A Phison E28-powered Gen5 drive near the top of the charts
The PNY XLR8 CS3250 1TB leverages Phison's E28 controller with 232-L TLC NAND for some of the fastest sequential transfer speeds available on PCIe 5.0.
PNY's XLR8 CS3250 is the company's second-generation PCIe 5.0 SSD, succeeding the CS3150 that used the older Phison E26 controller. The upgrade to the Phison E28 represents a meaningful shift: the E28 is a newer eight-channel controller built on a smaller manufacturing process that improves power efficiency while pushing sequential speeds past 14,000 MB/s. The CS3250 uses 232-layer TLC NAND and carries dedicated LPDDR4 DRAM for the flash translation layer, giving it consistent sustained performance under multi-tasking workloads.
The CS3250 ships as a bare M.2 2280 module without a heatsink, which is common for modern Gen5 drives since most enthusiast motherboards now include integrated M.2 cooling. PNY also offers the CS3150 model with an integrated RGB heatsink and dual fans for buyers who want an all-in-one cooling solution, though that model uses the older E26 controller and is limited to roughly 10,000 MB/s.
At 1TB, the CS3250 is the entry capacity in a lineup that includes 2TB and 4TB variants. The 1TB model has the same read speed as the larger capacities but slightly lower write performance due to having fewer NAND die for write interleaving. Key competitors include the Samsung 9100 Pro, Crucial T705, Acer Predator GM9000, and Kingston FURY Renegade 5.0. The CS3250's 14,900 MB/s read speed is among the highest in the consumer Gen5 category.
Reviews from TweakTown, FunkyKit, and multiple European outlets praised the CS3250's balance of speed, consistency, and value. The German-language GameZoom review called it powerful, modern, and balanced for a PCIe 5.0 SSD, while the Spanish HardZone review highlighted its competitive pricing relative to performance.
✅ Storage Comparisons:
🚀 Performance and benchmarks
PNY rates the CS3250 1TB at up to 14,900 MB/s sequential read and 13,500 MB/s sequential write. These are near the top of the PCIe 5.0 consumer SSD category, with the read speed being among the highest figures published by any manufacturer. Random performance specifications are not published by PNY, but the Phison E28 platform supports competitive IOPS numbers consistent with other Gen5 controllers in the 1.5 to 2 million range.
PNY XLR8 CS3250 1 TB vs M.2 5.0 peers
Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 5.0 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.
- PNY XLR8 CS3250 1 TB (this drive): 14,900 MB/s read, 13,500 MB/s write
- Netac NV150HK 4 TB: 14,000 MB/s read, 13,000 MB/s write
- Corsair MP700 1 TB: 10,000 MB/s read, 9,500 MB/s write
- Corsair MP700 2 TB: 10,000 MB/s read, 9,500 MB/s write
- Corsair MP700 4 TB: 10,000 MB/s read, 9,500 MB/s write
The FunkyKit review of the 2TB model confirmed that the CS3250 hits its rated sequential speeds in CrystalDiskMark benchmark testing. The 1TB model shares the same controller architecture with proportionally scaled NAND. The LPDDR4 DRAM buffer allows the drive to maintain consistent mapping table access during sustained workloads, preventing the performance drops that DRAM-less drives can exhibit under heavy concurrent I/O operations.
As with all TLC-based SSDs, the CS3250 uses an SLC write cache that absorbs burst writes at full speed before transitioning to native TLC write rates on extended transfers. For typical consumer workloads including game installs, OS boot, and file copies, the cache provides ample headroom. The Phison E28 controller manages power consumption better than the earlier E26, though the drive still benefits from direct motherboard heatsink contact to prevent thermal throttling under sustained writes.
🖥️ Endurance and warranty
PNY covers the XLR8 CS3250 with a five-year limited warranty. The 1TB model is rated for 600 TBW of endurance. At 600 TBW over five years, that equals approximately 329 GB of writes per day to reach the warranty threshold. For reference, typical consumer workloads involve well under 50 GB of daily writes, providing substantial headroom for gaming, content creation, and general productivity. The drive supports SMART health monitoring through utilities like CrystalDiskInfo, where you can check total bytes written and remaining spare block capacity. The 2TB model doubles the endurance to 1,200 TBW, and the 4TB carries proportionally higher coverage.
📊 Specs
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 1 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 5.0 |
| Controller [?] | Phison E28 |
| Memory type [?] | 232-L TLC |
| DRAM [?] | Yes |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 14900 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 13500 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 14900 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 13500 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 600 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 2000000 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Conclusion
The PNY XLR8 CS3250 1TB is a strong Gen5 SSD for desktop enthusiasts who want top-tier sequential read speeds. The Phison E28 controller with 232-L TLC NAND and LPDDR4 DRAM provides a proven hardware platform that reviewers have praised for consistency and balanced performance. Buyers who need more capacity should look at the 2TB variant, which also gains a slight write speed advantage. Competing drives like the Acer Predator GM9000 offer similar performance with higher endurance ratings per terabyte, while the Samsung 9100 Pro provides a more mature software ecosystem. The CS3250 stands out for its 14,900 MB/s read speed and PNY's five-year warranty coverage at a competitive price point.
+ Pros
- 14,900 MB/s sequential read is among the fastest available
- Phison E28 controller with LPDDR4 DRAM cache
- 232-L TLC NAND for current-generation performance
- Five-year warranty with 600 TBW at 1TB
- More efficient than the older Phison E26 platform
- Well-reviewed by TweakTown, FunkyKit, and GameZoom
- Cons
- No included heatsink in retail packaging
- 1TB write speed at 13,500 MB/s trails 2TB model
- Requires PCIe 5.0 motherboard for rated speeds
- Endurance per TB is lower than some competitors
- PNY does not disclose NAND manufacturer
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