Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance

Memblaze doubled the highest capacity of its PCIe Gen5 PBlaze7 7940 Series to a whopping 30.72TB, making it one of the most efficient SSDs in existence.

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD - Massive Capacity & Performance
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Senior Hardware Editor
Published
Manufactured by Memblaze
6 minutes & 15 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 98%
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The Bottom Line

Massive capacity and massive performance. Memblaze's P7940 30.72TB is in a class of its own.

Pros

  • Up to 2.7 million RR IOPS
  • Power efficiency
  • Capacity
  • TCO

Cons

  • None

Should you buy it?

AvoidConsiderShortlistBuy

Introduction and Drive Details

Having already reviewed the Memblaze P7940 Series back in August of 2023 and more recently the FlumeIO F5900 we are very well acquainted with what the current Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 Series lineup have to offer. These NVMe SSDs leverage the state-of-the-art PCIe 5.0 interface with NVMe 2.0 support, offering up to 2.5 times the performance and up to 1.5 times the power efficiency per IO compared with conventional PCIe 4.0 SSDs. With random performance of up to 2.8 million IOPS and sequential bandwidth of up to 14,000 MB/s, the P7940 Series is ideal for high-performance computing environments.

The PBlaze7 7940 Series SSDs are ideal for a wide range of applications, including database management, cloud DC computing, high-performance computing, AI/ML, Big Data, ERP systems, high-frequency trading, online payment systems, CDN, and edge computing.

Key features include TRIM, Multi-namespace, EUI64/NGUID, AES 256 Data Encryption & Crypto Erase, Firmware Upgrade without Reset, Timestamp, Weighted Round Robin, Variable Sector Size Management & NVMe End-to-End Data Protection(DIF/DIX)[4], Latency Statistics & High Latency Logging, Telemetry, Sanitize, Persistent Event Log, Secure Download, Secure Boot, Get LBA Status, Write Zeroes, Write Uncorrectable, TCG OPAL2.0, NVMe-MI, ARP, Power Failure Protection, Full Data Path Protection, S.M.A.R.T, Flexible Power Management, and Hot Pluggability.

In terms of performance, the P7940 Series offers unmatched sequential write and 8K random read performance, even able to best Solidigm's supremely powerful D7-PS1030 in both metrics. It is in fact one of our all-time favorite enterprise offerings. As we see it, you can't do much better for your enterprise at this moment in time. Or can you? Well turns out that you can, because Memblaze has doubled the top capacity point of its P7940 Series to a whopping 30.72TB of PCIe Gen5 awesomeness.

By doubling the top capacity point of its PCIe Gen5 flagship offering, the China based storage giant have massively improved the potential efficiency of its latest and greatest. Potentially, TCO is nearly cut in half when capacity is doubled. With a doubling of capacity comes inherently twice the endurance, half the footprint and double the TB per watt of storage. This is why we subscribe to the saying that capacity is king.

The P7940 Series SSDs are super-efficient, able to deliver up to 970MB/s sequential read performance per watt. The company further states that through extensive hardware design and firmware optimization, the PBlaze7 7940 Series achieves higher hardware utilization and simultaneously minimizes its impact on server heat dissipation. Meanwhile, with power mode settings ranging from 12W to 25W, the PBlaze7 7940 series provides accurate and dynamic power control.

Specs/Comparison Products

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 01
ItemDetails
ModelMemblaze PBlaze 7 7940 30.72TB
MSRPN/A
Model NumberP7940DT3072M00
InterfacePCIe Gen5 x4
Form FactorU.2
Sequential BWUp to 14,000 MB/s
Random IOPSUp to 2700K IOPS
Warranty5-Years Limited

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB PCIe Gen5 x4 U.2 SSD

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 02
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 03
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 04

The PBlaze P7940 series is available in multiple form factors, including 2.5-inch U.2, E3.S, E1.S, and HHHL AIC, ensuring compatibility with diverse deployment environments. These SSDs are compatible with major operating systems such as RHEL, SLES, CentOS, Ubuntu, Windows Server, and VMware ESXi. The drive we have in hand is 30.72TB, Marvell Bravera 16-channel controlled, and is arrayed with Micron B58R TLC flash. Note: The 30.72TB model is only available in U.2 form factor.

Test System Specs & Enterprise Testing Methodology

Enterprise SSD Test System

ItemDetails
MotherboardASUS Pro WS W790E-SAGE SE (Buy at Amazon)
CPUIntel Xeon w7-2495X (Buy at Amazon)
GPUGIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1650 (Buy at Amazon)
CoolerAlphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 (Buy at Amazon)
RAMMicron DDR5-4800 RDIMM (Buy at Amazon)
Power Supplybe quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W (Buy at Amazon)
CasePrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench (Buy at Amazon)
OSUbuntu 24.04.1 LTS

Prior to the AI revolution, datacenter SSDs' normal operating range would typically never exceed QD32. With AI data pipeline storage being directed by GPU, high queue depth performance has become paramount. Queue depths in the thousands are now commonplace, which is why we've changed our test platform, methodology, and operating system. Our charted upper queue depth range has been revised from QD256 to QD4096 for random data and up to QD1024 for sequential testing.

