Micron Insight 2019 saw the announcement of several interesting products from the company. These range from enterprise solutions like the Micron X100 SSD – this is Micron’s very first product to use 3D XPoint technology – to more consumer-oriented ones like the Crucial X8 Portable SSD.

In case you missed our coverage of the event, here’s what you need to know about Micron Insight 2019 – more specifically, storage products unveiled by the company.

Micron X100

What makes the Micron X100 SSD particularly interesting is the fact that it offers more than 9GBps bandwidth in read, write, and mixed workloads. Thanks to this extremely fast performance, Micron is touting the X100 “the world’s fastest SSD.” This performance figure is made possible by the use of 3D XPoint technology, which was co-developed by Micron and Intel.

Without a doubt the Micron X100 is a very impressive SSD, but it is made only for enterprise use like data centres at this point in time. In fact, the X100 is only available in limited sampling with selected customers this quarter.

However, we did speak to Micron’s Vice President of emerging memory, Bob Brennan, on the possibility of 3D XPoint technology tricking down to consumer products. While Brennan emphasised Micron’s focus on using the tech for enterprise applications, there’s a chance it will eventually be implemented in consumer products in the future.

After all, as 3D XPoint technology matures (and prices are brought down), it’s only a matter of time before it’s available to general consumers.

Crucial X8

Unlike the Micron X100, the Crucial X8 Portable SSD is a consumer product. Encased in a unibody core made out of anodised aluminium, this SSD feels very solid; the finish is also nice to the touch. On top of that, it can also survive drops up to 7.5 feet, though this is limited to carpeted floors.

Performance wise, the Crucial X8 has a sequential read speeds of up to 1,050MBps, which should be more than enough for most consumers. This is especially the case for those who plan to use the portable SSD with their gaming consoles to store games.

The Crucial X8 Portable SSD is available in two capacities: 500GB and 1TB for $120 (about RM495) and $190 (approximately RM785) respectively. Obviously, the 1TB model offers better value for money, and it comes with a three-year limited warranty. Curious to learn more? Check out our hands-on of the Crucial X8.

Micron 7300 & 5300 Series SSDs

Last but certainly not least are the Micron 7300 and 5300 series of enterprise SSDs. The 7300 SSDs are low-power NVMe drives that use Micron’s latest 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory, so the maximum capacity can be increased while retaining the same physical size.

As for the Micron 5300 series, they are touted as the first enterprise SATA SSDs to be built on the company’s 96-layer 3D TLC NAND; the 5200 series, its predecessor, only used 64-layer 3D TLC. If you’d like to learn more about the Micron 7300 and 5300, click here.