Kioxia Exceria Plus 500GB NVMe SSD Review (2026)
The Kioxia Exceria Plus 500GB is a PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD using Kioxia's own controller and Toshiba 96-layer BiCS5 TLC NAND, delivering 3,400 MB/s reads and 3,200 MB/s writes at a mainstream price.
Controller & Memory
The Exceria Plus uses Kioxia's in-house TC58NC1201GST controller — not a Phison or Silicon Motion reference design. This controller is paired with Toshiba BiCS5 96-layer 3D TLC NAND and a DDR4 DRAM cache with a pseudo-SLC caching layer. The combination gives Kioxia full control over the firmware and NAND interaction, which can yield better optimization than third-party controller pairings.
The 500GB 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. Endurance is 240 TBW. The Exceria Plus range also includes 1TB (427 TBW) and 2TB (800 TBW) capacities with the same peak speeds. The 500GB model has proportionally less DRAM than the larger variants.
Kioxia, formerly Toshiba Memory, has deep NAND expertise — they manufacture the BiCS flash used in many competitors' drives. The Exceria Plus positions above the standard Exceria (1,700/1,600 MB/s) and below the Exceria Pro (PCIe 4.0). Direct competitors include the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB, the ADATA SX8200 Pro 512GB, and the Kingston A2000 500GB.
Storage Comparisons:
Exceria Plus Performance & Benchmarks
The Exceria Plus 500GB is rated for 3,400 MB/s sequential reads and 3,200 MB/s sequential writes — strong numbers for a PCIe 3.0 drive, with the write speed notably higher than many competitors that top out around 2,900–3,000 MB/s. Random performance is rated at 680K read IOPS and 620K write IOPS, which is competitive with the best PCIe 3.0 drives.
Kioxia Exceria Plus 500 GB 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 500 GB (this drive): 3,400 MB/s read, 3,200 MB/s write
The pseudo-SLC cache absorbs burst writes at full speed. On the 500GB model, the cache is relatively small (roughly 20–40 GB), and sustained writes after cache exhaustion drop to native TLC rates around 1,200–1,500 MB/s. For read-heavy workloads — gaming, OS boot, application launches — the Exceria Plus 500GB performs on par with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus. The drive's in-house controller and native BiCS5 NAND pairing may offer slightly better consistency than drives using third-party controllers with the same NAND.
Kioxia Exceria Plus vs Competitors
See how the Exceria Plus stacks up against other M.2 3.0 x 4 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
Kioxia rates the Exceria Plus 500GB at 240 TBW with a five-year limited warranty. At a typical consumer workload of 20–30 GB per day, the endurance budget covers 21 to 32 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 500 GB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 500 GB |
| 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) [?] | 240 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 2 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Verdict: Is the Exceria Plus Worth It in 2026?
The Kioxia Exceria Plus 500GB is a strong PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive with the unique advantage of Kioxia's in-house controller paired with their own BiCS5 NAND — a level of vertical integration that few competitors match at this price. The 3,200 MB/s write speed is a genuine differentiator, slightly higher than many PCIe 3.0 competitors. The 500GB capacity and 240 TBW endurance are adequate for a boot-and-game drive. Anyone who can stretch to the 1TB model gains significantly more space and endurance (427 TBW). For the price, the Exceria Plus 500GB is competitive with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus and WD Blue SN570, and worth comparing on price at time of purchase.
+ Pros
- 3,400 MB/s reads and 3,200 MB/s writes on PCIe 3.0
- In-house Kioxia controller paired with native BiCS5 NAND
- 680K/620K random read/write IOPS — competitive
- DDR4 DRAM cache with pseudo-SLC caching
- Kioxia manufactures its own NAND — strong vertical integration
- Cons
- 500GB fills quickly for combined OS and game use
- Small SLC cache on the 500GB model
- Kioxia brand less recognized than Samsung or WD
- PCIe 3.0 — surpassed by Gen4 drives
- Limited management software compared to Samsung Magician
Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
Video Review
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