TechPowerUp published its review of the SanDisk DC SN861 7.68 TB on October 27, 2026. The drive is specifically designed as an enterprise part, rather than a consumer product aimed at a desktop environment.
It operates as a U.2 15 mm SSD, utilizing the PCIe Gen 5 x4 standard over NVMe 2.0. The DC SN861 fits into SanDisk’s high-performance enterprise lineup, which includes endurance variants rated at 1-DWPD and 3-DWPD.
The core components of the drive are important for understanding its performance and market position. The controller is manufactured by FADU, specifically the FC5161 model. SanDisk integrated its own 512 Gb BiCS6 TLC NAND, housed in a 162-layer stack using the FXZ5 512G dies.
The module uses 8 GB of DDR4-3200 memory, distributed across four 2 GB Micron modules. This configuration represents a generation behind the DDR5 memory used in the SN862, a newer refresh of the same enterprise platform.
The SN862 moves to BiCS8 NAND and DDR5 DRAM, improving power efficiency while maintaining similar performance levels to the SN861. This newer drive was demonstrated at the Future of Memory & Storage event.
For the 7.68 TB model reviewed, key performance metrics were detailed. Sequential read speeds reach 13,700 MB/s, while sequential write speeds top out at 7,500 MB/s. Random performance is rated at 3,300K read IOPS and 430K write IOPS.
Usable capacity for the 7.68 TB unit is 7,152 GB, accounting for a 7% overprovisioning reserve. Endurance figures for the 1-DWPD version include an endurance of 14,016 TBW, an MTBF of 2.5 million hours, and a five-year warranty.
Beyond the flagship model, the SN861 family includes several other configurations. One-DWPD U.2 drives are available in 1.92 TB, 3.84 TB, and 7.68 TB. Three-DWPD versions are offered in 1.6 TB, 3.2 TB, and 6.4 TB. Specialty variants, such as E1.S and E3.S, are limited to 1-DWPD endurance, with E1.S reaching capacities up to 15.36 TB.
Pricing for enterprise SSDs is complex. TechPowerUp priced the review unit at approximately $3,900. However, public listings fluctuate widely, ranging from $3,900 to $8,000 depending on the seller and configuration. Buyers who order directly from the manufacturer or in volume can secure materially lower per-unit pricing.
The consensus from DVHARDWARE suggests the DC SN861 is a solid, well-balanced solution. It delivers strong overall performance, featuring high random read IOPS and endurance suitable for read-intensive and mixed-use enterprise deployments.
It is defined as a mature and broadly capable Gen 5 platform. The review concludes that while the SN861 is not the newest flash offered by SanDisk, it remains a sensible choice when the pricing is viable and strong capacity is needed. The drive does not win on any single metric but provides consistent power and read throughput for modern datacenter workloads.
