SAMSUNG SM950 PRO NVMe SSD

[larryccf]

it's described on one of the french vendors' website as a PCIe 3 x4 M.2 SSD, so yes, it will be 4x faster than a Sata SSD

google for and read reviews of the Samsung SM951, both the AHCI and NVMe versions - those are OEM M.2 SSDs, OEM as in only for mfgrs - no warranty or support direct from samsung on them,

the 950 Pro is expected to be a "retail" unit, which means warranty support and boot drivers supplied with it, so it will hopefully install more like a legacy SSD

 

[matlai17]

Hey all.
Just came across this thread. I'm a little behind on the SSD news but is this rumored 950 pro supposed to be "better" than the 850 pro? I ask because Im really close to buying an 850 pro but will wait if this 950 is near.

It appears the 950 will use the M.2 interface and is a PCI express storage device. It will not use a SATA port so unless you have a recent motherboard that has an M.2 port or are willing to buy a PCIe adapter (or maybe some sort of SATA Express adapter if the motherboard supports it?), then you might want to keep with the 850 pro.

As for the 950 being better than the 850 - because the 950 uses new specifications that allows the usage of up to 4 PCIe lanes to carry data, it is about 3-4 times faster than SATA solutions such as the 850.

 

[Johnny Lucky]

Another Update:

Two days ago I contacted a customer service representative at Newegg and asked about the Samsung 950 Pro. The representative stated that the Newegg representatives were not permitted to discuss future products. However, the rep provided a link to a newegg web page that had a form for suggesting new products. I filled out and submitted it. The first reply was simply an automatic message acknowledging receipt of the form. Next I received a message from the customer service department saying my request was forwarded to a department responsible for future products. This morning I received a third message. Here is the exact reply:

"As to your request as below, I got the feedback from our product management department: the new one should be the retail version, it is not available in US but other country for now, US will be coming soon. Once it is available, we will post it online. "

That is definitely good news despite the fact that the 950 Pro will be available in Europe and Australia before North America.

 

[mw8t]

Johnny am I right in expecting a Samsung NVMe driver to turn up with the release of these drives as well as a new revision of Magician?

 

[Johnny Lucky]

The original French vendor now has the 512GB version listed. Here is the link:

http://www.pc21.fr/fiche/mz-v5p512bw-ssd-950-pro-512-go-nvme-i1404364.html

Looks like the vendor might have the both the 256GB and 512GB versions in stock.

mw8T - No technical specifications yet.

 

[Redstorm]

Nice, the 512GB 950 Pro, hope pricing is competitive but wont really matter, it falls into the i want category.

 

[Donanza]

JohnnyLucky just posted a link to a french website that just put up a page on the SAMSUNG SM950 PRO NVMe SSD with a price of 148 euros (w/o VAT) for the 256 GB variant - price works out to $168.50 USD

http://www.pc21.fr/fiche/mz-v5p256bw-ssd-950-pro-256-go-nvme-i1404310.html

appears sammy is going to offer a retail nvme variant after all

link to johnnylucky's post http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2788174/samsung-950-pro-nvme-ssd-info.html

That is really a low price.
I believe SSD are going to get even lower.

 

[Redstorm]

We should know in the next 24 - 48 hours what Samsung are going to release, they are holding the Samsung Global SSD summit Sep 22nd - 23rd in Seoul.

On the cover of the itinerary folder is a picture of a m.2 VNAND SSD, this could be what we have all be waiting for.

Its the 22nd here in NZ now so might find out later tonight what it is.

Fingers crossed my never ending wait is soon to be over.

 

[shabby]

 

[Redstorm]

Worth the wait 2500MB read 1500MB write 512MB version available October.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...aunches-950-PRO-SSD-Leading-Mass#.VgDo1RGqqko

Overview
http://www.samsung.com/global/busin...isite/SSD/global/html/ssd950pro/overview.html

Specifications
http://www.samsung.com/global/busin...SSD/global/html/ssd950pro/specifications.html

Both capacities come with a 5-year limited warranty up to 200 terabytes written (TBW) for the 256GB and 400TBW for the 512GB. The 950 PRO will be available beginning in October 2015, with an MSRP of $199.99 for the 256GB capacity and $349.99 for the 512GB capacity.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Worth the wait 2500MB read 1500MB write 512MB version available October.

Both capacities come with a 5-year limited warranty up to 200 terabytes written (TBW) for the 256GB and 400TBW for the 512GB. The 950 PRO will be available beginning in October 2015, with an MSRP of $199.99 for the 256GB capacity and $349.99 for the 512GB capacity.

