Specifications & Features
Samsung SSD 850 EVO Specifications & Features
Samsung is to offer several versions of the 850 EVO which includes a 120 GB, 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and now a 2TB model. So the sample that has arrived in our secret test facility is the 500 GB version of the drive. The 850 EVO series will come with MLC NAND flash memory from Samsung's latest 3D V-NAND node.
3D NAND
3D NAND is physical vertical NAND cell stacking not to be confused with chip stacking in a multi-chip package. In 3D NAND, NAND layers, not chips, are stacked in a single IC. The good news is continued cost reduction, smaller die sizes and more capacity per NAND chip. Also, installed NAND toolsets in the wafer fabs can, for the most part, be reused, thereby extending the useful life of fab equipment.
- Type: Solid State Drive
- Type: 2.5" 7mm (Ultraslim) Form Factor
- Type: 850 EVO Series
- Storage Capacity: 2TB
- Sequential Read Speed: Up to 540 MB/s
- Sequential Write Speed: Up to 520 MB/s
- Random Read Speed Up to 98K IOPS
- Random Write Speed Up to 90K IOPS
- Warranty: 5 Years
| Capacities | 120 GB | 250 GB | 500 GB | 1 TB | 2 TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design | 2.5-inch 7mm | 2.5-inch 7mm | 2.5-inch 7mm | 2.5-inch 7mm | 2.5-inch 7mm |
| Interface | SATA3, SATA2, SATA | SATA3, SATA2, SATA | SATA3, SATA2, SATA | SATA3, SATA2, SATA | SATA3, SATA2, SATA |
| Included Cache | 256 MB | 512 MB | 512 MB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Sequential Read | 540 MB/s | 540 MB/s | 540 MB/s | 540 MB/s | 540 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 520 MB/s | 520 MB/s | 520 MB/s | 520 MB/s | 520 MB/s |
| Random Read | 94K IOPS | 97K IOPS | 98K IOPS | 98K IOPS | 98K IOPS |
| Random Write | 88K IOPS | 88K IOPS | 90K IOPS | 90K IOPS | 90K IOPS |
| Power consumption (idle) | 2 mW | 2 mW | 2 mW | 2 mW | 2 mW |
| Power consumption (read | write) | 3.7 W | 4.4 W | 3.7 W | 4.4 W | 3.7 W | 4.4 W | 3.7 W | 4.4 W | 3.7 W | 4.4 W |
| Endurance (Terabytes written) | 75 TB | 75 TB | 150 TB | 150 TB | 150 TB |
| Street price | € 89 | € 105 | € 189 | € 399 | € 799 |
| Warranty | 5-year | 5-year | 5-year | 5-year | 5-year |
Controller Architecture
The 850 EVO has been equipped with Samsung's newest revisions controllers, I say controllers as the 120/250/500 GB versions get the Samsung MGX controller and the TB versions a Samsung MHX controller. The controllers are nearly similar, based on a a triple-core ARM-based controller that of course is SATA 6 Gb/s compatible and can be paired with the latest NAND flash memory. Samsung mentioned in some tech white-papers that the 850 EVO's MHX controller is able to get you superior multi-tasking results under heavy I/O loads and provide steadier performance on more tasks. The MGX/MEX controller itself is based upon an ARM Cortex R4 processor. It has three cores that can execute multiple instructions at once, allowing, for example, one to be used for reading data, one for writing data and another for optimization. And that fact all by itself makes Samsung's claim on superior multi-tasking a very likely one.
Pricing
I just pulled some numbers from some online etailers. Making your own SSD with your own controller, own PCB, own cache chips and own NAND flash memory does have advantages as Samsung is able to keep the prices very competitive as this product is made 99% in-house. Prices as noted in the upper overview are incl VAT. Not bad, especially when you consider that this is a mainstream class SSD that offers enthusiast class SSD performance (as you are about to find out from our benchmarks).
