PCIe 6.0 Enterprise SSDs: Models, Specs & Availability
PCIe 6.0 enterprise SSDs are starting as platform and customer-sampling products, not mass-market retail drives. They matter for AI inference, context cache and dense enterprise storage where the platform can use Gen6 lanes.
DatacenterDisk keeps general enterprise Gen6 SSDs separate from GPU-direct memory-extension SSDs. KIOXIA CM10 and KIOXIA GP1 are both PCIe 6.0 stories, but they solve different infrastructure problems.
| SSD | Capacity | Interface | NAND | Form factor | Commercial status | Current price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KIOXIA CM10 AI inference, KV cache, enterprise application processing and software-defined storage | Up to 61.44TB | PCIe 6.0 on EDSFF; 2.5-inch is PCIe 5.0 NVMe 2.1 | BiCS FLASH generation 10 TLC | E3.S / E1.S / 2.5-inch | Sampling Samples are being provided to selected customers. | Not yet available |
| KIOXIA GP1 GPU-direct AI storage and flash-based memory extension | Capacity not publicly finalized | PCIe 6.0 NVMe 2.2 | XL-FLASH generation 2 | E3.S / E1.S | Evaluation Evaluation samples are expected for selected customers. | Not yet available |
General enterprise PCIe 6.0 SSDs
General enterprise Gen6 SSDs are the successor to today's U.2/U.3/E3.S NVMe drives. They focus on higher interface bandwidth, improved efficiency and server-friendly form factors. CM10 is KIOXIA's first PCIe 6.0 enterprise SSD family in this cluster.
KIOXIA lists E3.S and E1.S CM10 configurations as PCIe 6.0 with NVMe 2.1. Its 2.5-inch CM10 configurations are PCIe 5.0, which is a detail worth preserving instead of labelling every CM10 form factor as Gen6.
| CM10 configuration | Workload | PCIe / NVMe | Capacities | Endurance | Form factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CM10-R E1.S | Read intensive | PCIe 6.0 NVMe 2.1 | 3.84 / 7.68 / 15.36TB | 1 DWPD | E1.S 9.5mm liquid/air; E1.S 15mm air |
| CM10-R E3.S | Read intensive | PCIe 6.0 NVMe 2.1 | 3.84 / 7.68 / 15.36 / 30.72 / 61.44TB | 1 DWPD | E3.S liquid/air |
| CM10-V E3.S | Mixed use | PCIe 6.0 NVMe 2.1 | 3.2 / 6.4 / 12.8 / 25.6 / 51.2TB | 3 DWPD | E3.S liquid/air |
| CM10-R 2.5-inch | Read intensive | PCIe 5.0 NVMe 2.1 | 1.92 / 3.84 / 7.68 / 15.36 / 30.72TB | 1 DWPD | 2.5-inch |
| CM10-V 2.5-inch | Mixed use | PCIe 5.0 NVMe 2.1 | 1.6 / 3.2 / 6.4 / 12.8 / 25.6TB | 3 DWPD | 2.5-inch |
GPU-direct and ultra-low-latency PCIe 6.0 SSDs
GP1 is not simply a larger CM10. KIOXIA positions GP1 around GPU direct access, XL-FLASH generation 2, fine-grained 512-byte access and very high random-read IOPS under its stated conditions. Its role is closer to a fast flash tier in the memory hierarchy than bulk capacity storage.
PCIe 5.0 vs PCIe 6.0 SSD
| Interface speed | PCIe 6.0 doubles the transfer-rate class versus PCIe 5.0, but real SSD performance also depends on controller, NAND, firmware and workload. |
|---|---|
| Server platform | Gen6 requires host support, lanes, backplane/cabling and thermal design that match the SSD form factor. |
| Workload fit | Sequential throughput, random I/O, latency, queue depth and data placement matter more than interface generation alone. |
| Cooling | High-density EDSFF Gen6 drives may need deliberate airflow or cold-plate liquid cooling support. |
Do you need PCIe 6.0 for AI?
Not every AI storage tier needs Gen6. Model archives, training corpora and object stores can favor capacity per watt and $/TB, where 122TB SSDs and 245TB SSDs may be more important. Context cache, high-throughput inference and GPU-direct experiments are where PCIe 6.0 SSDs become more interesting.
These are current enterprise SSD prices shown on DatacenterDisk. They are alternatives or reference points, not substitutes for unpriced announced products.
| Product | Capacity | Interface | Form | Condition | Price | $/TB | Availability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SanDisk Ultrastar DC SN655 61.44TB U.3 WUS5EC0C1ESP7Y3 | 61.44TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.3 | New | $68,559.43 | $1115.88/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Seagate Nytro 5060 E3.S 15.36TB XP15360SE70045 | 15.36TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | E3.S | New | $5,879.00 | $382.75/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Samsung PM9A3 7.68TB U.2 NVMe MZQL27T6HBLA-00A07 | 7.68TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.2 | Used | $2,715.99 | $353.64/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Samsung PM9A3 7.68TB U.2 NVMe MZQL27T6HBLA | 7.68TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.2 | New | $3,999.00 | $520.70/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| WD Ultrastar DC SN655 7.68TB U.3 WUS5EA176ESP7E1 | 7.68TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.3 | New | $8,690.03 | $1131.51/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Seagate FireCuda X1070 4TB ZP4000GS3A001 | 4TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | M.2 | New | $829.99 | $207.50/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Micron 7400 PRO 3.84TB U.3 MTFDKCB3T8TDZ | 3.84TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.3 | Used | $701.68 | $182.73/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Micron 7450 PRO 3.84TB U.3 MTFDKCC3T8TFS | 3.84TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.3 | Used | $1,990.00 | $518.23/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Kioxia CD8 Series 3.84TB NVMe U.2 KCD8XVUG3T84 | 3.84TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.2 | New | $2,461.20 | $640.94/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Micron 7600 PRO 3.84TB U.2 PCIe5 MTFDLAL3T8THG | 3.84TB | NVMe-PCIe5 | U.2 | New | $2,599.00 | $676.82/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Samsung PM9A3 3.84TB U.2 NVMe MZQL23T8HCLS | 3.84TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.2 | Used | $3,499.99 | $911.46/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
| Samsung PM9A3 3.84TB U.2 NVMe MZQL23T8HCLS | 3.84TB | NVMe-PCIe4 | U.2 | New | $3,950.00 | $1028.65/TB | In stock | Buy/View Price |
Frequently asked questions
Are PCIe 6.0 enterprise SSDs available now?
KIOXIA CM10 is sampling to selected customers and GP1 evaluation samples are expected for selected customers by the end of 2026. They are not broad public retail products today.
Which PCIe 6.0 enterprise SSDs are covered here?
This page covers KIOXIA CM10 as a general enterprise PCIe 6.0 SSD family and KIOXIA GP1 as a GPU-direct, super-high-IOPS AI SSD. They are not interchangeable products.
Do AI workloads need PCIe 6.0 SSDs?
Some AI workloads may benefit, especially context-cache, inference and GPU-direct architectures. Bulk dataset storage may still be better served by high-capacity PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 QLC SSDs.
Can PCIe 6.0 SSDs be ranked by $/TB today?
Only when a current public price exists. Sampling or evaluation products are shown as status entries, not as price-ranked products.
Sources checked: KIOXIA CM10 announcement, KIOXIA enterprise SSD product table, KIOXIA GP1 announcement.