Team Group T-Force Cardea Ceramic C440 2TB SSD Review (2026)
The Team Group T-Force Cardea Ceramic C440 2TB pairs Phison E16 performance with a white ceramic heat spreader and 3,600 TBW endurance — one of the highest endurance ratings among consumer Gen4 SSDs.
Controller & Memory
The C440 2TB uses the same Phison PS5016-E16 controller as the 1TB, but with denser Kioxia BiCS4 96L TLC die — 512 Gb per die instead of 256 Gb — to reach 2TB across the same eight NAND channels with 32 total dies. It carries 1 GB of SK Hynix DDR4 DRAM for the FTL mapping table.
Rated performance is identical to the 1TB: 5,000 MB/s sequential read and 4,400 MB/s sequential write with 750,000 random read/write IOPS. The E16 controller tops out at approximately 5 GB/s regardless of capacity. Where the 2TB differs meaningfully is endurance: 3,600 TBW versus the 1TB's 1,800 TBW, and a larger SLC cache of roughly 660 GB (one-third of usable capacity) versus 333 GB. The larger cache means longer sustained peak writes before dropping to TLC speed.
The white ceramic composite heat spreader is the visual signature — a thin, roughly 5 mm thick layer that dissipates heat effectively while matching white-themed builds. The drive is double-sided with components on both PCB faces. Direct competitors include the Corsair MP600 2TB, Sabrent Rocket 4.0 2TB, and the newer Gigabyte Aorus 7000S 2TB, though the latter uses the faster E18 controller.
Storage Comparisons:
Cardea Ceramic C440 Performance & Benchmarks
At 2TB, the C440 delivers the same 5,000 MB/s read and 4,400 MB/s write as the 1TB model — the E16 controller is the limiting factor, not NAND density. Where the extra capacity helps is in the SLC cache: at roughly 660 GB, it is double the 1TB's cache, allowing sustained peak writes for significantly longer before the transition to TLC direct mode at approximately 1,500 MB/s.
Team Group Cardea Ceramic C440 2 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 Ceramic C440 2 TB (this drive): 5,000 MB/s read, 4,400 MB/s write
Tom's Hardware found the C440's ceramic heat spreader effective, keeping peak controller temperatures around 80 degrees Celsius during heavy sustained writes — cool enough to avoid throttling on most systems. Random performance at low queue depths is comparable to other E16 drives and more than sufficient for gaming and desktop use. The 750K random IOPS rating is confirmed in synthetic benchmarks at high queue depths, though QD1 performance — more relevant to typical consumer use — is similar across all E16 drives regardless of capacity.
Team Group Cardea Ceramic C440 vs Competitors
See how the Cardea Ceramic C440 stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
The 2TB model carries a 3,600 TBW endurance rating with a 5-year warranty. At 100 GB of writes per day — a heavy professional content-creation workload — the drive would take roughly 99 years to exhaust its rated endurance. This is among the highest endurance ratings available on a consumer PCIe 4.0 SSD and significantly exceeds the typical 1,400 TBW found on Phison E18-based 2TB drives. The MTBF is rated at 1.7 million hours. Team Group provides a basic SMART Tool utility for S.M.A.R.T. data monitoring and benchmarking.
Team Group Cardea Ceramic C440 2 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 2 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5016-E16 |
| Memory type [?] | Toshiba 3D TLC |
| DRAM [?] | Hynix DDR4 |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 5000 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 4400 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 750000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 750000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 3600 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 1.7 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Verdict: Is the Cardea Ceramic C440 Worth It in 2026?
The Cardea Ceramic C440 2TB is a strong choice for builders who want a PCIe 4.0 drive with exceptional endurance and an eye-catching white thermal solution. The 3,600 TBW rating is a genuine differentiator that few current drives can match. The trade-off is E16-generation performance: 5,000/4,400 MB/s is respectable but trails the E18 generation by 30 to 40 percent in write speed and random IOPS. For endurance-focused users — content creators, NAS builders, or anyone who writes heavily — the C440 2TB is a compelling option. For pure speed, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB or Samsung 980 Pro 2TB are better picks.
+ Pros
- 3,600 TBW endurance is class-leading
- Effective ceramic heat spreader
- 5,000 MB/s read, 4,400 MB/s write
- Large 660 GB SLC cache at 2TB
- 5-year warranty
- Cons
- E16 generation slower than E18 alternatives
- Double-sided PCB limits laptop compatibility
- Blue PCB clashes with white aesthetic
- No hardware encryption
Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
Video Review
TEAMGROUP T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 M.2 SSD Review
