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Silicon Motion SM2508 PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe SSD Controller Set for Mass Production

✇AnandTech

Silicon Motion has been teasing their SM2508 client SSD controller for more than a year now at various trade shows. The controller is finally set for mass production, just in time as the mainstream segment of the Gen 5 SSD market is poised to take off. Silicon Motion expects SSDs based on the SM2508 to be available for purchase by the end of the year.

At FMS 2024, the company was reusing the same information cards seen at Computex in June. The specifications of the SM2508 from our Computex coverage are reproduced here.

Silicon Motion NVMe Client SSD Controller Comparison
  SM2508 SM2264 SM2268XT2 SM2269XT
Market Segment High-End Mainstream
Manufacturing Process 6nm 12nm 12nm 12nm
CPU Cores 4x Cortex R8 4x Cortex R8 2x Cortex R8 2x Cortex R8
Error Correction 4K+ LDPC 4K LDPC 4K+ LDPC 4K LDPC
DRAM DDR4, LPDDR4X DDR4, LPDDR4X No No
Host Interface PCIe 5.0 x4 PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 4.0 x4
NVMe Version NVMe 2.0 NVMe 1.4 NVMe 2.0 NVMe 1.4
NAND Channels, Interface Speed 8 ch,
3600 MT/s		 8 ch,
1600 MT/s		 4 ch,
3600 MT/s		 4 ch,
1600 MT/s
Sequential Read 14.5 GB/s 7.5 GB/s 7.4 GB/s 5.1 GB/s
Sequential Write 14 GB/s 7 GB/s 6.7 GB/s 4.8 GB/s
4KB Random Read IOPS 2500k 1300k 1200k 900k
4KB Random Write IOPS 2500k 1200k 1200k 900k

Current Gen 5 SSDs in the consumer client market are currently all based on Phison's E26 controller. The appearance of newer platform solutions for SSD vendors is bound to be good from both an end-user pricing and adoption perspective.

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Solidigm 122 TB Enterprise QLC SSD Announced for Early 2025 Release

✇AnandTech

Solidigm's D5-P5336 61.44 TB enterprise QLC SSD released in mid-2023 has seen unprecedented demand over the last few quarters, driven by the insatiable demand for high-capacity storage in AI datacenters. Multiple vendors have recognized and started preparing products to service this demand, but Solidigm appears to have taken the lead in actual market availability.

At FMS 2024, Solidigm previewed a U.2 version of their upcoming 122 TB enterprise QLC SSD. The proof-of-concept Gen 4 drives were running live in a 2U server, and Solidigm is preparing them for an early 2025 release.

Given the capacity play, Solidigm will be relying on QLC technology. However, the company was coy about confirming the NAND generation used in the product.

Floating gate architecture retains programmed voltage levels for a longer duration compared to charge trap, allowing QLC implementation
Source: The Advantages of Floating Gate Technology (YouTube)

The 61.44 TB D5-P5336 currently utilizes Solidigm's 192L 3D QLC based on the floating gate architecture. This has a distinct advantage for QLC endurance compared to the charge trap architecture also available to Solidigm from SK hynix. That said, SK hynix's 238L NAND also has a QLC avatar, which gives Solidigm the flexibility to use either NAND for the production version of the 122 TB drive. Solidigm expects to confirm this by the end of year in preparation for volume shipment in the first half of 2025.

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