Intel D7-P5510 7.68TB Enterprise SSD Review

1. Introduction and Drive Details
2. Benchmarks - Random and Sequential Performance
3. Benchmarks - Server Workloads
4. Final Thoughts

TweakTown's Rating: 99%

The Bottom Line

Affordable Gen4 goodness with enterprise features and endurance put the Intel D7-P5510 at the head of its class.

Buy at Amazon

Introduction and Drive Details

Intel's newest Enterprise SSD represents a couple of firsts for TweakTown.com. First and most obvious, the D7-P5510 is the first PCIe Gen4 Enterprise SSD to come across our test bench. Secondly, this is our first go round with Intel 144 layer 3-bit flash. We've gotten a taste of Intel 144-layer flash when we reviewed the Intel 670p back in March of this year. However, the 670p is based on Intel's 4-bit version of their 144-layer flash. Even though the 670p employs 144-layer QLC flash, we got a taste of just how good Intel's newest flash node really is. It's amazingly good in QLC, so we expect great things from faster TLC 144-layer Intel flash.

Intel has yet to release a consumer SSD with a PCIe Gen4 interface, so we are delighted to get our first taste of Intel PCIe Gen4 goodness here today. The D7-P5510 steps into the ring sporting impressive factory specs and rated endurance. Intel claims the D7-P5510 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD can sustain up to 930K IOPS when serving data to the host. Sustained 128K sequential speeds check-in at up to a whopping 7,000 MB/s. The D7-P5510 7.68TB isn't just about speed; this drive is warrantied for up to 14 petabytes of endurance. Impressive.

Quick Specs/Comparison Products

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Intel D7-P5510 Enterprise PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD

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This side of the drive features a familiar-looking manufacturer label.

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The bottom of the drive's enclosure is a heavy-duty cast aluminum piece that serves as a heat sink.

Specifications and Features

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Intel's D7-P5510 PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD is a 2.5" x15mm U.2 (SFF-8639) Enterprise SSD is available in two capacities, 3.84TB and 7.68TB. Features include a PCIe Gen4 x4 U.2 interface, Intel NVMe controller, Intel 144-layer 3-bit 3D4 NAND, power loss protection, end-to-end data protection featuring XOR parity, and advanced LDPC bit correction on all internal and external memories in the data path for protection at every layer.

Specifications for the 3.84TB D7-P5510 can be found.

Current online pricing finds the 7.68TB D7-P5510 retailing for approximately $1600.

Enterprise 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 four steps:

1. Secure Erase SSD
2. Write entire capacity of SSD a minimum of 2x with 128KB sequential write data, seamlessly transition to next step
3. Precondition SSD at maximum QD measured (QD32 for SATA, QD256 for PCIe) with the test specific workload for a sufficient amount of time to reach a constant steady-state, seamlessly transition to next step
4. Run test specific workload for 5-minutes at each measured Queue Depth, record results

Intel D7-P5510 7.68TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 U.2 SSD

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$358.99	$359.99	$359.95	$363.00	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 12/8/2023 at 1:59 am CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Benchmarks - Random and Sequential Performance

4K Random Write/Read

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We precondition the drive for 16,000 seconds, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state.

Steady-state is achieved at 7,000 seconds of preconditioning. Average steady-state write performance at QD256 is approximately 200K IOPS.

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We have no problem sustaining 200,000 4K random write IOPS which verifies Intel's stated sustained random write spec. What impresses us more, however, is the drive's low queue depth performance. QD1-4 is where we want to see great performance most of all, and this is exactly where the D7-P5510 is dishing it out. Excellent.

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Intel specs the D7-P5510 7.68TB for up to 930,000 random read IOPS, and that's exactly what our testing produces at QD256. Again, low queue depth performance is exceptional. Performance where it matters most.

8K Random Write/Read

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We precondition the drive for 16,000 seconds, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state.

Steady-state is achieved at 7,000 seconds of preconditioning. Average steady-state write performance at QD256 is approximately 103K IOPS.

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We expect 8K random to track exactly the same as 4K random, just at a 50% lower rate. This is exactly what we get.

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Here we expect to see our charts tracking the same as our 4K charts with somewhat lower performance. Results come in as expected.

128K Sequential Write/Read

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We precondition the drive for 6,500 seconds, receiving performance data every second. Steady-state for this test was already achieved when we filled the drive with 128K seq data.

Average steady-state sequential write performance at QD256 is approximately 4,300 MB/s.

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Our testing verifies factory sustained sequential write specifications to be accurate, if not a bit on the conservative side.

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Although it takes some queues to ramp it up, when it does, the D7-P5510 7.68TB SSD delivers the goods big time. 7,400 MB/s is absolutely amazing and significantly better than what Intel rates the drive for.

Benchmarks - Server Workloads

Email Server

An Email Server workload is a demanding 8K test with a 50 percent R/W distribution. This application gives a good indication of how well a drive will perform in a write-heavy workload environment.

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We precondition the drive for 16,000 seconds, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state.

Steady-State is achieved at approximately 9,000 seconds of preconditioning. Average steady-state workload performance at QD256 is approximately 175K IOPS.

The tight preconditioning patterns with few to no outlying IO's we see in the above chart is testament to the high QoS delivered by the D7-P5510 7.68TB Enterprise SSD.

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The typical operating region for most enterprise workloads is in the QD1-QD16 range. This is where we find the D7-P5510 with its PCIe Gen4 interface having a huge advantage over the comparison SSDs that comprise our test pool. Again, performance where it matters most.

OLTP/Database Server

An On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) / Database workload is a demanding 8K test with a 66/33 percent R/W distribution. OLTP is online processing of financial transactions and high-frequency trading.

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We precondition the drive for 16,000 seconds, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state.

Steady-state is achieved at 10,000 seconds of preconditioning. Average steady-state workload performance at QD256 is approximately 214K IOPS.

The D7-P5510 7.68TB demonstrates quality consistency with very few IO's that could be considered outliers.

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It's all about performance in the operating region, and again, this is where we find Intel's PCIe Gen4 D7-P5510 outpacing the competition by a country mile.

Web Server

A Web Server workload is a pure random read test with a wide range of file sizes, ranging from 512B to 512KB at varying percentage rates per file size.

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We precondition the drive for 16,000 seconds, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state.

We precondition for this test with an inverted (all-write) workload, so no relevant information can be gleaned from this chart.

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Having a PCIe Gen4 interface along with a 144-layer flash array really allows the read-centric D7-P5510 7.68TB to stretch its legs here in a big way. Our test subject finishes this brutal test at QD256 generating 50% to 100% more IO's (performance) than the drives we have competing against it. Impressive.

Final Thoughts

PCIe Gen4 has ushered in a new level of performance for flash-based storage devices. We've got plenty of it in the consumer space, but until now, we've not seen much of it in the enterprise space. Intel's D7-P5510 7.68TB SSD has given us our first taste of what PCIe Gen4 with Intel 144-layer TLC flash can do for datacenters and business applications alike.

We like what the D7-P5510 brings to the table for more reasons than just its stellar performance alone. This drive has a ton of endurance, it's SMB friendly, and it is more accessible for more applications because of its value pricing. Everything we want all wrapped up in what we consider the most desirable enterprise form factor.

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We feel the most impressive feature of the D7-P5510 series is its class-leading low queue performance. This is performance where it matters most. This is what we feel makes the 7.68TB model by far the best performing flash-based enterprise SSD we've tested to date and well-deserving of an Editor's Choice Award.

Pros:

• Best Form Factor
• Low Cost
• PCIe Gen4 Performance
• Density

Cons:

• Seq Read @ QD16