A new SSD from Solidigm has arrived, the Solidigm D5-P5336, with up to 61.44 terabytes of QLC NAND, which is probably enough storage for the lifetime of several gamers.

Rated at 7000 MB/sec sequential read and 3100 MB/sec sequential write, this is a fairly fast drive considering it is built on QLC NAND, which is considerably slower than other types. So if you start using raw NAND for larger transfers, or if the drive starts to fill up, it probably won't be as fast, but we are not talking about a gaming SSD here, so there is no need to worry.

The reason it's not for gamers is that when this new drive is released later this year, it will be offered in U.2 and E1.L form factors (via TechSpot). This means that it is essentially a server-only drive; it is absolutely possible to fit a U.2 drive in a machine, but it will be a bit cramped when it comes to the 318.75mm-long E1.L drive. Also, this drive would need to be cooled by a powerful fan. For most people, this would not be a practical storage solution.

Solidigm has actually published photos of 32 servers with this defective product. That's 1966 TB in one rack, or nearly two petabytes of solid state storage. We also found a 2U SSD server that can hold up to 108 E1.L drives, totaling more than 6 petabytes of storage. I shudder to think how much cooling is required for such a huge storage solution, especially considering that the D5-P5336 requires up to 25W in its active state.

Now, if this SSD looks familiar, that's because it should (for those really interested in SSDs). Solidigm was once Intel's in-house storage division, but was sold to SK Hynix in 2021, and while under the Intel brand, they introduced a very long drive, the D5-P5316, with a maximum capacity of 30.72TB. Solidigm still sells the D5-P5316 under its own brand, and this new drive, the D5-P5336, doubles its effective capacity.