Asgard AN4 1TB Review — Flagship-Class PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD (2026)

Name: Asgard AN4 1 TB
Brand: Asgard
SKU: asgard-an4-1-tb
Rating: 4.2 (110 reviews)

Posted on May 23, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The Asgard AN4 1 TB takes the company's Innogrit-powered PCIe 4.0 platform to the capacity sweet spot — 7,500 MB/s reads, YMTC 128L TLC, and a price that undercuts the Samsung and WD equivalents by a margin that makes you wonder how they price it so low.

Asgard AN4 1TB Review — Flagship-Class PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

Controller & Memory

The AN4 pairs the Innogrit Rainer IG5236 — an eight-channel PCIe 4.0 controller with a dedicated DRAM cache — with YMTC 128-layer 3D TLC NAND. This is a notable hardware combination: the IG5236 is one of the few non-Phison, non-Samsung controllers capable of fully saturating the PCIe 4.0 x4 bus, and YMTC's 128L TLC is the NAND generation that established China as a legitimate flash memory competitor. The DRAM cache stores the full flash translation layer mapping table locally, eliminating the latency variability that DRAM-less HMB drives suffer from under mixed workloads.

Asgard ships the AN4 in 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities. The 1 TB variant reviewed here is the lineup's volume sweet spot — it benefits from sufficient NAND die parallelism to deliver the rated 7,500 MB/s sequential reads and 5,500 MB/s sequential writes, and the capacity is enough for a single-drive system holding the OS, applications, and a working game library. The single-sided M.2 2280 PCB fits in any standard slot, though it does not include a heatsink.

The AN4 1 TB competes against the ADATA XPG Gammix S70 Blade, Samsung 980 Pro, and WD Black SN850 — all PCIe 4.0 flagships. The AN4's advantage is price; its trade-off is brand recognition, warranty infrastructure, and independent review coverage. Asgard is a Chinese brand with limited Western distribution, and the AN4 has received minimal third-party testing compared to its Samsung and WD rivals. For buyers willing to trade brand familiarity for price, the AN4 delivers flagship numbers at a mid-range cost.

Storage Comparisons:

Best Deal of 1 TB SSDs NVME Best PCIe 4.0 SSD Drive Top 2 TB SSDs

AN4 Performance & Benchmarks

The Asgard AN4 1 TB is rated for 7,500 MB/s sequential reads and 5,500 MB/s sequential writes — figures that sit near the top of the PCIe 4.0 consumer performance ladder, just behind the Samsung 990 Pro's 7,450 MB/s read and well above the 5,000 MB/s threshold that defines a credible Gen 4 drive. Random IOPS are not published by Asgard, but the IG5236 platform with DRAM typically delivers 800K–1,000K IOPS at high queue depths, competitive with the Phison E18-equipped alternatives.

Performance comparison

Asgard AN4 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.

Patriot Viper PV593 1 TB: 14,500 MB/s read, 14,000 MB/s write
Patriot Viper PV593 2 TB: 14,500 MB/s read, 14,000 MB/s write
Patriot Viper PV593 4 TB: 14,500 MB/s read, 14,000 MB/s write
Patriot Viper PV573 2 TB: 14,000 MB/s read, 12,000 MB/s write
Asgard AN4 1 TB (this drive): 7,500 MB/s read, 5,500 MB/s write

The IG5236 runs on a 12 nm process and operates cooler than the earlier Phison E16 generation, but it still generates more heat than PCIe 3.0 controllers. In independent testing of the 1 TB variant, the drive sustained its rated write speeds for bursts lasting roughly 30–60 seconds before SLC cache exhaustion began to throttle throughput — adequate for game installs and application loads, but not for sustained video ingest. The DRAM cache maintains consistent random I/O latency under mixed workloads, which is the primary advantage over DRAM-less alternatives like the Addlink S90 Lite or Silicon Power UD90. For a single-drive system where the drive handles OS, gaming, and occasional file transfers, the AN4 1 TB delivers responsive performance across all three workloads.

Asgard AN4 vs Competitors

See how the AN4 stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:

Compare with rival drives:

PNY XLR8 CS3140 1 TB Lexar NM800 PRO 1 TB Netac NV7000 1 TB

Endurance, TBW & Warranty

Asgard provides a limited warranty on the AN4 series, though the exact warranty term and TBW endurance ratings are not consistently documented across markets and retailers. Endurance figures are not publicly specified for the AN4 lineup. For a 1 TB TLC drive with a DRAM-equipped PCIe 4.0 controller, typical endurance falls in the 600–1,200 TBW range. The lack of published endurance and warranty terms is a common characteristic of Chinese SSD brands and means buyers cannot determine whether the warranty is TBW-limited. For users who need documented endurance, the ADATA S70 Blade (740 TBW for 1 TB), Samsung 980 Pro (600 TBW), or WD Black SN850 (600 TBW) are alternatives with published specifications and established global warranty infrastructure. Warranty claims for the AN4 are handled through Asgard's Chinese-based support channels.

Asgard AN4 1 TB Specifications

Category	Value
Capacity [?]	1 TB
Interface [?]	M.2 4.0 x 4
Controller [?]	Innogrit Rainer IG5236
Memory type [?]	YMTC 128L TLC
DRAM [?]	No
Read speed (MB/s) [?]	7500
Write speed (MB/s) [?]	5500
Read IOPS [?]	750000
Write IOPS [?]	700000
Endurance (TBW) [?]	600
MTBF (million hours) [?]	2000000
Warranty (years) [?]	5

Verdict: Is the AN4 Worth It in 2026?

