Micron 9650 NVMe SSD: The First PCIe Gen 6 Data Center Drive in Mass Production
Micron has officially begun mass production of its 9650 NVMe SSD, marking a significant milestone as the first PCIe Gen 6 data center SSD to reach this stage. Originally introduced in July 2025, the Micron 9650 leverages advanced Micron G9 TLC NAND technology, a proprietary SSD controller ASIC, integrated DRAM, and firmware developed and validated in-house by Micron. This comprehensive approach ensures high reliability and performance tailored for demanding enterprise environments.
Unmatched Performance for Next-Generation Data Centers
The Micron 9650 NVMe SSD sets a new standard for data center storage performance. It delivers sequential read speeds of up to 28 GB/s—twice the throughput of leading PCIe Gen 5 SSDs. Sequential write speeds reach 14 GB/s, while random read and write operations achieve 5.5 million IOPS and 900,000 IOPS, respectively. Compared to Gen 5 drives, these figures represent improvements of 100% in sequential reads, 40% in sequential writes, 67% in random reads, and 22% in random writes.
Efficiency is another key highlight. At a 25-watt power state, the Micron 9650 offers double the performance of PCIe Gen 5 SSDs. Its sequential read efficiency is rated at 1,120 MB/s per watt—twice that of its predecessor—while sequential write efficiency stands at 560 MB/s per watt, a 1.4x improvement. Random read efficiency reaches 220,000 IOPS per watt (1.7x higher), and random write efficiency is 36,000 IOPS per watt (1.2x better).
Designed for Modern Data Center Demands
The Micron 9650 is engineered to support both air-cooled and liquid-cooled configurations, addressing the need for higher performance densities in today’s data centers. Over 18 months of rigorous interoperability testing have been conducted across the PCIe Gen 6 ecosystem, including validation with high-port switches, retimers, and live demonstrations at major industry events. This extensive testing ensures seamless integration and reliable operation in diverse enterprise environments.
Optimized for AI and High-Throughput Workloads
Currently, the Micron 9650 is undergoing qualification by OEMs and AI data center operators for deployment in AI training and inference workloads. Its high-throughput capabilities make it particularly well-suited for applications such as large language model training and retrieval-augmented generation pipelines, where rapid data access is critical.
The Micron 9650 NVMe SSD is available in both E1.S and E3.S form factors, with the E1.S variant supporting liquid cooling for enhanced thermal management in high-density deployments.
