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The introduction of the AMD Ryzen 3000 series and X570 chipset at Computex 2019 ushered in the era of PCIe 4.0, doubling the bandwidth of its predecessor. However, initially, few devices could fully utilize this new standard. While the rest of the industry, including Intel’s Z490 chipset and 10th generation CPUs, remained on PCIe 3.0, the storage industry was poised to benefit the most. M.2 slots, often limited by the 4GB/s bandwidth cap of PCIe 3.0, were finally unleashed. Early adopters of PCIe 4.0 SSDs were often premium-priced. However, Kingmax, a familiar name in storage, has aimed to democratize this technology with the affordable Kingmax PX4480 512GB NVMe SSD. But can this “mid-range” SSD truly harness the power of PCIe 4.0? Let’s find out.

Kingmax PX4480 512GB SSD

Kingmax PX4480 512GB: Unleashing PCIe 4.0 Potential

Kingmax has a history of delivering quality mid-range storage solutions, like the KINGMAX KE31 480GB external gaming SSD. It’s no surprise, then, that they are among the first to bring more affordable PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs to the market. Positioned as a mid-range offering, the Kingmax PX4480 512GB features a straightforward design, consisting primarily of the PCB and memory chips.

Design and Components

The majority of components, including the SK Hynix DRAM cache, the Phison controller, and a portion of the NAND flash memory, are located on the top side of the SSD. The underside houses the remaining NAND chips.

Kingmax PX4480 512GB Components

This design allows the primary heat-generating components, the DRAM and controller, to benefit from motherboard heatsinks for optimal cooling. However, Kingmax’s warranty sticker, placed directly on top of the components, raises concerns about potential heat dissipation issues.

Performance Benchmarks

Unlike manufacturers like Intel and Western Digital, who develop their own controllers, Kingmax utilizes a Phison controller. This suggests performance characteristics typical of Phison controllers: high sequential read/write speeds and average random access speeds.

Kingmax PX4480 512GB Benchmark Results

Using CrystalDiskMark 7, the PX4480 achieved a sequential read speed of 5007MB/s, slightly exceeding the advertised 5000MB/s. Sequential write speeds reached 2526MB/s. In the 4K random read test with a queue depth of 32 (QD32), the drive achieved 1728MB/s or 422,054 IOPS. Random write speeds hit 2236MB/s or 546,008 IOPS, considerably higher than the average 300,000 IOPS seen in many mid-range NVMe SSDs.

Kingmax PX4480 512GB IOPS

Real-World Performance

Copying a 70GB video file resulted in a write speed of 1.03GB/s within the SLC cache, dropping to 288MB/s after the cache was saturated. Transferring multiple music albums with file sizes ranging from 30-50MB yielded an average write speed of 880MB/s. This level of performance is ideal for tasks involving moderately large files, such as video editing or 3D modeling.

Thermal Performance

Kingmax PX4480 512GB Temperature Test

Even without a dedicated heatsink, the PX4480 maintained a maximum temperature of 62°C during sustained write operations. With a heatsink applied, this dropped to a remarkably cool 56°C, eliminating thermal throttling concerns that plague some high-speed SSDs.

Kingmax PX4480 512GB with Heatsink

Conclusion

The Kingmax PX4480 512GB stands out in the mid-range NVMe SSD market, offering exceptional speed, performance, and thermal efficiency. Its performance consistently meets or exceeds advertised specifications. If you’re looking for a high-speed storage solution for your system, the Kingmax PX4480 is a compelling choice for both work and play, regardless of the workload.