In today's fast-paced computing age, the performance of storage devices directly impacts our user experience. From mechanical hard drives to solid-state drives (SSDs), and now the highly anticipated RAM SSDs, each advancement in storage technology has continuously redefined user perceptions of "speed." In the consumer market, RAM SSDs equipped with the PCIe Gen4 interface are becoming a new favorite for users seeking extreme performance.
A RAM SSD is a memory-based solid-state storage device that combines the high read and write speeds of traditional RAM (random access memory) with the persistent storage capabilities of an SSD (solid-state drive). Compared to ordinary SSDs, RAM SSDs offer a significant difference in read and write speeds: Sequential read and write speeds of standard SATA SSDs typically range from 500-600 MB/s, while mainstream NVMe SSDs can reach 3,000-7,000 MB/s. RAM SSDs can easily exceed 10,000 MB/s, even approaching RAM speeds under certain conditions.
For ordinary users, this means system booting, software loading, and large file transfers will be almost instantaneous. For creative workers, gamers, and professionals with high-frequency read and write operations, the efficiency gains brought by this speed are even more noticeable.
The performance of RAM SSDs depends on high-speed interface support. Traditional SATA interfaces have long become a bottleneck, and the PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) interface has emerged, especially the PCIe Gen4 version, which provides wider bandwidth support for high-performance storage.
The PCIe Gen4 interface boasts twice the bandwidth of the previous generation, Gen3. Taking a x4 lane as an example, Gen3's theoretical bandwidth is approximately 4 GB/s, while Gen4 can reach 8 GB/s, providing ample room for RAM SSDs to unleash their potential. This also means that RAM SSDs with the PCIe Gen4 interface can achieve higher sequential read and write speeds and lower latency, meeting the extreme performance demands of high-load environments.