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

CRYSTAL DISK BENCHMARK VER. 3.0 X64

Crystal Disk Benchmark is used to measure read and write performance through sampling of raw (0/1 Fill/compressible) or random data which is, for the most part, incompressible. In the Samsung 840 Pro SSD, performance results are very similar whether we test with compressible or incompressible data and, for this reason, results are displayed utilizing incompressible data.  Of interest to note is how high we could increase performance by optimizing our systems power settings, this result shown on the right.

blankPrior to these results, I don’t recall ever seeing a high sequential write result of over 500MB/s while testing with incompressible data, incompressible data of course being that of music, movies and photos.  As much as the sequential, 512k, 4k read and 4K-QD32 are just about the best you can get on the result on the left, we would certainly liked to have seen the low 4k random write performance over 100MB/s without having to rely on optimization.  We believe that this performance may translate into amazing PCMark Vantage scoring.

AS SSD BENCHMARK VER 1.6

Up until recently, AS SSD was the only benchmark created specifically for SSD testing and it uses incompressible data.  AS SSD, for the most part, gives us the ‘worst case scenario’ in SSD transfer speeds because of its use of incompressible data and many enthusiasts like to AS SSD for their needs. Transfer speeds are displayed on the left with IOPS results on the right.

blankblankHighlights of initial AS SSD testing are very quick disk access times and excellent 4k-64Thrd IOPS very close to specifications, which results in a very high AS SSD Total Score.  To complement this,  the AS SSD Copy Bench is also the highest result we have had to date, marking lightning fast transfer speeds.

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ANVIL STORAGE UTILITIES PROFESSIONAL (BETA)

You may not see this for long (and its definitely not common) but you get a freebee simply for reading!  Over the last little while, we have been assisting with beta testing new benchmark software called Anvil Storage Utilities which is an absolutely amazing SSD benchmarking utility.  Not only does it have a preset SSD benchmark, but also, it has included such things as endurance testing and threaded I/O read, write and mixed tests, all of which are very simple to understand and utilize in our benchmark testing.

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Some of the lesser- acknowledged qualities of this SSD are evident when we take a look at the response times (or disk access speeds) which are amazing.  IOPS hadn’t reached their top performance yet so we thought we might push the 840 Pro a bit to bring them up. The Total Score of just under 5000 is also front of the pack in all the SSDs we have tested to date.

blankblankFor a typical form factor SSD (which can definitely be debated with the 840 Pro), reaching 100.000 IOPS at 4k-QD128 and 89,000 IOPS at 4k-QD64 does a great job of displaying the environments in which this SSD could function.

43 comments

  1. blank

    the CDM for Pro version looks very VERY promising. especially its 4k read write performance and access time, simply fantastic, great review!. only thing im hoping to see now is Data on drive test and it doesn`t look like SSDreview covers that portion of it as well as HD-Tune. I just wish to see from many aspect of the drive it`ll really help me make decision on purchasing SSDs.

    looking forward to this comparing with SLC S301 and OCZ bigfoot, and intel 525.

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      sorry forgot to mention another thing, chances are I will not purchase 512gb drive at all, im not so sure about other people but cost is over double of 256gb drive, simply no point. imo with Trim in raid 0, double performance and same storage while at a cheaper value is the way to go.

      any chance SSDreview will review 256gb of its drive?

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        You are on the case, the 256 drive should have been reviewed since it is the most common purchased due to the price/gb ratio!

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        Unfortunately, we review what we receive and, considering the very limited availability of samples to reviewers, we were ecstatic to receive this SSD and all that went with it. Stay tuned for the 250GB 840 review in the next day or so.

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    Time to upgrade my 830’s!!

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    Awesome. Just as I expected.

    My Samsung 830 have been reliable all this time with no faults or hiccups what so ever.

    My laptops battery life increased a dramatic 30 minutes just by installing the 830. Now, I can expect even better results with the 840, of which I’m sure to buy.

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    How does it compare to an OCZ Vertex 4 with FW 1.5? Easy to say its at the top when you’re not comparing it with the latest and greatest from all of the vendors…

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      Fair game… This SSD was reviewed on release as was the OCZ. We have worked with the OCZ and it is a great drive, one of my favorites in fact. In a review and at the end of the day, all factors need to be examined and not a specific metric don’t you think? We can work on an updated comparison in the near future if you like.

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        Yea I think it’d be interesting to see it head 2 head with the Plextor M5s pro and the OCZ Vertex 4. Also, any news on the OCZ Vector yet? (You seemed to be the first to tip us off about the samsung 840) 🙂

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        imo this drive SHOULD be faster than both plextor m3p and m5p, vertex 4 doesnt even come close btw.. that low QD1 read.. OCZ will have to bring out it’s bigfoot drives in the next little while.

        good thing about ocz vertex 4 is that its got 5k P/E write cycles i think. I am not so sure about samsung, probably 3k

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        Plextor M5P is reported to have a very good effect on battery life and with 19 nm I’d need a comparison before declaring this one the winner

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        Yeah!!! A MILLION TIMES THIS! Please review those top 3 drives head-to-head, please!

