We “understand” that this SSD is DRAM-free, that is to say that it does not have an integrated DRAM cache because the manufacturer does not indicate this. Likewise, it doesn’t say what the controller is or what memory chips it uses, but as we’ll see later when we take it apart, it uses the same controller. Phison PS5026-E26 of the Corsair MP700, for example, just as their memory chips are 3D CCM manufactured by Micron Technology.
In any case, we are dealing with an SSD in M.2 format with PCI-Express 5.0 interface and NVMe 2.0 protocol, so it is in fact one of the fastest on the market despite what we mentioned previously. These SSDs tend to get very hot, but PNY has installed a large heatsink (although not as large as others we’ve seen in this same category) that incorporates two small fans to actively cool it, although yes, As usually happens, we will need to connect a cable to a 4-pin fan connector on the motherboard to make them work.
Unboxing and external analysis
The PNY CS3150 is packaged in a rectangular white rigid cardboard box, on the front of which we can see an image of the device accompanied by the brand, model and its theoretical performance in sequential reading and writing. They also highlight its “extreme cooling”, its 5-year warranty and the fact that it is a 1TB “Gen 5” capacity model, that is, PCIe 5.0.
On the back, the manufacturer took advantage of the seal to affix the conformity logos and the product bar code, but it is on the side that he put his technical specifications.
We open the box, and we find the SSD perfectly protected by a block of black expanded polystyrene (inside the box it must also protect the upper part). There are no accessories or any type of documentation with this SSD, not even a screw to anchor it to the motherboard’s M.2 socket (luckily most motherboards include this among their accessories).
Here you can see the PNY CS3150 already out of its packaging; You can see with the naked eye the sizable heatsink (it honestly looks like it’s average, to be honest) with a fan on each side and the cable coming out to power the fans.
The SSD also has a backplate (and also a thermal pad), and they put the product identification label on it.
The cable is not too long (nor is it necessary) and terminates in a 4-pin PWM connector. Hopefully, it’s true PWM, which would mean that the fans won’t always be on full blast and making hellish noise but will operate depending on the temperature of the device. We will see.
By removing two screws on each side we can remove the heatsink, which as you can see also has a thermal pad on this side and allows us to directly see the PCB with the controller and NAND Flash memory chips.
Here’s a closer look at the Phison PS5026-E26 controller and TLC 3D memory chips made by Micron.
After seeing the device, we will proceed to assemble it and see how it works.
PNY CS3150 performance test
Before we show you the benchmarks, we need to mention one important topic: this is a PCIe 5.0 SSD, and most modern motherboards – even high-end ones – only have one socket compatible with this version of the interface, which means that normally we will not be able to choose where to install the SSD but rather we will have to do it in the only possible place. The bad part is that, as in our case, this M.2 PCIe 5.0 socket is closest to the CPU.
Why is this aspect important? Because the PNY CS3150 has a mid-sized heatsink that also has a cable coming out of it, and because it sits in the M.2 socket which is physically located between the CPU socket and the first PCIe of the graphics card, its Size could pose issues with compatibility and cable routing could also give us some headaches. In our case we had no problems because there is plenty of space and the card also has a fan connector right next to it, but it doesn’t have to be like that on all cards. In the following image you can see how “fair” the situation is between the motherboard heatsink, the CPU heatsink and the graphics card.
That being said, let’s move on to performance testing. To analyze this PNY CS3150 we used the following equipment (the usual):
- Intel Core i9-14900K.
- Corsair A115.
- ASUS ROG STRIX Z790E Gaming Wi-Fi 2.
- 2 × 16 GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 MHz.
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti FE.
- TeamGroup Cardea A440 Pro 2TB (System SSD).
- Corsair Obsidian 4000D Airflow.
- Be quiet! Right power 12 1000W.
As we mentioned a moment ago, the PNY SSD is installed in the M.2 PCIe 5.0 socket of the motherboard, located just between the socket and the first PCIe of the graphics card. The operating system used is Windows 11 Pro x64 with all updates installed.
Before proceeding with the required benchmarks, know that PNY has an application called SSD Toolbox which will allow us to check the information and health status of the unit, as well as force the execution of the TRIM command to optimize its operation, perform a complete wipe of the unit or update its firmware.
For the latter reason, we first run the application (which does not require installation) to see if there is newer firmware than the one supplied from the factory.
