Apacer AS2280F4 4 TB: maximum capacity with active cooling (2026)
The Apacer AS2280F4 4 TB is the top-capacity model in the AS2280F4 lineup, pairing the Phison PS5026-E26 controller with Micron 232-layer TLC NAND on a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface and delivering 3,000 TBW rated endurance.
Controller & Memory
At 4 TB, the AS2280F4 populates all eight channels of the Phison PS5026-E26 controller with the maximum die count available. The E26 is an eight-channel design built on TSMC's 12nm process; at 4 TB with Micron's 232-layer B58R TLC dies, every channel carries a full complement of NAND packages. The practical result is the largest dynamic SLC write cache in the AS2280F4 lineup and the highest sustained write throughput of any capacity variant — important for workloads that push large volumes of data without pausing. The drive pairs the E26 with an LPDDR4 DRAM chip for the logical-to-physical address mapping table, keeping random access latency consistent under mixed workloads in a way DRAM-less HMB designs cannot.
The AS2280F4 4 TB is aimed at users whose storage demands regularly stress a mid-capacity drive: video editors archiving multi-camera raw footage, photographers managing large raw libraries, creative professionals running NLE projects with multiple 4K or 6K streams, and power users consolidating workstation storage into a single high-endurance NVMe. The 3,000 TBW endurance figure — confirmed from Apacer's official TBW document — positions this as the most write-tolerant model in the lineup, with the 2 TB rated at 1,400 TBW and the 1 TB at 700 TBW. For context, Crucial's competing T705 4TB carries 2,400 TBW, making the AS2280F4 4 TB notably ahead on rated endurance at this capacity tier.
Apacer ships the AS2280F4 with an active-cooling heatsink: high-conductivity aluminium fins and an integrated mini-fan. This is an unusual inclusion at a consumer SSD price point — most Phison E26 drives at 4 TB rely on passive heatsinks or leave thermal management to the motherboard M.2 slot. Apacer rates the active cooler at up to 25% lower operating temperature than passive designs, which matters for sustained write workloads where an uncooled E26 controller can reach its thermal throttle point and step down from peak performance.
Storage Comparisons:
AS2280F4 Performance & Benchmarks
The Apacer AS2280F4 4 TB is rated at 12,000 MB/s sequential reads and 11,800 MB/s sequential writes over PCIe 5.0 x4. Random performance is rated at 1,400,000 IOPS for both 4K read and 4K write at appropriate queue depth.
APACER AS2280F4 4 TB vs M.2 5.0 peers
Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 5.0 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.
- Corsair MP700 Pro XT 4 TB: 14,900 MB/s read, 14,400 MB/s write
- Crucial T710 1 TB: 14,900 MB/s read, 13,800 MB/s write
- PNY XLR8 CS3250 1 TB: 14,900 MB/s read, 13,500 MB/s write
- PNY XLR8 CS3250 2 TB: 14,900 MB/s read, 14,000 MB/s write
- APACER AS2280F4 4 TB (this drive): 12,000 MB/s read, 11,800 MB/s write
The 4 TB capacity benefits directly from higher NAND die parallelism compared to the 1 TB and 2 TB models. With all eight E26 channels fully loaded, the controller can stripe writes across more dies simultaneously, resulting in a larger dynamic SLC write cache and better-sustained out-of-cache write performance. In practical terms, this means the 4 TB model maintains its rated write speed across longer continuous write sessions before TLC write penalties become visible — an important advantage for video capture workflows or large file transfers that would exhaust the SLC buffer on a 1 TB or 2 TB drive.
Sequential read at 12,000 MB/s places the AS2280F4 4 TB within the first generation of Phison E26 performance range. Apacer's product page lists a 12,400 MB/s headline figure for the lineup, which may reflect the 4 TB's higher parallelism at a specific queue depth — in either case the bandwidth exceeds what any PCIe 4.0 drive can deliver and provides headroom for DirectStorage-enabled game titles and GPU-direct asset streaming pipelines. The 1,400,000 IOPS random read figure is appropriate for mixed desktop workloads including NLE project opens, database queries, and concurrent application access.
