Seagate is refreshing their consumer SSD lineup with 96-layer 3D NAND, and introducing a new flagship model: the FireCuda 520, Seagate's first PCIe 4.0 SSD. As with every other consumer PCIe 4.0 SSD so far, the Seagate FireCuda 520 uses the Phison E16 controller. The FireCuda 520 arrives several months after the first Phison E16-based SSDs, and Seagate has used the time to refine the product a bit. They haven't made any firmware tweaks that affect performance, but the FireCuda 520 does use a Seagate-specific firmware variant that includes some extra security measures to protect against firmware hacks, and it's been through some extra QA.

In terms of hardware, the FireCuda 520 is a pretty standard Phison E16 reference design using Toshiba/Kioxia BiCS4 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory. The drive uses a two-sided black PCB with no heatspreader or heatsink included, since most new motherboards are providing their own M.2 cooling solution. Seagate rates the FireCuda for up to a generous one drive write per day for the five-year warranty period. MSRPs for the FireCuda 520 match its status as a flagship drive, and are almost twice the street prices for the cheapest PCIe 3.0-based NVMe SSDs.

Seagate FireCuda 520 SSD Specifications
Capacity 500 GB 1 TB 2 TB
Controller Phison PS5016-E16 (PCIe 4.0 x4)
NAND Flash BiCS4 96L 3D TLC NAND
Form-Factor, Interface Double-sided M.2-2280, PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.3
Sequential Read 5000 MB/s
Sequential Write 4400 MB/s
Random Read IOPS 760k IOPS
Random Write IOPS 700k IOPS
Pseudo-SLC Caching Supported
TCG Opal Encryption No
Warranty 5 years
Write Endurance 900 TB
1 DWPD
1800 TB
1 DWPD
3600 TB
1 DWPD
MSRP $124.99 (25¢/GB) $249.99 (25¢/GB) $429.99 (21¢/GB)

The rest of Seagate's consumer SSD lineup is also being updated. Their PCIe 3.0 SSD lineup was split evenly between the single-sided BarraCuda 510 (256GB and 512GB) and the double-sided FireCuda 510 (1TB and 2TB). Both models are sticking around under the same names,  getting upgraded from 64L to 96L TLC while keeping the same Phison E12 controller. The new editions will also overlap in capacities: the BarraCuda 510 is gaining a 1TB model, and the FireCuda 510 is gaining a 500GB model. The FireCuda 510 is also switching from a blue to black PCB.

Seagate's BarraCuda SATA SSD is getting a more sensible update, gaining a new model designation (BarraCuda 120) to go with the new NAND.

Seagate has already started shipping the new SSDs to retailers, and product listings are already popping up on online retailer websites.

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  • Zibi - Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - link

    Samsung announced PM1733 & PM1735 a while ago.
  • Santoval - Wednesday, November 13, 2019 - link

    That's for the professional / enterprise space, not consumer.
  • Valantar - Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - link

    Not yet for consumers, no. As the article states in its second sentence.
  • imaheadcase - Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - link

    At first glance i got the Write Endurance as the size of drive. I was like WHOAH 900TB for $124! lol
  • rory187 - Monday, November 18, 2019 - link

    Is this the drive going in the lacie rugged ssd pro (thunderbolt 3) ?
  • Billy Tallis - Tuesday, November 19, 2019 - link

    No. It would make zero sense to put an expensive PCIe 4.0 drive into a TB3 enclosure that's limited to PCIe 3.0 speeds.

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