Most likely, the name Samsung is one of the first to be mentioned when looking for the right SSD hard drive for your desktop PC or notebook. In 2019, the Korean manufacturer, which has always come up with a new innovation from one generation to the next, will continue to serve a broad target group with its numerous SSD products with the most diverse demands and budgets. Whether a particularly cost-effective drive for the budget saver, an SSD with an attractive price-performance ratio for the normal user or a high-performance storage solution for professional users – Samsung offers the right flash memory-based SSD hard drive for everyone.
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SSD from Samsung in comparison
- Samsung SSD 860 EVO – Allrounder 2.5-inch, mSATA or M.2 SATA SSD
- Samsung SSD 860 QVO – Saving tip 2.5-inch SSD with QLC flash memory
- Samsung SSD 860 PRO – 2.5-inch SSD for professionals and enthusiasts
- Samsung SSD 970 EVO – M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD for normal users
- Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus – Optimized successor of 970 EVO
- Samsung SSD 970 PRO – M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD with high performance
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Differences between Samsung SSD series
Basically, the SSD drives from Samsung can be divided into two large groups according to the interface used for a better overview. The 860 series SSDs are connected to the system via the well-known and widely used SATA protocol. For the SSD of the 970 series, the manufacturer relies on the more modern and powerful PCIe interface. In addition, a distinction can be made within the series between SSDs for normal users (EVO/EVO Plus/QVO) or for professional users (PRO).
Bestseller SSD as a purchase recommendation
The Samsung SSD 860 EVO SSD is probably one of the most versatile product series of the manufacturer, because the drive is offered in the 2.5-inch form factor, in the mSATA format or also as a M.2 plug-in card. This makes the 860 EVO suitable for installation in the housings of desktop computers as well as for retrofitting laptops with a 2.5-inch bay or a mSATA or M.2 connection. Depending on the construction standard, the 860 EVO series SSD hard disks are also available in storage sizes ranging from the entry-level 250 GB to the HDD-replacable 4 TB (4,000 GB).
SSD saving tip with QLC Flash
The Samsung SSD 860 QVO shines primarily thanks to the particularly low cost per gigabyte, which the manufacturer achieves by using the cheaper QLC flash memory. The cells of this NAND can hold up to 4 bits each in contrast to the 3 bits of the TLC flash of the 860 EVO SSD, which leads to a higher storage density and to the production cost savings for Samsung. The 860 QVO series SSD hard disks are offered with capacities of 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB. As with the EVO, the QVO uses the write acceleration technology TurboWrite, but due to the somewhat slower QLC memory, the performance of the latter collapses more strongly in comparison after the buffer area is used up.
SSD recommendation in M.2 format
The Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus offers a low-cost entry into the world of NVMe SSDs with PCI Express connectivity in relation to the high performance offered. Thanks to the four PCIe lanes, the SSD plug-in card in the M.2 2280 form factor achieves up to 3,500 MB/s when reading and a maximum of 3,300 MB/s when writing. As with the previous generation Samsung SSD 970 EVO, the TurboWrite technology of the 970 EVO Plus ensures the highest possible performance despite the 3-bit TLC NAND flash used. However, the newer SSD hard disk with the “Plus” addition creates the better performance values after exhausting the SLC cache thanks to the optimizations. In terms of storage sizes, the two generations start at 250 GB and round up with 2 TB capacity, whereby the largest version of the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus is still to be released.
SSD hard drives for professionals
The Samsung SSD 860 PRO and the Samsung SSD 970 PRO are mainly aimed at professional users and enthusiasts who expect maximum performance from an SSD drive. In order to achieve the high performance even under the permanent loads, the manufacturer uses the fast 2-bit MLC flash memory in both cases, which in turn leads to the significantly higher prices for the PRO SSD. While the Samsung SSD 860 PRO is available in memory sizes from 256 GB to 4 TB, the capacities of the Samsung SSD 970 PRO are limited to the variants with 512 GB and 1 TB.
Conclusion Samsung SSD comparison – differences of 860 EVO/QVO/PRO and 970 EVO/EVO Plus/PRO
For most users, the Samsung SSD 860 EVO should be the right choice due to the very good price-performance ratio and the wide range of form factors and capacities. If you’re looking for a particularly affordable SSD with a storage size starting at 1TB, the Samsung SSD 860 QVO could be interesting. For all those interested in a high-performance NVMe SSD with the M.2 connection, the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus is worth a closer look. Should the current price for a Samsung SSD 970 EVO turn out to be more favorable, you can also confidently still reach for the previous generation. Finally, the PRO models, Samsung SSD 860 PRO and Samsung SSD 970 PRO, are more suitable for professionals who decide on performance but not on budget, due to the high cost per gigabyte.
