2026-08-21
ServeTheHome has published a full review of the Kioxia CD9P 7.68TB, a PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD in the E3.S form factor. It's enterprise kit today, but it matters for anyone planning their next storage build.
Why homelabbers should pay attention
Gen5 NVMe drives are starting to land in meaningful capacities. The CD9P hits 7.68TB in a single E3.S slot with seriously fast sequential throughput — we're talking roughly double what Gen4 enterprise drives manage. For anyone running virtualisation, large database workloads, or Ceph clusters, this class of drive will eventually trickle down to the second-hand market just like Gen3 and Gen4 enterprise SSDs did before it.
The E3.S form factor is also worth understanding. It's increasingly the standard in modern 1U and 2U server platforms, replacing the old 2.5" U.2 bays. If you're buying newer surplus server hardware — especially from the hyperscaler decommission pipeline — you'll likely encounter E3.S slots rather than the familiar U.2 ones.
Honest caveats
This isn't something most of us are buying new. Enterprise Gen5 SSDs at this capacity carry eye-watering price tags. You also need a platform that supports E3.S physically and Gen5 electrically, which rules out the majority of current homelab gear. And unless your workload genuinely saturates Gen4 bandwidth, you won't notice the difference day-to-day.
But the review is worth reading as a benchmark for what's coming. Gen4 enterprise drives (like the Kioxia CM6/CM7 or Samsung PM9A3) are already appearing on eBay at reasonable prices. The CD9P arriving means the generation above is now in production, which only pushes those older drives further down the price curve.
What to do
Read the full review at ServeTheHome for the benchmarks. If you're after high-capacity NVMe storage right now, look at used Gen4 enterprise U.2 drives via Kioxia CM6 U.2 SSD — they're the current sweet spot for homelab price-to-performance. And if you're pulling drives in and out for testing, a portable enclosure like the M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure – USB-C 10Gbps with Magnetic Closure makes life easier.