Introduction – Samsung 870 EVO
Aside from RGB-laiden SATA SSDs, there’s really not a big market right now for new, high-performance SSDs. Still, Samsung seems intent to progress this even further. The Samsung 870 EVO is the latest iteration of Samsung’s very popular mainstream SATA SSD, preceded by the Samsung 860 EVO which is deemed as one of the most popular SATA drives from Samsung.
As the company progresses towards M.2, they still seem very keen in keeping their 2.5″ SATA drives updated. Samsung is being very strategic still despite their intention to keep the market’s dwindling demand for the SATA SSD’s satisfied.
For most consumers, its going to be very situational when a SATA SSD will be a top choice but for those that do, its going to be all about performance. In this review, we have the SAMSUNG 870 EVO SATA SSD, featuring Samsung’s newer MKX controller and 512Gbit 3D TLC NAND.
SAMSUNG 870 EVO Specifications
| Capacity | 250 GB | 500 GB | 1 TB | 2 TB | 4 TB | ||
| Form Factor | 2.5″ 7mm SATA | ||||||
| Controller | Samsung MKX | ||||||
| NAND Flash | Samsung 512Gbit 128L 3D TLC | ||||||
| LPDDR4 DRAM | 512MB | 1 GB | 2 GB | 4 GB | |||
| Sequential Read | 560 MB/s | ||||||
| Sequential Write |
SLC | 530 MB/s | |||||
| TLC | 300 MB/s | 530 MB/s | |||||
| Random Read |
QD32 | 98k IOPS | |||||
| QD1 | 13k IOPS | ||||||
| Random Write |
QD32 | 88k IOPS | |||||
| QD1 | 36k IOPS | ||||||
| Power Draw |
Burst | 3.5 W | 4.0 W | 4.5 W | 5.0 W | ||
| Average | 2.2 W | 2.5 W | |||||
| Idle | 30 mW | 35 mW | |||||
| Warranty | 5 years | ||||||
| Write Endurance | 150 TB 0.3 DWPD |
300 TB 0.3 DWPD |
600 TB 0.3 DWPD |
1200 TB 0.3 DWPD |
2400 TB 0.3 DWPD |
||
Specs table courtesy of Anandtech
Unboxing the SAMSUNG 870 EVO
Closer Look – SAMSUNG 870 EVO
The Samsung 870 EVO is packaged in an elegant full-color print box with a glamor shot of the Samsung 870 EVO in the front. There is minimal details here aside from the maximum performance ratings for the drive. At the back we have a link to the Samsung product page.
Just like the minimal packaging, the contents is also minimal with the drive and some documentation included. An insert for Samsung SSD Magician Toolbox is included inside the installation guide.
Just like all Samsung SSDs, the 870 EVO features very minimal prints on the top shell of the actual SSD. Many cases still have a SATA SSD display and having just the Samsung logo on display would really add some flare especially if you’re not planning to go full-on RGB on the SSDs.
On the bottom is the product label where we get more details like the drive model, the capacity and serial #.
The Samsung 870 EVO is a standard 2.5″ SATA drive and features compatibles 2.5″ mounting holes on the sides and bottom.
Performance Testing – KINGSTON NV1 SSD
Test Setup
Processor: Intel Core i9-11900K
Motherboard: ROG Maximus XIII APEX
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Royale DDR4-4000 CL14 16GBx2 (32GB)
Storage: Patriot Viper VP4100 1TB (OS), Samsung 870 EVO 1TB
PSU:Â Seasonic Platinum 1050w
Cooling: Corsair H150i 360mm AIO
Monitor: ROG PG27UQ
VGA: ZOTAC GTX 1050 Ti
Potential Performance (ATTO Disk Benchmark)
ATTO Disk Benchmark benchmarks a drive’s read and write speeds with increasing file sizes and graphs them. This benchmark shows a good range of how fast an SSD is at a particular size and should give a good image of what to expect from the storage device.
