# 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.

Quick answer: 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.

## Specifications

| Specification | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Capacity | 2 TB |
| Interface | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller | Phison PS5016-E16 |
| Memory type | Toshiba 3D TLC |
| DRAM cache | Hynix DDR4 |
| Sequential read | 5000 MB/s |
| Sequential write | 4400 MB/s |
| Random read IOPS | 750000 |
| Random write IOPS | 750000 |
| Endurance | 3600 TBW |
| MTBF | 1.7 |
| Warranty | 5 years |

## Performance

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.

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.

## 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.

## Pros and Cons

**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


## Verdict

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.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is the Team Group Cardea Ceramic C440 2TB good for gaming?

Yes. The 5,000 MB/s read speed and 750K random IOPS handle game loading, DirectStorage, and OS use without issue. The large 2TB capacity stores the OS plus 30 to 40 modern AAA games. Game load times are identical to other Phison E16 drives like the Corsair MP600. The ceramic heat spreader keeps temperatures low during extended sessions.

### What is the TBW endurance of the Cardea Ceramic C440 2TB?

The C440 2TB is rated for 3,600 TBW (terabytes written) with a 5-year warranty — one of the highest endurance ratings on any consumer PCIe 4.0 SSD. At 100 GB of writes per day, it would take approximately 99 years to exhaust the rated endurance. This is roughly 2.5 times the endurance of a typical Phison E18-based 2TB drive like the Samsung 980 Pro (1,200 TBW).

### Is the Cardea Ceramic C440 2TB compatible with PS5?

The drive meets the PS5's PCIe 4.0 NVMe interface requirement. The 5,000 MB/s read speed is slightly below Sony's 5,550 MB/s recommendation but functional. The ceramic heat spreader is thin (roughly 5 mm total), which may fit under the PS5's M.2 cover, though users should verify clearance. Sony does not officially list this model. The double-sided PCB is not an issue for the PS5 slot.

### Does the Cardea Ceramic C440 have DRAM?

Yes. Both the 1TB and 2TB models include 1 GB of SK Hynix DDR4 DRAM for the flash translation layer mapping table. This is a full DRAM cache design, not DRAM-less HMB. The DRAM ensures consistent random performance and responsive real-world operation.

### How does the C440 compare to the Cardea Zero Z440?

Both use the same Phison E16 controller and Kioxia 96L TLC, delivering identical rated speeds of 5,000/4,400 MB/s. The C440 uses a white ceramic heat spreader while the Z440 uses a thin graphene copper foil — the C440 runs slightly cooler but is taller. The C440 targets white-themed builds; the Z440 is a lower-profile option that fits under more motherboard heatsinks. Performance is otherwise identical.

---

Last updated: 2026-06-05. Source: https://ssdrive.net/team-group-cardea-ceramic-c440-2-tb