Key Specifications

• Form Factor: M.2 2280

• Interface: PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 / NVMe 2.0

• Controller: Phison PS5026-E26

• NAND Flash: Micron 232-layer 3D TLC

• DRAM Cache: 4GB LPDDR4 (Hynix)

• Sequential Read/Write: Up to 12,400 / 11,800 MB/s

• Random IOPS: 1,400K (Read), 1,500K (Write)

• Endurance (TBW): 1,400 TBW

• Warranty: 5 years

• Thermal Solution: Ultra-thin graphene heat spreader (patented) 

The drive uses high-speed 2000 MT/s NAND, enabling it to surpass earlier Gen5 models limited to ~10,000 MB/s. While ideal for workstations and high-end gaming rigs, real-world benefits over Gen4 SSDs are currently limited unless using DirectStorage-enabled games or large file workloads. 

Performance and Use Cases

Benchmarks place the Z540 among the top-tier Gen5 SSDs, competing closely with the Crucial T700 and MSI Spatium M570 Pro.

ts performance shines in:

• Fast game loading (especially with DirectStorage)

• Large video editing and rendering workflows

• High-speed data transfers and content creation