Samsung’s new 30TB SSD is the largest in the world

Samsung certainly likes to be the king of Solid State Drives. Just two years after it launched its 15.36TB SAS SSD drive – which then boasted the most memory packed into a 2.5 inch drive – the company has taken its own crown with a brand new 30.72 TB model.

According to Samsung, the drive – catchily named PM1643 – is built from 32 sticks of 1TB NAND flash packages, all containing 16 layers of 512GB 3D Vertical NAND chips. This gives the drive two times the capacity and speed of its predecessor, but allows it to retain its unassuming 2.5-inch frame.  

If you want to know how exactly you’ll be able to benefit from this greater storage space, think more than 600 days of non-stop movie watching. 

Good things in small packages

It’s not clear when the PM1643 will go on sale, but Samsung said it started manufacturing initial quantities in January 2018 and has plans to expand the range throughout the year with 15.36TB, 7.68TB, 3.84TB, 1.92TB, 960GB and 800GB versions. 

Don’t expect to be able to see any 30TB SSDs on the consumer market any time soon, but as always there will be an eventual trickle down and we will potentially see some effect on current SSD prices.

Emma Boyle

Emma Boyle is TechRadar’s ex-Gaming Editor, and is now a content developer and freelance journalist. She has written for magazines and websites including T3, Stuff and The Independent. Emma currently works as a Content Developer in Edinburgh.