The PNY XLR8 CS3140 SSD
The PNY XLR8 CS3140 SSD is a worthy candidate for your next storage upgrade. It offers fast performance with sequential read/write throughput up to 7,500/6,850 MBps, and it’ll help you load games faster, transfer large volumes of data, and accommodate as many as four virtual machines.
Available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, the PNY XLR8 CS3140 is backed by a five-year warranty and features endurance ratings that have improved since the last model. PNY has shared more information on the drives since it revealed performance specifications last year, helping us better understand its latest product.
The 2TB model is the fastest because it packs more flash dies inside. However, the difference in peak performance isn’t as big as you might expect because the Phison E18 controller seems to handle two-die configurations better than four-die ones.
PNY announced that it reduced endurance ratings for its last model due to the impact of cryptomining, though it’s unclear if the company has experienced similar flash failures in the CS3140. Another potential concern is its warranty, as it doesn’t cover the flash used in its SSD.
Nevertheless, the PNY CS3140 is a solid choice for your next upgrade, especially when coupled with strong hardware and a good SLC caching scheme. It’ll make for a good primary drive, especially if you opt for the 2TB model.
The PNY XLR8 CS3140 SSD supports 256-bit AES encryption, making it a suitable candidate for use in a gaming PC running Windows 2000. It comes with or without a heatsink, but you can always opt to use a separate PlayStation 5 heatsink if you prefer.
You can use the PCIe SSD toolbox software from PNY to update the firmware and check the drive’s basic information. It uses a plain design with a rear label and a standard configuration of controller, DRAM, and NAND packages.
Here’s a look at the PNY XLR8 CS3140 SSD’s design:
The flash comes from Micron and is made up of 176-layer chips. The Phison E18 controller is optimised for the TLC chips to provide good performance, and the DRAM comes from SK hynix in the form of the H5AN8G6NCJR-VKC, which offers 1GB of DDR4 memory.
The Phison power management package (PMIC) is located near the controller and features a smart heat-spreader to keep the flash cool. The flash runs at 1200 MT/s and offers good endurance paired with quality.
Here’s a closer look at the PNY XLR8 CS3140 SSD’s internals:
For more on the best SSDs for gaming, check out our guide to the top picks. You might also want to consider the best PlayStation 5 heatsinks for when you go for the 2TB model, as the PlayStation 5 is a power-hungry beast.
