Addlink S95 1TB Review — Phison E18 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The Addlink S95 1 TB is the kind of drive that puts a flagship Phison E18 controller and DDR4 DRAM into a package from a lesser-known brand, and the result is Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus performance at a price that reflects the name on the label.

Addlink S95 1TB Review — Phison E18 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

The Addlink S95 is built on the Phison PS5018-E18, the second-generation PCIe 4.0 controller that powered the fastest consumer SSDs of the 2020—2022 era. It is an 8-channel design with a dedicated DDR4-2666 DRAM cache, paired with Micron 3D TLC NAND. The drive uses the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface on an M.2 2280 form factor and is available as a bare drive without a factory heatsink — buyers planning sustained-write workloads should budget for a motherboard M.2 heatsink or a third-party solution.

Addlink also sells the S95 in a 2 TB capacity, which typically doubles the endurance and may carry higher write speed ratings than the 1 TB. The 1 TB variant reviewed here is the volume seller and the capacity most buyers will encounter. The S95 competes directly against other Phison E18 reference-design drives: the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, Corsair MP600 Pro, and Seagate FireCuda 530 — all of which share the same controller architecture and differ primarily in NAND selection, firmware tuning, and brand recognition.

Addlink is a smaller brand without the retail presence of Samsung or WD, which affects warranty support accessibility and long-term firmware update availability. What the S95 offers is flagship controller performance with Micron TLC at a price that typically undercuts the bigger names. For a desktop builder comfortable with a less familiar brand in exchange for cost savings, it is a compelling proposition. For anyone who prioritises brand support and resale value, the Sabrent or Corsair equivalents may be worth the premium.

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🚀 Performance and benchmarks

Addlink rates the S95 1 TB at up to 7,100 MB/s sequential reads and 6,800 MB/s sequential writes — figures at the top end of the Phison E18 platform and competitive with any PCIe 4.0 drive on the market. Random performance is rated at up to 650,000 read IOPS and 700,000 write IOPS, a consequence of the 8-channel controller and dedicated DRAM. In real-world use, game load times and OS boot speeds are indistinguishable from any high-end NVMe drive — the difference between 7,100 MB/s and 7,400 MB/s is invisible outside of sustained sequential transfers.

Performance comparison

Addlink S95 1 TB vs M.2 4.0 x 4 peers

Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.

PNY XLR8 CS3140 1 TB: 7,500 MB/s read, 5,650 MB/s write
PNY XLR8 CS3140 2 TB: 7,500 MB/s read, 6,850 MB/s write
Asgard AN4 512 GB: 7,500 MB/s read, 5,500 MB/s write
Asgard AN4 1 TB: 7,500 MB/s read, 5,500 MB/s write
Addlink S95 1 TB (this drive): 7,100 MB/s read, 6,800 MB/s write

The Phison E18 uses a large SLC write cache — typically 150—200 GB on a 1 TB E18 drive — and direct-to-TLC writes settle in the 1,500—2,000 MB/s range after the cache fills, which is still well above SATA speeds. Independent reviews of the E18 platform consistently note that sustained write throughput holds up better than first-gen PCIe 4.0 controllers, and the S95 benefits from this generational improvement. The E18 runs cooler than the first-gen E16 but still generates meaningful heat under sustained load — a motherboard M.2 heatsink is recommended for any workload longer than a few minutes of continuous writes. Without one, thermal throttling can cut performance by 30—50% once the controller exceeds 75 °C.

🖥️ Endurance and warranty

The 1 TB Addlink S95 carries a 700 TBW endurance rating and a 5-year limited warranty, whichever limit is reached first. At a typical desktop workload of 20—50 GB of writes per day, this translates to roughly 40 to 100 years of usable life — the warranty will almost certainly expire before the NAND cells approach their endurance limit. The MTBF is rated at 1.8 million hours, a population-level reliability statistic. For context, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 1 TB and Corsair MP600 Pro 1 TB — both built on the same Phison E18 platform — are also rated at 700 TBW. The 2 TB variant of the S95 reportedly doubles endurance to 1,400 TBW. Addlink handles warranty claims through its distribution partners; as a smaller brand, warranty service may be less streamlined than Samsung or WD, something to factor into the purchase decision.

📊 Specs

Category	Value
Capacity [?]	1 TB
Interface [?]	M.2 4.0 x 4
Controller [?]	Phison PS5018-E18
Memory type [?]	Micron 3D TLC
DRAM [?]	DDR4 Cache
Read speed (MB/s) [?]	7100
Write speed (MB/s) [?]	6800
Read IOPS [?]	650000
Write IOPS [?]	700000
Endurance (TBW) [?]	700
MTBF (million hours) [?]	1.8
Warranty (years) [?]	5

Conclusion

The Addlink S95 1 TB is a full-fat Phison E18 drive sold at a brand-discount price. It delivers the same controller, DRAM cache, and PCIe 4.0 throughput as the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus and Corsair MP600 Pro — drives that cost more for the same underlying silicon. Buy it if you are comfortable with a smaller brand and want flagship PCIe 4.0 performance without paying for the logo. Skip it if you value seamless warranty support, regular firmware updates, or the reassurance of a known brand behind your boot drive — the Samsung 980 Pro and WD Black SN850 offer comparable performance with better post-purchase infrastructure. The S95 is a component for builders who read spec sheets, not box labels, and at that game it competes well above its price point.