The SSD hard drives from Samsung also convince with a long customer-friendly warranty period of 5 years, with the exception of the 860 QVO with 3 years. Only the SSD is included in the scope of delivery. However, the equipment includes the helpful programs Magician Software for drive management and Data Migration Tool for data transfer, which can be downloaded free of charge from the manufacturer’s website and to which all SSDs from Samsung are compatible.
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Samsung SSD with SATA interface – Specifications comparison differences
| product | Samsung SSD 860 EVO | Samsung SSD 860 QVO | Samsung SSD 860 PRO |
| form factor | 2.5-inch SATA SSD mSATA SSD M.2 2280 SSD |
2.5-inch SATA SSD | 2.5-inch SATA SSD |
| interface | SATA 6 Gb/s | SATA 6 Gb/s | SATA 6 Gb/s |
| capacity | 250 GB (SATA, mSATA, M.2) 500 GB (SATA, mSATA, M.2) 1 TB (SATA, mSATA, M.2) 2 TB (SATA, M.2) 4 TB (SATA) |
1 TB (1,000 GB) 2 TB (2,000 GB) 4 TB (4,000 GB) |
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB (1,024 GB) 2 TB (2,048 GB) 4 TB (4,096 GB) |
| NAND type | 3-bit TLC | 4-bit QLC | 2-bit MLC |
| sequential read | 550 MB/s | 550 MB/s | 560 MB/s |
| sequential write | 520 MB/s | 520 MB/s | 530 MB/s |
| random read | 98,000 IOPS (SATA) 97,000 IOPS (mSATA, M.2) |
96,000 IOPS (1 TB) 97,000 IOPS (2 TB, 4 TB) |
100,000 IOPS |
| random write | 90,000 IOPS (SATA) 88,000 IOPS (mSATA, M.2) |
89,000 IOPS | 90,000 IOPS |
| reliability (MTTF) | 1.5 million hours | 1.5 million hours | 1.5 million hours |
| TBW | 150 TB (250 GB) 300 TB (500 GB) 600 TB (1 TB) 1,200 TB (2 TB) 2,400 TB (4 TB) |
360 TB (1 TB) 720 TB (2 TB) 1,440 TB (4 TB) |
300 TB (256 GB) 600 TB (512 GB) 1,200 TB (1 TB) 2,400 TB (2 TB) 4,800 TB (4 TB) |
| warranty | 5 years limited | 3 years limited | 5 years limited |
Samsung SSD with NVMe PCIe interface – Specifications comparison differences
| product | Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus | Samsung SSD 970 EVO | Samsung SSD 970 PRO |
| form factor | M.2 2280 SSD | M.2 2280 SSD | M.2 2280 SSD |
| interface | PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 | PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 |
| capacity | 250 GB 500 GB 1 TB |
250 GB 500 GB 1 TB 2 TB |
512 GB 1 TB |
| NAND type | 3-bit TLC | 3-bit TLC | 2-bit MLC |
| sequential read | 3,500 MB/s | 3,400 MB/s (250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB) 3,500 MB/s (2 TB) |
3.500 MB/s |
| sequential write | 2,300 MB/s (250 GB) 3,200 MB/s (500 GB) 3,300 MB/s (1 TB) |
1,500 MB/s (250 GB) 2,300 MB/s (500 GB) 2,500 MB/s (1 TB, 2 TB) |
2,300 MB/s (512 GB) 2,700 MB/s (1 TB) |
| random read | 250,000 IOPS (250 GB) 480,000 IOPS (500 GB) 600,000 IOPS (1 TB) |
200,000 IOPS (250 GB) 370,000 IOPS (500 GB) 500,000 IOPS (1 TB, 2 TB) |
370,000 IOPS (512 GB) 500,000 IOPS (1 TB) |
| random write | 550,000 IOPS | 350,000 IOPS (250 GB) 450,000 IOPS (500 GB, 1 TB) 480,000 IOPS (2 TB) |
500,000 IOPS |
| reliability (MTTF) | 1.5 million hours | 1.5 million hours | 1.5 million hours |
| TBW | 150 TB (250 GB) 300 TB (500 GB) 600 TB (1 TB) |
150 TB (250 GB) 300 TB (500 GB) 600 TB (1 TB) 1,200 TB (2 TB) |
600 TB (512 GB) 1,200 TB (1 TB) |
| warranty | 5 years limited | 5 years limited | 5 years limited |
