It's better late than never this week as Toshiba Memory Corporation announce a new range of M.2 NVMe SSDs for the desktop and laptop gaming segments in European and Asian regions. The RD500 & RC500 both incorporate Toshiba's cutting-edge 96-layer TLC BiCS FLASH 3D memory and support PCIe 3.0 x4 (four lane) M.2 interfaces for performance far higher than standard SATA drives.

The RD500 will be Toshiba Memory's top performer, a drive which makes full use of the M.2 PCI 3.0 x4 NVMe standard to support Read/Write speeds of up-to 3.4 / 3.2 GB/s respectively thanks to a new eight-channel memory controller. Capacities range from 512GB to 2TB, and as a result will join the small but growing selection of storage options satisfying enthusiast gamer requirements.

Taking a step down in performance is the RC500 series, a 4-channel memory controller model that reaches Read/Write speeds of up-to 1.7 / 1.6 GB/s rather than the heights attained by the RD500. More restrictive capacities - ranging from 250GB through to 1TB - mean it's a solution more closely aligned with mainstream gamers on a tighter budget.



Both drive series are augmented by an SLC NAND cache, and sit within the 80mm long 2280 M.2 form factor. The RC500 has a 3 year warranty, while the RD 500 is supplied with 5 years of support. Toshiba Memory state that the drives will be available in European and Asian markets during Q4, but there's no word on if they will be sold under the new Koixia branding.