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Samsung MZ-7PD256BW

840 Pro 256GB

▲ 5420,553 ▼

Controller: Samsung 3-core MDX. Flash Memory: Samsung 21nm Toggle Mode MLC. Release date: Q4 2012.

Average Bench: 95% (279th of 1071)

Based on 73,119 user benchmarks.  Models: Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series, Samsung SSD 840, Samsung SSD 840 PRO Seri, Samsung SSD 840 PRO

The 840 Pro is stunning. Samsung have created a completely in-house package including both the controller and their own new 21nm toggle mode NAND. On release (Oct '12) this was the fastest performing deep queue depth consumer grade SSD available. Fast forward six months (Apr '13) and the 840 Pro still holds both the random read/write deep queue depth speed records of 384 MB/s and 326 MB/s, impressive considering how fast the SSD space tends to move. There are no obvious weaknesses, in-fact the 840 pro takes first place in nearly all of the speed categories and is only seriously rivalled by one drive, the OCZ Vector. To conclude, in terms of both outright performance, particularly server orientated, and value for money the 256GB and 128GB 840 Pros are amongst the top handful of drives currently available. [Jun '13 SSDrivePro]

Poor: 68%Average: 95% Great: 116%

Popular builds with this SSD

Excellent average bench

The Samsung 840 Pro 256GB averaged just 5.0% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 147MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 39.5MB/s

Average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB is 48.5%. This is a relatively wide range which indicates that the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 303MB/s
Avg. Sustained Write Speed 312MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 73,119 samples)
Rank 27995%
Min Avg Max
359 Read 459 510
138 Write 367 480
215 Mixed 303 368
84.6 SusWrite 312 477
80.7% 360 MB/s
Min Avg Max
22.1 4K Read 31 36.1
44.4 4K Write 85.6 114
26.9 4K Mixed 39.5 47.6
143% 52 MB/s
Min Avg Max
216 DQ Read 346 385
132 DQ Write 262 334
112 DQ Mixed 147 176
153% 252 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
117GB free (System drive)
Firmware: DXM03B0Q
SusWrite @10s intervals: 165 181 215 203 243 182 MB/s
86.1% Excellent
Read 477
Write 270
Mixed 252
SusWrite 198
66% 299 MB/s
4K Read 30.6
4K Write 73.8
4K Mixed 37.9
134% 47.4 MB/s
DQ Read 375
DQ Write 234
DQ Mixed 134
146% 248 MB/s
93GB free (System drive)
Firmware: DXM04B0Q
SusWrite @10s intervals: 186 173 166 163 162 167 MB/s
76.7% Very good
Read 436
Write 268
Mixed 236
SusWrite 170
62% 277 MB/s
4K Read 24.6
4K Write 69.4
4K Mixed 30.7
113% 41.6 MB/s
DQ Read 387
DQ Write 246
DQ Mixed 140
152% 257 MB/s
73,119 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 63,158,347 SSDs tested.

 Prices

MSRP ≈ $203 @ launch in Oct '12
EbayUS $1998 mins
AmazonUS $2712 years
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Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money.

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU GPU SSD HDD RAM MBD
Typical 840 Pro 256GB Builds (Compare 2,703 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 41%
Speed boat
Desktop
Desktop 77%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 32%
Sail boat

Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 GAMING (MS-7821) - $242

CPU
Core i5-4670KIntel  $102Bench 68%, 128,482 samples903x
Core i7-4770KIntel  $199Bench 74%, 172,887 samples827x
Core i7-4790KIntel  $348Bench 79%, 455,746 samples269x
GPU
GTX 1060-6GBNvidia  $130Bench 56%, 1,368,019 samples220x
GTX 970Nvidia  $340Bench 49%, 834,238 samples208x
GTX 1070Nvidia  $200Bench 80%, 1,459,281 samples205x
SSD
840 Pro 256GBSamsung  $199Bench 95%, 73,119 samples1x
RAM
HyperX DDR3 1600 C10 2x8GBKingstonBench 50%, 19,207 samples54x
Fury DDR3 1866 C10 2x8GBHyperXBench 59%, 122,541 samples54x
BLS8G3D1609DS1S00. 2x8GBCrucialBench 55%, 48,796 samples52x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 55% - Above average Total price: $673

Popular 840 Pro 256GB compatible motherboards:

How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute.

Welcome to our freeware 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 upgrades.

