PNY XLR8 CS3140 1TB SSD Review

1. Introduction2. PNY XLR8 CS3140 1TB3. Testing Methodology4. CrystalDiskMark5. ATTO Disk Benchmark6. AS SSD7. 128KB Sequential Performance8. 4K Random Read v QD Performance9. 4K Random Write v QD Performance10. 4K 70/30 Mixed Performance11. 4K Random Performance QD1-QD812. Throughput13. PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark14. Performance Stability15. Temperatures16. Real Life File Testing17. Closing Thoughts18. View All Pages

The CS3140 is PNY's latest flagship drive series in the company's XLR8 gaming portfolio. By using a combination of a 2nd generation Phison controller and 96-layer 3D TLC NAND, the PCIe Gen4 x4 CS3140 is also PNY's fastest drive to date.

The new drive is available in just two capacities,1TB and 2TB and in two versions; one aimed at desktop use with a well designed extruded aluminium heatsink and the other with just a straightforward product label aimed towards notebook users, compact PC designs and those who want to use the integrated heatsink/cooling technology of a motherboard. The heatsink versions have HS in the SKU number.

The only official performance figures to be found on the spec sheet, and the box for that matter, are sequential read/writes, which is a bit odd. The 1TB drive is rated as up to 7,500MB/s for reads and up to 5,650MB/s for writes.

Using the ATTO benchmark we couldn’t hit the official maximums for sequential reads or writes, with the best read figure being 6,820MB/s with writes at 4,990MB/s. We got a lot closer using the compressible data test in CrystalDiskMark 6 with a best-read figure of 7,458.6MB/s and a write figure of 5,349.9MB/s.

As we previously noted PNY doesn’t state any 4K random performance figures for the drive but in our tests, the best read/write IOPS figures we got from the drive was when we used the Peak Performance profile in CrystalDiskMark 8 which produced figures of 664,937.74 IOPS and 600,540.77 IOPS for reads and writes respectively.

PNY told us the CS3140 will cost £234.20 for the heatsink model and £226.89 without the heatsink. The only Amazon listing we could find is from a third-party seller with significantly higher prices.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

Pros

• Overall performance.
• 5-year warranty.

Cons

• 4K performance a little disappointing in some of our tests.
• Stiff competition.

KitGuru says: PNY is the latest company to pitch their hat into the PCIe Gen4 SSD ring. The XLR8 CS3140 is a quick drive and PNY has ensured most bases are covered by offering the drive in two versions, one with a heatsink and one without.

Become a Patron!