly revel in the 5.0 uplift and delight in the new speed when invading Nuka World or putting a new roof on the Sanctuary Houses?
    Yes
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Tom Sunday said:
    Will there really be an astounding and or huge noticeable performance difference! Bang for the buck? Do I need to have this? Meaning I should immediately ditch my 4.0 (64GB) Samsung 990s and upgrade towards PCIe 5.0 SSD’s? With me still playing Wolfenstein, Dishonored and Fallout4, will I truly revel in the 5.0 uplift and delight in the new speed when invading Nuka World or putting a new roof on the Sanctuary Houses?
    No.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Tom Sunday said:
    Will there really be an astounding and or huge noticeable performance difference! Bang for the buck? Do I need to have this? Meaning I should immediately ditch my 4.0 (64GB) Samsung 990s and upgrade towards PCIe 5.0 SSD’s? With me still playing Wolfenstein, Dishonored and Fallout4, will I truly revel in the 5.0 uplift and delight in the new speed when invading Nuka World or putting a new roof on the Sanctuary Houses?
    Your call...Extrapolate out to "5.0"
    4YoRKQy-UO4View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YoRKQy-UO4
    4DKLA7w9eeAView: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA
    GQ9LyNXpsOoView: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9LyNXpsOo
    Reply
  • jonathan1683
    4tb wow amazing tech! Hopefully by next year we can expect 4TB one too.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    Don't swe any difference from a pci 3.0 device to the 4.0 gaming. See something on file transfers... but still slow as fuuuu when transfer files lol. Optane still way better
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Amdlova said:
    Don't swe any difference from a pci 3.0 device to the 4.0 gaming. See something on file transfers... but still slow as fuuuu when transfer files lol. Optane still way better
    If Optane still existed, and weren't so expensive when it did.
    Reply
  • spoidz
    These still require even more cooling? I thought PCIE-5 was already requiring active cooling?

    Would need to know before I source MB and GFX for latest system update this year.
    Reply