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

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.

Quick answer: 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.

## Specifications

| Specification | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Capacity | 1 TB |
| Interface | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller | Innogrit Rainer IG5236 |
| Memory type | YMTC 128L TLC |
| DRAM cache | No |
| Sequential read | 7500 MB/s |
| Sequential write | 5500 MB/s |
| Random read IOPS | 750000 |
| Random write IOPS | 700000 |
| Endurance | 600 TBW |
| MTBF | 2000000 |
| Warranty | 5 years |

## Performance

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.

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.

## 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.

## Pros and Cons

**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


## Verdict

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.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is the Asgard AN4 1TB good for gaming?

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.

### Does the Asgard AN4 1TB have a DRAM cache?

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.

### What is the TBW endurance of the Asgard AN4 1TB?

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.

### Is the Asgard AN4 compatible with the PS5?

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.

### How does the Asgard AN4 compare to the WD Black SN850?

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.

### Does the Asgard AN4 1TB need a heatsink?

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.

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Last updated: 2026-05-23. Source: https://ssdrive.net/asgard-an4-1-tb