Introduction
Solidigm P44 PRO 1TB/2TB M.2 NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 4.0)
Hovering at 7 GB/sec with TLC
We review the P44 Pro Plus M.2 NVMe SSD series, a PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD, especially regarding access times and throughput with a Hynix ACNS075 controller paired with Hynix 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash over PCIe Gen 4.0; this device delivers super-fast performance levels and all-time low access times.
The Solidigm P44 Pro is based on 176-layer 3D NAND and is widely available in M.2 2280 sizes of TB and 2 TB versions. The Hynix ACNS075 controller and Hynix 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash form the foundation of the Solidigm P44 Pro. Including a DRAM cache chip is consistent with the product's premium positioning. If you are wondering, that's pretty much the same spec as the SK Hynix Platinum P41 we reviewed a while ago. This product is based on that SSD; however, with a custom NVMe driver and further optimized firmware, this SSD will become among the fastest SSDs we've ever tested. Prices for the Solidigm P44 Pro range from $80 for a 512 GB model to $130 for a 1 TB model and $235 for a 2 TB model. These versions have been configured with 500 TBW, 750 TBW, and 1200 TBW of endurance, respectively. The P44 Pro SSD from Solidigm has a five-year prolonged warranty. So for 2 TB at $235 that's $115 per TB versus the 1 TB model at $130. Solidigm cites sensible transfer rates for the P44 Pro Plus, on par with other TLC-based drives. Sequential read and write speeds are 7,000MB/s (1TB and 2TB models) and on writes 6500 MB/s (2TB model only). For the high-capacity model, the Solidigm P44 Pro has an MTBF of 1.6 million hours and an endurance rating of 1,200TBW. It also supports AES 256-bit encryption and TCC Pyrite.
 |
|||
| Available Capacities | 512GB | 1TB | 2TB |
| PerformanceSpecifications | |||
| SequentialBandwidth ? 100% Read(up to) | 7,000MB/s | 7,000MB/s | 7,000MB/s |
| SequentialBandwidth ? 100% Write (up to) | 4,700MB/s | 6,500MB/s | 6,500MB/s |
| Power Active Sequential Write | 7.5 W | ||
| Endurance Rating (Lifetime Writes) | 500 TBW | 750 TBW | 1200 TBW |
| Mean time between failures(MTBF) | 1.6 million hours | ||
| UncorrectableBit Error Rate (UBER) | |||
| warranty period | 5 years | ||
| Package Specifications | |||
| form factor | M.2 22 x 80mm | ||
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | NVMe 1.4 | ||
| AdvancedSpecifications | |||
| hardware encryption | AES 256-bit Encryption, TCC Pyrite Supported | ||
| End-to-End Data Protection | Supported | ||
| NSIT Secure Erase | Supported | ||
SK Hynix ACNS075 controller
The main controller of the Solidigm P44 Pro is SK Hynix's ACNS075, codenamed Aries Aries, and manufactured on TSMC's 12nm technology. It is a quad-core Cortex-R5 controller that supports eight-channel flash memory, with a maximum transmission rate of 1600MT/s for each channel flash memory. The DRAM cache is a 1GB LPDDR4 SK Hynix H54G36AYRBX257. The flash memory is a charge-trapping 176-layer stacked 3D TLC flash memory from SK Hynix. It uses the ONFI 4.2 protocol and has a transmission rate of 1600MT/s. Two chips together form a capacity of 1TB.
