Chinese YMTC SSDs spotted in European Lenovo laptops for the first time
The AI bubble has allowed Chinese DRAM/NAND makers to rise up
Update – Lenovo has reached out to confirm that YMTC SSDs are not available in their laptops in the North American market. This makes sense as YMTC hardware cannot be sold inside the US due to US sanctions/restrictions. While our original article stated that YMTC SSDs are not available in the US, we did not explicitly state that Lenovo laptops with YMTC SSDs will not be available in North America. Lenovo is not selling restricted hardware inside the US. Our original article follows
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Notebookcheck has reviewed its first Lenovo laptop with a YMTC SSD inside. YMTC, Yangtze Memory Technologies, is a Chinese NAND manufacturer whose SSDs are, or at least were, rarely seen outside of China.
Massive shortages in the DRAM and NAND markets have enabled Chinese producers like CXMT and YMTC to break into the mainstream DRAM and SSD markets. Previously, most laptops used SSDs from US, Japanese, or Korean brands like Samsung, Kioxia, Micron, Western Digital, and SK Hynix. Now, laptop makers are actively using SSDs from alternative brands, creating a breakthrough moment for Chinese memory manufacturers.
Lenovo’s new ThinkBook 14 G9 IPL model features a 512GB PCIe 4 M.2 2242 SSD from YMTC. The drive delivered sequential read/write speeds of 3950/2514 MB/s. While not blazing fast, this is more than fast enough for a mainstream laptop.
A better environment for new players in the storage market is hardly imagineable. And of course, it comes from China: Enter Yangtze Memory Technologies, also known as YMTC. Founded just ten years ago, this Chinese company has thus far been a almost complete unknown in the laptop SSD market, but things are in flux as the supply of SSDs by more established companies like Samsung or Kioxia is drying up.
We have now tested a YMTC drive in a Lenovo laptop for the first time. The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 G9 IPL we recently reviewed contains such a drive. The 512 GB M.2 2242 SSD is a NVMe PCIe 4.0 model. In our testing, its speed is below average for an SSD in an office laptop, with sequential read/write speeds topping out at 3950 or 2514 MB/s respectively. The 4K speed is also nothing to write home about.
YMTC SSDs can now be found inside products everywhere outside of the USA
Lenovo’s use of YMTC SSDs in a globally available product (except in North America) is a big deal for the Chinese memory producer. That said, this change is far from unexpected given the world’s shortage of NAND and DRAM. PC manufacturers will take supply from wherever they can get it. It’s a seller’s market, and YMTC is a seller.
Chinese DRAM and NAND are becoming more widely available globally. That said, CXMT remains sanctioned by the US. This prevents its memory from being used in products destined for the US. However, this has not stopped Corsair from producing DDR5 kits with CXMT memory. That said, this memory is for non-US markets. Even so, Apple is reportedly in discussions with the US government to lift restrictions on CXMT memory, as it wants to use it in its products. That’s how desperate Apple is to have more negotiating power with memory makers.
You can join the discussion on Lenovo using YMTC SSDs within its global laptops on the OC3D Forums.
