GIGABYTE AORUS Gen4 7300 1000GB

The GIGABYTE AORUS Gen4 7300 represents the mature capability of the PCIe 4.0 interface, built upon the high-performance Phison PS5018-E18 controller architecture. This drive utilizes 3D TLC NAND flash paired with a dedicated DDR4 DRAM cache to manage address mapping and sustain high-throughput I/O operations. By maximizing the bandwidth of the NVMe 1.4 protocol, the 7300 is engineered to deliver sequential speeds that nearly saturate the Gen4 x4 bus, distinguishing itself as a top-tier solution for workstation and high-end gaming. Unlike its predecessor, the AORUS Gen4 7000s—which was notable for its massive, pre-installed aluminum heat pipes—the 7300 model takes advantage of newer, more power-efficient NAND layers, often shipping with a slim aluminum heat spreader or graphene coating. While this broadens compatibility with laptops and the PlayStation 5, the Phison E18 controller is known to run warm; utilizing a motherboard’s integrated M.2 heatsink is recommended to prevent thermal throttling during sustained write workloads.

Key Specifications

• Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4 (NVMe 1.4)
• Controller: Phison PS5018-E18 (8-channel)
• NAND Type: 3D TLC (Triple-Level Cell)
• DRAM Cache: Yes (DDR4)
• Max Sequential Read: 7,300 MB/s
• Max Sequential Write: 6,000 MB/s
• Endurance: ~700 TBW (Total Bytes Written) for 1TB capacity
• Encryption: Supports AES-256

Hardware Alternatives

• Seagate FireCuda 530 1000GB: Shares the same controller architecture but often utilizes custom firmware tuning for slightly higher endurance ratings.
• Kingston KC3000 1000GB: Direct hardware relative offering comparable read/write profiles.
• Kingston FURY Renegade 1000GB: Direct hardware relative offering comparable read/write profiles.
• Sabrent Rocket 1000GB: Another E18-based drive that mirrors the performance characteristics of the AORUS 7300.
• Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850X 1000GB: A direct competitor using Western Digital's in-house controller; offers similar burst performance but differs in sustained write caching behavior.
• Samsung 990 PRO 1000GB: Competes in the same enthusiast tier using Samsung’s proprietary Pascal controller and V-NAND.