The Solidigm P44 Pro is SK Hynix Platinum P41 under another name.That drive was the fastest drive we tested at launch, but is now marginally overtaken by much more expensive drives. samsung 990 proBeing part of Solidigm, the P44 Pro has access to a full software suite and comes at a significantly lower MSRP than the Platinum P41 in all capacities.
There are some minor firmware tweaks, but the overall performance remains roughly the same, with the added benefit of increasing the global availability of this drive. best SSDthe P44 Pro also lacks a heatsink option, but is otherwise great for most applications.
Specifications of Solidigm P44 Pro
| product | 512GB | 1TB | 2TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| price | $79.99 | $129.99 | $219.99 |
| form factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| interface/protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 |
| controller | SK Hynix Aries | SK Hynix Aries | SK Hynix Aries |
| DRAM | SK Hynix LPDDR4 | SK Hynix LPDDR4 | SK Hynix LPDDR4 |
| memory | SK Hynix 176L TLC | SK Hynix 176L TLC | SK Hynix 176L TLC |
| Sequential read | 7,000MBps | 7,000MBps | 7,000MBps |
| Sequential write | 4,700MBps | 6,500MBps | 6,500MBps |
| random read | 960,000 IOPS | 1,400,000 IOPS | 1,400,000 IOPS |
| random write | 1,000,000 IOPS | 1,300,000 IOPS | 1,300,000 IOPS |
| safety | AES-256 | AES-256 | AES-256 |
| Endurance (TBW) | 500TBW | 750TBW | 1200TBW |
| part number | SSDPFKKW512H7X1 | SSDPFKKW010X7 | SSDPFKKW020X7 |
| guarantee | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years |
The Solidigm P44 Pro is available in 512GB, 1TB and 2TB. This is a bit different than the Platinum P41, which is a little more over-provisioned. In practice, this doesn’t make much of a difference to the user experience. The amount of flash available to P44 Pro users is the same, just a little more, and it’s a good idea to keep some free space on your SSD. In daily use there is no obvious difference between these two drives. MSRPs are $79.99, $129.99 and $219.99 for the three launch capacities, all significantly lower than the Platinum P41.
Otherwise, the P44 Pro matches the specifications of the Platinum P41, up to 7,000/6,500 MBps for sequential reads and writes. IOPS are not officially listed, but in theory it should reach 1.4M/1.3M IOPS read/write like Platinum P41. AES-256 encryption is supported, as is TCG Pyrite. Solidigm backs this drive with a 5 year warranty and 500 TB, 750 TB and 1200 TB writes per capacity. This is a PCIe 4.0 drive in the M.2 2280 form factor, but will work just fine in a 3.0 slot.
Solidigm P44 Pro software and accessories
The P44 Pro has three downloadable software: Solidigm Storage Driver, Solidigm Bootable Firmware Update Tool, and Solidigm Storage Tool. These were discussed in our Solidigm P41 Plus review, with particular attention to the drivers that enable the P41 Plus’ Host Managed Cache (HMC).
The Bootable Firmware Update Tool allows you to update your Solidigm SSD firmware via bootable USB or optical media. The Solidigm Storage Tool also allows you to update the firmware using the Command Line Interface (CLI), but provides a GUI that details SSD status and capabilities.
Learn more about Solidigm P44 Pro
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The Solidigm P44 Pro looks almost identical to the Platinum P41. This is a single-sided drive with a controller, DRAM, and two NAND packages.
There are some minor changes in the power management circuitry, but such analysis is outside the scope of this review. More generally, either a discrete solution using multiple components or a more intimate solution using a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) can be used. There is a difference in terms of cost and required board space, but the current PMIC shortage probably makes this drive design a little easier to mass produce. Manufacturers like Phison make their own PMICs, but usually license their controllers as well.
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For full technical details on SK hynix’s controller and flash, read our Platinum P41 review. Aries is a powerful controller that takes IOPS performance to new heights, perhaps beaten only by Samsung’s Pascal on the 990 Pro.This level of performance is staggering for a consumer drive, but future developments like Microsoft direct storage SSDs are more demanding.
Solidigm uses SK hynix’s LPDDR4 for the drive’s DRAM cache, and 2GB of memory is enough for a 2TB drive. I like to see this amount of DRAM and welcome anything that can provide a little power savings.
The flash is the same as found in the Platinum P41: 176 layer TLC. This is generationally new and due to unfavorable market conditions it will be a while before more layers are fully produced.
Solidigm also has its own flash, including the 144-layer QLC inherited from Intel. P41 Plus, a potentially confusing situation, especially since SK hynix has demonstrated 176-layer QLC on a different architecture. Further confusion arises with the Solidigm P41 Plus having a similar name to the Platinum P41. With the P44 Pro, this will eventually go away, but it might be best to think of it as the more widely distributed Platinum P41.
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