INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   When i first started testing/reviewing solid state drives (SSDs - 2.5") back in 2008 there were but a handful of such manufacturers around, one of which was Intel with their X18-M and X25-M models. Yes, Intel rarely ever led the SSD industry in terms of performance (leaving out their Octane models) but they produced some of the most durable models in the market, ideal for use in both client applications and data centers. In a rather sudden shift back in 2021 SK hynix announced plans to acquire Intel’s SSD business (along with their Dalian NAND Flash Manufacturing Facility assets in China) and by mid-2022 the California based Solidigm emerged as a cooperation between SK hynix and Intel. Unfortunately, somehow this flew beneath my radar until the beginning of this year and so finally i can take a look at their flagship client oriented PCIe 4.0 Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD, the P44 Pro 2TB.

   Solidigm is a leading global provider of innovative NAND flash memory solutions. Solidigm technology unlocks data’s unlimited potential for customers, enabling them to fuel human advancement. Originating from the sale of Intel’s NAND and SSD business, Solidigm became a standalone U.S. subsidiary of semiconductor leader SK hynix in December 2021. Headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California, Solidigm is powered by the inventiveness of more than 2,000 employees in 20 locations around the world. For more information, please visit solidigm.com and follow us on Twitter and on LinkedIn. “Solidigm” is a trademark of SK hynix NAND Product Solutions Corp. (d/b/a Solidigm).

   The P44 Pro is currently available in 512GB/1TB/2TB capacities and is based on SK hynix's very own ACNS075 PHC631.00S-1 PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 (NVMe v1.4) NAND flash controller (codename ARIES) which they’ve paired with 2GB of their very own LPDDR4 DRAM and their very own 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash. This is basically an 100% in-house model by Solidigm/SK hynix and if its specifications sound a bit familiar that's because the P44 Pro is pretty much identical to the Platinum P41 line by SK hynix (minus some firmware changes). So once again the ACNS075 PHC631.00S-1 PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 NAND flash controller is an 8-channel model that fully supports technologies like error correction, TRIM, SMART, device sleep (power management), garbage collection and AES-256bit encryption (TCG pyrite is supported). In regards to endurance Solidigm reports an MTBF (meantime between failures) of 1.6 million hours for the entire line and an TBW of 500, 750 and 1200 for the 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities respectively. As for warranty Solidigm covers their entire P44 Pro line of PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 SSDs with a 5-year limited warranty (same as SK hynix and their Platinum P41).

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solidigm uses a black and blue box to ship the P44 Pro the front of which is taken by their logo, product performance and capacity and a partial product picture.

 

 

The 5-year limited warranty is printed at the rear of the box just over numerous certifications.

 

 

Along with the P44 Pro M.2 NVMe inside the box Solidigm also places installation and warranty instructions.

 

 

THE P44 PRO 2TB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A thin sticker with the company logo, model name and capacity is placed on the top side of the PCB.

 

 

Under that sticker we find the ACNS075 NAND flash controller, 2GB LPDDR4 DRAM module and two 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules.

 

 

On the other side of the PCB, we find a sticker with the electrical requirements, model name, capacity and serial numbers and barcodes of the drive.

 

 

STORAGE TOOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more control over your Solidigm drive you should download the Storage Tool.

Main tab shows information on every SSD in your system, including ones by Solidigm (since Solidigm drives work best with their own driver you should remember to download it from their support page).

 

 

As with most similar software you can also check for available firmware updates.

 

 

The storage tool also allows the end user to perform a diagnostics scan (either quick or full).

 

 

This particular model also supports secure erase (i say this cause the P41 Plus model which I'm also testing does not).

 

 

You can also check further details about the drive from the identify and SMART tabs.

 

 

At the top right corner, we find a system setting which if you click on it and then optimize will open the Windows drive optimization tool.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Not long after I first started testing SSDs back in 2008, I concluded that it's almost impossible for any single benchmark suite to accurately measure their performance and that's why in certain benchmark suites we see amazing read/write performance numbers with some drives while in others things are quite different. The reason behind this is that some benchmarking suites are configured to read and write random chunks of data while others read and write constant (sequential) ones. So that's why i always use a very wide selection of benchmarking suites including AIDA64, HD Tach RW, HD Tune Pro, Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoftware Sandra Pro, AS SSD, IOmeter and ATTO. To get the most accurate results each test gets repeated a total of 6 times with the average performance numbers recorded into the charts*/****. Also, as of February 25th 2015 our results will also include the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA) IOMeter tests. These tests include a 12 Hour write test used to “simulate” performance degradation over time and a mixed workload test which basically shows what you can expect when using an SSD continuously for roughly two hours. Unfortunately, due to the time required for these tests they get repeated a total of 3 times and not 6 as the above.

   Many people have made inquiries about our charts in the past so once again please do keep in mind that the Charts have the average performance numbers of each drive recorded and not the peak (highest) ones. Also, although every single one of these programs can help potential buyers choose the right drive for their needs you should also remember that from any kind of benchmark up to real world usage the gap is not small (and usually most differences will go unnoticed by most people). All tests were performed in a fresh Windows 10 Pro x64 installation complete with every update up to the date of this review.

* Since November 2018 the SSD comparison charts have been divided to 2.5” and M.2 models to reduce their growing size.
** Unless stated otherwise the Ryzen 9 3950x based Test Rig used for M.2 Gen 4 SSD reviews is not located in the lab.
*** As of January 2021 for Gen 3x4 models I’ll be using the Core i9-7980XE test rig (after numerous tests the up to 6% difference in read & write performance compared to the i7-6700 system simply wasn’t enough to justify having an extra test rig around).
**** Since February 2022 M.2 NVMe Gen3 and Gen4 SSD drives are placed in different charts.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AS SSD / IOMETER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - IOMETER SNIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Since the P44 Pro line of PCIe 4.0 Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSDs by Solidigm is pretty much identical to the Platinum P41 line by SK hynix the very first thing i wanted to test was how they did against one another. Now, i already knew that Solidigm had performed some firmware tuning to the drive so when the P44 Pro pulled ahead slightly i wasn’t surprised. Yes, for the most part these two exchange blows but the P44 Pro is the clear winner, even by a very tiny margin. The storage tool by Solidigm is also a bit easier to navigate and use compared to the drive manager SK hynix uses with their drives so that too matters. Also, even though the firmware changes made to the P44 Pro line increased its MTBF to 1.6 million hours (as opposed to the 1.5 million hours of the Platinum P41) the TBW numbers remained the same across all 3 capacities.

   With a current retail price set at USD176.50 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 194.97Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the P44 Pro 2TB by Solidigm is not only priced very well but also almost 50% less than the Platinum P41 2TB by SK hynix. At the end of the day there’s not much more i can say about the Solidigm P44 Pro 2TB, it performs extremely well, features very good endurance numbers and is priced just right so the Platinum Award is in order.

PROS

- Very Good Overall Performance
- Endurance Numbers (1200TBW / 1.6 Million Hours MTBF)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Storage Tool Software
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Thermal Throttling (12 Hour SNIA Test)