Samsung 840 Pro 512GB SSD Review – Performance, Value, Battery Life and Untouchable IOPS

REPORT ANALYSIS AND FINAL THOUGHTS

It is a bit amusing when we think of how performance testing has progressed, as well as the level at which performance has grown when we look at SSDs.  In a very short period, we watched performance increase with SATA 2 SSDs until they hit their theoretical peak at somewhere around 275MB/s and then we looked to PCMark Vantage to provide a measure which differentiated SSDs at that level.  From there, we moved to SATA 3 and, although Vantage remained a key factor, we watched the measurement of IOPS become an additional tool in performance analysis.

Technically, we seem to be now hitting that bottleneck at SATA 3 and IOPS performance becomes a key factor as we strive to create SSDs that would easily meet the needs of enterprise, just as they will find their way into the systems of countless enthusiasts.  The stakes are changing now, however, and rather than pushing forward to the next level in SATA performance, we are starting to see a new trend where fine tuning the level we are at is going to be a key factor in SSD sales.

With the 840 Pro Series SSD, Samsung has pushed to lead and struck gold on three fronts, two of these being very high IOPS performance with very low power use.  At 0.042W idle and 0.068W active, these power ratings are literally unheard of.  Trust me when I say we are hard at work to measure this and will be starting with notebook battery life testing soon enough.  I might suggest our next step will be endurance testing and am sure that this SSD will be pushing for first there as well.

Examining performance with the 840 Pro is a bit amusing as it has hit so many firsts.  To summarize, this is the list of ‘best scores’ that we have seen with the 840 Pro in this analysis:

1. Top High Sequential Write Performance in Incompressible Data Testing;
2. Top 512k Read and Write Performance in Incompressible Data Testing;
3. Top 4k Read Performance in Incompressible Data Testing;
4. Top 4k-QD32 Read and Write Performance in Incompressible Data Testing;
5. Top AS SSD Total Score;
6. Top AS SSD Copy Bench Results;
7. Top Anvil Storage Utilities Total Score;
8. Top Read and Write IOPS;
9. Top PCMark Vantage Total Score

We could easily add to this by nit-picking at our results and digging out a few more firsts I am sure. A pertinent test result, however, is PCMark Vantage HDD Suite Total Scoring which brought in a result significantly higher than any other SSD we had tested.  Considering that this software prefers testing with highly compressible data, we have valid support that the Samsung 840 Pro SSD is as effective in testing with incompressible data as it is with compressible data and we have not seen that from all SSDs.

Given that the 840 Pro ships with Samsung Magician software and has a five year warranty, the only factors left to consider are going to be availability and pricing. Pricing is the third factor and Samsung sent MSRP pricing early this morning (presently 5am in Seoul and working on this) with MSRP of the 64GB at $99.99, 128GB at $149.99, 256 at $269.99 and 512GB at $599.99.  I am going to go against my recent views on pricing where the new line in the sand seems to be 120/128GB capacities at less than $100 and 240/256GB under $200.  To draw an amusing comparison, the SSD race seems to mimic Spain’s famous running of the bulls, the Samsung 840 Pro being the lead and threatening anything that might get in its way.

Two factors will need to be considered in price and purchase consideration.  The first is the fact that these prices are listed MSRP and we need to keep a close eye on how the Samsung 840 Pro aligns itself once the dust settles.  The second is the fact that this is the Pro version and we haven’t even examined that of the 840 consumer yet, an SSD that should strive for new SSD price points when it comes to capacity.  For now, Samsung has finally seen the light in advanced marketing and is promising ample availability through all consumer channels.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At the time of this reports release, myself and a number of other select press agencies worldwide will be well into the 2012 Samsung SSD Global Summit.  Samsung has seemingly accomplished a complete reversal in marketing ideals and set up what is, without a doubt, the largest SSD release campaign ever for what is appearing to be one of the top performing SSDs we have ever seen.  They are accompanying this by a five year warranty, mass availability, and most definitely will be rivaling pricing only previously seen of Crucial before long.  Samsung has moved that performance line in the sand further yet and are deserving of our Editors Choice!

Check Out Samsung 840 SSD Prices at Amazon!