Kioxia Exceria Plus 1TB NVMe SSD Review

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The Kioxia Exceria Plus 1TB is a PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD built on Kioxia's own controller and Toshiba 96-layer BiCS5 TLC NAND, offering 3,400 MB/s reads, 3,200 MB/s writes, and 427 TBW endurance at a competitive price.

The Exceria Plus uses Kioxia's TC58NC1201GST in-house controller with Toshiba BiCS5 96-layer 3D TLC NAND and a DDR4 DRAM cache. Kioxia's unique advantage is vertical integration: they design both the controller and manufacture the NAND flash, giving them full control over the firmware and flash pairing. The 1TB model is rated at 3,400 MB/s sequential reads and 3,200 MB/s sequential writes, with 680K random read IOPS and 620K random write IOPS.

The Exceria Plus sits in Kioxia's enthusiast tier, above the mainstream Exceria (1,700/1,600 MB/s) and below the PCIe 4.0 Exceria Pro. The 1TB model's 427 TBW endurance and larger SLC cache make it better suited for sustained workloads than the 500GB variant. The range also includes a 2TB model with 800 TBW.

At 1TB, the Exceria Plus targets builders who want a single-drive solution for OS, games, and applications. The 3,200 MB/s write speed is notably higher than many PCIe 3.0 competitors that max out at 2,900–3,000 MB/s. Direct competitors include the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB, ADATA SX8200 Pro 1TB, and Kingston A2000 1TB.

✅ Storage Comparisons:

Top 2 TB SSDs Best Deal of 1 TB SSDs NVME Best 4 TB SSD

🚀 Performance and benchmarks

The Exceria Plus 1TB is rated for 3,400 MB/s sequential reads and 3,200 MB/s sequential writes, with 680K random read IOPS and 620K random write IOPS. The write speed is a genuine advantage — most PCIe 3.0 drives top out at 2,900–3,000 MB/s. The in-house controller and native BiCS5 NAND pairing delivers consistent performance across workloads.

Performance comparison

Kioxia Exceria Plus 1 TB vs M.2 3.0 x 4 peers

Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 3.0 x 4 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.

ADATA SX 8800 Pro 512 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 2,700 MB/s write
ADATA SX 8800 Pro 1 TB: 3,500 MB/s read, 2,700 MB/s write
ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 256 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 512 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
Kioxia Exceria Plus 1 TB (this drive): 3,400 MB/s read, 3,200 MB/s write

The pseudo-SLC cache on the 1TB model absorbs roughly 40–80 GB of burst writes before folding to TLC. Native TLC writes hold around 1,500–2,000 MB/s — strong for PCIe 3.0. Random IO performance is competitive with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus. Gaming load times, file transfers, and application launches are all fast and consistent. The 1TB capacity holds 15–25 modern AAA titles alongside the OS.

🖥️ Endurance and warranty

Kioxia rates the Exceria Plus 1TB at 427 TBW with a five-year limited warranty. At 30–50 GB of writes per day, the endurance budget covers 23 to 38 years. The 2 million hour MTBF is a population-level statistic. Kioxia provides an SSD utility for health monitoring and firmware updates. Warranty service is handled through Kioxia's RMA process or the retailer.

📊 Specs

Category	Value
Capacity [?]	1 TB
Interface [?]	M.2 3.0 x 4
Controller [?]	Toshiba TC58NC1201GST-00-BB
Memory type [?]	Toshiba 96L 3D TLC
DRAM [?]	2GB DDR4 pSLC-Cache
Read speed (MB/s) [?]	3400
Write speed (MB/s) [?]	3200
Read IOPS [?]	680000
Write IOPS [?]	620000
Endurance (TBW) [?]	427
MTBF (million hours) [?]	2
Warranty (years) [?]	5

Conclusion

The Kioxia Exceria Plus 1TB is a well-rounded PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive with the unique selling point of Kioxia's vertically integrated controller-and-NAND design. The 3,200 MB/s write speed is a real differentiator, slightly higher than most PCIe 3.0 competitors. The 427 TBW endurance and 1TB capacity make it suitable for a combined boot, game, and application drive. Kioxia's brand recognition trails Samsung and WD, but the product itself is competitive on performance and typically priced aggressively. The Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB is the safe pick; the Exceria Plus 1TB is the value-conscious alternative that gives up nothing in real-world performance.

+ Pros

3,400 MB/s reads and 3,200 MB/s writes on PCIe 3.0
In-house Kioxia controller with native BiCS5 NAND
427 TBW endurance with 5-year warranty
680K/620K IOPS — competitive with best PCIe 3.0 drives
Vertically integrated design — controller and NAND from one company

- Cons

Kioxia brand less recognized than Samsung or WD
PCIe 3.0 — surpassed by Gen4 drives
Management software is basic compared to Samsung Magician
SLC cache smaller than some competitors
Double-sided PCB may limit slim-laptop compatibility

🛒 Buy this or similar SSD Storage:

Samsung 980 Pro 2 Tb

-57% $165
List Price: $379.99

Buy on Amazon

INLAND Performance Plus 1 Tb

$79.99

Buy on Amazon

Silicon Power 512GB NVMe SSD

$42.97

Buy on Amazon

✨ Video Review

KIOXIA EXCERIA NVME SSD - Best Value NVME SSD?

⁉️ FAQ

The Exceria Plus 1TB delivers 3,400 MB/s reads and 680K random read IOPS, providing fast and consistent game load times. The 1TB capacity holds 15–25 modern AAA titles alongside the OS. The 3,200 MB/s write speed handles game installations and updates quickly. For gaming, the Exceria Plus 1TB is competitive with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus and offers good value at its typically lower price point.

Yes. The Exceria Plus includes a DDR4 DRAM cache that works alongside the pseudo-SLC cache. The DRAM supports the Kioxia TC58NC1201GST controller's flash translation layer. The 1TB model has a larger DRAM allocation than the 500GB variant, proportionally scaled to the capacity. DRAM presence ensures consistent random IO performance.

The Exceria Plus 1TB is rated at 427 TBW (terabytes written), covered by a five-year limited warranty. At a typical consumer workload of 30–50 GB per day, the endurance budget covers 23 to 38 years. Even at a heavy 100 GB per day, it would take 11 years to exhaust the allowance. For normal desktop and gaming use, endurance is not a concern.

Both are PCIe 3.0 NVMe drives with TLC NAND and DRAM cache. The Samsung uses its in-house Phoenix controller with Samsung TLC, while the Exceria Plus uses Kioxia's in-house controller with Toshiba BiCS5 NAND. Peak read speeds are similar at 3,400 MB/s. The Exceria Plus has a slight edge in write speed at 3,200 MB/s versus the Samsung's 3,300 MB/s — essentially tied. The Samsung has better brand recognition and more mature management software. The Exceria Plus is typically priced lower.

The Exceria Plus 1TB handles video editing well with 3,200 MB/s writes and 427 TBW endurance. The fast write speed helps when importing footage and exporting renders. The 1TB capacity provides room for project files and render caches. The in-house controller maintains consistent write speeds during long exports. For 4K workflows with very large files, a PCIe 4.0 drive would offer higher throughput, but for most content creators the Exceria Plus is sufficient.

The Exceria Plus does not include a heatsink. The in-house controller runs at moderate temperatures under typical use. Most modern motherboards include an M.2 heatsink that provides sufficient cooling. For sustained write workloads like video rendering or large file transfers, a basic M.2 heatsink helps maintain peak performance by preventing thermal throttling.