Thermal management is directly relevant at 4 TB. The active-cooling heatsink that ships with the drive helps maintain the E26 below its throttle threshold, preserving the rated 11,800 MB/s write speed for longer sustained runs than passive designs on competing drives.
APACER AS2280F4 vs Competitors
See how the AS2280F4 stacks up against other M.2 5.0 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
Apacer covers the AS2280F4 with a 5-year global warranty. The 4 TB model carries a rated endurance of 3,000 TBW — the total cumulative write budget before warranty coverage expires. Coverage ends at whichever threshold arrives first: the 5-year time limit or 3,000 TBW of cumulative writes.
At a daily write rate of 50 GB — a realistic figure for a content creator actively editing and exporting — reaching 3,000 TBW on the 4 TB model would take approximately 164 years, so the 5-year warranty clock will expire long before the endurance limit becomes relevant. Even at 500 GB per day of sustained writes, a figure that represents heavy professional video encoding or continuous data ingestion, the drive would reach its TBW limit in roughly 16 years. Only workloads sustaining 1,500 GB of writes or more every day would approach the 3,000 TBW boundary within a 5-year period. This positions the AS2280F4 4 TB's endurance coverage as effectively unconditional for any consumer or prosumer use case. Warranty service is handled through Apacer's regional authorised support network.
APACER AS2280F4 4 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 4 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 5.0 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5026-E26 8 Channel |
| Memory type [?] | Micron 232-L TLC |
| DRAM [?] | Yes |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 12000 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 11800 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 1400000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 1400000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 3000 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 1600000 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Verdict: Is the AS2280F4 Worth It in 2026?
The Apacer AS2280F4 4 TB makes a strong case as the top-capacity Phison E26 drive for power users and content creators who need both volume and endurance. The 3,000 TBW rating exceeds competing 4 TB PCIe 5.0 options including the Crucial T705 4 TB (2,400 TBW), the bundled active-cooling heatsink addresses the E26's thermal sensitivity directly, and the 5-year warranty covers it well beyond any realistic daily write workload.
Buy it if you need 4 TB of fast NVMe storage on a PCIe 5.0 platform, regularly write large volumes of data, and want the highest rated endurance at this capacity in the Gen5 tier. Creative professionals consolidating project storage onto a single high-capacity NVMe will find the performance-to-TBW ratio unusually favourable here.
Skip it if your motherboard only supports PCIe 4.0 — the WD Black SN850X 4 TB delivers strong Gen4 performance at lower cost, and none of the AS2280F4's bandwidth advantage transfers to a Gen4 slot. Users with lighter workloads who do not need 4 TB should consider the AS2280F4 1 TB or 2 TB instead.
+ Pros
- 3,000 TBW endurance — highest in the AS2280F4 lineup and above Crucial T705 4TB
- 12,000 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 5.0 x4
- 11,800 MB/s sequential writes rated at 4TB capacity
- Maximum NAND die parallelism: larger SLC cache and better sustained writes than 1TB/2TB siblings
- Phison PS5026-E26 with LPDDR4 DRAM cache
- Bundled active-cooling heatsink with integrated fan
- 5-year global warranty
- Cons
- Requires a PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot — no speed advantage on Gen4 or Gen3 platforms
- Active fan adds noise compared to passive designs
- 4TB capacity means double-sided PCB — check motherboard clearance for nearby components
- Early-generation E26 firmware maturity — check for latest firmware before deployment
- Premium price tier versus PCIe 4.0 alternatives at 4TB
Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
Video Review
PCIe SSD｜PCIe Gen5 x4 SSD: Lightning-fast Speed, Feather-light Heat — Apacer AS2280F4U