Sigh. So expensive. Is this 3D V-Nand TLC, or MLC, memory? And will it throttle in real-world situations? The speed increase is nice, but for most "ordinary" users, I question the purchase, at those prices. A Samsung 850 EVO is priced almost competitively in the market, and is more than fast enough for a Mom-box.

Unless you are actually using your PC professionally (rendering, etc.), then I don't think that the 950 Pro is worth it. Unless you have a lot of $$$ and want bragging rights. Or are hypersensitive to an extra ms of latency while web-browsing, LOL. (My experience is that the browser software and the internet connection is more determinate of latency experience when web browsing, than the storage device, as long as that storage device is some kind of SSD.)

Granted, my hope is that in the future (near future), there will be some competition in this space (M.2 NVMe SSDs), and the price will go down to nearly as low as some SATA6G SSDs. The reason is that, for basic performance, M.2 PCI-E is the future, but cost-wise, it has a way to go compared to SATA6G, before it hits mainstream.

Then again, if I ever get a Skylake rig, I might just get one, to complete the package. Most Skylake motherboards have an "Ultra M.2" slot.

I just wonder, if you'll be able to run Windows 7 using an NVMe M.2 SSD, if Samsung will provide the appropriate drivers.

 

[Redstorm]

Sigh. So expensive. Is this 3D V-Nand TLC, or MLC, memory? And will it throttle in real-world situations? The speed increase is nice, but for most "ordinary" users, I question the purchase, at those prices. A Samsung 850 EVO is priced almost competitively in the market, and is more than fast enough for a Mom-box.


I just wonder, if you'll be able to run Windows 7 using an NVMe M.2 SSD, if Samsung will provide the appropriate drivers.

You can boot and run windows 7 today of any m.2 SSD you just have to apply the MS hotfix first.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2990941

As for expensive i personally think it is well priced for the performance you are getting, sure i may not notice it web browsing, Hobbies cost money and some of us wont care that you can get a similar experience from an 850 evo, but why buy last decades technology when you can have the new, and get 5 x the performance.

FYI this is going into a X99 ASRock board with a ultra M.2 slot with bios support for nvme, its the last piece to complete my build started last year.

 

[bradly1101]

I'm glad that in the specifications they recommend "proper airflow," and that everyone knows what that means.

 

[biostud]

I'm glad that in the specifications they recommend "proper airflow," and that everyone knows what that means.

In the AT review the sm951 would only throttle after 2 minutes full load, which is 180gb of data written, which for most users are not that common.

 

[mw8t]

128gb version please samsung

 

[Johnny Lucky]

Well there you have it. Launch date is October 15th.

I've been waiting for this ever since I first read about the XP941.

I hope technical reviews are published before the launch date.

 

[Deders]

Where did you find the launch date? apart from the one that says beginning of October.

 

[SERT Data Recov]

For what it's worth, try to stay away from SSD's using the Sandforce controllers (these are designed/manufactured by Seagate) as they are not supported by data recovery technology at this time (only a handful of the older ones). If you are going to use a SSD with that controller then make sure to keep your data backed up: SERIOUSLY

 

[Shmee]

Uh, why would a PCIE drive have a Sandforce controller? This is Samsung as well, not OCZ or something. It has a Samsung controller.

 

[Deders]

I think most people here know to stay away from sandforce, but for what it's worth do you know the technical reasons why they can't be recovered?

 

[Redstorm]

Just pre ordered from my local store..

 

[Redstorm]

CRamseyer over at toms let slip their is a NDA in place on performance to the 10th of October. so no official reviews for a couple of weeks.

This also makes a mockery of overclockers.co.uk putting an ETA of the 30th of September for the drive, looks like a cynical move on their part to attract pre orders.

As for the migration tools, I will know in a few days what tools work. Samsung has a few tools and a new NVMe driver that is inbound. My drives arrive on Saturday but you will have to wait until the NDA lifts on October 10th for detailed performance information.

 

[steve wilson]

CRamseyer over at toms let slip their is a NDA in place on performance to the 10th of October. so no official reviews for a couple of weeks.

This also makes a mockery of overclockers.co.uk putting an ETA of the 30th of September for the drive, looks like a cynical move on their part to attract pre orders.

I hate it when companies do that.

 

[biostud]

First review (polish) 256Gb

http://www.purepc.pl/pamieci_masowe/samsung_ssd_950_pro_m2_test_superszybkiego_dysku_pcie_nvme

 

[bgstcola]

I hate it when companies do that.

It is 30 of october tho.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-216-SA