Raspberry Pi has announced the launch of a new branded range of NVMe SSDs. The processors are available both on their own and bundled with the M.2 HAT+ as ready-to-use SSD Kits.
The SSD Kit and Raspberry Pi SSD follow closely after the recent release of the Raspberry Pi-branded A2 micro SD cards and the bumper case.
🚨NEW PRODUCTS ALERT🚨
Today we’re launching Raspberry Pi-branded NVMe SSDs to help you squeeze even more out of your Raspberry Pi 5.
Choose between 256GB and 512GB variants, either on their own or bundled with our M.2 HAT+ as a ready-to-use SSD Kit.https://t.co/6f2t9oDLcH pic.twitter.com/0o8151ZPl5
— Raspberry Pi (@Raspberry_Pi) October 23, 2024
Raspberry Pi 5 was rolled out almost exactly a year ago. However, according to a blog post on the site, the most popular use case for the PCI Express port on Raspberry Pi 5 is to attach an NVMe solid-state disk. These ports are physical connectors on a computer’s motherboard that allows users to add expansion cards to their device.
Key specifications of Raspberry Pi NVMe SSDs and SSD kit
The SSD unlocks performance for I/O intensive applications on Raspberry Pi 5 and other devices, including super-fast startup when booting from SSD. These programs read and write large amounts of data. The high-speed expansion card is PCIe Gen 3-compliant SSD capable of fast data transfer.
Meanwhile, the SSD Kit bundles a M.2 HAT+ with a NVMe SSD. It allows users to boost performance for I/O-heavy tasks on Raspberry Pi 5, including faster startup when booting from an SSD.
The 256GB NVMe drive provides 40,000 IOPS for 4kB random reads and 70,000 IOPS for 4kB random writes. The 512GB model provides 50,000 IOPS for random reads and 90,000 IOPS for random writes.
The 256GB entry-level drive is priced at $30 standalone or $40 as part of a kit, while the larger 512GB version is available for $45 on its own or $55 as a kit. Both models deliver minimum 4KB random read and write performance of 40k IOPS and 70k IOPS, respectively. The 256GB SSD and SSD Kit are available for purchase today, while the 512GB versions are available for pre-order, with shipping expected by the end of November.
Adding an NVMe SSD to your Raspberry Pi 5 is a generally a good idea. It offers a huge speed boost, and since lower-capacity drives are only slightly more expensive than a good micro SD card, it’s worth upgrading to an NVMe SSD.
Featured image: Raspberry Pi