If you look at the specifications of the PNY XLR8 CS3140 SSD, you can say that it is one of the fastest NVMe SSDs out there. A sequential data read speed up to 7,500 MB/s and write speed up to 6,850 MB/s is just impressive.
But, is this NVMe really capable of providing this level of performance? Are you going to get all the features that you get with the top SSDs in the market from Samsung and other popular brands? All these questions are going to be answered in this article.
I have decided to review this SSD and help you understand whether it is a good option to choose or not. To give you an overview, the PNY XLR8 CS3140 has got a DRAM cache, a fast controller, and a TLC 3D NAND. In other words, it is a tough competitor to all the top players in the field. Also, the price is almost similar to the Samsung 980 Pro.
So, whether you should buy this SSD or not, you will get to know this by the end of the article. So, let’s get started.
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This SSD comes in the top-tier list of PNY NVMe SSDs. It might not be that much popular but you will surely get to see some amazing features as a gamer, video editor, etc. It is capable of reaching very high data read/write speed limits. So, you should opt for it only when you know your motherboard can handle that speed.
In simple words, if you think your CPU is getting bottlenecked because of a slow data storage device, the CS3140 can be a perfect option for you. You can surely choose Samsung 980 Pro or WD Black SN850 in its place but PNY is also a named brand and this product is coming for a really affordable price along with a 5 Years warranty. So, you should definitely try it.
Theoretical Specifications
| Product Model Name |
|---|
| No Heatsink 1TB: M280CS3140-1TB-RB 2TB: M280CS3140-2TB-RB 4TB: M280CS3140-4TB-RB |
| With Heatsink 1TB: M280CS3140HS-1TB-RB 2TB: M280CS3140HS-2TB-RB 4TB: M280CS3140HS-4TB-RB |
The company claims huge numbers as the features of this SSD. Because CS3140 is PNY’s Flagship SSD, it is expected to perform properly. Let’s see what key specifications you are getting with it.
Unfortunately, the company hasn’t disclosed its random read/write speed and the actual TBW limits. This can look a little bit shady but we will check the random speeds further in the benchmark tests. If we talk about the TBW, a 5 Years Warranty is enough to justify its reliability.
| Specification | PNY XLR8 CS3140 |
|---|---|
| Max. Sequential Read Speed | 7,500 MB/s |
| Max. Sequential Write Speed | 6,850 MB/s |
| Max. Random Read Speed | Not Disclosed by the company |
| Max. Random Write Speed | Not Disclosed by the company |
| Available Storage Variants | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB |
| Interface | PCIe Gen4 x4 lanes (NVMe 1.4) |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| DRAM Cache | Available (DDR4 DRAM) |
| NAND Flash | Micron’s TLC 3D NAND (96 Layers) |
| Controller | Phison E18 (3xR5+2xCoX) Penta-Core, 8-Channels |
| Warranty | 5 Years Limited Warranty |
| Mean Time Between failure | 2 Million Hours |
| Price | Check Amazon |
If we talk about compatibility, you can use this SSD on Windows, Linux, Mac, and all other popular OS as well. It is easy to install it on any M.2 PCIe 4.0×4 NVMe slot whether you have a desktop computer, laptop, or gaming console.
Synthetic Benchmarks (CS3140 1TB)
I tried testing this SSD on my Intel i5 computer that has 8GB 3200MHz RAM on it. The results were pretty impressive. You can see them below. I used CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD Benchmark software to run these tests.
| Parameter | Results |
|---|---|
| Average sequential read | 6,087 MB/s |
| Average sequential write | 5,516 MB/s |
| Average 4K Random Read | 82.3 MB/s |
| Average 4K Random Write | 235.6 MB/s |
| Average 4K Deep Queue Read | 1,458.2 MB/s |
| Average 4K Deep Queue Read | 1,123.1 MB/s |
You can clearly see that the PNY XLR8 CS3140 is offering impressive results. The test results were not the same in this software but I tried to give you the average numbers which you can expect on an i5 computer.
The results will surely vary as per your overall system configurations, total space filled, and the storage variant as well.
