According to data obtained from Samsung, Samsung is preparing a new SSD. Korea Conformity Assessment Database (opens in new tab)If the model numbers follow the pattern of Samsung’s previous SSDs, these models could be the yet-to-be-announced Samsung 990 Pro PCIe 5.0 drives. And I’m really looking forward to seeing these in action.
Database entry was discovered by @harukaze5719 (opens in new tab) (via tom’s hardware (opens in new tab)). The models in question are the MZ-V9P1T0 and MZ-V9P2T0. The 980 Pro has the model number MZ-V8P1T0 with slight variations depending on his particular SKU, so 9 of these model numbers is a giveaway. 1T and 2T suggest there are 1 TB and 2 TB versions, but no 4 TB.
The Samsung 980 Pro launched almost two years ago in September 2020. This comes more than a year after the first consumer PCIe 4.0 drives launched with AMD’s X570 platform. This time Samsung doesn’t want to be late to the party. The fact that these listings appear in this database indicates that the drives will be released soon. A simultaneous launch with AMD’s PCIe 5.0 supporting the AM5 platform is certainly possible.
The 990 Pro isn’t Samsung’s first PCIe 5.0 SSD. The PM1743 for data centers is already available, but with an EDSFF form factor and capacities up to 15.36 TB, it’s not a drive you can afford, even if you have a server board to connect to. At least it proves that Samsung’s PCIe 5.0 architecture is ready for serious action.
Of course I don’t know the specs or the price as this is just a hint that the drive exists. We can expect it to include a new controller and Samsung’s latest and greatest 3D NAND.
Samsung 990 PRO SSD (1TB/2TB) M.2 NVMe, PCIe 5.0. 2280? 2580? idk.memo: 980PRO is MZ-V8P1T00 https://t.co/PQBYA8rENZ pic.twitter.com/T1v03JkPSAAugust 2, 2022
Performance is also unknown, but given that the PM1743 is capable of 14GB/s read speeds and 2,500K IOPS, it’s safe to say that the 990 Pro will wreck even the best PCIe 4.0 M.2 drives by a lot. There is none.
Samsung wants to sell the drive to early adopters who buy PCIe 5.0 with Zen 4 support. (opens in new tab) There remains a question mark as to how prevalent PCIe 5.0 M.2 support will be on Intel’s 700 series motherboards, (opens in new tab).
