Solidigm (Intel's now-sold SSD Division) Introduces the P41 Plus QLC NVMe SSD

[TheLostSwede]

Solidigm has announced the Solidigm P41 Plus, the company's first branded solid-state storage drive (SSD) since becoming a company in December 2021. The P41 Plus is an innovative PCIe 4.0 product that delivers the industry's best combination of performance and value to PC users for everyday productivity and gaming. Capable of delivering up to 4,125 MB/s sequential read speed, the Solidigm P41 Plus represents a breakthrough in cost efficiency, delivering great PCIe 4.0 performance at a price that won't break the budget for everyday PC users. The Solidigm P41 Plus features 144-layer 3D NAND and is widely available in an M.2 2280 form factor in capacities of 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. For increased design flexibility, the Solidigm P41 Plus is also available to OEMs in 2230 and 2242 sizes.

In a move that reinforces Solidigm's commitment to being a new paradigm in solid-state storage, the company has invested significantly in storage software to unlock the best possible user experience. The result is Solidigm Synergy software, an optional but highly recommended suite that includes both a storage driver and a Windows application with robust drive health monitoring tools. The Solidigm Storage Driver supports host-managed caching by monitoring usage patterns to identify high-priority data, keeping the most important items in the cache, and enabling faster reads as the drive fills up.




"Whether playing the latest PC games, managing a business, or editing family photos, the Solidigm P41 Plus delivers performance that matters to end-users while delivering incredible value," said Sanjay Talreja, General Manager, Client Products and Solutions Group. "Powered by innovative software, the Solidigm P41 Plus provides an exceptional combination of price and performance, in addition to a software-enhanced user experience, that makes our value proposition unique."

The first product with the Solidigm brand, the P41 Plus highlights the company's commitment to delivering an industry-leading portfolio of storage solutions that includes high-performance SSDs for the client, cloud, and data center markets.

[Editor's note: This is a QLC drive, even though it's not mentioned anywhere in the press release. The drive is based on the Silicon Motion SM2269XT controller.]

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[TheLostSwede]

Anandtech has some more details.

Solidigm Announces P41 Plus SSD: Taking Another Shot at QLC With Cache Tiering

www.anandtech.com

 

[Dr. Dro]

These single-die QLC SSDs puzzle me, on how ridiculously bad yet incredibly okay they are, this is after first-hand experience with the WD SN350

I suppose these should be alright if the prices are right

 

[DeeJay1001]

Being the manager of a relatively large fleet of business laptops I see alot of SSDs. Intel SSDs were the only brand that had consistent failures. I will never willingly choose; an intel and I guess by association Solidigm SSD.

 

[_Flare]

Company Values: ... Openness ...
No pro-active mentioning that this are QLC Drives.
thanks to their Openness only people with deeper knowledge of Intel and 144 Layer point to QLC ... and so on.

 

[Hircine91]

oooh a slow (for a pcie 4 drive) qlc drive with no dram i guess this belongs in the trash

 

[Valantar]

I can't imagine Hynix being particularly happy with the choice of name for this drive ...

 

[Dr. Dro]

I can't imagine Hynix being particularly happy with the choice of name for this drive ...

This company is owned by SK hynix, though they are a bit of an offshoot

Being the manager of a relatively large fleet of business laptops I see alot of SSDs. Intel SSDs were the only brand that had consistent failures. I will never willingly choose; an intel and I guess by association Solidigm SSD.

Older Intel SSD designs were extremely reliable. Got a 320 series with 11 years of constant service at 97% health. The QLC era drives were worse off, though.

 

[enzolt]

I can't imagine Hynix being particularly happy with the choice of name for this drive ...

You dont have to imagine. Theyre owned by SK.. Not sure how much thought went into your comment

 

[ModEl4]

It should be slower than WD Blue SN570 1/2TB & Samsung 980 1TB and similar TLC offerings with 600 IOPS and 1.5X endurance rating so the pricing better be meaningfully lower than 55/85/175€ to seem competitive but I doubt they will go that low.

 

[Valantar]

This company is owned by SK hynix, though they are a bit of an offshoot

Still, it's very unusual for a company and its subsidiaries to share product names - and from what I can tell the drive is quite different from the P41 Platinum.

You dont have to imagine. Theyre owned by SK.. Not sure how much thought went into your comment

Or maybe it was meant to highlight how weird it is that a subsidiary, no matter if wholly owned, uses the same naming as their parent company's newly launched product despite seeming to share near none of its characteristics? I really can't imagine Hynix being happy that after they launch a high end, well reviewed SSD, their subsidiary comes along and tries to ride on its coattails by using the same name. Some C-suite execs probably think it's a good idea, but from the outside it just looks dumb.

 

[timta2]

You dont have to imagine. Theyre owned by SK.. Not sure how much thought went into your comment

Then they probably should have been extra conscious of the model name/number choice. It's at least kind of weird.

 

[Valantar]

Then they probably should have been extra conscious of the model name/number choice. It's at least kind of weird.

Yeah, I mean, Anandtech spent a full two paragraphs in their article on this SSD discussing how weird this naming is, the likely reasons for it, and how it's still confusing (and borderline misleading).

Then again, there are solid indications of the higher-ups at Hynix being rather clueless when it comes to marketing - like choosing the name "Solidigm". Yes, I get that it's a portmanteau, likely of "solid (state)" and "paradigm", but if anything it just illustrates how difficult it is making up words and names.

 

[chrcoluk]

I can't imagine Hynix being particularly happy with the choice of name for this drive ...

The cynic in me thinks it might be deliberate, the existing P41 is TLC and has DRAM, so they will probably get sales on this because of the model name match even though its inferior spec.

 

[Valantar]

The cynic in me thinks it might be deliberate, the existing P41 is TLC and has DRAM, so they will probably get sales on this because of the model name match even though its inferior spec.

It probably is - especially with the 'plus' making this potentially seem like a better product, even. It just underscores the absurdity of the whole naming thing, but I guess that can't be helped at this point.