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If you have a real need for (storage) speed, you can’t get any faster than the Samsung SSD 960 Pro ($329 for 512GB). It’s not the cheapest internal solid-state drive (SSD) you can buy, but in using the faster NVMe protocol, it improves on the speeds of the Samsung SSD 950 Pro by leaps and bounds.
In addition to NVMe, the new SSD 960 Pro makes use of the slimmer, gumstick-size M.2 form factor and a PCI Express x4 connection. This allows a super-fast sequential read speeds of up to 3,500MBps and sequential write speeds of 2,100MBps. That’s a full 1GBps faster than the SSD 950 Pro for reads and 600MBps faster for writes. In testing, the SSD 960 Pro achieved faster results than any other consumer internal SSD to date, though in actual use it may be even faster (as not all of the benchmark tests used were programmed for NVMe).
The SSD 960 Pro also comes in a wider range of storage capacities. While the previous generation capped out at 512GB, the SSD 960 Pro starts at 512GB and comes in 1TB ($629) and 2TB ($1,299) versions as well. Lastly, the SSD 960 Pro comes with 256-bit encryption and a five-year warranty. That’s not as long as the 10-year coverage Samsung offers with its SSD 850 Pro, a high-end SATA-based drive, but it’s probably long enough for the average user.
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It should also be noted that if you do buy the SSD 960 Pro now, Samsung won’t be releasing the driver until November along with a new version of its Magician software, and both could affect performance and usability. If this, along with the price, raises concerns, you may want to consider waiting it out or opting for the Samsung SSD 960 EVO drives, which offer similar specs for use with traditional consumer workloads at a more reasonable cost. The 256GB version of the SSD 960, for example, costs $130. That being said, professionals who spend a lot of time in intensive tasks like 4K video editing would definitely benefit from the SSD 960 Pro’s class-leading performance.
For more details, check out the Samsung SSD 960 Pro (512GB)(Opens in a new window) review on our sister site, Computer Shopper.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/samsung-ssd-960-pro
