# Acer FA300 1TB SSD detailed specs (2026)

The Acer FA300 1TB is a PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD that pairs Silicon Motion's ultra-efficient SM2504XT controller with Kioxia's 218-layer TLC NAND for fast transfers without the heat.

Quick answer: The Acer FA300 1TB is a strong fit for laptop owners and compact desktop builders who want PCIe 5.0 speeds without excessive heat or power draw. Its single-sided layout, sub-2.5 W active power, and Kioxia TLC NAND make it one of the most practical Gen5 upgrades for notebooks and the PS5. Desktop users chasing peak sustained write speeds or running heavy continuous workloads should look at DRAM-equipped alternatives like the Samsung 9100 Pro or Acer's own Predator GM9000. For mainstream gaming, general productivity, and OS drive duty, the FA300 delivers Gen5 responsiveness at a sensible efficiency point and competitive price.

## Specifications

| Specification | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Capacity | 1 TB |
| Interface | M.2 5.0 |
| Controller | Silicon Motion SM2504XT |
| Memory type | Kioxia 218-L TLC |
| DRAM cache | HMB |
| Sequential read | 11000 MB/s |
| Sequential write | 9400 MB/s |
| Random read IOPS | 1600000 |
| Random write IOPS | 1600000 |
| Endurance | 800 TBW |
| MTBF | 1500000 |
| Warranty | 5 years |

## Performance

Acer rates the 1TB FA300 at up to 11,000 MB/s sequential read and 9,400 MB/s sequential write. These numbers are slightly below the 2TB model, which reaches 10,000 MB/s write thanks to having more NAND dies for parallel writes. Random performance comes in at up to 1,600,000 read IOPS and 1,600,000 write IOPS, strong figures for a DRAM-less drive that relies on HMB rather than onboard cache memory.

Because the SM2504XT lacks dedicated DRAM, sustained sequential writes eventually fall to the native TLC write speed once the SLC cache is exhausted. The SSD Review confirmed that the FA300 maintains competitive transfer rates in typical consumer workloads including game loads and file copies, where burst performance matters more than steady-state throughput. The review also found that the FA300 achieved over 1.5 million IOPS in testing, approaching the controller's rated ceiling.

Thermally, the FA300 excels. In The SSD Review's comprehensive laptop battery test comparing 13 SSDs, the FA300 ran cooler than every other Gen5 SSD tested and delivered the best battery life results. The SM2504XT's extremely small die area and low voltage requirements keep surface temperatures well below throttling thresholds even without a heatsink.

For everyday use such as game loading, OS boot, application launches, and general file transfers, the FA300 1TB delivers PCIe 5.0 responsiveness without the thermal throttling that plagues higher-power alternatives from Samsung, Crucial, and Corsair.

## Endurance, TBW & Warranty

Acer covers the FA300 with a five-year limited warranty. The 1TB model is rated for approximately 800 TBW (terabytes written), which is proportional to the 1,500 TBW figure Acer specifies for the 2TB capacity. At 800 TBW over five years, that works out to roughly 438 GB of writes per day to reach the warranty threshold. Even a heavy user writing 50 GB daily would take over 40 years to exhaust the endurance rating. The FA300 also supports standard SMART health reporting so you can monitor total bytes written and remaining spare capacity through tools like CrystalDiskInfo. This endurance level is competitive for a DRAM-less Gen5 drive and reflects the reliability of Kioxia's 218-layer TLC flash.

## Pros and Cons

**Pros:**

- Single-sided M.2 2280 fits laptops and PS5
- Very low active power draw at roughly 2.4 W
- 11,000 MB/s sequential read on Gen5
- Kioxia 218-L TLC for reliable flash media
- Five-year warranty with 800 TBW endurance
**Cons:**

- DRAM-less design limits sustained write performance
- 1TB write speed at 9,400 MB/s trails 2TB model
- No included heatsink in retail packaging
- Newer model with limited long-term reliability data


## Verdict

The Acer FA300 1TB is a strong fit for laptop owners and compact desktop builders who want PCIe 5.0 speeds without excessive heat or power draw. Its single-sided layout, sub-2.5 W active power, and Kioxia TLC NAND make it one of the most practical Gen5 upgrades for notebooks and the PS5. Desktop users chasing peak sustained write speeds or running heavy continuous workloads should look at DRAM-equipped alternatives like the Samsung 9100 Pro or Acer's own Predator GM9000. For mainstream gaming, general productivity, and OS drive duty, the FA300 delivers Gen5 responsiveness at a sensible efficiency point and competitive price.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does the Acer FA300 1TB work in a PS5?

Yes. The FA300 is a single-sided M.2 2280 NVMe SSD that fits within Sony's physical dimension requirements for PS5 expansion. Its read speed of 11,000 MB/s far exceeds Sony's minimum recommendation of 5,500 MB/s, and the low power draw means it runs cool without requiring an aftermarket heatsink.

### Is the Acer FA300 1TB good for a laptop?

The FA300 is one of the best Gen5 SSD options for laptops specifically because of its low power consumption. At roughly 2.4 W active draw, it generates less heat than competing PCIe 5.0 drives and has less impact on battery life. The single-sided design also ensures compatibility with thin-and-light chassis where double-sided modules may not fit.

### Why does the 1TB FA300 have slower writes than the 2TB?

The 1TB model uses fewer NAND dies than the 2TB, which means fewer channels can be written to in parallel. This reduces the peak sequential write speed from 10,000 MB/s on the 2TB to 9,400 MB/s on the 1TB. Read speeds remain the same at 11,000 MB/s across both capacities.

### What controller does the Acer FA300 use?

The FA300 uses Silicon Motion's SM2504XT, a DRAM-less PCIe 5.0 controller built on a small manufacturing process for low power consumption. It relies on the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) feature of the NVMe 2.0 specification to use a portion of system RAM for mapping data rather than having dedicated DRAM on the drive.

### What NAND flash is in the Acer FA300?

The FA300 uses Kioxia BiCS8 218-layer TLC (three-bit-per-cell) 3D NAND flash. This is a current-generation TLC part known for good endurance and consistent performance. The 1TB model uses one NAND package on a single-sided PCB.

### What is the endurance rating of the Acer FA300 1TB?

The FA300 1TB is rated for approximately 800 TBW. Acer specifies 1.5 PBW for the 2TB model, and endurance scales roughly with capacity. At 800 TBW, you would need to write roughly 44 GB per day, every day, for five years to exhaust the warranty coverage.

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Last updated: 2026-06-06. Source: https://ssdrive.net/acer-fa300-1-tb