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CFexpress

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CFexpress is a standard for removable media cards proposed by the CompactFlash Association. The standard uses PCIe 3.0 interface with 1 to 4 lanes where 1 GB/s data can be provided per lane. NVM Express is also supported to provide low overhead and latency. There are multiple form factors that feature different PCIe lane counts.[1] One of the goals is to unify the ecosystem of removable storage by being compatible with standards already widely adopted, such as PCIe and NVMe. There already is a wide range of controllers, software and devices that uses these standards, accelerating adoption.

History

On 7 September 2016 the CFA announced CFexpress.[1] The specification would be based on the PCI Express interface and NVM Express protocol.

On 18 April 2017 the CompactFlash Association published the CFexpress 1.0 specification.[2] Version 1.0 will use the XQD form-factor (38.5 mm × 29.8 mm × 3.8 mm) with two PCIe 3.0 lanes for speeds up to 2 GB/s. NVMe 1.2 is used for low-latency access, low overhead and highly parallel access.

On 13 June 2017, Delkin introduced the first CFexpress cards based on the CFexpress 1.0 specification.[3] In February 2018 they released benchmarks, sample units are available in Q2 2018 and production is scheduled for Q3 2018.

CFexpress 2.0 was announced on February 28th 2019. It features two new card formats ("type A", one lane, more compact and "type C", four lanes, bigger and thicker, up to 4 GB/s). Existing cards are labelled "type B". The NVM Express protocol was upgraded to 1.3.[4]

In the future there are plans to increase the speed further by adopting PCIe 4.0.

Comparison

Standard SD UFS Card CFast XQD CFexpress
Version 3.0 4.0 6.0 7.0[5] 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0
Launched 2010 Q2 2011 Q1 2017 Q1 ? Q2 2016 ? 2008 Q3 2012 Q3 2011 Q4 2014 Q1 2017 Q2 2019 Q1
Bus UHS-I UHS-II UHS-III PCIe 3.0 x1 UFS 2.0 UFS 3.0 SATA-300 SATA-600 PCIe 2.0 x1 PCIe 2.0 x2 PCIe 3.0 x2 PCIe 3.0 x4
Speed

(full-duplex)

104 MB/s 312 MB/s 624 MB/s 985 MB/s 600 MB/s 1.2 GB/s 300 MB/s 600 MB/s 500 MB/s 1 GB/s 1.97 GB/s 1000 MB/s

2000 MB/s

4000 MB/s

Compatible devices

Cards

Delkin

64 GB Delkin CFexpress memory card

On 13 June 2017, Delkin introduced the first CFexpress cards based on the CFexpress 1.0 specification.[3] The cards have a XQD form factor and use two PCIe 3.0 lanes. They come in 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB capacities.

More details on Delkin's CFexpress cards were revealed in February 2018.[6][7] The cards should be able to be read from and written to with respectively up to 1.6 GB/s and up to 1.0 GB/s benchmarked with CrystalDiskMark 5.2.1. Sample units will be available in Q2 2018 and production is scheduled for Q3 2018.

ProGrade Digital

In a statement to DPReview, ProGrade Digital confirmed that it would launch CFexpress cards in 2018 with the Type-B form-factor (the same as XQD).[8] The 1 TB CFexpress card that ProGrade Digital showed at the Spring NAB show in 2018 demonstrated 1,400 Mbit/s read speed and over 700 Mbit/s burst write speed. This demonstration was performed using a Thunderbolt 3 CFexpress/XQD reader on a [9] MacBook Pro computer.

Apacer

On 11 December 2018, Apacer announced its first CFexpress card,[10] the PV130-CFX.[11]

Wise Advanced

On 7 April 2019, Wise Advanced announced the development of their CFexpress cards in capacities 512GB, 256GB, and 128GB, as well as their CFexpress Card Reader, all using CFexpress Type B.[12]

Readers

BLACKJET™ TX-1CXQ[13]

Parts

On October 2, 2017, Rego Electronics announced CFexpress host connectors and card cardkits, parts that manufacturers can use for their CFexpress devices and cards.[14][15][16]

Client devices

As of October 2017, there are no known CFexpress client devices released. However, in late October 2017 a Lexar employee stated to Nikon Rumors:

CFExpress is essentially the next revision of XQD, and there should be full backward compatibility with XQD, and that getting D4/D5/500/D850’s to work with CFE cards should be a simple software patch.[17]

On 23 August 2018, Nikon announced their new mirrorless cameras, the Z6 and Z7. Both use XQD cards, but will eventually be upgraded in firmware to support CFexpress,[18][19] though have not done so as of the May 2019 2.00 firmware update.[20] On 13 February 2019, Nikon further confirmed the CFExpress support via a firmware update will also be coming to the D5, D850 and D500.[20]

On 28 August 2018, Phase One announced XF IQ4 camera system (three bodies) with support of XQD cards and future support of CFexpress cards.[21]

On 24 October 2019, Canon announced development of Canon EOS 1Dx Mark III with two CFexpress slots. [22]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "CFA 5.1 Press Release" (PDF).
  2. ^ "CFexpress 1.0 Press Release" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b "Industrial CFexpress 1.0 and Industrial CFX 1.0 Cards". Delkin Industrial. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  4. ^ CFA announces CFexpress 2.0 specification
  5. ^ Shilov, Anton. "SD Association Announces SD 7.0 Spec & SD Express Interface: PCIe + NVMe, Up to 985 MB/s". AnandTech.
  6. ^ "Industrial CFexpress 1.0 and Industrial CFX 1.0 Cards". Delkin Industrial. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  7. ^ "Delkin Ships More Samples of Newest Form Factor CFexpress to OEMs". Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  8. ^ "Confirmed: ProGrade Digital will NOT make XQD cards, is betting on CFexpress instead". DPReview. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  9. ^ prograde digital incorporated
  10. ^ Inc, Apacer Technology. "A New Force Driving High-Speed SSD – Apacer's Latest CFexpress Card - News & Events - Apacer for Industrial - The most reliable storage and memory". industrial.apacer.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ^ Inc, Apacer Technology. "PV130-CFX - CFexpress - PCIe - SSD - Apacer for Industrial - The most reliable storage and memory". industrial.apacer.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "Wise Advanced Introduces CFexpress Type B Memory Card and Card Reader". www.wise-advanced.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  13. ^ https://www.atechflash.com/blackjet-tx1cxq
  14. ^ "REGO ELECTRONICS News - CFexpress Card Connectors & Card kits". www.rego.com.tw. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  15. ^ "REGO ELECTRONICS Card Host Connectors". www.rego.com.tw. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  16. ^ "REGO ELECTRONICS CFexpress Card Cardkits". www.rego.com.tw. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  17. ^ "More info on Lexar, XQD and CFExpress memory cards compatibility, Hoodman rumored to start making XQD cards | Nikon Rumors". nikonrumors.com. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  18. ^ "Nikon announced the development of new firmware for the Z6, Z7, D5, D850 and D500 cameras". Nikon Rumors. 2019-02-13.
  19. ^ "Nikon to add Eye AF, Raw video and CFexpress support to Z-series". DPReview. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  20. ^ a b "Nikon Z6/Z7 firmware update 2.0 with eye AF officially released". Nikon Rumors. 2019-05-15.
  21. ^ "XF IQ4 150MP Camera System". phaseone.com. 2018-08-28.
  22. ^ "Canon announces development of the new EOS-1D X Mark III flagship DSLR camera". global.canon.com. 2019-10-24.
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