Data center NVMe SSDs in U.2, U.3, E3.S and E1.S form factors, ranked by live cost per terabyte: 8 tracked, the cheapest in stock at $353.64/TB. PCIe Gen 4 and Gen 5, with out-of-stock listings excluded from the ranking.
The lowest $/TB enterprise NVMe SSD in stock, any condition - its condition is on the card.
Buy on Amazon $2715.99Rank by live cost per terabyte, then narrow by what the host can take: form factor (U.2, U.3, E1.S, E3.S), PCIe generation and, for write-heavy work, rated endurance (DWPD) where the maker states it. 8 listings are in stock; 7 carry a stated DWPD. A listing that states no endurance is unverified, not low-endurance. The filters above the table apply each of these.
| Buy | Details | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $353.64 Lowest $/TB | Samsung PM9A3 7.68TB U.2 NVMe MZQL27T6HBLA-00A07 | 7.68TB NVMe-PCIe4 | TLC | $2,715.99 | Refurb | Buy on Amazon | |
Part number:MZQL27T6HBLA-00A07 RPM:— Cache:— Sector:— Workload:— DWPD:1 Form factor:U.2 Series:PM9A3 ASIN:B0FPGQ3NCV Warranty:5 yr - seller claim, not the maker's This offer, in its own words (the seller's note is verbatim): This offer: sold by Tech on Time (SN RECORDED) · Amazon says Used / LikeNew | |||||||
| $455.73 ~ 30d avg | Samsung MZ-QL27T600 7.68TB U.2 NVMe MZ-QL27T600 | 7.68TB NVMe-PCIe4 | TLC | $3,499.99 | Refurb | Buy on Amazon | |
Part number:MZ-QL27T600 RPM:— Cache:— Sector:— Workload:— DWPD:1 Form factor:U.2 Series:PM9A3 ASIN:B0B7Y4TFJR Warranty:5 yr - seller claim, not the maker's This offer, in its own words (the seller's note is verbatim): This offer: sold by Arsenal PC · Amazon says Used / VeryGood · Arsenal PC's note: Shows light signs of use. All standard accessories included. Item works perfectly. | |||||||
| $518.23 ~ 30d avg | Micron 7450 PRO 3.84TB U.3 MTFDKCC3T8TFS | 3.84TB NVMe-PCIe4 | TLC | $1,990.00 | Refurb | Buy on Amazon | |
Part number:MTFDKCC3T8TFS RPM:— Cache:— Sector:— Workload:— DWPD:1 Form factor:U.3 Series:7450 PRO ASIN:B0BH1VRVBJ Warranty:5 yr - seller claim, not the maker's This offer, in its own words (the seller's note is verbatim): This offer: sold by CorteseInc · Amazon says Used / LikeNew | |||||||
| $520.57 ~ 30d avg | Samsung MZ-QL27T600 7.68TB U.2 NVMe MZ-QL27T600 | 7.68TB NVMe-PCIe4 | TLC | $3,998.00 | New | Buy on Amazon | |
Part number:MZ-QL27T600 RPM:— Cache:— Sector:— Workload:— DWPD:1 Form factor:U.2 Series:PM9A3 ASIN:B0B7Y4TFJR Warranty:5 yr - not confirmed by a vendor document This offer, in its own words (the seller's note is verbatim): This offer: sold by SiliconValleySeller (SN# Recorded) · Amazon says New / Unknown | |||||||
| $533.72 ~ 30d avg | Samsung PM9A3 7.68TB U.2 NVMe MZQL27T6HBLA | 7.68TB NVMe-PCIe4 | TLC | $4,099.00 | New | Buy on Amazon | |
Part number:MZQL27T6HBLA RPM:— Cache:— Sector:— Workload:— DWPD:1 Form factor:U.2 Series:PM9A3 ASIN:B0D1C63RSS Warranty:5 yr - not confirmed by a vendor document This offer, in its own words (the seller's note is verbatim): This offer: sold by SiliconValleySeller (SN# Recorded) · Amazon says New / Unknown | |||||||
| $676.82 ~ 30d avg | Micron 7600 PRO 3.84TB U.2 PCIe5 MTFDLAL3T8THG | 3.84TB NVMe-PCIe5 | TLC | $2,599.00 | New | Buy on Amazon | |
Part number:MTFDLAL3T8THG RPM:— Cache:— Sector:— Workload:— DWPD:1 Form factor:U.2 Series:7600 PRO ASIN:B0G4NTC772 Warranty:5 yr - not confirmed by a vendor document This offer, in its own words (the seller's note is verbatim): This offer: sold by Hard2FindParts · Amazon says New / Unknown | |||||||
| $780.21 ~ 30d avg | Samsung PM9A3 960GB U.2 NVMe MZQL2960HCJR | 0.96TB NVMe-PCIe4 | TLC | $749.00 | New | Buy on Amazon | |
Part number:MZQL2960HCJR RPM:— Cache:— Sector:— Workload:— DWPD:1 Form factor:U.2 Series:PM9A3 ASIN:B0B84J6RJT Warranty:5 yr - not confirmed by a vendor document This offer, in its own words (the seller's note is verbatim): This offer: sold by DiscTech (USA) · Amazon says New / Unknown | |||||||
| $882.81 ↑ vs 30d avg | Samsung PM9A3 1.92TB U.2 NVMe | 1.92TB NVMe-PCIe4 | Not sourced | $1,695.00 | New | Buy on Amazon | |
Part number:PM9A3 1.92TB U.2 NVMe RPM:— Cache:— Sector:— Workload:— DWPD:— Form factor:U.2 Series:PM9A3 ASIN:B0B6RMVJ52 Warranty:not stated by a source This offer, in its own words (the seller's note is verbatim): This offer: sold by SiliconValleySeller (SN# Recorded) · Amazon says New / Unknown | |||||||
Looking specifically at Western Digital? Ultrastar DC SSDs decodes the SN-series part numbers, where endurance is set per SKU rather than per capacity.
