Phison's booth at Computex 2026 had its new PCIe 6.0 SSD controller, dubbed the X3, on display, with claims of up to 28 GB/s of sequential throughput and 6.8 million IOPS in random read/write workloads. The company also had performance benchmarks for its new DRAM-less PCIe 5.0 SSD controller, the E37T, on display, demonstrating similar performance to its popular flagship E28 controller while sipping nearly half the power, setting the stage for a new wave of power-efficient SSDs that will run cool.
Phison's 16-channel X3 controller is now nearing completion. The firm demoed this same PCIe 6.0 x4 controller at CES on a large test validation motherboard, but now it is finalized enough to be crystallized down into reference SSD designs, signaling it is almost ready for sampling. The company tells us the controller will sample to customers in December, and then ship in volume in mid-2027.
The controller is spec'd to deliver 28 GB/s of sequential read/write throughput and up to a blistering 6.8 million random read/write IOPS. Peak storage capacity weighs in at an incredible two petabytes; yes, 2 petabytes per SSD. Power efficiency is a focus for this controller, with Phison claiming 4 GB/s per watt, which works out to a total power draw of 7 Watts. The controller supports all the latest specs, like NVMe 2.3, OCP v2.6, and a full suite of security features. Phison's two reference designs come in data center-focused E3.S and E1.S form factors, but it's logical to assume that we'll see variants of this in the consumer M.2 form factor in the future.
As you can see in the album above, Phison also has a full suite of PCIe 6.0 redrivers, retimers, and cabling being readied for launch, giving it a robust suite of PCIe 6.0 IP for the next wave of storage devices and systems.
Phison also had its reference SSD design with a DRAM-less PS5037-E37T controller up and running on a laptop. The demo sported 14,239 MB/s of sequential read throughput and 12,307 MB/s of sequential write performance, which is roughly equivalent to the speed of its flagship DRAM-equipped E28 controller. The drive is also spec'd to 3 million random read/write IOPS, all of which comes courtesy of 4800 MT/s BiCS NAND. That top-tier NAND isn't available on the market yet, but it is clear that it is headed to shelves soon.
The company says this controller delivers 14.9 GB/s while sipping a mere 4.5W, a full 2.5W less than its flagship DRAM-equipped E28. Naturally, the DRAM-less design will also have cost savings attached, given that the price of any kind of DRAM is currently apocalyptic. The E37T will begin shipping this year.
