Samsung Launches 970 EVO Plus

AlphaAtlas

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Today, Samsung launched a new addition to their already extensive SSD lineup. Samsung tells us the 970 EVO Plus SSD features "up to 53 percent" faster write speeds than its predecessor, the 970 EVO, and is more power efficient overall. The new drive is supposedly good for 3500 MB/s and 3200 MB/s sequential read write speeds, respectively, as well as 620,000/560,000 random read/write IOPS at a queue depth of 32. It comes with up to 2TB of Samsungs 5th generation MLC V-NAND and a 5 year warranty that covers up to 1200 TB of writes. According to their press release, MSRP starts at $89.99.

Using Samsung's own NVMe drivers. Legit Reviews put some of those performance claims to the test. The drive seems to hit the sequential read/write performance numbers Samsung promised, and the random I/O tests are fairly impressive as well. They note that the price points for the various capacities are slightly higher than the competition now, but that Samsung's software features (like their automatic OS migration tool) and extra performance certainly add some value.
 
This must be why you can't find 970 PROs anywhere right now. I should cancel my backorderd PRO and get one of these instead. Looks like same warranty and better performance than the PRO for $100 cheaper at 1TB.

EDIT: Reading reviews, it looks like performance suffers greatly when the SLC cache runs out. I don't think I'll be doing the kinds of writes where I'll notice, though. The OP is a press release, so I assume the report of it using MLC is correct. Some review sites are incorrectly reporting it's using TLC.
 
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For those that already have a Samsung 970 EVO (like me) this is a yawn to say the least. Not much to see here folks, move along. The only thing this new model will do is make higher capacity NVMe SSDs cheaper.
 
I can't find it anywhere, either. Looking through more reviews it looks like the PRO is still what you want for absolute peak read and write performance. I may keep my backordered PRO if I can't find the EVO Plus for sale anywhere.
 
I have to admit - picking up that Sammy SSD 830 was a great buy years ago - still chugging. So impressed that I grabbed an SSD 840 Pro. That was my last greatest upgrade to my box. Going from platter to SSD. Would not hesitate to grab another Sammy SSD.
 
EDIT: Reading reviews, it looks like performance suffers greatly when the SLC cache runs out. I don't think I'll be doing the kinds of writes where I'll notice, though. The OP is a press release, so I assume the report of it using MLC is correct. Some review sites are incorrectly reporting it's using TLC.

If it's MLC it won't have a SLC cache as MLC does not need it (but very interesting that the evo plus does use it MLC 3bit with SLC cache)
 
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EDIT: Reading reviews, it looks like performance suffers greatly when the SLC cache runs out.

This is my only gripe with TLC/3D NAND- and it's a small one. You won't notice this in heavy desktop usage, as there's no actual consumer application to do so. Where you will notice it is if you use it for write-heavy workstation applications, or put it in a server environment.

I noticed it when I tried to use WD Blue SSDs as ZFS write cache on a NAS over a 10Gbit link. The way ZFS works, all data goes through the cache first, and well, I found the SSDs to actually be slower than the spinning array they sat in front of once their own 'SLC cache' overflowed. I've been looking around for inexpensive MLC drives (like Samsung's Pro drives) as an alternative.


On the other hand, I use a larger WD Blue in my desktop for OS and apps, and there's no difference in daily usage between it and the smaller but faster NVMe MLC drive it replaced.
 
This is my only gripe with TLC/3D NAND- and it's a small one. You won't notice this in heavy desktop usage, as there's no actual consumer application to do so. Where you will notice it is if you use it for write-heavy workstation applications, or put it in a server environment.

I noticed it when I tried to use WD Blue SSDs as ZFS write cache on a NAS over a 10Gbit link. The way ZFS works, all data goes through the cache first, and well, I found the SSDs to actually be slower than the spinning array they sat in front of once their own 'SLC cache' overflowed. I've been looking around for inexpensive MLC drives (like Samsung's Pro drives) as an alternative.


On the other hand, I use a larger WD Blue in my desktop for OS and apps, and there's no difference in daily usage between it and the smaller but faster NVMe MLC drive it replaced.
There is a large noticeable difference between even a SATA SSD and a good 7200 RPM HDD in my experience, and I'm honestly not expecting much of a noticeable difference moving to a NVMe drive. But I'm upgrading my PC and I want all the shiny new things.
 
It looks like a mixed bag when comparing this to an Optane 905p. I'm curious if this would be a better purchase, note this is for high queue depth when running computational analysis with solidworks, 70+gb written to disk plus 32GB Ram in the system being consumed either for calculation or writebuffer.
 
I just assembled a new PC and have the 2TB 970 EVO in it.

upload_2019-1-22_12-25-26.png
 
i wonder if it will ever hit the $80 1TB price point, or if they'll collude on prices again and jack everything up
 
Dang, prices are dropping for NVME fast. If you're in the market for one I suggest getting at least 1Tb as game installs are getting yuge!

You know, you don't need to have more than 1-3 games installed at a time.

1.) Install game
2.) Play until done
3.) Uninstall game
4.) Install next game

Voila! No need to spend money on massive local storage :p
 
I have a 500 GB 970 EVO as my C drive.

BUT ! I have 2 vacant slots on the board that i would like to put something in.

DoubleBUT ! I think i should focus on acquire more RAM first as only 2 of 8 slots filled look,,,,,,, well embarrassing. So more cheap 3600 MHZ ram please G-Skill.
And then i also have that GFX issue i need to resolve when AMD will let me.