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    THIS drive has to be on your list of possibles for SSD needs. now, 3TB and lower cost…. goodbye HDD.

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    This may be my next drive and I may get the 512GB this time. I will wait a little bit and let the dust settle. Then pounce 🙂

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    So when is the Samsung 840 releasing and where can i get one?

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    Which SATA ports (colour) did you have the samsung connected to. I am planning to get the Asus P8-Z77 Premium board for my current build.

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      If you are not connecting the SSD to the Gray(Intel SATAIII) port you are losing performance because the Asmedia SATAIII(Deep Blue) isn’t as good as Intel. Coming from a P8Z77-V user.

      If the Color scheme on the Premium is different just consult your user manual.

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        thanks for the reply, the premium board only has Intel and Marvell Controllers for SATA duties. I am a bit concerned about the performance of the marvel controllers. I don’t have the board yet, and this site is the only one I know off using it on a daily basis. while waiting to purchase the board i have downloaded the manual and have read it

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        The Marvel controller performance isno different than that of any other motherboard that Marvel has been utilized. Writing from the Seoul Airport but I can probably pull off some tests later if you have a need for such. Intel Z77 port performance is preferred and best for this drive however.

        I dont ever use the Marvel ports myself….

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        Thanks for the reply Les, It is a real pain that Intel only supply 2 SATA 3 ports from the chipset on the Z77 and X79, when most newer cases support 6 or more drives.I prefer to use the intel ports as well.

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        No…that’s not correct. I am unaware of any motherboards that have additional chips allowing more than two Intel ports, be it z77 or x79. All are equipped with additional SATA 3 capabilities but at a performance bump because chips such as the Marvell are used…

        If I am wrong please let me know because I would grab one in a sec.

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        you are right, i should have said, that Intel only provide 2 SATA 3 ports from their own chipset and board manufacturers use 3rd party controllers to add more ports

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        If you get the time, could you do a test on the Marvell controller and compare it to the Intel port results please

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        They will release late October and will be available everywhere fine SSDs can be found…

  9. blank

    What’s holding Samsung back from going after the enterprise market? Just add a supercap to the 840 and you’re ready to go.

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    Approximate performance implications if one were to use the onboard 256 encryption functionality?

  11. blank

    The Plextor M5 PRO is out how does it compare to that one. The problem with this review is that it doesn’t compare it with current drives.

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    On page 3, you said “Of interest to note is how high we could increase performance by optimizing our systems power settings…” in regards to Crystal Disk Mark results. What are you talking about? In what way did you “optimize” your system’s power settings to achieve these higher results?

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    What’s the endurance of these drives? Samsung haven’t posted that anywhere in their available specs.

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    I’m not sure you are really measuring the very typical multitasking or multithreaded application of many accesses at once, where Sandforces excel, even a Pyro SE can beat this drive.

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    How we cant buy the 512gb Pro flavor of this drive? No one including Amazon has it for sale.

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    I don’t know why but my 2 x Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD each on different computer reaches only half the speeds in every benchmarks. Any ideas?

    Tx

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    i’ve read many articles on the internet and after some changes in my pc configuration, i only get about 660 score for my Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB using AS SSD Benchmark. So, what did you do to get more than 1100 score with the same SSD??? it’s unbelievable!!!
    i have a GigaByte GA-X58A-UD5, i7 960, Corsair CMT6GX3M3A2000C8 3x2GB RAM, and another HDD WD Caviar Black 2002FAES 2TB, and i read this article to configute my PC:

    https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-performance-tweak,2911.html

    i hope you can help me. thanks guys 🙂

  18. blank

    Great Review as usual 🙂
    SAMSUNG SSDs product are the best!

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    as a samsung 256 g ssd owner i can say i am already impressed with samsung ssd’s and this would be a fitting main drive for the current build i am doing (which is currently short everything except case and mobo LOL). after reading this i would consider this ssd although they are still a little up there in price range for me to afford one so it unfortunatley would have to wait but i do like what i am reading about the 840 series ssd’s

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    Impressive numbers. I’m not planning to spend over 500$ for a 512GB version, but i’ll definitely buy a 256GB one. My HyperX 3K is down. Sorry my friend but’s time to be replaced. Now lets just hope that the price will drop.

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    Some IOPs that actually get near the OCZ Revo Drive II. Impressive!

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    Hi, how does the AES encryption feature works exactly ? I can’t find any informations about…

    Do I need a special tool to access drive ? or will it ask password during bios POST ?
    Can I reset the password ? or change without wiping data ?
    What if I lose password ?
    Can I use a file instead of passphrase (like truecrypt or luks allow) ?

    Is it compatible with linux, mac OS ?
    When using encryption, is there any performance affect ?

    thanks…

  23. blank

    Hi, great reviews. But why you did not make some comparative test into Windows 7, Office, Photoshop etc. ?

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