Solidigm D5-P5430: New QLC SSD for data centers

Manufacturer Solidigm wants to conquer the data center market with its new QLC SSDs. The Solidigm D5-P5430 is supposed to be the guarantee for success. The QLC-SSD is supposed to provide up to 30.72 TB of storage space. Blazing fast speeds of 7,000 MB/s are supposed to ensure high-speed data transfer.

Does the Solidigm D5-P5430 replace classic TLCs?

The storage media market is probably best divided into the private and commercial sectors. However, in view of the fact that more and more private users rely on cloud solutions, the market of private buyers has stagnated a bit lately. But somewhere the many terabytes of storage space in the cloud have to be provided. This is where data centers come in. It is not only cloud services that hoard their customers’ data here. Modern tech companies also have no choice but to use appropriate storage solutions. With the growing importance of artificial intelligence, the significance of fast and, above all, large storage solutions is also increasing. Now a real turnaround could be on the horizon in this area. The manufacturer Solidigm has announced a QLC SSD with its Solidigm D5-P5430, which could sooner or later replace classic TLC SSDs in the data center sector.

At first glance, this may sound more like a downgrade than a major innovation to some. After all, experience shows that TLC SSDs bring higher durability and speed than QLCs. However, this should not really be a problem from Solidigm’s point of view. In particular, the SSDs should be able to store files and emails as well as applications like video-on-demand without problems and drawbacks. The big advantage is a lower price calculated on the storage density. Not only in terms of durability, but also in performance, the lead of the once leading TLC technology is said to no longer be too big. QLC is only said to still be disadvantageous in permanent writing. This could be a disadvantage especially for constantly acting applications like computing algorithms of an artificial intelligence.

• Also interesting: MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO: New performance SSDs with blazing speeds

Many question marks about the upcoming QLC SSD

So the goal of the Solidigm D5-P5430 is primarily to offer a lot of storage at a fair price, while eradicating erstwhile drawbacks like lower durability and performance where possible. That sounds like a desirable intention. However, detailed values for the individual models are still lacking at the moment. What is certain is that the flagship of the new series should be able to offer speeds of up to 7,000 MB/s for reading and 3,000 MB/s for writing. Furthermore, the addition to the Solidigm family will be launched in three different form factors. Those who like it super compact and want to reach for the E1.S form factor will be offered sizes between 3.84 TB and 15.36 TB. More options are available with the E3.S and U.2 factors, where up to 30.72 TB is possible.

• See it already? ASUS introduces two new NAS systems for up to 12 NVMe SSDs

Savings potential with customized application

In conclusion, the Solidigm D5-P5430 sounds like a good alternative to traditional TLC SSDs. It is mainly the price that should convince many. However, those who need a lot of storage space for their personal data center should not be hasty. After all, everything depends on the workload that the SSD has to handle. Constant read and write processes might also take their toll on the Solidigm D5-P5430.

Whether a saving on the purchase is then really worth it, must be weighed up in any case in view of the shorter shelf life. Nevertheless, you have to give the memory expert credit for wanting to close the gap to the time-honored TLC technology. We are curious to see how well the new SSD will be received on the market. The Solidigm D5-P5430 is now available in stores. However, the manufacturer is only launching its small models in stores for now. The particularly exciting version with a whopping 30 TB is probably not supposed to hit the market until later this year.