Imation Q971 4TB NVMe SSD technical review (2026)

Posted on August 15, 2026 by Raymond Chen

Imation's Q971 internal SSD works on PCIe M.2 4.0 x 4 interface. Read below about this NVMe here.

Imation Q971 4TB NVMe SSD technical review

Controller & Memory

Imation's 4TB Q971 use Phison PS5021-E21 4 Channel controller. The internal SSD write a data location map on DRAM No to launch a programs faster. The Q971 comes equipped with Micron 166-L QLC memory.

Q971 Performance & Benchmarks

Storage works on PCIe M.2 4.0 x 4 bus with maximum write speeds 4500 Mbps, and sequential read speeds 5000 MB/s. This model has input/output performance 4500000 on writing and 5000000 on reading operations per second.

Performance comparison

Imation Q971 4 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
  • Imation Q971 4 TB (this drive): 5,000 MB/s read, 4,500 MB/s write

Imation Q971 vs Competitors

See how the Q971 stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:

Endurance, TBW & Warranty

Manufacturer give 3 years of warranty that limited by 600 Total Bytes Written. The Q971 has 1500000 million hours MTBF.

Imation Q971 4 TB Specifications

Category Value
Capacity [?] 4 TB
Interface [?] M.2 4.0 x 4
Controller [?] Phison PS5021-E21 4 Channel
Memory type [?] Micron 166-L QLC
DRAM [?] No
Read speed (MB/s) [?] 5000
Write speed (MB/s) [?] 4500
Read IOPS [?] 5000000
Write IOPS [?] 4500000
Endurance (TBW) [?] 600
MTBF (million hours) [?] 1500000
Warranty (years) [?] 3

Verdict: Is the Q971 Worth It in 2026?

Q971 (4TB) produced by Imation support PCIe 4 that is significantly faster than PCIe 3.0. The write speed is 4500 Mb/s, that is common for this interface. The Internal SSD has endurance 600 TBW, that is not much against nearest competitors. Overall, our editor strongly recommend to purchase Imation Q971 4TB for your PC.

+ Pros

  • Good writing speed
  • PCIe 4.0
  • Capacity

- Cons

  • Writing speed

4.4 / 5 · 77 votes

Buy this or similar SSD Storage:

Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB

-57% $165
List Price: $379.99

Buy on Amazon

Video Review

NISSAN GTR In Racing Games

Frequently Asked Questions

The Imation Q971 has No. DRAM in their controller help to increase endurance and IOPS.

The Q971 4TB due to the high density of memory chips you need to install of extra heat sink. It would decrease temperature of the memory chips and controller. Some motherboards already has thermal pads below and above the SSD to enhance productivity during heavy loads.

The Q971 4TB has write speed 4500 Mbps, sequential read speed 5000 Mb/s. Storage works on Phison PS5021-E21 4 Channel controller and M.2 4.0 x 4 high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard. The NAND memory type is Micron 166-L QLC.

Comments

  • Be the first to comment.

Comments are reviewed before they appear.

Similar SSD:

Digma Top P8 Review

Digma Top P8

4 TB / M.2 4.0 x 4

Corsair MP600 Pro XT Review

Corsair MP600 Pro XT

4 TB / M.2 4.0 x 4

Kingston KC3000 Review

Kingston KC3000

4 TB / M.2 4.0 x 4

Kingston Fury Renegade Review

Kingston Fury Renegade

4 TB / M.2 4.0 x 4

Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus-G Review

Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus-G

4 TB / M.2 4.0 x 4