Apacer AS2280P2 Pro 240GB Review — Entry-Level PCIe 3.0 NVMe
The Apacer AS2280P2 Pro 240GB is a budget PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD that uses a DRAM-less Phison E8T controller for basic desktop storage.
The 240 GB AS2280P2 Pro pairs Phison's PS5008-E8T controller — a DRAM-less PCIe 3.0 x4 design that relies on Host Memory Buffer — with 3D TLC NAND on an M.2 2280 PCB. The E8T is the cost-conscious sibling of the Phison E8, dropping the dedicated DRAM cache in favor of HMB to reduce the bill of materials. This makes the AS2280P2 Pro one of the most affordable entry points into NVMe storage.
Apacer rates the AS2280P2 Pro 240GB at 1,580 MB/s sequential reads and 950 MB/s sequential writes. These figures are roughly three times faster than a SATA SSD but well below what mainstream PCIe 3.0 drives deliver. The 240 GB capacity is an oddly-sized variant — the more common consumer sizes are 250 GB and 256 GB — suggesting this may be a region-specific or OEM-targeted SKU.
The AS2280P2 Pro sits at the bottom of Apacer's NVMe lineup, below the AS2280P4 series which uses faster controllers. The E8T was designed for budget NVMe builds, and it shows: random 4K performance at 92,000 read IOPS is adequate for light desktop use but falls behind newer HMB controllers like the Phison E13T and Silicon Motion SM2263XT. The drive comes in a single-sided M.2 2280 form factor without a heatsink, making it compatible with laptops and thin systems.
The DRAM-less design means the AS2280P2 Pro is best suited for light desktop use — web browsing, office applications, media playback, and as a secondary storage drive. Heavy workloads will expose the controller's limitations as the small SLC cache exhausts and write speeds drop to native TLC levels. The 240 GB capacity is tight for modern use: Windows and applications occupy roughly 60-80 GB, leaving about 150 GB for files and games.
Direct competitors include the Kingston A400 240GB (SATA, slower but proven), the WD Green SN350 240GB (DRAM-less NVMe, similar tier), and the Team MP33 256GB (DRAM-less, slightly faster).
✅ Storage Comparisons:
🚀 Performance and benchmarks
The Apacer AS2280P2 Pro 240GB is rated at 1,580 MB/s sequential reads and 950 MB/s sequential writes — figures that are roughly three times faster than a SATA SSD but well below what mainstream PCIe 3.0 NVMe drives deliver. The Phison E8T controller is a budget design that sacrifices a DRAM cache for cost savings, and its performance ceiling reflects that trade-off.
Apacer AS2280P2 Pro 240 GB vs M.2 3.0 x 4 peers
Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 3.0 x 4 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.
- ADATA SX 8800 Pro 512 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 2,700 MB/s write
- ADATA SX 8800 Pro 1 TB: 3,500 MB/s read, 2,700 MB/s write
- ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 256 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
- ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 512 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
- Apacer AS2280P2 Pro 240 GB (this drive): 1,580 MB/s read, 950 MB/s write
The drive uses a small SLC cache for write acceleration. On the 240 GB capacity, this cache is limited, meaning sustained writes quickly exhaust it and the drive falls back to native TLC speeds. Once the cache is depleted, write throughput drops to approximately 200-300 MB/s — actually slower than a good SATA SSD with a DRAM cache. This matters for large file transfers, application installations, or any workload that writes more than a few gigabytes at once. For light desktop use and occasional file copies, the SLC cache handles the load without issue.
Random 4K performance is rated at 92,000 IOPS reads and 160,000 IOPS writes. These numbers reflect the E8T's budget positioning and are adequate for basic desktop tasks — web browsing, office productivity, media playback — but not competitive with newer HMB controllers like the Phison E13T or Silicon Motion SM2263XT. The HMB-based flash translation table keeps single-task random I/O responsive, but concurrent workloads (installing an application while browsing with multiple tabs open) push the E8T past its comfort zone.
For users upgrading from a SATA SSD, the 1,580 MB/s read speed provides a noticeable improvement in boot times, application launches, and browser sessions where read performance dominates. The write speed gap between the AS2280P2 Pro and a SATA SSD is narrower — 950 MB/s versus 500-550 MB/s — so the upgrade benefit is less dramatic for write-heavy tasks.
🖥️ Endurance and warranty
Apacer covers the AS2280P2 Pro 240GB with a three-year limited warranty. This is shorter than the five-year warranty offered on most consumer NVMe SSDs and reflects the drive's budget positioning. Apacer does not publish a specific TBW (terabytes written) rating for the AS2280P2 Pro series. Based on comparable 240 GB TLC drives from the same era, estimated TBW would be in the range of 80-120 TBW, though this is an estimate since Apacer has not published an official figure. At a sustained workload of 20 GB per day, a 100 TBW drive would take roughly 14 years to exhaust — beyond the three-year warranty period. The drive does not carry a published MTBF rating.
📊 Specs
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 240 GB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 3.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5008-E8T |
| Memory type [?] | 3D TLC |
| DRAM [?] | n/a |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 1580 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 950 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 92000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 160000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | n/a |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 1.5 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 3 |
Conclusion
The Apacer AS2280P2 Pro 240GB is a budget PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD that delivers a meaningful speed upgrade over SATA for light desktop use. Its DRAM-less Phison E8T controller and small SLC cache limit sustained performance, making it unsuitable for heavy workloads. The three-year warranty is shorter than the industry-standard five years. The WD Green SN350 240GB offers similar performance at a comparable price, while the Team MP33 256GB provides slightly more capacity and better sustained speeds. The AS2280P2 Pro makes sense as a secondary drive or for budget builds where every dollar counts and NVMe speeds are desired over SATA.
+ Pros
- 1,580 MB/s reads three times faster than SATA
- M.2 2280 fits laptops and thin systems
- Budget-friendly entry into NVMe storage
- HMB design avoids borrowing much system RAM
- Adequate for light desktop and office use
- Cons
- 950 MB/s writes only marginally faster than SATA
- DRAM-less design limits sustained performance
- Three-year warranty shorter than industry standard
- No published TBW endurance rating
- 240 GB capacity tight for modern use
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