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)