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The NQ100 comes in a small, blue box. Along with a picture of the drive, the packaging advertises a number of its key features including its 480GB capacity, SATA 6Gbps interface and 550 MB/s read speed. The back of the box also has a small window that lets you see the drive and view the part and serial numbers. Inside, you'll find the SSD as well as a fold out guide containing warranty information and some brief installation instructions.
Physical Features:
The NQ100 looks very similar to Lexar's other 2.5-inch SSDs. The drive's outer casing is made out of gray plastic and is covered by a nice textured finish. On the top, there is also a large Lexar logo as well as a light blue triangle on either side of the SSD.
The NQ100 uses a Lexar branded DM928 controller chip. I wasn't able to find any information regarding this controller online. However, going by the size of the chip and the firmware version (SN07373) we can assume that it is based on the Maxio MAS1102. This DRAM-less SATA controller supports two channels with up to 8 chip enables (CE) per channel.
For the 480GB version of the NQ100, Lexar has opted to use Micron's 3D TLC NAND flash. Looking at the picture above, you can see that there are two 128GB NAND flash packages on either side of the PCB. Also take note that there is no DRAM cache chip. Instead, there is small DRAM cache embedded in the controller.