Building for local AI rather than a server chassis? U.2 vs U.3 and the carriers explains what these drives need on the other end · NVMe for local AI ranks M.2 and enterprise drives together by live cost per terabyte.
U.2 and U.3 share the SFF-8639 connector. The SFF-TA-1001 (U.3) specification mandates that U.3 drives work in U.2 hosts and does not mandate that a U.3 slot accepts a U.2 drive (its interoperation table reads 'No link' for that case), so a U.2 drive in a U.3 tri-mode bay is the combination to check; whether a particular server accepts a particular drive also depends on its backplane wiring, controller and firmware. E3.S (EDSFF) needs a chassis built for it.
TLC drives (Samsung PM9A3, Kioxia CM7) suit mixed read/write workloads with higher endurance. QLC (Solidigm D5-P5336) is significantly cheaper per TB and ideal for read-heavy analytics, CDN, and cold data tiers.
PCIe 5.0 signals at 32 GT/s per lane, double PCIe 4.0's 16 GT/s, so a four-lane Gen 5 link carries roughly 15,700 MB/s against roughly 7,800 MB/s on Gen 4 before protocol overhead. A Gen 5 drive in a Gen 4 slot negotiates down to Gen 4; buy Gen 5 for a Gen 5 host or where the price is close.
Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD) measures endurance over the warranty period. 1 DWPD suits read-intensive cloud workloads. 3 DWPD handles mixed enterprise. Match DWPD to your actual write volume - overprovisioning endurance wastes money.
Solidigm's D5 and D7 lines - interface, form factors and capacities as Solidigm lists them, and what is in stock - are on Solidigm enterprise SSDs.
Out of stock on Amazon, or no longer listed. Each page keeps its specifications and points to what is in stock now; none of them has a current price.
42 product pages, 10 with a live offer today. Each page carries the listing's specifications, its condition and provenance, and in-stock alternatives. Prices are on the tables above, not in this index.
Both use the SFF-8639 connector; U.3 (SFF-TA-1001) remaps pins so one tri-mode bay can run NVMe, SAS or SATA. The specification mandates that U.3 drives work in U.2 hosts, and it does not mandate that a U.3 slot accepts a U.2 drive. Whether a given 'universal' bay takes a U.2 drive depends on how that slot is wired, so check the server's own backplane and controller documentation before buying; the connector alone does not settle it.
Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD) measures endurance. 1 DWPD means you can write the full drive capacity once per day over the warranty period. Read-intensive enterprise workloads need 1 DWPD. Mixed workloads need 3 DWPD. Write-intensive OLTP databases need 3-10 DWPD. Check your write workload before purchasing.
Yes, through a U.2-to-PCIe adapter card in a slot that provides four lanes to the device, or a board with a native U.2 or OCuLink port. The link runs at the slower of the drive's and the slot's PCIe generation. A card that carries two or more drives needs a slot the firmware can bifurcate; our U.2 vs U.3 adapters page lists the carriers and adapters in stock.
TLC (Triple-Level Cell) stores 3 bits per cell, offering better write endurance. QLC (Quad-Level Cell) stores 4 bits per cell, enabling higher density and lower $/TB at the cost of lower write endurance. QLC suits read-heavy workloads like AI data lakes and media streaming archives. TLC suits mixed workloads.
Troubleshooting pages that lead here. Each starts with the diagnosis and says whether hardware is the fix.