SFF.Network [SFF Network] Samsung Announces the 960 PRO and 960 EVO

Hype! http://www.pcper.com/news/Storage/Samsung-Kicks-Global-SSD-Summit-960-EVO-and-960-PRO

 

[BirdofPrey]

Woot.

With the SM961 coming in 1TB, I am assuming the 960Pro will as well, which means it's time for an upgrade. Have to sell the 950 though for a bit of cash if I do.

 

[Phuncz]

I love it that M.2 is becoming a strong storage component. It's how I imagine SFX-L PSUs replacing ATX PSUs would be like.

 

[BirdofPrey]

We are starting to see that happen, though cases and PSUs don't get outdated as much, so don't move as quickly with innovations.

 

[|||]

If it's similar to the SM951 and 950 Pro, the 960 Pro may have slightly higher performance than the SM961, with exception to sequential read, which looks to be already maxing out the interface bandwidth.

 

[Phuncz]

http://www.pcper.com/image/view/74748?return=node/66261

Apparently, Samsung is going to incorporate a "heatspreading" copper layer within the sticker.

 

[BirdofPrey]

I hope it works well, though they really should have incorporated an actual heat sink

 

[Phuncz]

True that.

Samsung has taken several measures to reduce the incidence of thermal throttling with the 960s, resulting in the 960 PRO lasting 50% longer before throttling on a sequential read test (and due to the increased performance, it transfers more than twice the data before throttling). Most of the improvement comes from increased power efficiency, but in addition, the 960 PRO and EVO include a heatspreader of sorts on the back side. The adhesive label includes a thin layer of copper. One Samsung engineer estimated that this sticker accounts for about 30% of the improved thermal performance.

 

[jØrd]

One Samsung engineer estimated that this sticker accounts for about 30% of the improved thermal performance.

I'm going to guess it wasn't the same engineer who estimated the battery in the Note 7 was safe to ship

 

[vluft]

I'm going to guess it wasn't the same engineer who estimated the battery in the Note 7 was safe to ship

Let's be real though, those batteries were doing an excellent job of spreading heat alllll around.

I assume they probably also have the heatstickers on the 961s — there's a sticker on there that says warranty void if removed, so they're not relying on OEMs to install heatspreaders at least.

 

[|||]

Some specs are out:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...ves-with-blistering-speeds-up-to-2tb-capacity

The already-excellent performance of the 950 Pro is expected to be even higher now, with the 960 Pro 2TB offering 3.5GB/s of sequential read and 2.1GB/s of sequential write, compared with 2.5GB/s and 1.5GB/s for the 950 Pro. The theoretical sequential read speed on the 960 Pro hasn’t quite bumped into the practical limit of the PCI Express 3.0 bus, but it’s getting close.

Theoretical is 3.938GB/s (4GB/s * 128/130), but overhead usually gets in the way of theoretical speed. But, 3.5GB/s is super fast.

 

[jeshikat]

The Global SSD Summit is currently in progress and Samsung has kicked it off with a bang, announcing the 960 PRO and 960 EVO M.2 drives. AnandTech has a great overview of the new drives, but basically they're both smoking fast PCIe NVME drives, with the 960 PRO clocking in at 3500MB/s sequential read and 2100MB/s write while the 960 EVO comes in at "only" 3200MB/s read and 1900MB/s write.

Read more here.

 

[vluft]

Some specs are out:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...ves-with-blistering-speeds-up-to-2tb-capacity


Theoretical is 3.938GB/s (4GB/s * 128/130), but overhead usually gets in the way of theoretical speed. But, 3.5GB/s is super fast.

2TB is pretty great too - dunno about y'all but for me that'd be more than adequate as only storage on gaming PC.

 

[Smallform Gaming]

Will the new 960 EVO series be SATA III compatible or is it another PCIe stick like the 950 Pro?

 

[vluft]

Will the new 960 EVO series be SATA III compatible or is it another PCIe stick like the 950 Pro?

All M.2 PCIe sticks.

 

[Gautam]

Just what I need, more reasons to spend money. :/ The 960 EVO 1TB looks like a good value pick.

 

[jtd871]

Well, I'm a bit torn now. Was going to go with a 512 850 Pro SATA, but the 960 EVO is almost the same MSRP, and the 960 Pro is only $100 more MSRP at about the same capacity (and the mobo I've got penciled in can do a 2280 M.2). Glad to have this 1st world problem.

 

[Vittra]

Interesting that a 2TB option presented itself as well. I'm quite tempted by the 1TB and 2TB offerings, but Samsung's continued lack of RMA presence in Canada remains troubling. Their US RMA third party handlers are only really now catching on to this and starting to provide some service.

 

[EdZ]

I hope it works well, though they really should have incorporated an actual heat sink

With the Z-height limitations of m.2, there's not much space to add a heatsink without breaking spec.

 

[BirdofPrey]

With the Z-height limitations of m.2, there's not much space to add a heatsink without breaking spec.

Fair enough.
We shall see how well the label functions as a heat spreader. It likely depends if the adhesive is reasonably conductive, and if the top of the label allows a decent amount of heat to escape as well.