Micron has officially kicked off mass production of its 9650 NVMe SSD series, marking it as the first PCIe Gen6 data center drive to reach this stage and delivering breakthrough speeds for AI workloads. Unveiled in July 2025, the 9650 leverages Micron’s in-house G9 TLC NAND, custom controller ASIC, DRAM, and firmware for up to 2x sequential read performance over Gen5 drives—hitting 28GB/s reads and 14GB/s writes. Random IOPS soar to 5.5 million reads and 900,000 writes, with efficiency gains like 1,120 MB/s per watt reads (2x Gen5). For PC enthusiasts eyeing data center tech, this could trickle down to consumer SSDs, but expect enterprise pricing—aimed at AI training/inference with E1.S/E3.S form factors supporting air/liquid cooling.
Performance Breakdown: Gen6 vs. Gen5 Gains
- Sequential Reads: Up to 28GB/s (100% faster)
- Sequential Writes: Up to 14GB/s (40% faster)
- Random Reads: Up to 5.5M IOPS (67% faster)
- Random Writes: Up to 900K IOPS (22% faster)
- Efficiency at 25W: 2x reads, 1.4x writes, 1.7x random reads, 1.2x random writes per watt
Pro and Max variants offer 1-3 DWPD endurance, with capacities from 6.4TB to 30.72TB.
Why It Matters for PC Builds
After 18 months of PCIe Gen6 testing, Micron’s 9650 is now qualifying with OEMs/AI centers—hinting at consumer Gen6 SSDs soon. For high-throughput needs like 4K editing or AI, this doubles Gen5 speeds—watch for retail pricing, though data center focus means enterprise tags first.
Summary of Micron 9650 Specs
| Variant/Capacity | Form Factors | Endurance (DWPD) | Key Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro (7.68/15.36/30.72TB) | E1.S/E3.S | 1 | 28GB/s read, 14GB/s write, 5.5M IOPS read, 900K IOPS write |
| Max (6.4/12.8/25.6TB) | E1.S/E3.S | 3 | Same as Pro |
| Cooling | Air/Liquid | N/A | 1152 zones, 25W efficiency |
X Reactions: “Finally Gen6” Hype
X buzzes: “Micron 9650 mass production—Gen6 SSDs are here!” (1.2K likes); “28GB/s reads? AI beast mode.” Skeptics note enterprise focus: “Consumer versions when?”
PC builders, Gen6 could redefine storage—hyped for consumer drops? Comment below!
Sources: VideoCardz, Wccftech, Micron.com, Tom’s Hardware, StorageReview.com, Facebook (Wccftech), Reddit r/hardware, Sportskeeda Tech
