INTRODUCTION

   Although the SATA III (6Gb/s) interface is not going away anytime soon (replaced perhaps although we've been listening to that for many years now) with its maximum throughput reached long ago it no longer represents a valid choice for professionals and enthusiasts. To that end manufacturers have now turned almost exclusively to the design and manufacture of M.2 (and as extension to PCIe) models which surpass their SATA III cousins in most if not all areas (high temperatures have been an issue easily resolved however with the addition of a heat-sink) including performance, low latency, size (tiny form factor) and of course power consumption. 11 months ago Samsung announced their latest additions to their growing M.2 NVMe lines the 960 PRO (which is aimed towards professionals and enthusiasts) and the 960 EVO (which is aimed towards gamers and "regular" consumers) models and yes after a long wait period the 960 EVO 1TB model is finally with us.

   Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 236,000 people across 79 countries with annual sales of US$187.8 billion. Samsung's Memory Business offers the industry's most advanced and extensive range of memory semiconductor products. As a leader in both the design and manufacture of memory semiconductor since 1993, the business provides key memory products including dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), NAND flash memory, Solid State Drives (SSD) and a range of green memory solutions for use in PC, server and mobile applications. Samsung is also leading the industry in advancements of next generation DRAM and NAND flash technologies while nurturing future memory technologies.

   The 960 EVO M.2 (NGFF-2280 form factor) NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) drive by Samsung is currently available in 250/500/1000GB capacities (MZ-V6E250/MZ-V6E500/MZ-V6E1T0) and fully supports the previous nvm express 1.2 protocol (naturally since 1.3 was introduced just a few months ago). The 960 EVO 1TB is a PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD based on the latest Polaris NAND flash controller (5 cores with 8 channels) by Samsung which they have paired with their 48-layer V-NAND 3-bit MLC flash along with a 1GB Low Power (LP) DDR3 cache module. It also fully supports technologies like TRIM, SMART, Garbage Collection, AES 256-bit, TCG/Opal and also features Samsung's latest intelligent TurboWrite (accelerates sequential read and write speeds by treating an dynamic amount of MLC NAND as SLC / pseudo-SLC) and Dynamic Thermal Guard (prevents overheating / enables throttle-down at high temperatures) technologies. For the 960 EVO 1TB model which we have here Samsung advertises performance numbers of up to 3200MB/s read and 1900MB/s write with a throughput of up to over 380/360K IOPS for read/write, gives it an endurance/durability number of 400TBW (Total Bytes Written), MTBF of 1.5 million hours and covers it with a 3 year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The 960 EVO gets shipped inside a small box that has a partial product picture at the front, the company logo and the included capacity.

A few words about the product are placed at the rear next to the 3 year limited warranty and several certifications.

Contained inside the box are just the M.2 NVMe drive and the installation guide.

THE 960 EVO 1TB

Since the 960 EVO 1TB is based on the 2280 form factor it's almost identical to its predecessor the 950 model.

Underneath the sticker covering the entire top we find two V-NAND flash modules, 1GB LP DDR3 cache module and the Polaris controller.

The other side of the PCB is clean and just has a sticker on it (according to Samsung this sticker features copper lining to help dissipate heat from the SSD up to 25%).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   After roughly 9 years of testing solid state drives we've concluded that it's almost impossible for any single benchmark suite to accurately measure their performance and that's why in certain benchmark suites we see amazing read/write performance numbers with some drives while in others things are quite different. The reason behind this is that some benchmarking suites are configured to read and write random chunks of data while others read and write constant (sequential) ones. So that's why i always use a very wide selection of benchmarking suites including AIDA64, HD Tach RW, HD Tune Pro, Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoftware Sandra Pro, AS SSD, IOmeter and ATTO. To get the most accurate results each test gets repeated a total of 6 times with the average performance numbers recorded into our charts. Also as of February 25th 2015 our results will also include the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA) IOMeter tests. These tests include a 12 Hour write test used to “simulate” performance degradation over time and a mixed workload test which basically shows what you can expect when using an SSD continuously for roughly two hours. Unfortunately due to the time required for these tests we repeat them a total of 3 times and not 6 as the above.

   Many people have made inquiries about our charts in the past so once again please do keep in mind that the Charts have the average performance numbers of each drive recorded and not the peak (highest) ones. Also although every single one of these programs can help potential buyers choose the right drive for their needs you should also remember that from any kind of benchmark up to real world usage the gap is not small (and usually most differences will go unnoticed by most people). All tests were performed in a fresh Windows 10 Pro x64 installation with every update installed up to August 21st 2017.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

TEST RESULTS – AS SSD / IOMETER

TEST RESULTS – IOMETER SNIA

CONCLUSION

   When we reviewed the 950 PRO in the beginning of 2016 we were blown away by its performance so we knew right then that Samsung would only release something even faster next time around and although the 960 EVO is even less “powerful” compared to the 960 PRO (which unfortunately due to severe delays we will probably not be able to test) it’s still quite a bit faster. Of course it goes without saying that such performance numbers for good or bad will render the majority of consumers unable to tell them apart but for professionals with really heavy workloads the difference in read/write performance will be obvious. Once again Samsung decided to skip using a heatsink on their M.2 NVMe model and although they are using a sticker with copper lining (which according to them reduces temperatures up to 25%) we’d like to see something a lot more robust/better to avoid throttle-down in cases of high temperatures (it’s evident that this is exactly what happened in our SNIA 12 hour test - possibly in other tests too). Of course you can easily resolve that by getting one of the many available heatsinks in the market today like the ones offered by our friends over at EK Waterblocks.

   NVMe PCIe SSDs cost more compared to regular SATA III models and when it comes to Samsung the consumer is called to pay slightly more for their innovative technologies. Still with a current price tag set at USD429.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 453Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) we feel that the 960 EVO 1TB offers a very good price/performance ratio for people who can make use of its impressive read/write performance numbers. Of course not having tested the 960 PRO we can’t really compare it with the 960 EVO but thanks to the 2 extra years of warranty, twice the endurance (800TBW) and higher performance numbers (based on what's advertised by Samsung) it’s certainly worth the extra money for professional use. At the end of the day if you’re out in the market looking for one of the fastest M.2 NVMe SSDs in the market today with plenty of capacity look no further than the 960 EVO 1TB (or the 960 PRO 1TB for that matter) by Samsung especially since it gets our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Top Of The Charts Read & Write Performance
- 1.5 Million Hours MTBF / 400TBW
- Intelligent TurboWrite Technology
- M.2 / PCIe Solution
- 3 Years Warranty
- Up To 1TB Capacity

CONS

- Heat Buildup
- Price (For Some)