Samsung has developed the best SSDs for years now, this includes both SATA based drives and the new NVMe based drive. They have now announced the successor to the legendary 850 series, the 860 PRO and 860 EVO.
As we are already pushing the limits of SATA there are not massive improvements here, but an improvement nonetheless.
The new 860 PRO and 860 EVO SSDs combine the latest 512Gb and 256Gb 64-layer V-NAND, up to 4GB LPDDR4 mobile DRAM and a new MJX controller to elevate the user experience for both consumers and businesses,” said Un-Soo Kim, senior vice president of Brand Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will continue to fuel meaningful innovations in the consumer SSD space and drive growth of the overall memory industry for years to come
The 860 PRO is available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities, with the 4TB memory storage holding up to 114 hours and 30 minutes of 4K Ultra HD video. The 860 PRO is available in a widely compatible 2.5-inch form factor, which is ideal for PCs, laptops, workstations and NAS.
The 860 EVO comes in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities, in a 2.5-inch for PCs and laptops, as well as mSATA and M.2 form factors for ultra-slim computing applications. The 860 EVO has up to six times longer sustained performance than its predecessor due to enhanced Intelligent TurboWrite technology, with read and write speeds of up to 550 MB/s and 520 MB/s , respectively.
| Category | 860 PRO | 860 EVO |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | SATA 6 Gbps | SATA 6 Gbps |
| Form Factor | 2.5-inch | 2.5-inch, mSATA, M.2 |
| Storage Memory | Samsung V-NAND 2bit MLC | Samsung V-NAND 3bit MLC |
| Controller | Samsung MJX Controller | |
| Cache Memory | 4GB LPDDR4 (4TB) | 4GB LPDDR4 (4TB) |
| 2GB LPDDR4 (2TB) | 2GB LPDDR4 (2TB) | |
| 1GB LPDDR4 (1TB) | 1GB LPDDR4 (1TB) | |
| 512MB LPDDR4 (256/512GB) | 512MB LPDDR4 (250/500GB) | |
| Capacity | 4TB, 2TB, 1TB, 512GB, 256GB | [2.5-inch] 4TB, 2TB,1TB,500GB, 250GB |
| [M.2] 2TB, 1TB, 500GB, 250GB [mSATA] 1TB, 500GB, 250GB | ||
| Seq.Read/Write Speed | Up to 560/530 MB/s | Up to 550/520 MB/s |
| Ran.Read/Write Speed (QD32) | Max. 100K IOPS / 90K IOPS | Max. 98K IOPS / 90K IOPS |
| Device Sleep | 2.5 mW for 1TB | 2.6 mW for 1TB |
| (Up to 7 mW for 4TB) | (Up to 8 mW for 4TB) | |
| Management SW | Magician Software for SSD management | |
| Total Byte Written | 4TB: 4,800TB | 4TB: 2,400TB |
| 2TB: 2,400TB | 2TB: 1,200TB | |
| 1TB: 1,200TB | 1TB: 600TB | |
| 512GB: 600TB | 500GB: 300TB | |
| 256GB: 300TB | 250GB: 150TB | |
| Warranty | 5 years or up to 4,800 TBW9 | 5 years or up to 2,400 TBW |
The pricing for the drives in the UK is as follows:
860 EVO
250 – £90.49
500 – £162.49
1TB – £315.79
2TB – £619.49
4TB – £1324.49
860 PRO
256 – £126.49
512 – £225.49
1TB – £433.49
2TB – £839.49
4TB – TBC
We hope to have a review of one or both of the drives soon.
