TRIM Performance:
While SSDs offer many benefits, there are some downsides to using flash memory. One of the biggest issues people run into is performance degradation. Over time, an SSD will run out of fresh blocks and will have to write over data the file system has marked as deleted. This procedure is very complicated and can slow an SSD's write speeds considerably.
To fix this problem, most manufacturers have added TRIM support to their SSDs. The TRIM command allows an operating system, such as Windows 10, to tell an SSD which data blocks are no longer in use. Using this information, the drive pro-actively erases these blocks and adds them to the free block pool.
To test the 970 PRO's TRIM and garbage collection functions, I first put the drive in a "dirty" state. I used Iometer to fill the entire drive and then ran a random write test for 30 minutes. This had little impact on the 970 PRO's read speed. However, its average writing speed dropped to a mere 123.9 MB/s.
Samsung 970 PRO - Dirty
To see how well the 970 PRO could recover, I let the computer sit for about 30 minutes and then reran the test. The drive wasn't able to reach the factory fresh performance shown in our earlier tests. However, its average read speed jumped up to 1026.9 MB/s.
Samsung 970 PRO - After TRIM
Lastly, I used Parted Magic to perform a secure erase on the 970 PRO. With the drive wiped clean, it had average read and write speeds of 1839.9 MB/s and 1107.2 MB/s, respectively.
Samsung 970 PRO - Secure Erased
Final Thoughts:
With the 970 PRO, Samsung has raised the bar yet again, delivering one of, if not the fastest, consumer SSDs on the market today. Designed for tech enthusiasts, hardcore gamers and professionals, this M.2 form factor SSD is powered by Samsung's new Phoenix controller and is available with up to 1TB of the company's latest 64-layer V-NAND flash. Combine this with a PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.3 interface and you have an SSD capable of hitting some insanely fast speeds. The 970 PRO screamed through our sequential transfer rate tests, reading at speeds as high as 3,611 MB/s and writing at more than 2,300 MB/s. The drive also did very well in our random write tests, producing more than 232,000 IOPS at low queue depths.
Impressive performance isn't the only thing the 970 PRO has to offer. To keep your data safe, the drive features AES 256-bit full disk encryption and is compliant with both the TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE 1667 specifications. The 970 PRO also supports the Device Sleep (DEVSLP) standard which extends the battery life of a device by reducing the drive's power consumption when it's not in use. To top it all off, the 970 PRO is covered by a 5 year warranty with an endurance rating of up to 1,200 terabytes written (TBW) for the 1TB model.
The 970 PRO will be available for purchase worldwide starting May 7, 2018 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price starting at $329.99.
Highs:
- PCIe 3.0 x4 interface with NVMe protocol
- Equipped with 2-bit MLC V-NAND technology
- Available in 512GB and 1TB capacities
- Excellent sequential and random read and write speeds
- Performs equally well with compressible and incompressible data
- Small M.2 2280 form factor
- Large DRAM cache
- Supports TRIM and garbage collection
- AES 256-bit full disk encryption
- TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE 1667 compliant
- Works with Samsung's Magician software
- 5 year warranty
Lows:
- Not available in higher capacities
- Pricey
