OWC’s slogan for its SSD products is “Creativity has no speed limit, capacity saves dreams,” a sentiment that resonates with me. Recently, the company released a new SSD product called the “Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0,” which features an impressive capacity of 8TB and upgraded PCIe 4.0 x4 and NVMe 1.4 technologies that allow for high-speed reading and writing at up to 7200MB/s and a performance of 6500MB/s. This product is ideal for professionals in A/V work, video streaming, and program/game storage and perfectly embodies the company’s slogan.
The OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD comes with the following specifications:
- Capacity: 8TB
- Size: M.2 2280
- Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.4
- Controller: Phison PS5018-E18
- Cache: 2 x SK Hynix H5AN8G6NCJ DDR4
- Flash Memory Particles: Kioxia Triple-Level Cell (TLC) 3D NAND Flash
- Sequential Read and Write Speed: 7200MB/s, 6500MB/s
- Total Write Capacity: 5600TBW (which allows for writing 2192 GB per day for up to 7 years)
- Warranty: 5 years
OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD Unboxing
OWC provides a range of products for Mac users who want to upgrade and expand their devices, including various DIY kits, Thunderbolt and USB external peripherals, and their own line of SSD products. Among them, the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD is the flagship product, boasting an impressive 8.0TB capacity, which is the largest available to consumers. In addition, the SSD’s 5600TBW write life is unparalleled, meaning it can handle writing 2192GB of data every day and is expected to last for up to 7 years.
The OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB SSD is equipped with the Phison PS5018-E18 controller, which uses a 12nm process and reserves 3% of the capacity to handle fault tolerance and real-time error correction. The SSD uses a PCIe 4.0 x4 channel and NVMe 1.4 version, as well as 8 NAND channels and DDR4 DRAM cache. Additionally, it employs Kioxia TLC 3D NAND Flash for its flash memory particles.
With regards to its performance, the Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB SSD is capable of sequential read and write speeds of up to 7200MB/s and 6500MB/s, respectively, making it suitable for professionals in the audio-visual field, video streaming, backup, program/game storage, and high-speed reading. The SSD is not only an ideal high-speed expansion solution for computers, but it can also be used with a range of Thunderbolt and USB external enclosures from OWC, as well as Accelsior 4M2 adapter cards, for both internal and external expansion solutions.
The front of the Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB SSD features a product label indicating its 8TB capacity, M.2 form factor, and NVMe Gen4 interface. The Phison PS5018-E18 controller is also visible on the front of the SSD, along with 8 TLC 3D NAND Flash chips and 2 DRAM caches on the front and back. The SSD has a total capacity of 8000GB, with 192GB allocated for real-time data redundancy and error correction. The formatted capacity of the SSD is 7451GiB.
OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD Performance Test
For testing, an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X processor and a ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard were used. The OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD was installed in the second M.2 slot of the motherboard, and the motherboard’s heat sink was used for the test.
The OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD was inspected using CrystalDiskInfo and found to be compatible with PCIe 4.0 x4 and NVMe 1.4 interface. The SSD also supports SMART, TRIM, and VolatileWriteCache functions. After formatting, the actual usable capacity of the SSD is 7.27TB.
The performance of the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD was tested using CrystalDiskMark in NVMe random data mode. The test results showed a sequential read speed of up to 7362.35 MB/s and a write speed of 6091.5 MB/s. The random RND4K Q32T16 read speed was measured at 3991.49 MB/s, and the write speed was 6054.05 MB/s.
The ATTO Disk Benchmark measures device performance using different I/O sizes. In the Direct I/O queue 8-tier test, the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD achieved a maximum read performance of 6.96 GB/s, and a maximum write performance of 5.67 GB/s.
The ezIOmeter test tool provides a convenient way to test the performance of the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. In the 1 Thread 128KB QD32 test, the SSD achieved a sequential read speed Mean of 7097 Mbps and a sequential write speed Mean of 5705 Mbps. The 4K random read and write QD32 showed impressive performance, with over 700,000 IOps achieved.
The PCMark 10 storage test function, which includes the Full System Drive Benchmark, assesses the performance of storage devices based on 23 everyday storage tasks, such as simulating startup, launching Adobe programs, operating office software, and copying files. The test provides not only a total score, but also average bandwidth and access time data to display the results.
In the PCMark 10 storage test, the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD scored 2380 points, with an average bandwidth of 388.97 MB/s and an average access time of only 72µs.
The 3DMark storage test is designed to evaluate storage devices based on operations such as game startup, game recording, game installation, game archiving, and game moving. The test provides both bandwidth and access time data for each of these operations.
In the 3DMark storage test, the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD scored 2701 points, with an average bandwidth of 466.32 MB/s and an average access time of only 67µs.
DirectStorage supports NVMe and PCIe 4.0 SSDs, and can be tested using Microsoft’s Bulk Load Demo. Players can also check whether their current computer’s GPU and disk support DirectStorage by opening the Xbox Game Bar interface using the Win+G shortcut and navigating to the Settings > Game Features page.
In the DirectStorage test using the Bulk Load Demo, the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD was able to read 8.68GB of model data in just 0.72 seconds, achieving a bandwidth of up to 12.03 GB/s. This high-speed read performance allows games to take full advantage of NVMe’s speed for feature extraction and GPU decompression, significantly reducing game load times.
The test platform used for the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD consisted of an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X processor, a ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO motherboard, CORSAIR DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 32GBx2 5200MHz memory, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, a 360mm AIO liquid cooler, a Seasonic PRIME PX-1000 power supply, and Windows 11 Pro 22H2 as the operating system.
Summary
The OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD is a rare product on the market that offers both a super large capacity and an astonishing total write volume of 5600TBW. In addition to its impressive capacity, the SSD also features high-speed read and write performance thanks to its PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. The sequential read and write speeds of 7362.35 MB/s and 6091.5 MB/s, respectively, are testament to the high performance of this SSD.
The large-capacity and high-speed OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD is capable of meeting the performance requirements of a wide variety of tasks, whether it is used internally as an M.2 SSD or externally with Thunderbolt/USB connectivity. The SSD supports DirectStorage, allowing supported games to take full advantage of its high-speed NVMe reading performance.
The OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD is currently only available for purchase through OWC’s official direct-sale stores in Taiwan, priced at $46,200. For those with sufficient budget, this SSD is a great choice for meeting high-capacity and high-speed storage needs. With this SSD, users can create with speed and store their dreams with capacity.
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Title: Unboxing the OWC Aura Ultra IV 8.0TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD: A Combination of Impressive Speed and Capacity for Creative Minds
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