The Samsung 860 PRO (512GB And 4TB) SSD Review: Replacing A Legend
by Billy Tallis on January 23, 2018 10:00 AM ESTMixed Random Performance
Our test of mixed random reads and writes covers mixes varying from pure reads to pure writes at 10% increments. Each mix is tested for up to 1 minute or 32GB of data transferred. The test is conducted with a queue depth of 4, and is limited to a 64GB span of the drive. In between each mix, the drive is given idle time of up to one minute so that the overall duty cycle is 50%.
The Samsung 860 PRO is the fastest SATA SSD on our mixed random I/O test, with the 4TB model scoring slightly better than the 512GB model. This is a big improvement over the multi-TB 850s which were substantially slower than the half-TB models.
The 850 PRO is again the most efficient drive in the bunch, but the 512GB model is clearly more efficient than the 4TB despite being a bit slower.
 |
|||||||||
At every stage of the mixed random I/O test, the 860 PRO draws less power than any of its competitors and it is only outperformed by the 4TB model and momentarily by the 512GB 850 PRO.
Mixed Sequential Performance
Our test of mixed sequential reads and writes differs from the mixed random I/O test by performing 128kB sequential accesses rather than 4kB accesses at random locations, and the sequential test is conducted at queue depth 1. The range of mixes tested is the same, and the timing and limits on data transfers are also the same as above.
Neither capacity of the Samsung 860 PRO quite manages to top the performance of the 4TB 850 EVO on the mixed sequential test, but they're close enough.
The power efficiency gap between the 860 PROs and the rest of the SATA SSDs is huge. The 512GB model takes first place, and the 4TB model is tied with the PM981 for second place efficiency.
 |
|||||||||
Samsung's SSDs tend to show lower performance during the second half of this test when the workloads are more write-heavy. The 860 PRO continues this pattern, but with very shallow performance dips.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
64 Comments
View All Comments
StevoLincolnite - Wednesday, January 24, 2018 - link
Or. We could finally transition to Sata 3.3 which offers 1,900MB/s.PixyMisa - Wednesday, January 24, 2018 - link
SATA Express is dead. U.2 is twice as fast and better supported.I'd like to see internal drives move to USB-C. Better connector, faster, universally supported, and any internal drive just works as an external drive.
Would need USB RAID controllers though.
peevee - Tuesday, January 30, 2018 - link
You mean 3.2, SATA Express, with 2 PCI Express lines? Seems like it is the past, U.2 superseding it.Roen - Saturday, March 10, 2018 - link
SATA Express has been a non-starter and DOA.This is why people use M.2, U.2 and other non-SATA PCIe interfaces.
Roen - Saturday, March 10, 2018 - link
M.2 NVMe I should be more specific.Roen - Saturday, March 10, 2018 - link
PCIe 3.0 x4 beats PCIe 3.0 x2 from SATA 3.2Gastec - Thursday, January 25, 2018 - link
I have an 8 year old PC that was designed from the start without an internal DVD drive as I had no need for one, having used an external USB DVD unit since like 2009. I have not plugged in the external DVD for more than a year, maybe two years. The PC sports 2 SSDs (one for the OS and the other for games) and only one old and annoying HDD that I seriously consider replacing with a SSD to have a more relaxed, vibration-free computing experience. I this day and age a computer enthusiast is more stressed than ever and values a quiet, vibration-free system. So the HDD must go!appliance5000 - Thursday, January 25, 2018 - link
What are DVDs?chrcoluk - Friday, April 12, 2019 - link
unless ssd's can match spindles price per gig, then yes sata will most definitely still be around in 5 years as its what powers spindle drives. Also good luck in finding boards that support 8 nvme devices.generaldwarf - Tuesday, January 23, 2018 - link
And the mx500 is the new king of TLC, less expensive than the evo for the same thing.