[Official] Intel SSD DC P4500 2.0TB U.2 NVMe review

[JDM_WAAAT]

Disclosure: (2) Review Sample
Rhinotech has provided a sample product for review, but has not incentivized a positive review.

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Overview

This is a review of the P4500 2.0TB U.2 NVMe SSD, recently featured in #marketplace:tech-deals here for $170.02 with free shipping.

BRAND NEW - Intel SSD DC P4500 U.2 2TB NVMe SSD - $170.02 free shipping

BRAND NEW - Intel SSD DC P4500 U.2 2TB NVMe SSD [image] Intel ARK page Sequential read: 3200 MB/s Sequential write: 1050 MB/s Endurance: 1.89 PBW Standard firmware (no special oracle firmware that disables TRIM or other features) Retail price: $289 on Amazon PCIe → U.2 Aadapters DiLinKer adapter (link) PCIe x4 U.2 2.5" NVMe support High profile only Generic adapter (link) PCIe x4 U.2 2.5" NVMe support High profile only M.2 → U.2 Adapter DiLinKer adapter (link) 18" cable length M…

The SSD was shipped overnight on 1/13/21 and received on 1/14/21 without incident. Standard packaging included an oversized box, ample amounts of foam, and an anti-static bag.
Overnight shipping is not standard and adds an additional fee.
Standard shipping is free.

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Specifications

Source: Intel Ark

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Package Contents

Original HP Enterprise warranty information

The drive is pre-mounted in a HPE caddy, obviously we will be removing it.
Stickers include HPE part numbers and serial information.

One upside of a U.2 SSD is the huge heatsink on the bottom of the drive.

Looks like the drive sled has a little bit of brains to it - presumably the connectors are for LED(s) and possibly a reset button.

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Setup

With the DLINKER PCIe x4 adapter, Windows detects the drive immediately.
The card is pure PCIe passthrough.

The drive is secured with 4 screws (included) on the back of the card.
Notice the huge cutout for the heatsink.

Brand new, 2 power on count (presumably one was from initial testing). 0GB read/written. Notice TRIM is enabled, whereas it is not enabled on my 6.4TB Intel SSD with Oracle firmware.

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Testing

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Conclusion

The Intel DC P4500 U.2 2TB is a fantastic NVMe SSD for just about any purpose. It has above average endurance compared to consumer SSDs, an included heatsink, and great performance. Unfortunately, its U.2 form factor can make it a little challenging to use in some cases, and there is a bit of additional cost if you need an adaptor. If you can stomach those small issues, I would recommend the DC P4500 over any consumer 2TB NVMe on the market. 2TB of extremely reliable and fast NVMe storage for significantly less than $200 is a great price point.

[urbancore]

Damn nice drives. Wish I needed one.

[easyrhino]

Thanks for the review,newer ssds have higher peak performance figures, but that would probably only be useful in really extreme scenarios. The biggest disadvantage of this one seems to be the need for the extra adapter for anyone who isn’t already running an Enterprise server.

Also appreciate the waifu crystal screenshot

[JDM_WAAAT]

@easyrhino There are plenty of enterprise SSDs that surpass consumer speeds as well, though this isn’t one of them (at least in write speed). However, they are much more expensive, and it’s rare to see them come down in price like this - although it has happened.

Here’s a good example:

Samsung 3.2TB V-NAND (TLC) F320 NVMe PCIe SSD (unraid compatible) - $279.95 free shipping

Edit 10/10/20: Just spoke with the seller of the 3.2TB NVMe, they are offering an additional 5% off - if you have already purchased, please contact them and the will give you the 5% off in a refund. Just contact them through the ebay listing in your purchase history. This brings the price down to $265.95 for the 3.2TB. They also have added a 1.6TB Intel PCIe NVMe SSD to the deal, for $157.65 after the 5% off. Click the link below for the 5% offer on both drives (no promo code needed, you just …

[Soupy]

I’ve got two of these m.2 to u.2 cables that I’m using without problem:

DiLinKer M.2 to U.2(SFF-8639) PCIe NVMe SSD Cable- PCIe NVMe U.2 (SFF-8639) Drive to M.2 Host Adapter-U.2 SSD Converter -with Power Cable(50CM)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VB6L8SJ

[JDM_WAAAT]

@Soupy

I’ve got two of these m.2 to u.2 cables that I’m using without problem:

DiLinKer M.2 to U.2(SFF-8639) PCIe NVMe SSD Cable- PCIe NVMe U.2 (SFF-8639) Drive to M.2 Host Adapter-U.2 SSD Converter -with Power Cable(50CM)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VB6L8SJ

Yep, that’s the same one I recommend quite often!

[Official] NVMe FAQ & Info - M.2, U.2, heatsinks, and more!

NVMe Physical Interfaces M.2 [pngfuel.com (1)] Note that M.2 is a physical interface and does not describe the electrical capability of the drives. There are multiple types of M.2 drives, including: SATA (same speed as a regular 2.5" SATA SSD) ACHI (pre-NVMe PCIe, not all motherboards support it) NVMe (PCIe, fastest current standard) Double check the M.2 drive and motherboard you are looking at to ensure the drive is in fact NVMe, and that the motherboard also supports NVMe. Sizes M.2 NV…

[Mobius]

I bought one of these and installed it in my UNAS Build as cache. I also purchased the Amphenol U.2 to m.2 adapter. It was a tight fit but it managed to work. Amphenol adapter doesn’t quite fit when tray is tightened down so I had to leave some slack. Cable is also quite long for this build.
I’ve added pics of the comparative benchmarks between the 970 in there with the U.2 Drive.

[ironicbadger]

Mine just arrived and I am not having any luck getting it to be seen by ESXI. These drives are on the HCL so I’m a little puzzled. Mine is in the DLINKER PCIe x4 adapter.

First, the drives firmware. I can’t find it anywhere on the Intel, HPE or VMware sites - the version on the drive I received according to Intels tools is QDV1FP20.

Unfortunately I don’t see the drive listed under ESXI. I’ve tried numerous different things including ESXI 6.5, 6.7.0, 6.7u3, 7.0b and various different fixes on blog posts too 1 2 3 and honestly a lot more besides - including a bunch of esxcli vib installation stuff.

The drives is seen by ESXI in so much that I can pass it through to a guest just fine but I can’t use it as a datastore - which was the reason for purchase.

As shown below, it doesn’t show up as a datastore.

I’d be grateful for any pointers.

[station4automation]

I had a problem simliar to yours with vSAN (vSphere/vCenter 7.01) where I couldn’t claim a new drive to use as a capacity. The problem was that there was some leftover partition scheme on the drive, after I cleaned and deleted everything on the drive I was able to claim it for vSAN.

Not sure if this problem relates to yours, just thought i’d chime in

[kimocal]

This drive should work well in unRaid as a cache drive, correct? Looking to replace an aging 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD in my main unRaid box.

[JDM_WAAAT]

Yes, it definitely will!