Samsung has started the mass production of its solid-state drive (SSD) PM971-NVMe, a 512GB component that is smaller than a postage stamp.

Designed for the next generation of super-thin ultrabooks, the PM971-NVMe comes in at 20mm x 16mm x 1.5mm, and weighs a gram. Samsungs says the PM971-NVMe will hit 1.5GBps read speeds and 800MBps write speeds. The PM971-NVMe is built using 20nm NAND chips and includes 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM as a cache. The NAND is triple-level cell but uses a portion as a write buffer. The drive will come in 512GB, 256GB and 128GB capacities.

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Samsung claims that the drive is the first mass-produced 512GB SSD with non-volatile memory express (NVMe), a host-controller interface with a streamlined register for speed, in a single package. Unlike other hard drives in multi-chip packages (MCP), Samsung's new drive is organized in a ball grid array into a collected unit that makes it simpler to fit in and connect to other parts in the device. This makes the drive ideal for the ultra-slim notebook PC market, where space and weight are at a premium.

“Samsung’s new BGA NVMe SSD triples the performance of a typical SATA SSD, in the smallest form factor available, with storage capacity reaching up to 512GB. The introduction of this small-scale SSD will help global PC companies to make timely launches of slimmer, more stylish computing devices, while offering consumers a more satisfactory computing environment,” said Jung-bae Lee, senior vice president, Memory Product Planning & Application Engineering Team, Samsung Electronics.

Samsung did not specify OEMs that might be interested in purchasing the new SSD module, but Apple with its penchant for thin-and-light laptop designs is likely on the short list. Aside from iOS device components, Apple looks to Samsung for a variety of Mac parts, including current issue SSDs.

TagsSamsung, SSD, 512GB SSD, small 512GB SSD, small Samsung SSD, PM971-NVMe