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Gaming Desktop ProGaming

How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark.
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string.
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations.
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO.
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency.
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy.
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com.
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC.
  • - See speed test results from other users.
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders.
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build.
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware.
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) January 2023 SSD Rankings.

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]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

 Comments

SSDrivePro
Avatar level
1,857

Official site www.samsung.com/...

Controller: Samsung 3-core MDX. Flash Memory: Samsung 21nm Toggle Mode MLC

Delivers high speeds for both compressible and incompressible data...

Added 10 years ago.
USA-User
Avatar level
9,146

Good (edit your comment) Add link

2 years ago.

Got it a year or so ago and I loved it then and still love it now, though it is a little pricy

Comment 

T61P with win7 64 &, Intel Extreme X9000, 8gb ram, fast ......... verrrry fast. Faster than many new computers. Gives a lot of new life to older PCs.—Sep '14

DEU-User
Avatar level
5,371

Excellent

3 years ago.

Owning it for almost 6 Years, still running very fast

CAN-User
Avatar level
4,662

Good

4 years ago.

An awesome drive! Going to get one to upgrade my rig!

IND-User
Avatar level
4,308

Average

4 years ago.

Need to improve a lot on Research and Development . Please don't fool people with your small small improvements .With R&D U can do much better.

POL-User
Avatar level
4,254

Good

5 years ago.

Excellent performance and reliability. I already have 5TB traffic over the past year. Performance has not decreased!

ESP-User
Avatar level
3,527

Liked

5 years ago.

ZAF-User
Avatar level
2,602

Poor

7 years ago.

Can someone please explain to me why I get under 1MB/s 4K Mixed IO with my Samsung 840 pro when the average UBM Speed is 21.8MB/s for 4K Mixed IO operations?

AUT-User
Avatar level
2,553

Excellent

2 years ago.

Comment 

though for any practical purpose the EVO is just as good/fast—Sep '14

NZL-User
Avatar level
1,958

Liked

6 years ago.

Comment 

Great drive under normal/light load. Write latency starts to fall apart a bit under sustained loads.—Sep '14

SSDrivePro
Avatar level
1,857

Very good

9 years ago.

Review  hexus.net/...

Image  img.hexus.net/...
Sep '12 AS SSD Benchmark Test

Sep '12 AS SSD Benchmark Test

Review  www.hardocp.com/...

Review  www.servethehome.com/...

Image  www.servethehome.com/...
Nov '12 AS SSD Benchmark Test Score

Nov '12 AS SSD Benchmark Test Score

Review  www.custompcreview.com/...

Image  www.custompcreview.com/...
Sep '12 AS SSD Benchmark Speed Test Score

Sep '12 AS SSD Benchmark Speed Test Score

Deal  www.google.co.uk/...

Jun '13 £185 @Ebuyer

Rand
Avatar level
501

Very good

10 years ago.

This drive, the latest from Samsung, takes SSD technology a small but clear step forward. It excels in the area of deep queue depth 4k random writes where it outperforms all of its direct competition. The brand new and almost impossible to get hold of Plextor M5 is currently the strongest competitor to the Samsung but until prices on the Plextor drop from an astronomical £250, Samsung have an easy win despite not having priced the 840 particularly aggressively themselves.

Nomekop
Avatar level
8

Excellent

8 years ago.

Just the best 256G SSD for me!

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1071 Drives (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list.

See how consistently different SSDs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Devices FAQ
What is sustained sequential write speed?
What’s the difference between SLC, MLC and TLC?
What is 3D XPoint and how fast is it?
What’s the difference between SATA, PCIe and NVMe?
What’s the difference between NAND and V-NAND?
What is sequential write speed?
What is sequential read speed?
What is incompressible data?
What is queue depth?
Solid State Drives
What is the SSD value for money rating?
What is 4K 64 thread write speed?
Can CPU power saving states (C1,C2,C3) impact SSD speed?
What is the effective SSD speed index?
How is the AS SSD write score calculated?
How is the AS SSD read score calculated?
How is the AS SSD total score calculated?
ALL FAQs »

 Best User Rated
The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $320Nvidia RTX 3060-Ti $460Crucial MX500 250GB $30
Intel Core i3-12100F $98Nvidia RTX 3070 $570Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $106
Intel Core i5-12600K $233Nvidia RTX 3050 $298Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $29Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $50SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $49SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $80G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $417SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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