Samsung’s NVMe SSD flagship, the 960 Pro, is one of the fastest consumer SSDs on the market, currently second only to Intel’s 900P Optane SSDs. This PCIe SSD offers high-end performance at a premium price and therefore, as the name suggests, is may be more suited towards professional users. Our real world benchmarks show that the 960 Pro has read/write speeds in excess of 4 times faster than the Samsung 850 Pro which is the next best SATA SSD. Compared to the now two year old NVMe 950 Pro the 960 Pro offers significantly higher write throughput and is less susceptible to thermal throttling. The 960 Pro is based on a denser version of Samsung’s V-NAND (3D) technology, featuring more layers of memory cells. The 960 Pro also features an upgraded and faster 5 ARM Polaris controller, compared to the 950 Pro’s 3 ARM UBX controller. The smallest capacity for the 960 Pro is 512 GB, which may make it prohibitively expensive for some. Fortunately, for those that still want the superb NVMe performance, the 250 GB Samsung 960 Evo offers a more affordable choice, albeit with lower sustained write speeds when compared to the 512 GB 960 Pro. The 960 Pro is based on MLC (2-bit) V-NAND whilst the 960 Evo is based on the slightly lower enduring TLC (3-bit) V-NAND, and this accounts for Samsung’s reduced warranty for the 960 Evo (3 years/200 TBW versus 5 years/400 TBW for the 512 GB versions of the 960 Evo and 960 Pro respectively). Unlike the 960 Evo, the 960 Pro doesn’t have an SLC cache which results in more consistent sustained write speeds. [Nov '17SSDrivePro]
The MX500 is Crucial’s current flagship consumer SATA SSD featuring their latest second generation 64-layer 3D TLC NAND. It’s available in 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB capacities in a 2.5-inch form factor. All but the 2 TB version will also be available in M.2 (2280) form in the future. The MX500 features a Silicon Motion SM2258 controller which is a change from the Marvell 88SS1074 controller featured in the MX300 (it’s nearly two year old predecessor). Performance is around 30% better than on the MX300 which currently retails at the same price. The MX500 has an SLC cache which increases with drive capacity. Consequently, the larger capacities are better able to sustain high sequential write speeds. The 250 GB version has 250MB of SLC cache, the 500 GB has 512 MB, the 1 TB has 1 GB and the 2 TB has 2 GB. Extended sustained write performance tests show that even though speed does drop off after the cache has been exhausted, it is still maintained at very respectable levels. The MX500’s five year warranty is in line with Samsung’s 850 Evo and exceeds it in terms of endurance (just 75 TBW for the 250 GB 850 Evo versus 100 TBW for the 250 GB MX500). It doesn’t quite match up to the Samsung’s 850 Evo’s performance (effective speed 8% slower), however at current prices it is about 20% cheaper, and on balance offers better value for money. [Mar '18SSDrivePro]
Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. [SSDrivePro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.