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What’s the difference between the Sabrent Rocket 4.0, Q4 and 4 Plus?

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Sabrent recently released a new NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 solid state drive with the Rocket 4 Plus. So, how does this new model stack up against the similar Rocket NVMe 4.0 and Rocket Q4 NVMe 4.0?

You can find out in this comparison guide between these three internal solid state drives.

Quick Summary

The Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is substantially faster at maximum sequential reading and maximum sequential writing over PCIe Gen4 when compared to the Sabrent NVMe Rocket 4.0 and Sabrent Rocket Q4 NVMe 4.0.

If you decide to use these SSDs with PCIe Gen3, then the Rocket 4 Plus is tied with the Rocket 4.0 with having the best sequential reading speed.

The Rocket Q4 has the best sequential writing speed out of this group when used with PCIe Gen3.

Rocket 4.0 vs. Rocket Q4 vs. Rocket 4 Plus Comparison Chart

You can check out Seeking Tech’s comparison table for the three Rocket SSDs below.

Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 SSDSabrent Rocket Q4 NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 SSDSabrent Rocket 4 Plus NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 SSD
Capacity Options and Model Numbers500GB: SB-ROCKET-NVMe4-500

1TB: SB-ROCKET-NVMe4-1TB

2TB: SB-ROCKET-NVMe4-2TB		1TB: SB-RKTQ4-1TB

2TB: SB-RKTQ4-2TB

4TB: SB-RKTQ4-4TB		1TB: SB-RKT4P-1TB

2TB: SB-RKT4P-2TB

4TB: SB-RKT4P-4TB
Form FactorM.2 2280M.2 2280M.2 2280
InterfacePCIe Gen4 x4PCIe Gen4 x4PCIe Gen4 x4
NAND3D TLCQLC3D TLC
ControllerPhison PS5016-E16Phison PS5016-E16Phison PS5018-E18
SoftwareAcronis True ImageAcronis True ImageAcronis True Image
ONFi SupportONFi 2.3

ONFi 3.0

ONFi 3.2

ONFi 4.0		ONFi 2.3

ONFi 3.0

ONFi 3.2

ONFi 4.0		ONFi 2.3

ONFi 3.0

ONFi 3.2

ONFi 4.0
Power Management FeaturesAPST

ASPM

L1.2		APST

ASPM

L1.2		APST

ASPM

L1.2
General FeaturesAdvanced Wear Leveling

Bad Block Management

Error Correction Code

Over-Provision

SMART

TRIM

Upgradeable Firmware		Advanced Wear Leveling

Bad Block Management

Error Correction Code

Over-Provision

SMART

TRIM

Upgradeable Firmware		Advanced Wear Leveling

Bad Block Management

Error Correction Code

Over-Provision

SMART

TRIM

Upgradeable Firmware
Maximum Sequential Read Speed (PCIe Gen4)500GB Rocket 4.0: Up to 5,000 MB per second

1TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 5,000 MB per second

2TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 5,000 MB per second		1TB Rocket Q4: Up to 4,700 MB per second

2TB Rocket Q4: Up to 4,800 MB per second

4TB Rocket Q4: Up to 4,900 MB per second		1TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 7000 MB per second

2TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 7100 MB per second

4TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 7100 MB per second
Maximum Sequential Write Speed (PCIe Gen4)500GB Rocket 4.0: Up to 2,500 MB per second

1TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 4,400 MB per second

2TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 4,400 MB per second		1TB Rocket Q4: Up to 1,800 MB per second

2TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,600 MB per second

4TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,500 MB per second		1TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 5300 MB per second

2TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 6600 MB per second

4TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 6600 MB per second
Maximum Sequential Read Speed (PCIe Gen3)500GB Rocket 4.0: Up to 3,400 MB per second

1TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 3,400 MB per second

2TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 3,400 MB per second		1TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second

2TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second

4TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second		1TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,400 MB per second

2TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,400 MB per second

4TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,400 MB per second
Maximum Sequential Write Speed (PCIe Gen3)500GB Rocket 4.0: Up to 2,000 MB per second

1TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 3,000 MB per second

2TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 2,750 MB per second		1TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second

2TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second

4TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second		1TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,000 MB per second

2TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,000 MB per second

4TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,000 MB per second
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Capacity Options and Model Numbers

You can take a look at the capacity options, and associated model numbers, for the three solid state drives below:

Rocket 4.0:

  • 500GB: SB-ROCKET-NVMe4-500
  • 1TB: SB-ROCKET-NVMe4-1TB
  • 2TB: SB-ROCKET-NVMe4-2TB

Rocket Q4:

  • 1TB: SB-RKTQ4-1TB
  • 2TB: SB-RKTQ4-2TB
  • 4TB: SB-RKTQ4-4TB

Rocket 4 Plus:

  • 1TB: SB-RKT4P-1TB
  • 2TB: SB-RKT4P-2TB
  • 4TB: SB-RKT4P-4TB

Form Factor

The Rocket NVMe 4.0, Rocket Q4 NVMe 4.0 and Rocket 4 Plus NVMe use the M.2 2280 form factor.