+ Pros

7,100 MB/s reads on the Phison E18 PCIe 4.0 controller
DDR4 DRAM cache for consistent mixed-workload latency
700 TBW endurance — matches Sabrent and Corsair E18 equivalents
5-year warranty on a flagship controller platform
700,000 random write IOPS for demanding workloads
Competitively priced against brand-name E18 alternatives

- Cons

Smaller brand — warranty support and firmware updates less certain
No factory heatsink included on most SKUs
Phison E18 requires a heatsink for sustained write workloads
Limited retail availability outside select online channels
No hardware encryption support

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⁉️ FAQ

Yes. The Phison PS5018-E18 is an 8-channel controller that requires a dedicated DRAM buffer for the flash translation layer. The S95 includes a DDR4-2666 DRAM chip, which gives it a clear advantage over DRAM-less HMB drives in sustained mixed read/write workloads, high queue depth operations, and long-duration transfers. For content creation, database hosting, or running virtual machines, the DRAM cache provides lower and more consistent latency than HMB designs can deliver.

The 1 TB capacity is rated for 700 TBW, backed by a 5-year limited warranty. This is the standard endurance rating across the Phison E18 platform — the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 1 TB and Corsair MP600 Pro 1 TB are also rated at 700 TBW. At a typical consumer write rate of 20—50 GB per day, 700 TBW works out to roughly 40 to 100 years of usable life. The 2 TB variant reportedly doubles endurance to 1,400 TBW. Addlink's TBW rating is competitive within the enthusiast PCIe 4.0 segment.

It does not ship with one, but you should plan to provide one. The Phison E18 controller, while cooler than the first-gen E16, still generates enough heat under sustained sequential writes to trigger thermal throttling above 75 °C. Most modern desktop motherboards include an M.2 heatsink that is sufficient. If your motherboard does not, or if the M.2 slot is tucked under a GPU with limited airflow, budget for a third-party M.2 heatsink. For bursty gaming and desktop workloads the drive will likely stay within safe temperatures even without a heatsink, but any sustained transfer longer than a few minutes will benefit from active or passive cooling.

Yes, the S95 1 TB is more than capable for a gaming desktop. The 7,100 MB/s reads and 700,000 IOPS are far beyond what any current game engine can demand — game load times will be bottlenecked by CPU decompression, not drive throughput. The 1 TB capacity comfortably holds an OS, several large AAA titles, and an indie library. The DRAM cache and 8-channel controller are overkill for gaming, but they ensure that background tasks like game updates and Windows processes never introduce latency spikes during gameplay. For a pure gaming build, a cheaper DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 drive would deliver the same experience, but the S95 is a good choice if the price is right.

Both are high-end PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives with DRAM caches and 5-year warranties. The S95 uses the Phison E18 controller with Micron TLC and DDR4 DRAM; the 980 Pro uses Samsung's in-house Elpis controller with Samsung V-NAND and LPDDR4 DRAM. The S95 is rated for higher sequential throughput at 7,100/6,800 MB/s versus the 980 Pro's 7,000/5,000 MB/s, though real-world gaming and desktop performance is indistinguishable between the two. The 980 Pro has lower rated endurance at 600 TBW versus the S95's 700 TBW. The Samsung wins on brand trust, warranty infrastructure, and firmware support — the Addlink wins on peak performance and cost. Choose the 980 Pro if you value brand reliability; choose the S95 if you want maximum E18 throughput at a lower price.

Yes — the S95 meets Sony's published criteria for PS5 expansion storage. It is a PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280 drive with a rated sequential read speed of 7,100 MB/s, well above the 5,500 MB/s recommended minimum. However, Sony requires that the total drive-plus-heatsink assembly fits within 110 x 25 x 11.25 mm. The S95 ships as a bare drive without a heatsink, so you will need to purchase a PS5-compatible low-profile heatsink separately and ensure the combined height does not exceed the 11.25 mm limit. Several aftermarket PS5 heatsinks are designed specifically for this clearance.

The 1 TB model is rated at 7,100 MB/s read and 6,800 MB/s write according to Addlink's specifications, though the 6,800 MB/s write figure may represent the 2 TB variant's ceiling — a common pattern across the E18 platform where the 1 TB typically achieves lower write throughput due to fewer active NAND channels. The 2 TB variant doubles endurance to 1,400 TBW and provides a larger SLC write cache. For bursty desktop and gaming workloads, the real-world difference between the two capacities is negligible beyond the storage headroom.