PNY launches new PCIe 5.0 SSDs that bring the entry level down to $99 – CS2150 1TB costs $99 and offers over 10GB/s in reads

PNY’s has today announced its latest PCIe 5.0 SSD starts at just $99 for the 1TB, far cheaper than most other 1TB PCIe 5.0 drives.

Although PCIe 5.0 storage has been around for a couple of years now, it’s never been especially affordable. Most 1TB drives tend to start around $150, and 2TB models easily surpass $200, sometimes getting close to $300. There’s been plenty of progress on performance; PCIe 5.0 drives started out at 10GB/s in early 2023 and now the fastest models can hit over 14GB/s. Prices haven’t moved much though, not even for now-relatively-slow 10GB/s drives.

But the era of expensive PCIe 5.0 storage may be coming to a close if PNY’s new CS2150 SSDs are any indication. A lower-end counterpart to the 12GB/s-capable CS3150, the CS2150 maxes out at a little more than 10GB/s, the low-end in PCIe 5.0 drives nowadays. Its real selling point is pricing: the 2TB model is $179, and the 1TB variant goes for just $99. That makes the CS2150 by far the cheapest SSD today, and the first to ever escape from a triple-digit price tag to the double-digits.

To keep the price down, the CS2150 doesn’t come with any sort of cooler, active or passive. It does however have standard features like support for Microsoft’s DirectStorage technology and Opal 2.0 encryption. It also comes with a five-year warranty.

Exactly what’s inside the CS2150 isn’t clear yet; we asked for details from PNY but so far we haven’t gotten a response. The press release is also vague on the specifics. PNY has a few options for the controller. It might just be the same E26 Phison controller that’s used on basically every PCIe 5.0 SSD for consumers, including the CS3150. Perhaps the price on the E26 has finally come down enough to justify a $99 SSD?

However, there’s a good chance the CS2150 isn’t just a cheaper version of 10GB/s drives from last year, the 1TB models of which actually couldn’t hit 10GB/s at all. Only the 2TB variants of the very first PCIe 5.0 drives could hit 10GB/s or more; 1TB models capped out at 9.5GB/s in reads. Meanwhile, the CS2150 1TB is rated for 10.2GB/s in reading performance, a 700MB/s increase. Something seems to be different under the hood with PNY’s new drive.

Perhaps it uses a new controller, such as Phison’s new 31T, which is aimed at the mainstream and offers much lower power usage in exchange for only hitting up to 10.8GB/s. Even SiliconMotion’s competing SM2508 controller is a possibility, though PNY would probably be more familiar with a Phison chip.

PNY tells us the CS2150 will be available starting this month through its own website and Amazon. Hopefully there’s enough supply to keep the new drive at its official price, which will be the lowest in the market until other brands adjust their prices.