Interface

The three internal storage drives in this versus guide utilize the PCIe Gen4 x4 interface.

NAND

For NAND, the Rocket NVMe 4.0 and Rocket 4 Plus NVMe come equipped with 3D TLC while the Rocket Q4 NVMe 4.0 is equipped with QLC.

Controller

When it comes to the controller, the Rocket NVMe 4.0 and Rocket Q4 NVMe 4.0 use the Phison PS5016-E16 while the Rocket 4 Plus NVMe use the Phison PS5018-E18.

Software

For software management, all three of the SSDs in this comparison guide use the Acronis True Image program.

ONFi Support

For ONFi, the Sabrent solid state drives support the following:

  • ONFi 2.3
  • ONFi 3.0
  • ONFi 3.2
  • ONFi 4.0

Power Management Features

The storage drives also share the same power management features:

  • APST
  • ASPM
  • L1.2

General Features

The Rocket NVMe 4.0, Rocket Q4 NVMe 4.0 and Rocket 4 Plus NVMe support the following general features:

  • Advanced Wear Leveling
  • Bad Block Management
  • Error Correction Code
  • Over-Provision
  • SMART
  • TRIM
  • Upgradeable Firmware

Maximum Sequential Read Speed (PCIe Gen4)

When it comes to the maximum sequential reading speed over PCIe Gen4, the Rocket 4 Plus is substantially faster than the other two.

When you compare the same capacities, the 1TB Rocket 4 Plus is 2,000 MB per second faster (or 40% faster) than the 1TB Rocket 4.0 and 2,300 MB per second faster (or 48.94% faster) than the 1TB Rocket Q4.

The 2TB Rocket 4 Plus is 2,100 MB per second faster (or 42% faster) than the 2TB Rocket 4.0 and 2,300 MB per second faster (or 47.92% faster) than the 2TB Rocket Q4.

The 4TB Rocket 4 Plus is 2,200 MB per second faster (or 44.9% faster) than the 4TB Rocket Q4.

You can find the max PCIe Gen4 sequential read speeds below:

  • 500GB Rocket 4.0: Up to 5,000 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 5,000 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 5,000 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket Q4: Up to 4,700 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket Q4: Up to 4,800 MB per second
  • 4TB Rocket Q4: Up to 4,900 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 7000 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 7100 MB per second
  • 4TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 7100 MB per second

Maximum Sequential Write Speed (PCIe Gen4)

The Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus also has a major advantage when it comes to maximum sequential writing when used with PCIe Gen4.

The 1TB Rocket 4 Plus SSD is 900 MB per second faster (or 20.45% faster) than the 1TB Rocket 4.0 SSD and 3,500 MB per second faster (or 194.44% faster) than the 1TB Rocket Q4 SSD.

The 2TB Rocket 4 Plus SSD is 2,200 MB per second faster (or 50% faster) than the 2TB Rocket 4.0 SSD and 3,000 MB per second faster (or 83.33% faster) than the 2TB Rocket Q4 SSD.

The 4TB Rocket 4 Plus SSD is 3,100 MB per second faster (or 88.57% faster) than the 4TB Rocket Q4 SSD.

You can find the max PCIe Gen4 sequential read speeds below:

  • 500GB Rocket 4.0: Up to 2,500 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 4,400 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 4,400 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket Q4: Up to 1,800 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,600 MB per second
  • 4TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,500 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 5300 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 6600 MB per second
  • 4TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 6600 MB per second

Maximum Sequential Read Speed (PCIe Gen3)

The Rocket 4 Plus and Rocket 4.0 have the same maximum sequential reading speed when used with PCIe Gen3.

The 4 Plus and 4.0 versions are 100 MB per second faster (or 3.03%) faster than the Q4 version.

You can check out the max PCIe Gen3 sequential read speed specifications below:

  • 500GB Rocket 4.0: Up to 3,400 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 3,400 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 3,400 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second
  • 4TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,400 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,400 MB per second
  • 4TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,400 MB per second

Maximum Sequential Write Speed (PCIe Gen3)

The Rocket Q4 has the best maximum sequential writing speed over PCIe Gen3.

The 1TB, 2TB and 4TB versions of Rocket Q4 is 300 MB per second faster (or 10% faster) than the 1TB, 2TB and 4TB versions of the Rocket 4 Plus.

The 1TB Rocket Q4 is also 300 MB per second faster (or 10% faster) than the 1TB Rocket 4.0 while the 2TB Rocket Q4 is 550 MB per second faster (or 20% faster) than the 2TB Rocket 4.0.

You can find the max PCIe Gen3 sequential write speed specs below:

  • 500GB Rocket 4.0: Up to 2,000 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 3,000 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket 4.0: Up to 2,750 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second
  • 4TB Rocket Q4: Up to 3,300 MB per second
  • 1TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,000 MB per second
  • 2TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,000 MB per second
  • 4TB Rocket 4 Plus: Up to 3,000 MB per second

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