Note: This SSD requires a PCIe 4.0 supported motherboard/CPU and an M.2 PCIe 4.0×4 slot to offer its maximum performance. The PNY CS3140 surely has backward compatibility with PCIe 3.0×4 but installing it on a PCIe 3.0 slot will bottleneck its highest speed.
OS/Software Loading Times
Any SSD review is never completed if we do not try the product while doing our normal works. the major benefit of any SSD is that it will improve your software loading and operating system booting times. Let’s see the results from this SSD below.
For this test, I have used the same Intel i5 8th gen system. The only variant I tested was the CS3140 1TB.
| OS/Software/Game | Total Duration for the first screen |
|---|---|
| Windows 10 Home | Ready to use in 16 Seconds |
| Google Chrome | Ready to use in 4 seconds |
| Fortnite | 35 Seconds |
| GTA-5 | 41 Seconds |
| Adobe Photoshop CC | 12 Seconds |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | 22 Seconds |
Any heavy game or software will take some seconds to fire up with the help of this SSD. But, you should have good overall specifications for the best results. Having fast RAM and a decent CPU and motherboard is very important to get the most out of this SSD.
Price
On different platforms and as per your geographic locations, you can get to see different prices. But, it is a little bit cheaper than the Samsung 980 Pro.
As per the actual performance of this SSD, the price tag is not that bigger. So, this should not be an issue for you at all. You can find numerous deals on NewEgg for sure.
The heatsink version of CS3140 will be a little bit more expensive than the normal non-heatsink version.
Competitors
There are a lot of PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSDs out there in the market. They will offer you similar results as you get with this one from PNY. Some speed factors might go up or down but the overall results will be similar. Some of the popular SSDs that directly compete with the PNY XLR8 CS3140 are as follows.
| SSD | Interface | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung 980 Pro | PCIe Gen4.0 x4 (NVMe) | 7000/5000 MB/s |
| Sabrent Rocket 4.0 plus | PCIe Gen4.0 x4 (NVMe) | 7000/6850 MB/s |
| Seagate FireCuda 530 | PCIe Gen4.0 x4 (NVMe) | 7300/6900 MB/s |
| WD Black SN850 | PCIe Gen4.0 x4 (NVMe) | 7000/5300MB/s |
These are the nearest competitors to the PNY CS3140. Between them, only the Seagate FireCuda 530 and WD Black SN850 have the heatsink option. But, the other two are popular brands and come up with great results for the users. In simple words, all these SSDs come in the Prosumer NVMe SSDs and are capable of offering the results for their price tags.
Technical Specifications
Because it is a top-end NVMe SSD from PNY, the company hasn’t compromised in any way. Everything is kept top-notch whether it is the NAND Flash or the controller circuitry. Let’s have a look at all its technical specifications in the table below.
| Specifications | PNY XLR8 CS3140 NVMe SSD |
|---|---|
| NAND Flash Type | Micron’s 3D TLC |
| NAND Flash Layers | 96 |
| Controller | Phison E18 (PS5016-E18-41) |
| Controller Configurations | Penta-Core, 8-Channels |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 Lanes |
| NVMe Version | NVMe 1.4 |
| Cache Type | SK Hynix DDR4 DRAM Cache |
You can see that all the technical aspects of the PNY CS3140 are just perfect. You will get to see no issues with their performance with them. The DRAM cache is fast enough to handle that fast data read/write operations. Also, the controller has five cores which you rarely get with any SSD.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the PNY XLR8 CS3140 is a perfect option for hardcore gamers, overclockers, video editors, and other professionals who need massive data read/write speeds. Again, this SSD is for those who have a PCIe 4.0×4 M.2 slot on their laptop or desktop motherboard.
As you saw earlier, this SSD can easily bring you data transfer rates around 6GB/s. So, if this is your requirement, you should definitely go for this SSD. Also, if you are going to use this SSD for very heavy tasks on longer runs, you can surely choose its heatsink variant for maximum heat absorption.
Impressively, the price is not that huge and it directly competes with the top consumer and Prosumer NVMe SSDs in the market. So, I would definitely recommend it to heavy users.