Team Group Cardea A440 Pro Special 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Specifications (2026)
Team Group Cardea A440 Pro Special 1TB pairs a Phison E18 controller, Micron 176-layer 3D TLC NAND, and DDR4 DRAM cache for PCIe Gen4 reads and writes of 7,000 MB/s.
Controller & Memory
The Team Group T-Force Cardea A440 Pro Special 1TB is a flagship-tier PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD built around the Phison PS5018-E18 controller with Micron 176-layer B47R 3D TLC NAND flash. Sequential read speeds reach 7,000 MB/s with writes matching at 7,000 MB/s, placing it among the fastest Gen4 drives available.
The Phison E18 is an eight-channel NVMe 1.4 controller that powered many of the top-performing PCIe 4.0 SSDs from brands like Corsair, Seagate, and MSI. Paired with a 1GB DDR4-2666 DRAM cache, the A440 Pro Special delivers excellent sustained random 4K performance across mixed workloads.
The Special variant distinguishes itself from the standard A440 Pro with a bundled graphene heat spreader. This ultra-thin thermal solution adheres directly to the drive PCB and provides effective passive cooling without adding the bulk of traditional aluminum heatsinks, making it compatible with a wider range of motherboard M.2 slots and laptop configurations.
Endurance for the 1TB model is rated at 700 TBW, backed by a five-year warranty from Team Group. The drive uses the standard M.2 2280 form factor and ships with the graphene heatsink ready for installation.
Storage Comparisons:
Cardea A440 Pro Special Performance & Benchmarks
The 1TB A440 Pro Special delivers 7,000 MB/s sequential read and 7,000 MB/s write throughput over PCIe 4.0 x4. These figures place it at the upper echelon of Gen4 performance, approaching the practical limit of what the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface can deliver.
Team Group Cardea A440 Pro Special 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
- Team Group Cardea A440 Pro Special 1 TB (this drive): 7,200 MB/s read, 6,000 MB/s write
Random 4K performance reaches 1,000,000 IOPS for both reads and writes, reflecting the Phison E18 controller architecture combined with the 1GB DDR4-2666 DRAM cache. In desktop use this translates to near-instant system boot times, rapid application launches, and excellent responsiveness under heavy multitasking workloads.
Under sustained heavy writes the conservative SLC caching design eventually exhausts and write speeds drop to the native TLC pace of the Micron 176-layer NAND. Team Group tuned the SLC cache conservatively to maintain consistent performance rather than maximizing burst speeds at the cost of sustained throughput.
The included graphene heat spreader provides effective passive cooling for the E18 controller, which runs warm under sustained load. The ultra-thin graphene design keeps the drive profile low while maintaining adequate thermal dissipation for most desktop environments. For content creators working with high-bitrate 4K or 8K video footage, the flagship Gen4 bandwidth enables smooth timeline scrubbing, faster render exports, and efficient handling of large media file transfers.
Team Group Cardea A440 Pro Special vs Competitors
See how the Cardea A440 Pro Special stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
Team Group backs the Cardea A440 Pro Special 1TB with a five-year limited warranty from the date of original purchase. The endurance rating stands at 700 TBW, meaning Team Group guarantees the drive can handle at least 700 terabytes of total data written before the warranty expires, whichever limit is reached first. This works out to approximately 383 GB of writes per day sustained over five years of continuous use. Team Group global support network handles warranty claims through authorized retailers and regional service centers. The five-year warranty and 700 TBW endurance are consistent with other flagship Phison E18 platform drives, reflecting confidence in the durability of Micron 176-layer 3D TLC NAND under demanding consumer workloads.
Team Group Cardea A440 Pro Special 1 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 1 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5018-E18 |
| Memory type [?] | Micron 176L 3D TLC |
| DRAM [?] | 1GB DDR4-2666 |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 7200 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 6000 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 1000000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 1000000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 700 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 3 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Verdict: Is the Cardea A440 Pro Special Worth It in 2026?
The Team Group Cardea A440 Pro Special 1TB delivers flagship-level PCIe 4.0 performance with the Phison PS5018-E18 controller, Micron 176-layer 3D TLC NAND, and 1GB DDR4-2666 DRAM cache. At 7,000 MB/s read and write, it approaches the practical ceiling of the Gen4 interface.
The included graphene heat spreader is a clever thermal solution that provides effective cooling without the bulk of traditional aluminum heatsinks. The 700 TBW endurance and five-year warranty from Team Group provide solid long-term confidence. If you want near-maximum Gen4 performance with a low-profile cooling solution, the A440 Pro Special 1TB is a compelling flagship option.
+ Pros
- 7,000 MB/s reads and writes approach PCIe Gen4 practical limits
- Micron 176-layer 3D TLC NAND for proven reliability
- 1GB DDR4-2666 DRAM cache for sustained random IOPS
- Ultra-thin graphene heatsink compatible with tight M.2 clearances
- Five-year warranty with 700 TBW endurance rating
- Cons
- Graphene heatsink less effective than bulky aluminum solutions under extreme loads
- Gen4 platform facing increasing competition from PCIe 5.0 entry drives
- Conservative SLC cache tuning limits sustained write burst performance
- Premium flagship pricing over mid-range Gen4 alternatives
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Video Review
TeamGroup T-Force Cardea A440 SSD Review & Benchmark - Bringing it's A Game
