Performance or capacity. That’s been the dichotomy that’s dominated data storage since the first SSDs appeared. But now Samsung has launched the first consumer 2TB SSDs. The 850 Pro combines the speed of solid-state flash with the multi-terabyte mass storage. How has Samsung done it? It’s largely down to its 3D V-NAND memory, the trailblazing flash memory tech that sees memory cells stacked atop one another, giving it the ability to squeeze much more capacity into a given area. Using multiple layers of memory cells also takes the pressure off the need for each layer to absolutely max out capacity. Where Samsung’s previousgen 840-series drives sported NAND memory with tiny 19nm transistors, the 850 series uses 40nm tech. real-world peak performance of 550MB/s. That’s simply a function of the 6Gbps limitation of the SATA interface. If you’re upgrading an existing system, that shouldn’t be a problem. You may not have any M.2 slots in your PC, anyway. But as the storage solution for a new PC you’re building, or for an existing system with M.2 support, the limitations of SATA are more of a problem. Compared with the near-2GB/s of bandwidth of M.2 drives, the 550MB/s top whack of a SATA drive makes even this 2TB drive look old hat. Samsung’s figures are borne out in testing as well. In terms of raw sequential throughput and random access performance, it’s simply bouncing off the SATA interface limitations. More interesting is the fact that the 850 Pro clocks in To achieve the 2TB capacity, Samsung had to create a new controller chip, as it says its existing MEX controller had limitations when it comes to really high capacities. Consequently, the new 2TB has a new controller, the MHX. Samsung’s performance claims suggest the increased capacity doesn’t incur any performance downsides, with 550MB/s sequential reads, 520MB/s sequential writes, plus 100,000 read and 90,000 write IOPS. Where things get really interesting is durability. The 2TB absolutely does not disappoint. Samsung provides a mega 10-year warranty, along with expectations of 300TBworth of writes. Wow. However, the elephant in the room is that the 850 Pro is a plain, old SATA drive, which means it’s limited to a with probably the fastest time we’ve seen for a SATA drive in our real-world 5GB file compression test. How you view this drive’s performance ultimately comes down to whether you’re in the market for an M.2 or a SATA unit. It’s great for SATA, but it can’t get close to a drive built around the latest standards. But if you need the biggest and best SATA SSD, it’s a killer.
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