Testing Methodology

TweakTown strictly adheres to industry-accepted Enterprise Solid State Storage testing procedures. Each test we perform repeats the same sequence of the following steps:

  1. Secure Erase SSD
  2. Write the entire capacity of SSD 2x (2 loops) with 128KB sequential write data, seamlessly transition to the next step (sequential testing skips step 3)
  3. Precondition SSD by filling the drive twice with 4K or 8K random writes
  4. Run test-specific workload with a 30-second ramp up for 5 minutes at each measured Queue Depth, and record average result
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Benchmarks - Sequential

128K Sequential Write/Read

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 05

We precondition the drive using 100 percent sequential 128K writes at QD256 using 1-thread for 2-drive fills, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state and to verify steady-state is in effect as we seamlessly transition into testing at queue depth. A steady-state is achieved after 1-drive fill. Average steady-state 128K sequential write performance at QD256 is approximately 9,800 MB/s.

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 06
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 07

Memblaze specs its P7940 30.72TB U.2 SSD as capable of delivering up to 9,800 MB/s 128K sequential write throughput. We are getting up to 9,900 MB/s, so the factory spec seems to be spot on or maybe even a bit on the conservative side. A quick look at the chart clearly demonstrates the superior sequential write throughput we mentioned previously.

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 08
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 09

The 30.72TB model is factory spec'd for up to 14GB/s sequential read throughput, which is again exactly what we see at QD64. Excellent.

Benchmarks - Random

4K Random Write/Read

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 10

We precondition the drive using 100 percent random 4K writes at QD256 for 2-drive fills, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state and to verify steady-state is in effect as we seamlessly transition into testing at queue depth. A steady-state is achieved after 1-drive fill. Average steady-state 4K random write performance at QD256 is approximately 440K IOPS.

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 11
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 12

The 30.72TB drive is rated at up to 410K for 4K random write IOPS. With our configuration, we are hitting 440K IOPS. Our chart demonstrates the P7940's best-in-class 4K random write performance with it demolishing the other 1-DWPD (Drive Write Per Day) class SSDs appearing on our chart. The FlumeIO F5900 7.68TB we have charted, except for its capacity, is configured identically to our test subject.

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 13
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 14

Our 30.72TB test subject is rated at up to 2,700K 4K random read IOPS. With our configuration that's exactly what we are seeing. Impressively, for such a high-capacity drive, its performance curve is virtually identical to that of the similarly configured F5900 7.68TB. Overall, its performance curve here is among the best.

4K 7030

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 15
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 16

Now this is impressive. Our 30.72TB 1-DWPD SSD finishes well ahead of the 3-DWPD CM7-V. Additionally, it delivers a performance curve that is, in our opinion, even better than the similarly configured F5900 7.68TB. If you have massive datasets involving read-dominant mixed workloads, you can't do much better than the P7940 30.72TB.

4K 5050

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 17
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 18

As we add more programming into the mix, our lightly overprovisioned test subject surprisingly holds its own. 775K IOPS here is again jaw dropping for a 1-DWPD SSD. Impressive.

8K Random Write/Read

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 19

We precondition the drive using 100 percent random 8K writes at QD256 for 2-drive fills, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state and to verify steady-state is in effect as we seamlessly transition into testing at queue depth. A steady-state is achieved after 1-drive fill. Average steady-state 8K random write performance at QD256 is approximately 240K IOPS.

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 20
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 21

We expect 8K random to track pretty much the same as 4K random here, just at a lower IOPS rate because it's moving twice the amount of data. Here we are getting significantly more than half the IOPS that we got at 4K, which we find impressive - as it's not often the case with a 1-DWPD SSD.

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 22
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 23

At queue depths of 256 and higher, our high-capacity contender can even outperform the mighty D7-PS1030. As we said, this hardware combination does indeed deliver unparalleled 8K read performance.

8K 7030

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 24
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 25

8K 7030 is representative of a common database workload. 675K IOPS here from a 1-DWPD SSD is stunning indeed. If you deal with massive database datasets, this is THE SSD for your enterprise.

8K 5050

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 26
Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 27

Again, the best we've encountered to date for a 1-DWPD SSD. Only 3-DWPD SSDs can deliver more, and that's remarkable when we take note of how much better our test subject can deliver than anything else in its class.

Final Thoughts

Massive capacity and massive performance are what the Memblaze PBlaze 7940 30.72TB is delivering and it is doing so at unprecedented levels. In our opinion when capacity x footprint x IOPS per watt are considered it could be, overall, the most efficient storage solution currently in circulation. It programs faster than anything in its class, and when it comes to 8K reads, its performance is currently unmatched.

Memblaze PBlaze7 7940 30.72TB Enterprise SSD Review - Massive Capacity & Performance 28

Best-in-class performance along with unmatched efficiency have earned the Memblaze PBlaze P7940 30.72TB U.2 PCIe Gen5 SSD our highest award. Editor's Choice.

Performance

95%

Quality

98%

Features

100%

Value

N/A

Overall

98%

The Bottom Line

Massive capacity and massive performance. Memblaze's P7940 30.72TB is in a class of its own.

TweakTown award
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Country flag Today 7 days ago 30 days ago
$2473.86 USD -
Buy
$2473.86 USD -
Buy
$2473.86 USD -
Buy
$2473.86 USD -
Buy
* Prices last scanned on 2/5/2025 at 4:33 am CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.

Senior Hardware Editor

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Jon joined the TweakTown team in 2013 and has since reviewed 100s of new storage products. Jon became a computer enthusiast when Windows XP launched. He was into water cooling and benching ATI video cards with modded drivers. Jon has been building computers for others for more than 10 years. Jon became a storage enthusiast the day he first booted an Intel X25-M G1 80GB SSD. Look for Jon to bring consumer SSD reviews into the spotlight.

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