30.72TB and 61.44TB SSDs Compared: Brands, QLC vs TLC, Price

Above 15.36TB the enterprise SSD market narrows quickly. At 30.72TB there is still a real choice across Samsung, Micron, Kioxia and Solidigm, in SAS, PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0. At 61.44TB the field is a small number of NVMe drives built for dense, read-heavy storage, and in our catalogue that means the Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN655. This guide covers how to compare drives in this class on the specifications that actually differ, which brands have lines here, and what sets the price of a 60TB-plus SSD.

How do you compare 30TB NVMe drives?

Start by setting the headline speeds aside. The PCIe 4.0 drives at 30.72TB list very similar maximum sequential figures, because the x4 interface sets the ceiling, not the flash. The specifications that separate them are these:

• NAND type. TLC in the Samsung PM1733, Micron 9400 PRO (176-layer), Micron 6500 ION (232-layer) and Kioxia CM7-R; QLC in the Solidigm D5-P5430, D5-P5336 (192-layer) and D5-P5316 (144-layer). This shapes write behavior and endurance more than anything else on the sheet.
• Endurance. The Samsung PM1733, Micron 9400 PRO and Kioxia CM7-R are rated 1 DWPD read-intensive, which at 30.72TB is about 30TB of writes per drive per day. The Micron 6500 ION and the Solidigm QLC drives are listed as read-intensive; check each product page for the full rating.
• PCIe generation. The Kioxia CM7-R is PCIe 5.0 x4, rated up to 14,000 MB/s read and 6,750 MB/s write. The other NVMe drives here are PCIe 4.0 x4.
• Form factor. U.3 for the Micron 9400 PRO, Micron 6500 ION and Kioxia CM7-R; U.2 for the Samsung PM1733 and the Solidigm drives. Match it to your backplane.
• Exact part number. One model can appear under several MPNs. The Micron 9400 PRO 30.72TB, for example, is listed as MTFDKCC30T7TGH-1BC1ZA and as MTFDKCC30T7TGH-1BC1ZABYY. Confirm which variant your server vendor qualifies before you compare quotes.

For reliable comparison sources, use three: the manufacturer datasheets, your server vendor's qualified drive list, and a catalogue that puts the candidates side by side. Our 30.72TB enterprise SSD page does the last of these, with each drive's interface, NAND type, endurance and form factor on its product page.

Which brands offer 30.72TB SSDs, and which are the most reliable?

• Samsung: PM1733 (PCIe 4.0 NVMe, U.2, V-NAND TLC), PM1653 (24Gb/s SAS, dual port) and PM1643a (SAS, TLC).
• Micron: 9400 PRO (PCIe 4.0 NVMe, U.3, 176-layer TLC) and 6500 ION (PCIe 4.0 NVMe, U.3, 232-layer TLC).
• Kioxia: CM7-R (PCIe 5.0 NVMe, U.3) and PM7-R (24Gb/s SAS, dual port), both BiCS FLASH TLC.
• Solidigm: D5-P5430 and D5-P5336 (192-layer QLC) and D5-P5316 (144-layer QLC), all PCIe 4.0 NVMe U.2.
• Intel: a 30.72TB QLC U.2 drive, part number SSDPF2NV307TZN1, from before Intel's SSD business became Solidigm. Its part number follows the same pattern as the Solidigm D5-P5316 (SSDPF2NV307TZE).

On reliability, be careful with any ranking. No independent source publishes comparable field failure data for every 30.72TB model, and a brand league table cannot account for your workload. In practice, reliability comes from fit: TLC on a tier that takes steady writes, QLC on a tier that is mostly read, a drive qualified for your server and controller, and a new drive covered by the full manufacturer warranty. Between the four current brands, choose on NAND type, interface and platform support.

Is QLC or TLC better for a 30TB or 60TB SSD?

TLC stores three bits per cell and QLC four, so the same number of flash dies holds a third more data as QLC. That is why QLC dominates the largest capacities and why it lowers the cost of flash per terabyte. The trade is write performance and endurance: QLC handles sustained random writes less gracefully and is rated for fewer writes over its life. For read-heavy data such as AI training datasets, analytics, object storage and archives kept on flash, the trade is usually worth making, and a drive like the Solidigm D5-P5336 fits. For mixed workloads, a TLC drive such as the Micron 9400 PRO or 6500 ION is the safer choice. Our guide to hot, warm and cold storage tiers shows where each belongs.

Should a 30.72TB drive be SAS or NVMe?

NVMe for new builds and anything performance-sensitive. SAS where the drives go into a dual-controller array or a SAS JBOD you already run. The Samsung PM1653 and Kioxia PM7-R bring 30.72TB to 24Gb/s SAS with dual ports, rated up to 4,300 MB/s read, so an existing SAS estate can grow capacity without changing architecture. The Samsung PM1643a is also available at 30.72TB in SAS.

Why do searches for 64TB SSDs return 61.44TB drives?

Because 61.44TB is the capacity actually shipped at that tier. Read-intensive enterprise SSDs follow a doubling series: 1.92, 3.84, 7.68, 15.36, 30.72 and 61.44TB. Each step sits just under a round figure (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64) because the manufacturer reserves part of the raw flash as spare area for wear leveling and garbage collection. So a buyer searching for a 64TB SSD is, in practice, looking for a 61.44TB drive such as the Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN655 (PCIe NVMe, U.3). The ISE in its name stands for Instant Secure Erase; check the product page for its NAND type and endurance rating before you design around it.

What drives the price of a 60TB-plus SSD?

We do not publish price comparisons against other stores, and pricing at this capacity moves with NAND supply. Current pricing for each drive is on its product page, or quoted on request within 48 business hours. When you compare offers, these are the factors behind the number:

• Capacity. More flash costs more, and the top capacity point in any family is also the one with the tightest supply.
• NAND type. QLC lowers the cost of flash per terabyte; TLC at the same capacity costs more but writes better.
• Interface. PCIe 5.0 NVMe and 24Gb/s SAS drives generally carry a premium over PCIe 4.0 NVMe at the same capacity.
• Variant. Secure-erase, self-encrypting and OEM-branded versions carry their own part numbers and their own prices, so compare the exact same MPN.
• Condition and channel. A noticeably lower price often means refurbished, pulled or grey-market stock without the manufacturer warranty. Our note on procurement red flags covers what to check.
• Cost per rack, not per drive. A 24-bay 2U server holds about 1.47PB raw with 61.44TB drives against about 737TB with 30.72TB drives, so the larger drive can save servers, rack space, power and per-node licenses even at a higher price per terabyte.

Compare 30TB-class drives on NAND type, endurance, interface and exact part number. Headline sequential speeds are nearly identical across the PCIe 4.0 models and tell you little.

Nexus Compute supplies every drive in this guide new, through authorized distribution, with the full manufacturer warranty, and checks compatibility with your server before dispatch. For 30.72TB and 61.44TB drives in volume, send the model, quantity and target platform and we will quote within 48 business hours.