AIDA64 Disk Benchmark
AIDA64 features an internal storage benchmarking tool. It has a large suite of read and write tests that will measure both linear (sequential) and random disk performance in both transfer rate and access times. AIDA64’s write tests are destructive and will destroy all drive data. Linear write testing in AIDA64 is what I use as a stress for our thermal capture. The random read benchmark here shows us how consistent the read performance is in varying sizes and location on the disk the data is written.
Linear Write
We use this test to show how consistent write performance is. Drives normally have an SLC cache that catches all writes made to the drive and then flushes them to the NAND but very large files can overwhelm the cache and this test serves to show how that affects performance. Once the SLC gets overwhelmed, SSDs will usually slow down to the speed of the NAND. Given that this is a SATA drive running on Samsung’s modern hardware, its expected to breeze through this test and it did. It consistent did 491MB/s throughout the entire drive and completed the test in 65 minutes.
Anvil’s Storage Utilities
This benchmark features a dedicated SSD benchmark which measures disk transfer rate as well as IO speed. The benchmark serves to compliment the other sequential tests in this review to show consistency.
AS SSD
Another SSD benchmark oriented towards sequential and 4K transfer performance. This benchmark also features a compression and file copy benchmark for more specific testing.
CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDIskMark has been the most actively updated disk benchmark amongst all the ones we use and is effectively the most reliable. Unfortunately, version to version results are not comparable which limits the ability to extrapolate comparative data. Still its a reliable and direct benchmark. Like the previous, it allows control over test data pattern, the test data size, amount of passes and individual benchmark control.
User Experience & Conclusion
Its going to be easy to dismiss the Samsung 870 EVO SSD as a filler for a market that will eventually going to be filled with NVMe drives but with the case still strong for a larger installation base for NAS users, older console owners and PCs that cannot or have already saturated their expansion possibilities, the SATA interface is still a dependable go-to option.
That being said, the SAMSUNG 870 EVO doesn’t wish to be anything but a spec upgrade from its predecessor, bringing with hardware changes as well as some firmware improvements that hopefully satisfies most people looking for SATA drive. Samsung’s 870 EVO comes at up to 4TB capacities and that’s a range unheard of until only recently and has been equally been in the realm of enterprise but with NAND growing and growing, we would come to a point that SATA SSD drives will become the home platform for larger capacities as M.2 drives will be limited to potentially the M.2-22120 length and the amount of flash you can house on one and cool at the same time.
Focusing on the SAMSUNG 870 EVO, the performance advantage is there but it will be a stiff market to compete in as the majority of Taiwanese SSD makers will be offering SATA drives to focus on the gaming market, complete with RGB and the performance to boot. This does make a complex situation for Samsung with its more discrete 870 EVO styling and its subdued look but ultimately, Samsung does come out with the better offer in terms of longevity with its 5 years and relatively larger write endurance. There are notable competitors though but are of last-generation and are just enjoying their current bargain pricing but still have the shorter 3-year warranties like the DeltaMAX ARGB SSD that we included in this testing.
SAMSUNG is a force to be reckoned with in the SSD space as they’re a first-party company for their own products thus all their parts are made by them. The SSD market currently faces a situation wherein vendors are replacing SSD parts, sacrificing trust and performance along the way. SAMSUNG is rarely at odds with these types of this situation and thus, wouldn’t be changing their parts for the product’s lifespan. That means dense installations such as storage servers or large NAS could optimally be scaled with same-spec hardware and not bother about potential issues.
For the average end user though, it just means you can trust SAMSUNG to not screw you over. For the SAMSUNG 870 EVO, its a decently performing SSD for its aging interface but delivers the most you can get out from it.
Related Reading: SSD Optimization Guide
The SAMSUNG 870 EVO 1TB SATA SSD is priced at around $129 for the 1TB version which is around Php6000. Current listings in Lazada puts the 1TB version at around Php6000 to Php6800. This is a bit on the premium side but SAMSUNG is offering a more reliable platform with the SAMSUNGÂ 870 EVO against its close competitors.
Samsung backs the 870 EVO with a 5-year warranty and is now available from authorized dealers at capacities up to 4TB. I give my B2G Recommended Seal!