Since there is no more modern firmware version, let’s now move on to testing. To test the performance of this PNY SSD, we start as always with Brand CrystalDisk, which is surely the gold standard for measuring reading and writing speed; This is the result.
Ultimately, it seems that this confusing data that PNY gives in the SSD technical specifications is not correct in either case. The read speed of this PNY CS3150 is around 11,600 MB/s, while the write speed exceeds 9,500 MB/s, in both cases improving on what the manufacturer said on paper. Incomprehensible, but that’s how it is.
Swindle AS SSD reference We will perform a test similar to CrystalDisk Mark but using other algorithms and also assigning an arbitrary score.
In this case, the data that this benchmark gives us is much worse and is around 8,500 MB/s in reading and writing, data that is still excellent and far exceeds the performance provided by a PCIe 4.0 SSD. Also, for comparison, the Corsair MP700 Gen 5 did exactly the same in this test, but its score was 4,047 points reading and 6,497 points writing, totaling 12,645 points and being well below that. SSD PNY.
This benchmark has two subtests, the first of which measures transfer speed in different areas.
Here the Corsair MP700 Gen 5 took 0.22 seconds, 0.76 seconds and 0.35 seconds respectively, so once again we see that this PNY SSD outperforms it in everything.
To finish with AS SSD, we have to look at the proof of work with non-compressible files, an area in which all SSDs on the market generally have problems.
Here we can see that for some reason the read speed starts very weak, but then increases and stabilizes around 8700 MB/s, while the write speed starts strong but experiences several drops, including two quite pronounced, but it is more or less at 8,800 MB/s. In the end, it seems that the SSD resists these non-compressible files quite well.
Now let’s see how this SSD performs with different file sizes, because all storage units suffer more with small file sizes and their speed is quite reduced with these. To measure it, we will use ATTO Disk Evaluation.
Obviously, with small files the SSD struggles, but from 8 KB it starts to offer speeds above 1.5 GB/s, which is very good. Even for relatively large files (64 KB), it offers almost its maximum reading and writing performance.
To finish with the battery of tests, we still have to test this device with Anvil referencean already old utility (it dates from 2014) but which remains a reference for seeing the performance of SSD units, in particular due to its random measurement in IOPS.
The performance is honestly below what was expected, but in the end, as each benchmark uses its own algorithms to measure performance, it is normal that this happens sometimes. We also see that the SSD offers a maximum of 305K IOPS in reading and 624K IOPS in writing, data that the manufacturer did not provide us with in the technical specifications.
Noise and temperature
An SSD like this that incorporates an actively cooling heat sink can make a lot of noise, especially since it incorporates two small fans that will spin very quickly and therefore make a lot of noise, at least at first glance. However, in the case of this PNY SSD and unlike many others, the fan connector is a standard 4-pin and not a MOLEX or raw SATA power supply, which would simply make them always run at maximum.
The thing is, in our testing, we didn’t see that the fan speeds adapted to the heat of the device, at least not that you could see with the naked eye. What we can tell you is that the fans make a slightly high-pitched but fairly soft noise, and with the equipment running and the side cover of the case closed, this is virtually not noticeable. In other words, it’s not too strong.
Concerning the temperature, the unit at rest remains at a temperature between 27 and 35ºC according to CrystalDisk Info.
Already in operation and when we started trying it, the SSD reached 65ºC, but we never saw it exceed that. This stresses it to the maximum with very demanding benchmarks, but in normal use (for example gaming), it remains at a more than acceptable temperature of 48-58ºC.
Conclusion and verdict
To be honest, the first impression we got from this SSD with dual fan heatsink, the first thing we thought was that it was going to be quite noisy, but we were pleasantly surprised that that wasn’t the case , or at least not as much as we hoped. It’s certainly not silent either, but the noise level it emits is acceptable, especially if you have the PC case closed and relatively far from you. Additionally, as we’ve seen, the heatsink that PNY installed on this CS3150 is quite effective at removing the heat generated, and we had no temperature issues.
Now, in terms of performance, we are not facing the fastest SSD on the market, although we can say that it performed quite well, and in general terms it is a worthy competitor to the PCIe 5.0 SSDs currently on the market. the market. market, although it is true that as a PCIe 5 SSD it is quite expensive (it is not available in stores like Amazon, but by searching a little on the Internet you can find this unit of capacity of 1 TB for around $220).
For all these reasons, we consider it worthy of our Gold Award, and we recommend it for its design since its heat sink is not too large and it is not very noisy either.
Table of Contents
