Micron 5100 ECO and MAX SSD Review: High-Capacity, Affordable Datacenter Storage
Micron 5100 Series SSDs: Summary and Conclusion
With the 5100 ECO and MAX solid state drives, Micron is continuing to cement its position as a market leader in enterprise storage. Provided their endurance estimates hold true, the 5100 Series shows that TLC NAND does have a home in the datacenter.
In regards to pure performance, we did not discern any meaningful difference between the 5100 ECO and the 5100 MAX. Both drives traded small leads in various tests, with only ATTO’s read test showing any significant departure – and even then, only for a narrow range of transfer sizes. If heavy writes are not on the menu, the 5100 ECO is certainly a contender at a great price point.
Both drives are better suited for larger file size operations. They bogged down a bit in small file transfer tests, so this should be considered depending on their intended workload. At any rate, these drives inch us closer to the tipping point that sends spinning media to its grave. 15K RPM drive arrays can offer a lot for a relatively low up-front cost, but in terms of TCO through power consumption and drive replacements the 5100 Series drives should pull ahead. Spinning media’s other traditional advantage – capacity – is also near matched by the 5100 ECO’s 7680GB high end offering. True, some hard drives can achieve 10TB, but this currently requires a larger 3.5” form factor. Solid-state drives also have significantly more expansion potential in the future whereas peak hard drive density has nearly been met.
The Micron 5100 ECO and 5100 MAX indicate a bright future for affordable, fast storage, and are worthy of our recommendation.
Both drives are better suited for larger file size operations. They bogged down a bit in small file transfer tests, so this should be considered depending on their intended workload. At any rate, these drives inch us closer to the tipping point that sends spinning media to its grave. 15K RPM drive arrays can offer a lot for a relatively low up-front cost, but in terms of TCO through power consumption and drive replacements the 5100 Series drives should pull ahead. Spinning media’s other traditional advantage – capacity – is also near matched by the 5100 ECO’s 7680GB high end offering. True, some hard drives can achieve 10TB, but this currently requires a larger 3.5” form factor. Solid-state drives also have significantly more expansion potential in the future whereas peak hard drive density has nearly been met.
The Micron 5100 ECO and 5100 MAX indicate a bright future for affordable, fast storage, and are worthy of our recommendation.
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