Team Group Cardea Zero Z340 1TB Review (2026)
The Team Group Cardea Zero Z340 1TB pushes close to the PCIe 3.0 performance ceiling with the proven Phison E12 controller, making it one of the fastest Gen3 NVMe drives available.
Controller & Memory
Team Group designed the Cardea Zero Z340 as a performance PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive using the Phison PS5012-E12 controller, the same silicon found in popular drives like the Sabrent Rocket, Corsair Force MP510, and Silicon Power P34A80. The 1TB model pairs this controller with 3D TLC NAND and a full 1GB DDR4 DRAM cache, hitting 3,400 MB/s sequential reads and 3,000 MB/s writes.
The Z340 variant drops the factory heatsink found on the standard Cardea, making it slimmer for laptop and small-form-factor builds. The M.2 2280 single-sided PCB fits any NVMe slot. The Phison E12 is a mature, well-understood controller with extensive firmware optimization over its product life, which translates to reliable real-world performance.
The 1TB capacity offers 1,237 TBW endurance and a 5-year warranty, both competitive with Samsung and WD offerings. The drive competes directly with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB, WD Black SN750 1TB, and Sabrent Rocket 1TB in the premium PCIe 3.0 segment.
Storage Comparisons:
Cardea Zero Z340 Performance & Benchmarks
The Team Group Cardea Zero Z340 1TB is rated at 3,400 MB/s sequential reads and 3,000 MB/s sequential writes, placing it near the PCIe 3.0 x4 theoretical ceiling. These speeds match the Samsung 970 EVO Plus and WD Black SN750, confirming the Phison E12 platform as one of the fastest Gen3 designs. Random performance is rated at 450,000 IOPS reads and 400,000 IOPS writes, strong numbers enabled by the 1GB DDR4 DRAM cache and mature firmware.
Team Group Cardea Zero Z340 1 TB 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
- Team Group Cardea Zero Z340 1 TB (this drive): 3,400 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
In real-world use, the Z340 1TB delivers consistent performance across workloads. The 1TB capacity provides enough NAND die for effective parallelization, and the pseudo-SLC cache is generous enough to handle typical consumer write bursts. For sustained writes beyond the SLC cache, the drive transitions to native TLC speeds around 1,500-2,000 MB/s depending on how full the drive is. Independent reviews at Guru3D and Overclockers confirmed that the Z340 matches its rated specs in benchmarks.
For gaming, the Z340 loads titles at speeds indistinguishable from other premium PCIe 3.0 drives. The DRAM cache ensures stable random 4K performance for mixed workloads. Versus SATA SSDs, the Z340 offers roughly 6x faster sequential throughput, making large file transfers dramatically quicker.
Team Group Cardea Zero Z340 vs Competitors
See how the Cardea Zero Z340 stacks up against other M.2 3.0 x 4 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
Team Group backs the Cardea Zero Z340 with a 5-year warranty. The 1TB model is rated at 1,237 TBW endurance, which is competitive with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB (1,200 TBW) and WD Black SN750 1TB (600 TBW). Writing 50 GB per day would take over 67 years to reach 1,237 TBW, making endurance a non-issue for any consumer workload.
The 5-year warranty matches the industry standard for premium consumer NVMe drives. Team Group handles warranty claims through its regional service network. The drive includes S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, wear-leveling, and over-provisioning to maintain consistent performance and reliability throughout its lifespan.
Team Group Cardea Zero Z340 1 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 1 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 3.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5012-E12 |
| Memory type [?] | 3D TLC |
| DRAM [?] | 1GB DDR4 |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 3400 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 3000 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 450000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 400000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 1237 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 2 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Verdict: Is the Cardea Zero Z340 Worth It in 2026?
The Team Group Cardea Zero Z340 1TB is a strong premium PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive that delivers near-maximum Gen3 performance at a competitive price. The Phison E12 platform is proven, the 3,400/3,000 MB/s speeds are at the PCIe 3.0 ceiling, and the 1GB DRAM cache ensures consistent random I/O. Buy it if you want top-tier PCIe 3.0 performance and value without paying the Samsung brand premium.
Skip it if your system supports PCIe 4.0 and you want to future-proof with a Gen4 drive like the Samsung 980 Pro or WD Black SN850X. The Z340 1TB is an excellent choice for users who want proven performance at a reasonable price, particularly for gaming builds and content creation workstations that do not need PCIe 4.0 bandwidth.
+ Pros
- 3,400/3,000 MB/s near the PCIe 3.0 ceiling
- Phison E12 — proven, mature controller platform
- 1GB DDR4 DRAM cache for consistent random I/O
- 1,237 TBW endurance competitive with Samsung
- 5-year warranty
- Cons
- PCIe 3.0 limited — no Gen4 future-proofing
- No factory heatsink (Z340 variant is bare drive)
- Brand recognition trails Samsung and WD
- No dedicated SSD management software
Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
Video Review
Best Bang for Buck PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD? ⏩ T-Force Cardea z340 SSD Review
