The Intel SSD DC P3700 Review Part 2: NVMe on Client Workloads
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 10, 2014 12:07 AM EST- Posted in
- Storage
- SSDs
- Intel
- Intel SSD DC P3700
- NVMe
Final Words
In the past, high-performance enterprise PCIe drives didn't do all that well in our client test suite. Intel's SSD DC P3700 on the other hand does remarkably well, thanks in no small part to its excellent performance at low queue depths. A continued focus on IO consistency and performance recovery also help tremendously. In our heaviest client workload (our 2013/Destroyer benchmark), the P3700 takes the crown as the fastest SSD we've ever tested.
At $3/GB, the P3700 is a clear fit for enterprise workloads but I can see that being a bit too pricey for even a high end client PC. The real question is how close can Intel's cheaper, lower endurance NVMe drives get to the P3700's performance. The P3500 and P3600 will be available at much lower price points, and may be able to deliver a good portion of the P3700's performance.
Intel won't be shipping the rest of its lineup for a little while longer, but as soon as we get those drives in house we'll provide an update.
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hpvd - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
if OSX and Linux Boot is already possible, the Bios should already be fine !?DanNeely - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
Doesn't OSX only support UEFI?xMoe - Sunday, June 15, 2014 - link
OSX on Intel supports EFI - IIRC - though Apple may have a slightly different "flavor" ... 1058 and lower support Open Firmware - if you have an old rig -if you - or anyone is interested - here is more info ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple%E2%80%93Intel_a...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EFI_System_partition
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Apple&... - last updated December 02, 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Firmware_I... <- strangly this lacks any specifics on Apple tech and/or standard (or lack there of).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table <- slightly OT - but going over drive partitions - tables MBR, GPT, etc...
althaz - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
Aha, I hadn't tried it since 8.1 came out, didn't realise they'd added it :). Awesome!hpvd - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
so there seem to be two differnt drivers available: one Windows included and one from Intel.Each seem to give a completly different performance for this Device:
see here: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Storage/Intel-SSD-DC-...
(at least with the tested versions)
=> the question is: can we have both already TODAY?
Great Performance AND Boot support (using the same driver)?
hpvd - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
and which driver and which version is used by anandtech for reviewing P3700?Ryan Smith - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
The Intel driver. The latest (and currently only) version: 1016sorten - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
I don't see any reference to OSX here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVM_Express#Operating...
UltraWide - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
The barrier to entry is the high price. Everything else is top notch.nathanddrews - Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - link
Hence, the P3600 and P3500.