Samsung PM800 128GB mSATA SSD Review – Test Bench and Initial Tests

TEST SYSTEM AND METHODOLOGY

This is The SSD Review Test Bench and a quick click on the photo will bring it up full size for closer inspection.

• Our main goal in testing is to ensure that all test results are as accurate as they can be and no anomalies slip through.
• We conduct all tests three times and, if necessary, we may conduct specific tests in Windows 7 ‘safe mode’ to ensure the OS has little to no influence on the end result.
• We prefer to use as many benchmark programs as possible to assist with confirmation of results and provide the reader with the actual tests as received to avoid any confusion when unexpected test benchmarks are received.
• .

BENCH CONFIGURATION

MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte P67A-UD7 ATX LGA 1155 Intel SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600 SDRAM

GPU: MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II OC Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0

POWER: Corsair Professional Series AX850 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

CHASSIS: Fractal-Design Define XL ATX Mid Tower Silent Computer Case

CPU COOLER: Corsair H50 High Performance Water CPU Cooler

BENCHMARK SOFTWARE

Software used for our testing today consists of ATTO Disk Benchmark, Crystal Disk Mark, HDTune Pro, AS SSD and PCMark Vantage. Although these programs each serve a specific function, a basic knowledge of each is necessary as they do not always provide the result expected in consumer testing which leads to a great deal of confusion. ATTO and HDTune both test through use of raw data whereas Crystal (by default) and AS SSD utilize random data in testing which results in benchmarks below manufacturers specifications when testing SSDs that use compression in their storage such as SandForce.

ATTO DISK BENCHMARK VER. 2.46

ATTO Disk Benchmark is perhaps one of the oldest benchmarks going and is definitely the main staple for manufacturer performance specifications.  For our testing, we use a set length of 256mb and test both the read and write performance of various transfer sizes ranging from 0.5 to 8192kb.  Manufacturers prefer this method of testing as it deals with raw data rather than random or mixed which, although more realistic, result with lower performance results.

ATTO was the first test we conducted and, to be truthful, we decided to remove the drive from the Series 9 only after getting this result.  We had to ask ourselves where this came from and why Samsung hasn’t made mention that this is quite possibly the highest performing mSATA SSD available (even if only in prebuilt laptops).

Pg1 – Introduction

Pg2 – Test Bench and Initial Tests

Pg3 – Crystal and AS SSD Benchmarks

Pg4 – HDTune Testing

Pg5 – PCMark Vantage and Conclusions

FOLLOW OUR FORUM DISCUSSION!