Samsung's 960 EVO line of solid-state drives is part of their second generation of retail M.2 form factor SSDs. These drives run at a full PCI-Express 3.0 x4 speed, which provides lots bandwidth and results in performance that is several times what a SATA III based SSD can provide. This 500GB model has sequential read speeds of up to 3.2GB/s with write speeds up to 1.8GB/s.
The limitation of these EVO series drives, however, is that not all of the memory on the drive is capable of those speeds. A portion is, but the rest of the drive has slower write speeds. That can show up in situations where a lot of data is being written at once: after a time, once the faster part of the drive is used up, the write speeds will drop substantially. This situation is not likely to arise in typical desktop usage, but can show up in some workstation loads.
Please note that some M.2 slots on motherboards only run at PCI-E x2 speed, rather than the x4 this SSD is capable of. In such cases, performance will be limited by the speed of the slot.
The limitation of these EVO series drives, however, is that not all of the memory on the drive is capable of those speeds. A portion is, but the rest of the drive has slower write speeds. That can show up in situations where a lot of data is being written at once: after a time, once the faster part of the drive is used up, the write speeds will drop substantially. This situation is not likely to arise in typical desktop usage, but can show up in some workstation loads.
Please note that some M.2 slots on motherboards only run at PCI-E x2 speed, rather than the x4 this SSD is capable of. In such cases, performance will be limited by the speed of the slot.
Gene Han (Production Technician) Says:
This M.2 SSD is extremely fast. The M.2 slots directly into the motherboard meaning less cables to manage in addition to a cleaner look. Very easy to install. Highly Recommended.
This M.2 SSD is extremely fast. The M.2 slots directly into the motherboard meaning less cables to manage in addition to a cleaner look. Very easy to install. Highly Recommended.
Model: Samsung MZ-V6E500BW
Specifications
| Capacity | 500 GB |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Idle Noise | 0 dB |
| Seek Noise | 0 dB |
| Endurance (TBW) | 200 TBW |
| Peak Power Draw | 5.4 Watts |
Performance | |
| Sequential Read (Peak) | Up to 3,200 MB/s |
| Sequential Write (Peak) | Up to 1,800 MB/s |
| Random 4KB Read | Up to 330,000 IOPS |
| Random 4KB Write | Up to 330,000 IOPS |