Buy the Asgard AN4 1 TB if you want flagship-class PCIe 4.0 performance at a mid-range price and are comfortable with a Chinese brand that has less review coverage and warranty infrastructure than Samsung or WD. The 7,500 MB/s reads are genuinely competitive with the fastest consumer drives, and the 1 TB capacity is sufficient for a single-drive desktop build. The Innogrit IG5236 controller with DRAM and YMTC 128L TLC is a legitimate high-end hardware combination that the company clearly subsidises to gain market share. Skip it if you need published endurance, a documented 5-year global warranty, or the reassurance of extensive third-party benchmark data. For buyers who prioritise warranty accountability, the ADATA S70 Blade or WD Black SN850 deliver similar speeds with full documentation. For everyone else, the AN4 1 TB is the fastest drive at this price that no one is talking about — which is exactly why it is a smart buy.

+ Pros

7,500 MB/s reads — flagship PCIe 4.0 sequential throughput
Innogrit IG5236 with DRAM — consistent random I/O under mixed workloads
YMTC 128-layer 3D TLC — competitive with Samsung and Kioxia
1 TB capacity sweet spot — single-drive solution
Aggressive pricing undercuts Korean and US flagships

- Cons

Warranty terms and endurance ratings not consistently documented
Limited independent review coverage for verification
Chinese brand with potentially longer RMA turnaround
No included heatsink despite PCIe 4.0 thermal demands
SLC cache exhausts after roughly 30–60 seconds of sustained writes

4.2 / 5 · 110 votes

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Video Review

This One is Really Fast! - ASGARD AN4 Gen4 1TB

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, the AN4 1 TB is an excellent single-drive gaming solution. The 1 TB capacity holds the OS plus roughly 6–10 modern AAA titles, and the 7,500 MB/s sequential reads load game assets faster than any PCIe 3.0 drive. Game load times in practice are dominated by the game engine's asset streaming pipeline, so the difference between 7,500 MB/s and 5,000 MB/s is typically imperceptible — both load games near-instantly. The DRAM cache maintains low random read latency under mixed workloads, which helps when the OS is running background tasks while a game is loading. For a gaming-first build where the drive also serves as the OS disk, the AN4 1 TB is a strong choice at its price.

Yes, the AN4 includes a dedicated DRAM cache paired with the Innogrit IG5236 controller. The DRAM stores the flash translation layer mapping table locally, eliminating the latency penalty of Host Memory Buffer designs that must fetch mapping data over the PCIe bus. This is one of the hardware advantages the AN4 has over budget PCIe 4.0 drives like the Addlink S90 Lite or Silicon Power UD90. The DRAM cache improves consistency under sustained mixed read/write workloads and is essential for the controller to achieve its rated 7,500 MB/s sequential reads.

Asgard does not publish TBW endurance ratings for the AN4 series. For a 1 TB TLC drive with a DRAM-equipped PCIe 4.0 controller, typical endurance falls in the 600–1,200 TBW range — roughly 32 to 65 years at a 50 GB/day workload. The lack of a published endurance figure is a common characteristic of Chinese SSD brands. Buyers who need documented endurance should consider alternatives like the ADATA S70 Blade (740 TBW for 1 TB) or Samsung 980 Pro (600 TBW). In practice, for a consumer OS and gaming drive, the endurance of any name-brand TLC SSD will outlast the host system by a wide margin.

The AN4 meets Sony's PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe requirement, and its 7,500 MB/s read speed clears the 5,500 MB/s recommendation. The M.2 2280 form factor fits the PS5 expansion bay, but the drive does not include a heatsink — Sony requires one, and you would need to install a third-party heatsink that keeps total height under 11.25 mm. The AN4 is not on Sony's official compatibility list, and Asgard is not a Sony-certified brand. While IG5236-based drives generally work in PS5, the lack of certification means there is a small risk of compatibility issues after console firmware updates. For guaranteed compatibility, a Sony-certified drive like the WD Black SN850X is the safer choice.

Both the AN4 and SN850 are PCIe 4.0 flagships with DRAM caches, but they represent different approaches to the market. The SN850 uses WD's in-house controller and BiCS NAND — a vertically integrated design with published endurance (600 TBW for 1 TB), a 5-year global warranty, and extensive benchmark data. The AN4 uses third-party components — Innogrit IG5236 and YMTC 128L TLC — with undocumented endurance and warranty terms. In sequential performance, they are close peers: the SN850 reaches 7,000 MB/s reads, the AN4 hits 7,500 MB/s. In warranty, documentation, and brand accountability, the SN850 is the safer choice. The AN4 earns its place on price; if the savings are significant, it is a defensible alternative for buyers who accept the trade-offs.

The Innogrit IG5236 is built on a 12 nm process and runs cooler than earlier PCIe 4.0 controllers, but it still generates more heat than PCIe 3.0 drives. For typical desktop and laptop use with reasonable airflow, a heatsink is not strictly required. The drive will not throttle during normal OS, gaming, and application workloads. For sustained sequential writes lasting more than a minute, the controller temperature can approach thermal limits, and a heatsink would provide headroom. If your motherboard includes an M.2 heatsink, use it — it costs nothing and provides thermal margin. For a PS5 installation, a heatsink is mandatory per Sony's requirements.