Surprise! Just while you thought Samsung’s 960 Evo and 960 Pro NVMe SSDs have been going to stay round for one more 12 months, right now brings information of their shiny new replacements: the appropriately-named 970 Evo and 970 Pro. I’ll be reviewing them each very shortly, however for now right here’s a fast run-down of every SSD’s specs and the type of speeds we will count on to see from them after they finally get launched within the coming weeks.
Starting with the top-end 970 Pro, this M.2 2280 form-factor SSD is available in 512GB and 1TB capacities and makes use of the newest 2-bit MLC V-NAND along with Samsung’s all-new Phoenix controller to realize faster-than-ever sequential learn and write speeds of as much as 3500MB/s and 2700MB/s (or as much as 2300MB/s for the 512GB mannequin) respectively. Like its 960 Pro predecessor, Samsung say this explicit mannequin is geared toward workstation customers and anybody who recurrently offers with 4K video games {and professional} photo-editing.
The 970 Pro additionally improves on its 960’s endurance ranking by 50%, with the 1TB mannequin taking it as much as 1200 terabytes written (TBW). The 512GB model, alternatively, solely (solely!) offers you 600TBW. That’s partly due to the brand new nickel coating on the Phoenix controller, which helps dissipate warmth quicker throughout heavy workloads, however it additionally has Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard tech to assist forestall overheating, in addition to a warmth spreader with an built-in copper movie to additional improve its cooling effectivity. It additionally comes with a five-year guarantee.
The extra mainstream 970 Evo, in the meantime, appears virtually sure to exchange the 960 Evo as one among this 12 months’s best SSDs, as this makes use of the newest 3-bit MLC V-NAND (plus Samsung’s new Phoenix controller) to ship sequential learn and write speeds of as much as 3500MB/s and 2500MB/s. By comparability, the top-end 1TB 960 Evo solely delivered 3200MB/s sequential learn and 1900MB/s sequential write.
The 970 additionally is available in a a lot wider number of sizes than the 960 Evo, starting from 250GB all the way in which as much as 2TB. That stated, the 970 Evo’s rated speeds do get slower as you get into the smaller capacities, however even the 250GB mannequin continues to be rated for 3400MB/s sequential learn – an enchancment of 200MB/s over the 250GB 960 Evo. Unfortunately, you received’t see a lot or any enchancment within the 250GB mannequin’s sequential write velocity, as that is precisely the identical (1500MB/s) because the 960 Evo.
What you do get, although, is extra endurance, with the 2TB mannequin getting the identical 1200TBW ranking because the 1TB 970 Pro, an extended guarantee (5 years, versus simply three), and all the identical warmth dissipation enhancements you’ll discover within the 970 Pro household.
And right here’s the pricing (no less than within the UK): The 970 Evo will begin at simply £100, rising to £194 for the 500GB mannequin, £375 for the 1TB model and a large £710 for the 2TB mannequin, whereas the 970 Pro will value both £275 for the 512GB model or £526 for 1TB. Stay tuned for our full critiques.
