Asgard AN4 2TB Review — Flagship-Class PCIe 4.0 at Full Capacity (2026)

Name: Asgard AN4 2 TB
Brand: Asgard
SKU: asgard-an4-2-tb
Rating: 4.1 (100 reviews)

Posted on May 23, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The Asgard AN4 2 TB is the capacity ceiling of a Chinese PCIe 4.0 platform that delivers flagship-level sequential speeds — and for buyers who want 2 TB of fast storage without the Samsung or WD premium, it is one of the most compelling price-per-gigabyte options on the market.

Asgard AN4 2TB Review — Flagship-Class PCIe 4.0 at Full Capacity

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. 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 put China on the flash memory map. The DRAM cache ensures consistent random I/O latency under mixed workloads, a meaningful advantage over DRAM-less alternatives at this price.

Asgard ships the AN4 in 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities. The 2 TB variant reviewed here is the lineup's flagship — it benefits from the greatest NAND die parallelism, which translates to the highest sustained write throughput and the largest SLC cache in the AN4 family. Sequential throughput is rated at 7,500 MB/s reads and 5,500 MB/s writes, with the 2 TB capacity delivering better sustained write performance than the 512 GB and 1 TB variants thanks to more flash dies operating in parallel.

The AN4 2 TB competes against the Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB, WD Black SN850X 2 TB, and ADATA XPG Gammix S70 Blade 2 TB — all PCIe 4.0 flagships. The AN4's advantage is price; its trade-off is brand recognition, documented endurance, and extensive independent benchmark 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 who want 2 TB of verified flagship performance with a 5-year global warranty, the established names remain the safer choice. For buyers willing to trade documentation for savings, the AN4 2 TB delivers comparable sequential numbers at a price point that makes the Korean and American competitors look overpriced.

Storage Comparisons:

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

AN4 Performance & Benchmarks

The Asgard AN4 2 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 consumer PCIe 4.0 ladder, just behind the Samsung 990 Pro's 7,450 MB/s read. Random IOPS are not published by Asgard, but the IG5236 platform with DRAM typically delivers 800K–1,000K IOPS at high queue depths.

Performance comparison

Asgard AN4 2 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 2 TB (this drive): 7,500 MB/s read, 5,500 MB/s write

The 2 TB capacity provides the best sustained write performance in the AN4 lineup. With the most NAND dies available for parallelization and the largest SLC cache, the 2 TB model maintains peak write speeds for longer during large transfers before cache exhaustion drops throughput to native TLC speeds. Independent reviewers of the 1 TB variant have noted sustained write speeds that hold well for roughly 30–60 seconds before cache exhaustion; the 2 TB model extends this window. For a single-drive system handling OS, gaming, and occasional large file operations, the 2 TB AN4 is the most capable variant in the lineup. The IG5236 controller's 12 nm process keeps thermal output manageable, but sustained writes lasting more than a minute will push the controller toward thermal limits, particularly in laptops or fanless systems where case airflow is limited.

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 2 TB Lexar NM800 PRO 2 TB Netac NV7000 2 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. For a 2 TB TLC drive with a DRAM-equipped PCIe 4.0 controller, typical endurance falls in the 1,200–1,800 TBW range — roughly 65 to 100 years at a 50 GB/day workload. The lack of published endurance is a common characteristic of Chinese SSD brands. Buyers who need documented endurance should consider the Samsung 990 Pro (1,200 TBW for 2 TB), WD Black SN850X (1,200 TBW), or ADATA S70 Blade (1,480 TBW) — all with published specifications and established global warranty coverage. Warranty claims for the AN4 are handled through Asgard's Chinese-based support channels, which may involve longer turnaround times than domestic RMA service.

Asgard AN4 2 TB Specifications

Category	Value
Capacity [?]	2 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) [?]	1200
MTBF (million hours) [?]	2000000
Warranty (years) [?]	5

Verdict: Is the AN4 Worth It in 2026?

