Samsung XP941 High end M.2 performance

Despite being last year’s model (and originally an OEM drive), the XP941 is still one of the faster PCIe M.2 SSDs available. The drive is sold in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB (as tested) models, and uses the standard 2080 M.2 form factor — no PCIe slot adaptor is included. The XP941 is an AHCI SSD, using four lanes of PCIe 2.0. The drive features Samsung’s own 64Gbit 19nm MLC NAND, with the S4LNO53X01 controller. We tested the 512GB model and not surprisingly, performance was excellent. Peak sequential read and write speeds were 1,075/ 875MB/s — easily outpacing the fast SATA drives as well as some of the PCIe competition. 4K random read and writes were also solid, at 29/102 MB/s, respectively. Samsung rates the drive at 122,000/72,000 IOPS for random 4K read and writes. Performance is degraded on the 256GB and 128GB versions of the SSD, though it’s the write speeds that suffer the most. The drive is rated to 400GB of data writes a day, with a three-year warranty. One boon for laptop users is that the XP941 has a 0.08W low-power idle state that will help your battery last longer. However, check your compatibility, as not all laptops or desktops can boot from the SSD. The 128GB model is available for around $165, while the 256GB will set you back $320. The 512GB model at $640 offers a gigabyte per dollar ratio comparable to other M.2 SSDs.