How Does the Intel P4610 Compare to Other Enterprise SSDs?

The short answer: the Intel DC P4610 is a mixed-use PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive, and it compares well on endurance and less well on speed. Its 3 DWPD rating puts it in the same endurance class as current mixed-use drives. Its PCIe 3.0 x4 interface puts it at roughly half their listed sequential throughput. Which of those matters depends on your server and your workload, and this guide walks through both, drive by drive.

What is the Intel DC P4610?

The DC P4610 is a 2.5-inch U.2 NVMe SSD with a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, built on 64-layer TLC NAND. It is rated at 3 drive writes per day (DWPD), which places it in the mixed-use class: designed for workloads that write steadily all day, such as databases, virtualization hosts with busy VMs, caching tiers and logging. It lists sequential speeds of up to 3,200 MB/s read and 2,000 MB/s write, the same figures at every capacity we list: 1.6TB, 3.2TB, 6.4TB and 7.68TB.

Endurance scales with capacity. At 3 DWPD, the 1.6TB drive is rated for 4.8TB of writes per day over its warranty period, and the 6.4TB drive for 19.2TB per day. That is the reason buyers still choose it: plenty of NVMe drives are faster, far fewer are rated for that write volume.

Is the P4610 an Intel or a Solidigm drive now?

Both names apply, depending on when you ask. The P4610 was designed and sold by Intel. Intel later sold its NAND SSD business to SK hynix, which runs it as Solidigm, and newer drives in the data center line carry the Solidigm name. You can see the transition in the catalog: the D7-P5510 is listed under Intel, while the D7-P5520 and D7-P5620 are Solidigm drives, and a group of parts appears under Solidigm (formerly Intel). For an Intel-branded P4610, check where firmware updates and warranty service are handled for your specific part number before you standardize on it.

How does the P4610 compare with PCIe 4.0 mixed-use drives?

• Intel DC P4610: PCIe 3.0 x4, U.2, 64-layer TLC, 3 DWPD, up to 3,200 MB/s read and 2,000 MB/s write. Listed at 1.6TB, 3.2TB, 6.4TB and 7.68TB.
• Solidigm D7-P5620: PCIe 4.0 x4, U.2, 144-layer TLC, 3 DWPD, up to 6,800 MB/s read and 4,200 MB/s write. The 1.6TB model matches the P4610's entry capacity and endurance class exactly.
• Micron 7450 MAX: PCIe 4.0 x4, U.3, 176-layer TLC, 3 DWPD, up to 6,800 MB/s read and 4,200 MB/s write. The 800GB model is a lower entry point than any P4610 capacity.

On endurance class the three are equal. On listed sequential performance, the PCIe 4.0 drives are a little over twice as fast, and they use newer, denser NAND generations. If you are buying for a new PCIe 4.0 server and need mixed-use endurance, the D7-P5620 is the closest like-for-like replacement, since it keeps the U.2 form factor and the 1.6TB capacity point. The 7450 MAX is equally strong on paper but is a U.3 drive, so check your bays first.

How does it compare with read-intensive NVMe drives?

• Solidigm D7-P5520 1.92TB: PCIe 4.0 x4, U.2, 144-layer TLC, 1 DWPD, up to 6,800 MB/s read and 4,200 MB/s write.
• Intel D7-P5510 3.84TB: PCIe 4.0 x4, U.2, 144-layer TLC, 1 DWPD, same listed speeds.
• Kioxia CM6-R 1.92TB: PCIe 4.0 x4, U.3, BiCS FLASH TLC, 1 DWPD, dual port, same listed speeds. The only drive in this comparison with dual-port access for high-availability designs.
• Kioxia CD6-R 960GB: PCIe 4.0 x4, U.3, BiCS FLASH TLC, 1 DWPD, same listed speeds.
• Samsung PM9A3 960GB: PCIe 4.0 x4, U.2, V-NAND TLC, 1 DWPD, same listed speeds.
• Micron 7450 PRO 960GB: PCIe 4.0 x4, U.3, 176-layer TLC, 1 DWPD, same listed speeds.

Every read-intensive drive here out-lists the P4610 on sequential throughput, and every one is rated for a third of its daily writes. A 1.92TB drive at 1 DWPD is rated for 1.92TB of writes per day; the 1.6TB P4610 is rated for 4.8TB. For read-heavy work (content delivery, analytics scans, boot, AI dataset staging that is written once and read many times), that endurance is surplus and a read-intensive PCIe 4.0 drive is the better buy. For write-heavy work, the endurance gap matters more than the speed gap, and the fair comparison for the P4610 is the mixed-use group above.

The P4610 competes on endurance, not speed. Compare it with 3 DWPD drives, and it loses only on PCIe generation. Compare it with 1 DWPD drives, and it wins on writes and loses on throughput.

Does PCIe 3.0 versus 4.0 matter in your server?

Only if the server has PCIe 4.0 NVMe bays. PCIe is backward compatible in both directions: a P4610 runs in a PCIe 4.0 bay at PCIe 3.0 speed, and a PCIe 4.0 drive runs in a PCIe 3.0 bay at PCIe 3.0 speed. In a PCIe 3.0 server, a newer PCIe 4.0 x4 drive cannot reach its listed sequential figures, so the P4610 gives up little and keeps its endurance advantage over read-intensive alternatives. In a PCIe 4.0 server, a P4610 leaves roughly half of each bay's listed sequential throughput unused, which is a reason to prefer the D7-P5620 or 7450 MAX for new deployments.

U.2, U.3 and dual port: will it fit your backplane?

The P4610, D7-P5620, D7-P5520, D7-P5510 and PM9A3 are U.2 drives. The 7450 MAX, 7450 PRO, CD6-R and CM6-R are U.3. Both use the SFF-8639 connector, and U.3 drives are designed to work in U.2 bays, but a U.2 drive will not work in a U.3-only tri-mode bay. If you are mixing the P4610 with newer drives in the same chassis, confirm the backplane type first. Dual-port NVMe, as on the CM6-R, only helps where the system is built to use two paths, such as a dual-controller storage enclosure.

When should you still buy the P4610?

• You are replacing or adding drives in an existing P4610 array and want identical model, firmware behavior and endurance across members.
• The drive is named on a validated configuration or a qualified parts list for your platform.
• The server is PCIe 3.0, the workload is write-heavy, and a PCIe 4.0 drive would run at PCIe 3.0 speed anyway.
• You need the 6.4TB or 7.68TB capacity points in a 3 DWPD U.2 drive for an existing PCIe 3.0 system.

Otherwise, buy a PCIe 4.0 drive matched to the workload: the D7-P5620 or 7450 MAX for mixed use, or one of the 1 DWPD read-intensive drives for read-heavy volumes. Nexus Compute supplies the P4610 and every alternative above new, through authorized distribution with the full manufacturer warranty, and checks compatibility against your server and backplane before dispatch. For a quantity or a mixed order, request a quote and we will reply within 48 business hours.