- Micron PCIe 6.x SSD prototype shatters speed records with 27GB/s reads
- DesignCon 2025 showcases PCIe 6.x, but real-world use is years away
- GPUDirect Storage accelerates PCIe 6.x SSDs for next-gen computing demands
Micron has unveiled a new PCIe 6.x SSD prototype with a sequential read speed of 27GB/s.
Per AsteraLabs, that makes it the fastest SSD using PCIe 6.x in the world, surpassing Micron’s previous PCIe 6.x SSD, which was introduced last year and achieved speeds exceeding 26GB/s.
Showcased at DesignCon 2025, the Micron PCIe 6.x SSD was paired with Astera Labs’ Scorpio P-Series Fabric Switch, reaching a data transfer rate nearly twice as fast as the fastest PCIe 5.0 SSDs available today.
Breaking speed records with PCIe 6.x
The Scorpio P-Series switch, introduced in late 2024, played a key role in enabling this record-breaking performance. With 64 PCIe 6.x lanes and a four-port architecture, it provided the high-speed interconnectivity needed for seamless data flow between storage, processors, and GPUs.
The demonstration used NVIDIA’s Magnum IO GPUDirect Storage to establish a direct data path between the Micron SSDs and an NVIDIA H100 GPU, bypassing the CPU for faster and more efficient processing.
This setup showcased the potential of PCIe 6.x technology in accelerating AI tool and cloud storage workloads, where speed is critical.
With double the bandwidth of PCIe 5.0, PCIe 6.x delivers up to 256GB/s of bidirectional throughput on an x16 lane configuration, significantly reducing bottlenecks in AI training and inference tasks.
Hyperscale data centers will benefit from this leap in performance, but widespread adoption will depend on broader ecosystem support, including CPUs, GPUs, and network interfaces capable of fully utilizing PCIe 6.x capabilities.
Despite the excitement surrounding this breakthrough, the prototype SSD is just that, and it’s unlikely that consumers or enterprise buyers will see PCIe 6.x storage solutions on the market anytime soon.
The ecosystem is still in its early stages, with manufacturers refining hardware and software to ensure compatibility and efficiency.
