Acer has introduced the FA300, a mid-range M.2 NVMe solid-state drive designed to bring PCIe Gen 5 storage performance to more systems without pushing pricing into the premium tier. The drive adopts a DRAMless architecture, which has become more common among newer controllers focused on balancing performance, efficiency, and cost. While Acer has not disclosed the exact controller used, current DRAMless PCIe Gen 5 solutions in the market typically rely on designs similar to Phison’s E31T or Silicon Motion’s SM2504XT platforms.
The FA300 will be available in 1 TB and 2 TB capacity variants, with both models delivering sequential read speeds of up to 11 GB/s. Write performance varies slightly between capacities, with the 1 TB model rated for up to 9.7 GB/s sequential writes, while the 2 TB model increases this figure to up to 10 GB/s. These speeds position the FA300 among the faster consumer-oriented PCIe Gen 5 drives currently announced for mainstream desktop systems.
Random performance also varies with capacity. The 1 TB model offers up to 1.4 million IOPS for 4K random read workloads and up to 1.6 million IOPS for 4K random writes. The 2 TB variant increases performance to as much as 1.7 million IOPS for both 4K random reads and writes, which can benefit heavier multitasking workloads and larger data transfers. Acer has not specified the 3D NAND flash type used in the FA300, though endurance figures suggest modern high-density NAND is being utilized.
Write endurance is rated at 750 TBW for the 1 TB model and 1,500 TBW for the 2 TB version, providing durability figures in line with current consumer NVMe offerings. A 5-year limited warranty backs both capacities. Pricing has not been confirmed, as SSD prices continue to shift with NAND supply trends. Still, the FA300 is expected to compete in the more accessible segment of the PCIe Gen 5 market as platform support continues to expand across newer desktop chipsets.
