Samsung Reveals Z-NAND Specs – Optane Beware

Intel is attempting to revolutionise SSD storage with its new Optane technology, thanks to Intel/Micron’s NAND replacement, 3D XPoint. However, back in March, a new competitor threw its hat into the ring, promising to offer a brand new – and possibly faster – NAND alternative. That competitor is Samsung, and its alternative is called Z-NAND. Until now, we’ve had scant information with which to compare Z-NAND to 3D XPoint. However, Samsung is now showing off its new technology and, if the numbers are accurate, it looks pretty impressive.

Samsung Reveals Z-NAND Specs

According to Tom’s Hardware, Samsung claims that its mysterious Z-NAND boasts performance numbers similar (if not superior) to 3D XPoint. Samsung, in fact, reports sequential read/write speeds up to 1GB/s better than 3D XPoint. In addition, random read speeds are listed as 750K IOPS, which is 200K IOPS faster than 3D XPoint. However, random write speed is curiously low, listed as 170K IOPS, compared to 3D XPoint’s 500K IOPS.

Pricing and Availability

Samsung is yet to reveal any release details regarding Z-NAND devices. More information as we get it.