We will say, with out hyperbole, that SK hynix’s Platinum P41 is likely one of the most anticipated client SSDs in current reminiscence because of the pairing of its new Aries SSD controller with 176-Layer TLC flash, thus delivering headline specs of as much as 1.4 million IOPS. Storage fans have seemed askance at drives just like the Samsung 980 Professional, as an alternative holding out for the P41’s inevitable arrival. There was each purpose to imagine that the day would quickly come as SK hynix had introduced the drive earlier this yr with a basic date in thoughts.
SK hynix’s proprietary Cepheus controller has been a noteworthy champion whilst Essential’s in-house controllers for the P5 and P5 Plus have demonstrated rising pains. Nonetheless, SK hynix stepped as much as the brand new Aries SSD controller within the Platinum P41. This new Aries controller presents 33% greater bus speeds, twice the variety of channels, and greater than doubles the IOPS in comparison with the previous-gen Cepheus, making us marvel if it could retain its throne because the effectivity king. Furthermore, Micron beat Sk hynix to 176-Layer flash, with SK hynix taking part in catch-up. We’re significantly curious to see how this rivalry performs out.
Specs
| Product | 500GB | 1TB | 2TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $104.99 | $149.99 | $259.99 |
| Capability (Person / Uncooked) | 500GB / 512GB | 1000GB / 1024GB | 2000GB / 2048GB |
| Kind Issue | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 |
| Controller | SK hynix Aries | SK hynix Aries | SK hynix Aries |
| DRAM | SK hynix LPDDR4 | SK hynix LPDDR4 | SK hynix LPDDR4 |
| Reminiscence | SK hynix 176L TLC | SK hynix 176L TLC | SK hynix 176L TLC |
| Sequential Learn | 7,000 MBps | 7,000 MBps | 7,000 MBps |
| Sequential Write | 4,700 MBps | 6,500 MBps | 6,500 MBps |
| Random Learn | 960,000 IOPS | 1,400,000 IOPS | 1,400,000 IOPS |
| Random Write | 1,000,000 IOPS | 1,300,000 IOPS | 1,300,000 IOPS |
| Safety | AES-256 | AES-256 | AES-256 |
| Endurance (TBW) | 500TBW | 750TBW | 1200TBW |
| Half Quantity | SHPP41-500GM | SHPP41-1000GM | SHPP41-2000GM |
| Guarantee | 5-Yr | 5-Yr | 5-Yr |
The Platinum P41 has a five-year guarantee with 500TBW, 750TBW, and 1200TBW scores for the 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB SKUs, respectively. You is perhaps dismayed by the shortage of awe-inspiring endurance, however the TBW ranking (terabytes written – endurance) solely refers to whole writes through the guarantee interval, and 99% of customers won’t ever exceed that quantity of writes inside the given time-frame. The drive additionally supposedly helps AES-256 encryption from TCG Pyrite (however not OPAL) this time round, not like the corporate’s Gold P31 SSDs, though the worth in that’s questionable for shoppers.
In any other case, it is a typical M.2 2280 NVMe drive that is designed to be a high-end PCIe 4.0 possibility. The 1TB and higher-capacity fashions declare 7/6.5 GBps of sequential learn/write throughput and as much as 1.4M/1.3M random learn/write IOPS, exceeding something we’ve seen earlier than on this area. These numbers separate the P41 from the remainder of the pack, however the market is aggressive and the P41’s MSRP is arguably best at 1 and 2TB, significantly the latter. The actual-world worth could also be depending on gross sales pricing, nevertheless, as different merchandise have been available on the market longer.
Software program and Equipment
The Platinum P41 comes fairly barebones, however SK hynix has some helpful software program accessible on its web site. The primary is the SK hynix SSD System Migration Utility, or clone device, which assists with knowledge migration. This utility is powered by Macrium, which makes the favored Mirror software program, which is helpful for backups, cloning, and disk imaging.
SK hynix additionally contains Drive Supervisor, or Straightforward Equipment, which has typical SSD toolbox choices. This contains offering details about the drive, S.M.A.R.T. knowledge, a firmware test, an replace operate, and so forth. Software program is commonly an afterthought, so it’s good to see this sort of help from SK hynix.
A Nearer Look
The Platinum P41 is plain-looking, with simply prime and again labels. The drive is single-sided with a controller, DRAM, and two NAND packages. The again label presents some primary details about the drive, together with the actual fact it’s rated to tug as much as 8.25 watts. Steady and peak draw are separate tales, in fact, however customers have been interested by this drive’s energy effectivity. SK hynix states 7.5W for the drive, which can also be said within the S.M.A.R.T. knowledge. For comparability, the 1TB Kingston Fury Renegade is rated at 8.8W.