Buy the Asgard AN4 2 TB if you want flagship-class PCIe 4.0 performance at the highest capacity point and are willing to accept undocumented endurance and warranty terms in exchange for a price advantage that makes Samsung and WD look overpriced. The 7,500 MB/s reads are genuinely competitive, the 2 TB capacity eliminates storage anxiety, and the IG5236 controller with DRAM delivers consistent random I/O under mixed workloads. Skip it if you need published endurance, a documented 5-year global warranty, or the reassurance of extensive independent benchmark data. For a few dollars more than the AN4, the ADATA S70 Blade 2 TB offers documented endurance and a warranty with more established infrastructure. For users who prioritise accountability over raw price, the Samsung 990 Pro or WD Black SN850X remain the safest choices. But if your priority is 2 TB of fast storage at the lowest possible price, the AN4 2 TB is the fastest drive that most reviewers have not yet heard of.

+ Pros

7,500 MB/s reads — top-tier PCIe 4.0 sequential performance
Innogrit IG5236 with DRAM — consistent mixed-workload I/O
Best sustained write performance in the AN4 lineup
2 TB capacity eliminates single-drive storage compromises
YMTC 128-layer 3D TLC at a price that undercuts Korean rivals
Competitive with Samsung 990 Pro and WD SN850X on sequential specs

- Cons

Warranty terms and endurance ratings not documented
Limited independent review coverage
Chinese brand with potentially longer RMA turnaround
No included heatsink despite PCIe 4.0 thermal demands
Brand accountability lags behind Samsung and WD

4.1 / 5 · 100 votes

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Video Review

Asgard AN4 M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 1TB Review 🔥 Temperatura, Instalação e Testes

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, the AN4 2 TB is an excellent high-capacity gaming drive. The 2 TB capacity holds the OS plus a substantial game library — roughly 10–15 modern AAA titles — and the 7,500 MB/s reads load game assets at the fastest speeds currently available on consumer NVMe drives. Game load times in practice are rarely bottlenecked by sequential throughput, but the AN4's DRAM cache ensures low random read latency under mixed workloads, which helps when background processes run alongside game loading. For a gaming-first build where the drive also serves as the OS disk, the AN4 2 TB is a strong single-drive solution that eliminates the storage juggling required at smaller capacities.

Yes, the AN4 includes a dedicated DRAM cache paired with the Innogrit IG5236 controller. The DRAM stores the flash translation layer mapping table locally, reducing latency and improving consistency under mixed read/write workloads. This is one of the key advantages the AN4 has over DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 alternatives. The DRAM cache is particularly important on a 2 TB drive, where the mapping table is larger than on smaller capacities — a DRAM-less HMB allocation of 32–64 MB may not cover the full mapping table at high capacity utilization, while local DRAM always does.

Asgard does not publish TBW endurance ratings for the AN4 series. For a 2 TB TLC drive with a DRAM-equipped PCIe 4.0 controller, typical endurance falls in the 1,200–1,800 TBW range — roughly 65 to 100 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 Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB (1,200 TBW) or WD Black SN850X 2 TB (1,200 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 2 TB meets Sony's PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe requirement, and its 7,500 MB/s read speed exceeds 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, so you would need to install a third-party heatsink keeping total height under 11.25 mm. The AN4 is not on Sony's official compatibility list. Many IG5236-based drives work in PS5, but the lack of certification means there is a small risk of compatibility issues after firmware updates. For guaranteed compatibility, a Sony-certified drive is the safer choice.

Both are PCIe 4.0 flagships with DRAM caches, but they represent opposite approaches to the market. The 990 Pro uses Samsung's in-house Elpis controller and Samsung V-NAND — a vertically integrated design with published endurance (1,200 TBW for 2 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 990 Pro reaches 7,450 MB/s reads, the AN4 hits 7,500 MB/s. In warranty, documentation, and brand accountability, the 990 Pro is the safer choice. The AN4 earns its place on price; if the savings are significant enough, it is a defensible alternative for buyers who accept the trade-offs.

The IG5236 runs cooler than earlier PCIe 4.0 controllers but still generates more heat than PCIe 3.0 drives. For typical desktop use with reasonable airflow, a heatsink is not strictly required for OS, gaming, and application workloads. For sustained sequential writes, the controller temperature can approach thermal limits, and a heatsink provides headroom. If your motherboard includes an M.2 heatsink, use it. For a PS5 installation, a heatsink is mandatory per Sony's requirements. In a laptop with poor M.2 ventilation, a small thermal pad is advisable if the drive will handle regular large file transfers.