Solidigm has a new SSD on the way that’s fit to burst. The Solidigm D5-P5336 is stuffed with up to 61.44 terabytes of QLC NAND, which is likely equivalent to a lifetime supply of storage for a good few gamers.
Rated to 7000 MB/s sequential read and 3100 MB/s sequential write, this is a pretty quick drive considering it’s built from QLC NAND, which is quite a bit slower than other types. That probably means once you get down to the raw NAND for big transfers, or when the drive starts filling up, it won’t be anywhere near as quick, but we’re not really talking about a gaming SSD here so you don’t have to worry.
The reason it’s not for gamers is that this newer drive will come in U.2 and E1.L form factors when it launches later this year (via TechSpot). That means it’s practically a server-only drive. You absolutely can fit a U.2 drive into your machine, but if you end up with one of those E1.L drives at 318.75mm long, it’s going to be a bit of a squeeze. You’ll also have to cool this baby off with some mighty fans. It’s just not a practically sound storage solution for most folks.
Solidigm actually shows off a picture of a server loaded up with 32 of these bad boys. That’s 1966 TB in a single rack, or very nearly two petabytes of solid-state storage. I also found this 2U SSD server with space for up to 108 E1.L drives, and that’d total over six petabytes of storage. I dread to think of how much cooling is needed for this sort of monstrous storage solution, especially as each D5-P5336 requires up to 25W while active.
Now if this SSD looks familiar that’s because it should (to anyone that’s really into SSDs). Solidigm was once Intel’s in-house storage outfit, sold off to SK Hynix in 2021, but while under Intel’s branding it had announced a very long drive by the name of the D5-P5316 with up to 30.72 TB capacity. Solidigm still sells the D5-P5316 under its own brand, and this newer drive, the D5-P5336, is doubling that effective capacity.