Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class

With the rise of AI comes the need for ever-faster, more powerful storage, and Solidigm's first PCIe Gen5 SSD is delivering the most where it matters most.

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD - Best-In-Class
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Senior Hardware Editor
Published
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Manufactured by Solidigm
5 minutes & 45 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 97%
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The Bottom Line

For read-intensive applications, the Solidigm 3.84TB D7-PS1010 delivers best-in-class performance.

Pros

  • Up to 3.2 million RR IOPS
  • Low Queue Depth performance
  • Power efficiency

Cons

  • None

Should you buy it?

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Introduction and Drive Details

Solidigm's D7-PS1030 6.4TB is our current overall enterprise SSD performance champion. This 3-DWPD (Drive Write Per Day) mixed workload specialist is an absolute juggernaut as it relates to mixed workloads. Our testing clearly shows that nothing flash-based currently in circulation can match its mixed workload performance.

The D7-PS1010 was launched alongside the D7-PS1030, and it is intended to fill the role of mainstream data specialist designed to accommodate read-intensive 1-drive write per day (DWPD) workloads. Both models are available in 15mm U.2 and 7.5mm E3.S form factors. Today, we have in hand Solidigm's highest spec'd, in terms of 4K random read performance, capacity point Gen5 SSD, the 3.84TB PS1010 U.2 SSD.

This SSD continues what we saw from its 3-DWPD sibling back in August 2024, in that it is one of only two PCIe Gen5 SSDs we've encountered that can deliver and even exceed its maximum advertised random read throughput at QD512. This means that Solidigm's latest and greatest inherently have a superior read performance curve over anything else we've come across.

One final note for those of you who may not know the origins of Solidigm and why the seemingly fledgling company is already delivering more than its competition. SK hynix is the parent company of Solidigm, having acquired most of Intel's SSD business and the Dalian NAND flash manufacturing facility in China on December 29, 2021. With the acquisition, SK hynix instantly became a major player in the enterprise storage business. So, what was Intel storage, and everything that made Intel storage one of the biggest players in the enterprise SSD space is now Solidigm.

Specs/Comparison Products

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 01
ItemDetails
ModelSolidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB
MSRPN/A
Model NumberSB5PH27X038T
InterfacePCIe Gen5 x4
Form FactorU.2
Sequential BWUp to 14,500 MB/s
Random IOPSUp to 3100K IOPS
Warranty5-Years Limited

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB PCIe Gen5 x4 U.2 SSD

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 02
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 03
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 04

Solidigm offers its D7-PS1010 Series at capacity points ranging from 1.92TB -15,36TB across two form factors including 15mm 2.5-inch U.2, and 7.5mm E3.S. The drive we have in hand is 3.84TB U.2, 16-channel controlled and arrayed with SK hynix V7 512Gb TLC flash. These SSDs are compatible with major operating systems such as RHEL, SLES, CentOS, Ubuntu, Windows Server, and VMware ESXi.

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

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 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 8,400 MB/s.

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 06
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 07

Solidigm specs its D7-PS1010 3.84TB SSD as capable of delivering up to 8,200 MB/s 128K sequential write throughput. We are getting up to 8,600 MB/s, so factory spec seems to be on the conservative side. This is the highest 128K sequential write throughput we've ever extracted from any 4TB-class SSD. Impressive.

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 08
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 09

Here the drive is factory spec'd for up to 14,500 MB/s 128K sequential read throughput. We are hitting up to 14,866 MB/s which also happens to be a new lab record for this performance metric. In terms of its performance curve across all measured queue depths, we prefer what the 6.4TB PS1030 is dishing out.

Benchmarks - Random

4K Random Write/Read

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 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 320K IOPS.

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 11
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 12

Our 3.84TB contender is rated at up to 315K for 4K random write IOPS. We are getting up to 322K, so again, pretty much spot on. As the chart demonstrates, our test subject is very much intended for read-intensive applications.

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 13
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 14

Performance here is exactly where the drive is designed to deliver. Factory spec here is up to 3,100K IOPS at QD512. We are getting 3,271K IOPS at QD512 with our configuration, which happens to be a new high mark for any SSD we've tested. Our 3.84TB test subject's performance curve is the second-best we've encountered to date. Here again, we prefer the performance curve of its higher-capacity sibling, the PS1030 6.4TB.

4K 7030

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 15
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 16

Here our 3.84TB contender is rated at up to 729K IOPS for a 4K 7030 random mix. We are getting up to 762K with our configuration. Its low queue depth performance here is among the best, as is its high queue depth performance, however its performance at midrange queue depths is somewhat lackluster.

4K 5050

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 17
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 18

As we add more programming into the mix, naturally, our read-intensive specialist takes another performance hit.

8K Random Write/Read

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 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 160K IOPS.

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 20
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 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. Factory spec here is up to 157K IOPS. We are getting up to 170K IOPS. Interestingly enough, QD1 is where we are seeing the most throughput. We've not seen a performance curve quite like this before. At QD1 our test subject is delivering the third highest throughput for any flash-based SSD we've tested to date.

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 22
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 23

Here the drive is factory spec'd for up to 1,550K IOPS. We are getting up to 1,674K IOPS, so that's great. Additionally, its performance curve is among the very best we've encountered.

8K 7030

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 24
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 25

8K 7030 is representative of a common database workload. Here the drive is factory spec'd for up to 364K IOPS. We are getting up to 383K IOPS. While it does do very well at QD1-2, it's obvious from this chart why a higher capacity 1-DWPD SSD or a 3-DWPD SSD is better suited for this role.

8K 5050

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 26
Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 27

As expected, our read-intensive contender doesn't fare so well in a write-intensive environment.

Final Thoughts

At the 3.84TB capacity point, Solidigm's D7-PS1010 can deliver unmatched 4K random and 128K sequential read performance for a 4TB-class SSD, making it an ideal choice for read-intensive applications. However, as we mix in more programming, the drive starts to lag behind some of its competition. Some of this is due to its capacity, some due to its architecture; however, in ALL instances, the drive performs above the given factory up to performance metrics.

Solidigm D7-PS1010 3.84TB Enterprise SSD Review - Best-In-Class 28

Based on its read prowess, consistency, and the rare ability to deliver exactly as advertised, we award Solidigm's 3.84TB D7-PS1010 SSD our highest award. Editor's Choice.

Performance

92%

Quality

98%

Features

100%

Value

N/A

Overall

97%

The Bottom Line

For read-intensive applications, the Solidigm 3.84TB D7-PS1010 delivers best-in-class performance.

TweakTown award
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Best Deals: Intel Xeon w7-2495X 2500 CPU
Country flag Today 7 days ago 30 days ago
$2523.98 USD $2416.28 USD
Buy
$2523.98 USD $2416.28 USD
Buy
-
- £2460.43
Buy
$2523.98 USD $2416.28 USD
Buy
* Prices last scanned on 2/17/2025 at 4:42 pm 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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