Using my old C: SSD as a offload drive for my video editing suite, works fine with the low level i deal in, but it would be stupid to replace the SSD when it die with another SSD, not least as a SSD = 2 more wires in the case, and i am pretty anal when it cone to wires in the case.

I might even get a PCI ricer card for more of these small drives as i have PCI slots en mass i don't use.
 
You know, you don't need to have more than 1-3 games installed at a time.

1.) Install game
2.) Play until done
3.) Uninstall game
4.) Install next game

Voila! No need to spend money on massive local storage :p

When it comes to gaming we prefer want over need ;) That being said, ideally you can do what you suggested but game installs are getting yuge recently. Shadow of War is 100Gb with all the DLC and I expect game size to reach 200Gb or larger sooner than later.
 
I just assembled a new PC and have the 2TB 970 EVO in it.

View attachment 136742

Whaa? It's just a plus. Just put some RGB lights on yours and set them to loop on a complex pattern. Perhaps something resembling Intel's 14 nm tech

+
++
+++

+
++
+++

You can do that in many different colors. I am sure there are many other options but I am new to this myself. I like dark red and orange
 
You know, you don't need to have more than 1-3 games installed at a time.

1.) Install game
2.) Play until done
3.) Uninstall game
4.) Install next game

Voila! No need to spend money on massive local storage :p

Bandwidth starts to matter when games are 80-100GB downloads with 10GB patches. Sadly, depending on the game it can be faster to re download the game than restore it from Steam archive stored on my NAS or an external drive. When stored on an internal harddrive zipped it is usually faster at least.
 
I know we all like to upgrade tech regularly but I can't get over the half lives of these ssd's. Anyone experiencing older ssd's failing due to write age? Everything I have is less than 2 years old and I've only had SSD's brick for no reason in the past unrelated to age.
 
This must be why you can't find 970 PROs anywhere right now. I should cancel my backorderd PRO and get one of these instead. Looks like same warranty and better performance than the PRO for $100 cheaper at 1TB.

EDIT: Reading reviews, it looks like performance suffers greatly when the SLC cache runs out. I don't think I'll be doing the kinds of writes where I'll notice, though. The OP is a press release, so I assume the report of it using MLC is correct. Some review sites are incorrectly reporting it's using TLC.

It's TLC. Samsung just calls it "3-bit MLC." This is also done with the 860 EVO. Check my guide here and my 970 EVO Plus review post here.
 
For those that already have a Samsung 970 EVO (like me) this is a yawn to say the least. Not much to see here folks, move along. The only thing this new model will do is make higher capacity NVMe SSDs cheaper.

Indeed as the variance between NVMe manufacturers performance specs and your own setup vary quite a bit, an extra 5-15% here and there just isn't going to make much difference. Some will win some will lose.
 
I know we all like to upgrade tech regularly but I can't get over the half lives of these ssd's. Anyone experiencing older ssd's failing due to write age? Everything I have is less than 2 years old and I've only had SSD's brick for no reason in the past unrelated to age.
My oldest 850 PRO is going on 4 years old and I've not had an issue with it yet. One of my friends has an OCZ Vertex 4 that is going on 7 years old. The good thing about SSDs as far as write age is concerned is they know when they're going so you can still recover your data. When HDDs fail you're SOL unless you're good about keeping backups.
 
This is my only gripe with TLC/3D NAND- and it's a small one. You won't notice this in heavy desktop usage, as there's no actual consumer application to do so. Where you will notice it is if you use it for write-heavy workstation applications, or put it in a server environment.

I noticed it when I tried to use WD Blue SSDs as ZFS write cache on a NAS over a 10Gbit link. The way ZFS works, all data goes through the cache first, and well, I found the SSDs to actually be slower than the spinning array they sat in front of once their own 'SLC cache' overflowed. I've been looking around for inexpensive MLC drives (like Samsung's Pro drives) as an alternative.


On the other hand, I use a larger WD Blue in my desktop for OS and apps, and there's no difference in daily usage between it and the smaller but faster NVMe MLC drive it replaced.
Have you tried the Intel 900/905 for your write cache? I'm looking to (maybe) do this myself...

Right now I have a 400GB sas enterprise drive as my write cache and it seems to work ok.

Current smart shows 43TB write and "Percentage used endurance indiator: 0%"
It's a Samsung MZ6ER400HAGL/003
 
Had a customer who wanted a Samsung phone charging cable they couldn't find another. I said they probably have something comparable. The other kid says I just bought one two months ago here at Walmart. Sometime the name brand stuff isn't always the best and it's designed to fail faster. I heard the M.2 drives get hot so I stay away from them plus the performance isn't there for games you won't notice it if you have a SATA already.
 
. The good thing about SSDs as far as write age is concerned is they know when they're going so you can still recover your data. When HDDs fail you're SOL unless you're good about keeping backups.
Any part of any storage device can fail without warning at anytime. If you're relying on ssd write age (or any metric for that matter) to prevent data loss you may want to rethink your methodology.
Backups are needed for any type of storage, no matter what.
 
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My oldest 850 PRO is going on 4 years old and I've not had an issue with it yet. One of my friends has an OCZ Vertex 4 that is going on 7 years old. The good thing about SSDs as far as write age is concerned is they know when they're going so you can still recover your data. When HDDs fail you're SOL unless you're good about keeping backups.

A typical failure of an ssd is complete death and none recoverable usually due to mix of water leveling and encryption (hdds are easier to recover data from) ssds should go into read only mode when nand is burned out but that rarely happens
 
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