The M.2 specification has a nominal energy restrict of round 7W. Nonetheless, we’ve seen many PCIe 4.0 drives rated for greater than this, from 2.5A with the 1TB Kingston KC3000 to 3A with the 2TB MP600 XT Professional – and we now have seen a drive pull over 10W with the 8TB Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus. As drives get sooner, energy draw is more and more a priority – particularly for laptops — and extraordinary effectivity is one purpose the Gold P31 has been so in style.
This drive is single-sided, however there’s clearly solely sufficient area for 2 NAND packages. Double-sided designs, as with the Phison E18 controller, can attain as much as 8TB, and NAND packages can comprise as much as 16 dies – though eight tends to be extra cheap until you’re very constrained. Dies have to fulfill bodily necessities for space and peak. SK hynix has said the launch Platinum P41 drives use 512Gb dies, so the 2TB right here has two sixteen-die, or 16DP, packages.
Most client NVMe controllers use architectures based mostly on ARM’s Cortex-R sequence, that are processor cores specialised for real-time functions akin to latency-sensitive I/O. The brand new Sk hynix Aries SSD controller is bigger than its previous-gen Cepheus, and the elevated floor space will play a component in warmth dissipation. SK hynix has confirmed that is an eight-channel design with a doubling of cores over the Cepheus. The bundle measures 17 x 17mm, which is bigger than the 15 x 15mm specified by SMI for the SM2264. The ‘2149’ on the controller seemingly refers back to the manufacturing date — week 49 in 2021. This isn’t uncommon, however the present market is struggling to supply microcontrollers, so maybe SK hynix stockpiled or in any other case waited for flash manufacturing to ramp up.
SK hynix additionally makes use of its personal LPDDR4 DRAM on the P41, matching what they used on the Gold P31. DDR4 makes use of much less voltage than DDR3 and, additional, the low-power variant is much more environment friendly. DRAM for SSDs is mostly used for metadata, significantly, mapping and addressing for translation between bodily and logical knowledge areas. DRAM has far decrease latency than NAND, so it’s significantly helpful for a lot of small and random I/O operations. That is very true for writes as they require an replace of the look-up desk (LUT). DRAM works optimally by storing the newest or “hottest” knowledge accesses.
We regularly discuss DRAM configuration in reference to the bus bit width. A decrease bit width tends to have extra bandwidth, however the next bit width is cheaper. Because of the sort of entry used on SSDs, the latter is a more sensible choice, so we sometimes see a 16-bit configuration.
SK hynix listed a number of challenges in its 2021 ISSCC technical digest for the 176-layer TLC flash it makes use of on this drive. We do not record flash density on our specs desk. This is a vital attribute as it’s one issue that limits capability. Flash producers continuously attempt to improve the variety of cells and bits they will cram right into a given floor space, encouraging enhancements like CMOS-under-Array (CuA). SK hynix’s 176-layer 512Gb TLC is rated for 10.8Gb/mm2, which is akin to Micron’s 10.27Gb/mm2 and BiCS6’s 10.4Gb/mm2. SK hynix has due to this fact improved density by greater than a 3rd over its earlier era of TLC flash, maintaining with the competitors. For comparability, Micron’s 176-layer 1Tb QLC, with 33% extra bits per cell, must be at 14.7Gb/mm2.
SK hynix’s specs for this flash got here from the 2021 Worldwide Stable-State Circuits Convention (ISSCC), which referenced their 512Gb die design. The Gold P31 makes use of each 512Gb and 1Tb dies relying on capability, whereas SK hynix states 512Gb for the three launch SKUs. There are similarities to the earlier 128-layer era, with the 176-layer flash being considerably sooner in latency however with a a lot sooner I/O interface pace — 1066 MT/s versus 1600 MT/s. Whereas this may enhance response time to a point, any bandwidth limitation depends on the controller, that’s, the bus charge and the variety of channels.
Array effectivity, the ratio between whole gate layers, and the variety of phrase traces for knowledge have continued to enhance. Some layers is perhaps relegated to be used as dummy phrase traces, typically at both finish of the information phrase traces and between decks to mitigate electron injection results on the edges. Others could also be used for supply and drain gate selectors. All of that is related if one is attempting to gauge the “actual” layer rely, though, in follow, that simply offers an concept of architectural effectivity. It suffices to say we count on this flash to carry out moderately effectively as SK hynix has addressed peak issues.
MORE: Finest SSDs
MORE: How We Check HDDs And SSDs
MORE: All SSD Content material
