A number of SSD suppliers have released drives based on the Phison PS3110 S10 controllers, with most of these coming in Q4 2014 or Q1 2015 and targeting performance mainstream customers. This year, some of the SSD vendors are not only reconsidering the positioning of such drives, but are actually introducing new models featuring a larger amount of NAND flash or even better performance but still using the same controller. Corsair last week introduced the Neutron XTi family of SSDs with the same Phison PS3110 S10 controller but with improved performance and capacities over the older XT SATA SSD line.

The Corsair Neutron XTi series of SSDs includes models with 240 GB, 480 GB, 960 GB and 1920 GB of NAND flash memory. Just like many other drives featuring the Phison PS3110 S10 controller, the Neutron XTi utilizes MLC NAND made by Toshiba and given the timing, it is highly likely that the SSDs feature MLC produced using the company’s 15 nm fabrication process. Just like the original Neutron XT, the new series also supports end-to-end data protection, static and dynamic wear-leveling and so on.

Performance-wise, the new Neutron XTi are as fast as the aging Neutron XT. The manufacturer declares transfer speeds of up to 560 MB/s for sequential read and up to 540 MB/s for sequential write. Random performance is up to 100K read IOPS and up to 90K write IOPS. When asked about differences between the Neutron XT and the Neutron XTI, Corsair revealed that the newer drives feature improved caches as well as different firmware, which should make them generally better than the predecessors. However, exact specifications for each capacity were unavailable at the time going to press. If we get new information, we'll update the table below.

Corsair Neutron XTi Specifications
Capacity 240 GB 480 GB 960 GB 1920 GB
Controller Phison PS3110-S10
NAND Toshiba 15 nm MLC (?)
NAND Density 128 Gbit per die (?)
Sequential Read Up to 560MB/s
Sequential Write Up to 540MB/s
4KB Random Read Up to 100K IOPS
4KB Random Write Up to 90K IOPS
Encryption N/A
Warranty Five years
Availability Mid-2016
Price / MSRP $89.99
($0.375 per GB)
$159.99
($0.333 per GB)
$329.99
($0.343 per GB)
N/A

If $0.364 per GB,
then ~$700

Between the Neutron XT and the Neutron XTi lines are the newer NAND and the addition of a 1920 GB model to the lineup. Last week we already discussed the reason why SSD makers collaborating with Phison are adding 2 TB or sub-2 TB models to their families: as the price of NAND has declined significantly over the past few quarters it is now economically feasible to offer drives with such capacities to users who require a lot of solid-state storage but still use PCs that only support the SATA interface.

The new Corsair XTi SSDs should be available shortly. The MSRPs for 240 GB, 480 GB and 960 GB models are $89.99, $159.99, $329.99, respectively. The price of the 1920 GB model is unknown. All Corsair Neutron XTi SSDs are backed by a five-year warranty.

Source: Corsair

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  • Adam-James - Thursday, June 16, 2016 - link

    Oh look, another SATA III drive! It's good that you're still using outdated and inferior technology, SSD industry, you should definitely keep that up.
  • Michael Bay - Friday, June 17, 2016 - link

    Oh look, another dumb fanatic. Outside of very specific usecases, SATA3 is exactly what`s needed in current general purpose PC.
  • SavageDamage - Friday, June 17, 2016 - link

    Oh look, it's Michael Bay! When is your next movie coming out?
  • Charleaux - Friday, June 17, 2016 - link

    I second this comment. I am excited for my desktop to get a large SSD. I don't need Enterprise performance since SATA3 gives me plenty for my useage.

    Besides my Brix doesn't have any of the fancy connectors Adam-James wants
  • Samus - Saturday, June 18, 2016 - link

    I'm still using a SATA 3Gbps (SATA2) Intel SSD320 600GB as my boot drive. I think its peak performance is around 245MB/sec read.

    Still ridiculously fast in my Xeon E3-1275v3. Couldn't even tell the difference between my Samsung 840 Pro if I tried.
  • leexgx - Sunday, June 19, 2016 - link

    people are too focused on Sequential read and write speeds when random read and write consistently and Low speed response times (some SSDs can get held up still but realistically you never notice it unless your looking for it)
  • Flunk - Friday, June 24, 2016 - link

    A PCI-E SSD like the Samsung 950 Pro is massively faster and noticeably faster in every-day use, the PCI-E bus and NVMe signalling make a big difference.

    It doesn't mean there is no reason to sell SATA SSDs as a low-end option or to upgrade old PCs. But the tech is really amazing, if you try it.
  • Captain Praggot - Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - link

    No it's not. I have one and I didn't notice any difference in desktop usage. In fact, it was a pretty big disappointment compared to my 840 Pro.
  • JeffFlanagan - Friday, June 17, 2016 - link

    You're either posting from the future, or are completely out of touch.
  • Byte - Saturday, June 18, 2016 - link

    Yep, can't wait for Xpoint! Boot up in 3.9 seconds instead of 4!

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