Kioxia Exceria Plus 2TB NVMe SSD Review (2026)

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The Kioxia Exceria Plus 2TB is the range-topping capacity of this vertically integrated NVMe line, combining Kioxia's own controller with native BiCS5 TLC NAND for 3,400 MB/s reads and 800 TBW endurance.

Kioxia Exceria Plus 2TB NVMe SSD Review

Controller & Memory

The Exceria Plus 2TB uses Kioxia's TC58NC1201GST in-house controller with Toshiba BiCS5 96-layer 3D TLC NAND and a 2 GB DDR4 DRAM cache — the maximum DRAM configuration in the range. Kioxia's vertical integration (designing both the controller and manufacturing the NAND) gives them full control over the firmware and flash pairing, which can yield better consistency than third-party controller implementations.

Rated at 3,400 MB/s sequential reads and 3,200 MB/s sequential writes, the 2TB model matches the smaller capacities on peak speeds while offering substantially more endurance at 800 TBW. The larger SLC cache and more NAND die for parallel writes also make it the best-performing variant under sustained workloads. The drive is double-sided, with NAND on both faces of the M.2 2280 PCB.

At 2TB, the Exceria Plus targets users who need bulk NVMe storage for game libraries, video editing projects, or a combined OS-and-data drive. Direct competitors include the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB and the WD Black SN750 2TB, both at higher price points.

Exceria Plus Performance & Benchmarks

The Exceria Plus 2TB 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 2TB model's larger SLC cache absorbs roughly 80–150 GB of burst writes at full speed before folding to TLC. Native TLC writes sustain around 2,000 MB/s — strong for PCIe 3.0. With more NAND die available for parallel operations, the 2TB model maintains higher throughput under mixed workloads than the 500GB and 1TB variants.

Performance comparison

Kioxia Exceria Plus 2 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 2 TB (this drive): 3,400 MB/s read, 3,200 MB/s write

Independent reviewers find the Exceria Plus delivers on its rated specs in synthetic benchmarks, with real-world performance competitive against the Samsung 970 EVO Plus. Gaming load times are fast and indistinguishable from other high-end PCIe 3.0 drives. Content creators benefit from the 2TB capacity and 800 TBW endurance for large video projects.

Kioxia Exceria Plus vs Competitors

See how the Exceria Plus stacks up against other M.2 3.0 x 4 drives in our database:

Endurance, TBW & Warranty

Kioxia rates the Exceria Plus 2TB at 800 TBW with a five-year limited warranty. At 50 GB of writes per day, the endurance budget covers roughly 43 years. The 2 million hour MTBF is a population-level reliability statistic. Kioxia provides an SSD utility for health monitoring. Warranty service is handled through Kioxia's RMA process or the retailer.

Kioxia Exceria Plus 2 TB Specifications

Category Value
Capacity [?] 2 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) [?] 800
MTBF (million hours) [?] 2
Warranty (years) [?] 5

Verdict: Is the Exceria Plus Worth It in 2026?

The Kioxia Exceria Plus 2TB is a strong high-capacity PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive with 800 TBW endurance and the performance benefits of Kioxia's vertically integrated controller-and-NAND design. The 3,200 MB/s write speed and 2 GB DRAM cache make it well-suited for content creators and enthusiasts with large game libraries. The limitation is PCIe 3.0 — builders who want to populate a Gen4 M.2 slot should look at the Kioxia Exceria Pro or G2 instead. For PCIe 3.0 platforms or budget Gen4 builds where backward compatibility matters, the Exceria Plus 2TB is a reliable and well-priced option.

+ Pros

  • 3,400 MB/s reads and 3,200 MB/s writes on PCIe 3.0
  • 800 TBW endurance with 5-year warranty
  • 2TB capacity for large libraries or video projects
  • Vertically integrated in-house controller and BiCS5 NAND
  • 2 GB DDR4 DRAM cache on the 2TB model

- Cons

  • PCIe 3.0 — surpassed by Gen4 drives
  • Double-sided PCB may limit slim-laptop compatibility
  • Kioxia brand less recognized than Samsung or WD
  • Basic management software
  • No heatsink included

3.6 / 5 · 118 votes

Buy this or similar SSD Storage:

Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB

-57% $165
List Price: $379.99

Buy on Amazon

Video Review

KIOXIA EXCERIA NVME SSD - Best Value NVME SSD?

Frequently Asked Questions

The Exceria Plus 2TB is well-suited for video editing with 3,200 MB/s writes, 800 TBW endurance, and 2 GB of DRAM cache. Transferring large 4K footage is fast, and the 2TB capacity provides room for project files, render caches, and scratch disks. The in-house controller maintains consistent write speeds during long render jobs. For 4K workflows with very large files, a PCIe 4.0 drive would be faster, but for most content creators the Exceria Plus 2TB is more than sufficient.

Yes. The Exceria Plus 2TB includes a 2 GB DDR4 DRAM cache — the maximum configuration in the Exceria Plus range. The DRAM supports the Kioxia TC58NC1201GST controller's flash translation layer, which is particularly important for maintaining consistent random IO on the 2TB address space.

The Kioxia Exceria Plus 2TB is rated at 800 TBW (terabytes written), covered by a five-year limited warranty. At a heavy content-creator workload of 100 GB per day, the endurance budget covers roughly 21 years. Even at 500 GB per day, it would take over 4 years to exhaust the allowance. For normal consumer use, endurance is not a practical concern.

The Exceria Plus is a PCIe 3.0 drive, and the PS5 requires PCIe 4.0 or faster NVMe SSDs for expansion. The Exceria Plus does not meet Sony's requirements. For PS5 expansion, Kioxia offers the Exceria Pro and Exceria G2, which use PCIe 4.0 and deliver read speeds that meet or exceed Sony's 5,500 MB/s recommendation.

Both are PCIe 3.0 TLC NVMe drives with DRAM cache. Peak speeds are similar. The Samsung uses its in-house Phoenix controller, the Exceria Plus uses Kioxia's in-house TC58NC1201GST. The Samsung has broader brand recognition and more mature software. The Exceria Plus is typically priced lower while offering competitive real-world performance. Both are reliable choices; the decision often comes down to price and availability.

Yes, the 2TB model is double-sided with NAND flash packages on both faces of the M.2 2280 PCB. The double-sided layout provides the surface area needed for all the flash packages and the 2 GB DRAM chip. Some slim laptops may not have clearance for double-sided drives. Check the laptop's M.2 slot height specification before purchasing.

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