Lexar has expanded its range of PCIe 5.0 solid-state drives with the NM1090 Pro. The new product, unlike the regular NM1090, provides higher reading speeds and does not require an active cooling system. This was made possible by using a more energy-efficient 6-nm controller.
Image source: Lexar
The Lexar NM1090 Pro PCIe 5.0 was first unveiled at Computex 2024, but the SSD’s commercial debut has only just begun. The delay was likely due to insufficient supplies of Silicon Motion SM2508 controllers at the time.
Lexar does not specify that the NM1090 Pro uses this particular controller, but only notes that the SSD “uses a 6-nm controller.” However, this description makes it easy to identify the chip, since only the solution from Silicon Motion fits the proposed SSD specifications. The popular Phison E26 or Innogrit IG5666 are manufactured using a 12-nm process technology, and the Phison E31T does not provide the required level of throughput declared for the NM1090 Pro, is manufactured using a 7-nm process technology and lacks the DRAM cache that is present in the NM1090 Pro.
Image Source: Computer Base
The 1TB Lexar NM1090 Pro has 2GB of DRAM cache, the 2TB model has the same cache, and the larger 4TB version has 4GB of cache.
The standard Lexar NM1090 drive, based on the Phison E26 controller, was released last year and offers a maximum read speed of 12,000 MB/s. The NM1090 Pro is claimed to have a read speed of up to 14,000 MB/s. The SM2508 controller requires less power to operate and, unlike the “hot” and less productive Phison E26, does not require an active cooling system. However, Lexar does not provide exact data on the NM1090 Pro’s power consumption figures or its operating temperatures.
The Lexar NM1090 Pro is now available on Amazon. The 1TB model is priced at €160, the 2TB version is priced at €260, and the 4TB version is priced at €490.