Mixed Random Read/Write Performance

Mixed read/write tests are also a new addition to our test suite. In real world applications a significant portion of workloads are mixed, meaning that there are both read and write IOs. Our Storage Bench benchmarks already illustrate mixed workloads by being based on actual real world IO traces, but until now we haven't had a proper synthetic way to measure mixed performance. 

The benchmark is divided into two tests. The first one tests mixed performance with 4KB random IOs at six different read/write distributions starting at 100% reads and adding 20% of writes in each phase. Because we are dealing with a mixed workload that contains reads, the drive is first filled with 128KB sequential data to ensure valid results. Similarly, because the IO pattern is random, I've limited the LBA span to 16GB to ensure that the results aren't affected by IO consistency. The queue depth of the 4KB random test is three.

Again, for the sake of readability, I provide both an average based bar graph as well as a line graph with the full data on it. The bar graph represents an average of all six read/write distribution data rates for quick comparison, whereas the line graph includes a separate data point for each tested distribution. 

Iometer - Mixed 4KB Random Read/Write

Mixed random performance appears to be brilliant and power consumption is moderate too.

Iometer - Mixed 4KB Random Read/Write (Power)

The 850 EVO has a typical curve at 250GB and above where the performance more or less stays constant until hitting 100% writes where it jumps up considerably. Only the 850 Pro breaks this trend as its performance in fact decreases as the share of writes is increased.

Samsung 850 EVO M.2 120GB

 

Mixed Sequential Read/Write Performance

The sequential mixed workload tests are also tested with a full drive, but I've not limited the LBA range as that's not needed with sequential data patterns. The queue depth for the tests is one.

Iometer - Mixed 128KB Sequential Read/Write

In mixed sequential workload the 850 EVO is good, but not overwhelming. 

Iometer - Mixed 128KB Sequential Read/Write (Power)

The 850 EVO's "bathtub" curve is a bit different from others' in the sense that the drop in performance is smooth rather than being sudden right after adding reads/writes to the mix. 

Samsung 850 EVO M.2 120GB
Sequential Performance ATTO & AS-SSD
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  • cleverdude - Saturday, April 18, 2015 - link

    Bench results have not been updated.
    http://www.anandtech.com/bench/SSD/65
  • szhosain - Monday, May 4, 2015 - link

    On my Lenovo W530 laptop (about 3 years old now), I just installed a Samsung 850 EVO MSATA 1TB card, and ATTO shows me poorer numbers than seen here. About 267 MB/sec for write and 280 MB/sec for read when it peaks. My 2.5" SSD drives (from OCZ) in the same system are well over 500 MB /sec.

    Does this perhaps mean that the MSATA interface on this laptop is limited to 3 GB/sec rather than the 6 GB /sec on the standard SATA interfaces?

    That would be quite irritating!
  • Ethos Evoss - Sunday, June 21, 2015 - link

    When it comes to mSATA or M.2 connected to SATA III there is no point purchase stupid expensive SSDs as they will perform same as cheapest ones ..
    So best mSATA/m.2 SSD for SATA III use is the plextor or mushkin (i preffer plextor) which cost less and has great performance
  • Andrew Field - Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - link

    This Samsung SSD 850 EVO mSATA constantly overheats. This is especially the case when copying large files. It rises about 10C every 30-60 seconds, and does not stop until its own overheating protection kicks in. This occurs when it is in a laptop or in an external enclosure (even when open and exposed to the air).

    Initially I thought I had a bad piece of hardware, but I tested 5 separate units with consistent results.

    If anyone decides to test this out, I did the following:
    - Step 1: Select a folder with at least 100GB of data
    - Step 2: Copy said folder to a new folder (on the same Samsung SSD 850 EVO mSATA)
    - Step 3: Monitored the temperature
    Result: The temperature begins rising sharply in a few seconds, and does not stop rising until the SSD engages its overheating protection.
  • greywarden - Thursday, September 17, 2015 - link

    I was about to purchase (4) 250GB 850 EVO mSATA drives to put in an Addonics quad mSATA PCIe card, but seeing the latency numbers on the drive has me concerned. Should I look into purchasing a pair of the 500GB models instead? Have the pausing and crashing problems been solved with the 1TB model yet?
  • payamfi - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link

    Hi guys i wanna buy a memmory for my n551jx i can not decide what to buy msata evo mini or ssd evo pro can anyone help me out?
  • fabbrimichele75 - Friday, March 25, 2016 - link

    Would it be possible to know the temperature when the disk is in idle and full load?
    I'm mainly interested in the M.2 version.

    I'm asking because I wanted to mount it on an NUC 6i5 that seems to be sensitive to high temperature.
  • yolomolo - Tuesday, April 19, 2016 - link

    Can i get some advice from you PRO, should i better go get mSata : Samsung EVO 850 or CRUCIAL MX200 ?

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