Kingmax PX4480 1TB Review — First-Gen PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD (2026)
The Kingmax PX4480 1TB is a first-generation PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD built on the proven Phison E16 reference platform, offering 5,000 MB/s reads and DRAM-cached reliability at a budget-friendly tier.
Controller & Memory
The Kingmax PX4480 1TB is built around the Phison PS5016-E16 controller, the silicon that powered the first wave of consumer PCIe 4.0 SSDs in 2019–2020. Paired with 3D TLC NAND from an unnamed tier-one fab and a DDR4 DRAM cache buffer, this is a reference-design drive — Kingmax did not customize the controller firmware or PCB layout beyond the bare minimum. That's not necessarily a bad thing: the E16 platform was extensively validated across dozens of brands, from the Corsair MP600 to the Seagate FireCuda 520, and its behavior is well understood.
The PX4480 ships in M.2 2280 form factor and speaks NVMe 1.3 over PCIe 4.0 x4 lanes. The 1TB capacity sits in the middle of a three-size lineup: 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. The 1TB variant is where the E16 controller shines — it gets the full complement of NAND dies running in parallel, unlike the 500GB model which sacrifices write speed. End-to-end data protection, LDPC error correction, and SLC caching are all standard E16 features.
For buyers considering the PX4480, the direct competitors are other E16-based drives: the Corsair MP600 1TB (identical silicon, 5-year warranty), the Seagate FireCuda 520 1TB (same controller, slightly higher TBW), and the Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1TB (also E16, often cheaper). The PX4480's main differentiator is its 3-year warranty, which is shorter than the 5-year standard most competitors offer. If warranty length matters, the Corsair MP600 is the same drive with better backing.
The drive lacks a heatsink variant, so plan on using a motherboard M.2 shield or buying an aftermarket heatsink for sustained workloads. The E16 controller runs warm under load — it's a 12nm chip pushing PCIe 4.0 speeds, and thermal throttling is a real concern without adequate cooling.
Storage Comparisons:
PX4480 Performance & Benchmarks
The Kingmax PX4480 1TB is rated at up to 5,000 MB/s sequential reads and 4,400 MB/s sequential writes over its PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. Random 4K performance reaches up to 750,000 IOPS for reads and 700,000 IOPS for writes — solid numbers for a first-generation PCIe 4.0 drive, though notably behind the second-generation Phison E18 drives that push past 1,000,000 IOPS.
Kingmax PX4480 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
- Kingmax PX4480 1 TB (this drive): 5,000 MB/s read, 4,400 MB/s write
Like all Phison E16 drives, the PX4480 uses a dynamic SLC cache to achieve its advertised burst write speeds. The cache size scales with available free space on the drive, typically ranging from 40 to 120 GB on the 1TB model depending on drive utilization. Once the SLC cache exhausts, write speeds drop to the native TLC direct-write speed — roughly 800 to 1,200 MB/s on the E16 platform, which is still faster than any PCIe 3.0 drive but noticeably slower than the advertised 4,400 MB/s burst figure. For typical desktop use — booting, loading applications, game installs — the cache rarely exhausts. For large sustained transfers like moving a 200 GB video project, you will see the drop-off after the first minute or two.
In real-world terms, the PX4480 1TB will load modern games in roughly the same time as any PCIe 4.0 drive: sub-2-second load times for most titles, marginally faster than a good PCIe 3.0 drive like the Samsung 970 EVO Plus. OS responsiveness and application launch times are near-instant, as expected from any NVMe drive with a DRAM cache. The E16 controller's DirectStorage readiness is limited — it supports the necessary NVMe features, but Microsoft's optimized DirectStorage pipeline targets newer controllers with hardware decompression, which the E16 lacks.
Kingmax PX4480 vs Competitors
See how the PX4480 stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
Kingmax backs the PX4480 1TB with a 3-year limited warranty and a 600 TBW endurance rating. The 3-year warranty is notably shorter than the 5-year industry standard offered by Corsair, Seagate, and Sabret on their competing E16-based drives. At a typical consumer workload of 30 GB of writes per day, the 600 TBW rating translates to roughly 54 years of theoretical endurance — well beyond the warranty period, meaning the drive will almost certainly outlast its warranty coverage on elapsed time alone. The 2 million hour MTBF figure is a population-level reliability statistic across Kingmax's production batch, not an individual drive lifespan guarantee. For most home users, the 600 TBW endurance is more than sufficient; power users doing heavy video editing or database work should consider a drive with higher TBW and a longer warranty, such as the Corsair MP600 1TB with its 700 TBW and 5-year coverage.
Kingmax PX4480 1 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 1 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5016-E16 |
| Memory type [?] | 3D Nand |
| DRAM [?] | DDR4 Cache |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 5000 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 4400 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 750000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 700000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 1767 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 2 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 3 |
Verdict: Is the PX4480 Worth It in 2026?
The Kingmax PX4480 1TB is a competent first-generation PCIe 4.0 SSD that delivers on the E16 platform's promise: 5,000 MB/s reads, DRAM caching, and respectable random IOPS. It's a solid choice for budget-conscious buyers who want PCIe 4.0 speeds without paying flagship prices. The 3-year warranty is the drive's main weakness — competitors like the Corsair MP600 and Seagate FireCuda 520 offer identical silicon with 5-year warranties. If the PX4480 is significantly cheaper in your market, it's a fair deal. If the price is close to the MP600, the extra two years of warranty make the Corsair the smarter buy.
+ Pros
- 5,000 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 4.0
- 4,400 MB/s burst writes with SLC caching
- DDR4 DRAM cache for consistent random I/O
- 600 TBW endurance on the 1TB model
- Proven Phison E16 reference platform
- Cons
- 3-year warranty vs 5 years from competitors
- No heatsink option available
- First-gen E16 runs warm under sustained loads
- SLC cache exhausts around 40–120 GB
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Video Review
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