Samsung Starts Mass Production of QLC V-NAND-Based SSDs
by Anton Shilov on August 6, 2018 1:00 PM EST
Samsung on Monday announced the industry’s first consumer SSDs based on QLC V-NAND memory. The drives will be available with capacities of up to 4 TB and will target mainstream PCs featuring a SATA interface.
The new Samsung QLC SSDs are based on the company’s 1 Tb 64-layer QLC V-NAND flash as well as a proprietary controller previously used for drives powerd by 64-layer TLC V-NAND memory—probably the MJX controller from the 860 EVO. The SSDs will be available in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB configurations featuring up to 32 NAND chips. The drives come in 2.5-inch/7-mm form-factor and therefore are compatible with desktops and laptops that have a spare SATA connector. The manufacturer promises that later this year it will offer M.2 SSDs featuring its QLC V-NAND memory, but does not elaborate.
Since we are dealing with a SATA drive, its performance is not that high. Samsung’s QLC SSDs offer up to 540 MB/s sequential read speed as well as up to 520 MB/s sequential write speed when the company’s TurboWrite SLC caching technology is enabled. Random I/O speeds have not yet been disclosed.
Since Samsung is only beginning to mass produce its QLC SSDs, the company does not disclose its official model name and does not disclose expected MSRPs. Keeping in mind that QLC V-NAND is supposed to provide lower costs per bit than MLC and TLC V-NAND, it is logical to expect Samsung’s QLC SSDs to be more affordable than the company’s terabyte SSDs that use MLC and TLC V-NAND memory.
Related Reading:
- Samsung Discloses First Details About QLC-Based Client & Server SSDs
- Intel Details Upcoming SSDs For Datacenter Including QLC NAND
- Samsung Begins Mass Production Of 96L 3D NAND
- Western Digital Begins to Sample QLC BiCS4: 1.33 Tbit 96-Layer 3D NAND
- Intel Teases Upcoming QLC SSD For Datacenters
- We Found a Prototype 4 TB Intel QLC SSD
- Intel QLC NAND Updates: Up to 20TB In 2.5-inch SSD
- Intel And Micron Launch First QLC NAND: Micron 5210 ION Enterprise SATA SSD
- Toshiba's 768Gb 3D QLC NAND Flash Memory: Matching TLC at 1000 P/E Cycles?
Source: Samsung
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n13L5 - Monday, August 6, 2018 - link
These sound like they'll be at the lower end of the price spectrum.Maybe make for great external drives to haul around without worrying about bumping or dropping them
PeachNCream - Monday, August 6, 2018 - link
That's the one redeeming quality of NAND as external storage over a slower mechanical drive. The problem is that we don't yet know how QLC will cope with the often times unpowered state in which externals sometimes operate. Data retention is more important with externals than internal drives. I'm hoping, but not holding my breath, for some sort of credible analysis of that issue in the event that there is a retention problem. If not, then QLC is probably a really good fit for backups and sneakernet data transfers.DigitalFreak - Monday, August 6, 2018 - link
Knowing Samsung, they'll be way overpriced.StrangerGuy - Monday, August 6, 2018 - link
Yup, a big thanks to all the Samsheeps buying their overpriced $200+ SATA 1TB drives so we don't have much buyer competition for actually well-priced awesome SSDs like the $245 HP EX920 NVMe 1TB.Targon - Wednesday, August 8, 2018 - link
People pay for performance. If the performance of Samsung based memory products is better, it stands to reason they will cost more than slower products. There aren't many manufacturers of the memory chips out there right now, so in general, we are all lucky that Samsung is actually improving the technology and reducing the price on older technology over time, compared to Intel which did very little to advance the CPU space over the past decade.Impulses - Tuesday, August 7, 2018 - link
Hmm, the 2TB would have to be well under $300 for me to take a gamble on it over a great TLC drive for $350+ (or a cheapo/OEM one for $250). I've been itching to add a 2TB to my 2x 1TB 850 EVOs tho.