Today Kioxia launched its successor to the Kioxia BG5. Unsurprisingly dubbed the Kioxia BG6, this is a new faster generation of DRAM-less NVMe SSDs. Let us get into the details.
Kioxia BG6 PCIe Gen4 DRAM-Less SSD Launched
First off, the BG6 series is designed for small form factors. One can fit up to 2TB in a M.2 2230 (30mm) form factor. We have seen both these smaller drives as well as the full 2280 (80mm) form factor drives in Project TinyMiniMicro nodes as they are often offered as a lower-cost and performance SSD solution. Sometimes in 1L PCs, it is easier for vendors to standardize on using M.2 2280 than to use the shorter PCB.
Kioxia is not giving specs for the smaller form factor drives, but the 1TB and 2TB drives should handle very good sequential and random performance for DRAM-less drives. One spec we are slightly surprised at is that there is not a 4TB option in the M.2 2280.
If you want to learn more about the host memory buffer or (HMB) SSDs, we have a What Are Host Memory Buffer or HMB NVMe SSDs guide.
In terms of performance on a generational basis, we get a nice improvement with the BG6.
Since the BG5 was also a PCIe Gen4 drive, that is a really nice generational performance boost.
Final Words
For many applications, low-cost SSDs are the only ones that are even considered. As such, seeing these SSDs grow in capacity and performance over time has been a solid development.
Hopefully, we will get to test these SSDs soon. The Crucial P3 Plus drives we recently reviewed were very poor performers, so upgrades in this segment are welcome. Hopefully Kioxia’s newest release spurs innovation in this market.
Are there any DRAM’d M.2 2230 drives available today?
So far, everything I’ve seen is HMB/DRAM-less.
I have a machine with an open 2230 slot, and would prefer to have the DRAM. I suppose it might actually be grossly uneconomical or even impossible due to the small form factor.