This is the age of the SSDs and Samsung has been a clear leader in the realm of SSDs since the launch of their first generation a few years ago. The EVO series of SSDs from Samsung has always focussed on a balanced performance to price ratio. However, the launch of NVMe technology has completely reset the preferences. From that perspective, we will analyze two of the excellent choices Samsung has presented to the computing fraternity. We will compare Samsung 960 vs 970 Evo Nvme SSDs in today’s post and understand the inherent differences if any.
The Samsung 960 EVO NVMe SSD – An Overview
The Samsung EVO 960 is the flagship SSD from the company and has been one of the prominent ones at that. Along with the sibling Samsung 960 EVO Pro, the series has been one of the popular options.
The 960 EVO is available in multiple variants regarding storage capacity. You can opt for a variety of options including 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1000 GB. In fact, the EVO series from Samsung has been the reference benchmark that most other SSDs are analyzed against for their performance. It is the only series that has been built for the purpose.
The thin copper embedded within the 960 EVO has been the one area that Samsung has been focussing on. The thermal throttling performance has been enhanced from the days of the previous generation of SSDs in the series. It makes use of the Samsung’s proprietary TurboWrite technology. It uses Intelligent TurboWrite. The TurboWrite performance ranges from 1500 MB per sec for 250 GB, 1800 MB per sec for 500 GB and 1900 MB per sec for 1000 GB.
Here are the specifications for the Samsung EVO 960 –
| Features/ Particulars | 960 EVO 250 GB
| 960 EVO 500 GB
| 960 EVO 1000 GB
|
| Form factor | PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 2280 | PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 2280 | PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 2280 |
| Protocol | NVMe 1.2 | NVMe 1.2 | NVMe 1.2 |
| Controller | Samsung Polaris | Samsung Polaris | Samsung Polaris |
| DRAM | Samsung 512MB LPDDR3 | Samsung 512MB LPDDR3 | Samsung 1 GB LPDDR3 |
| NAND | Samsung 32 Layer TLC | Samsung 48 layer TLC | Samsung 48 layer TLC |
| Sequential Read | 3200 MB per sec | 3200 MB per sec | 3200 MB per sec |
| Sequential Write | 1500 MB peer sec | 1800 MB peer sec | 1900 MB per sec |
| Random Read | 300000 IOPS | 300000 IOPS | 360000 IOPS |
| Encryption | TCG Opal | TCG Opal | TGC Opal |
| Endurance Limit | 100 TBW | 200 TBW | 400 TBW |
| Warranty | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
Samsung 970 EVO – An Introduction
Just like 960, the 970 series too comes with two options – EVO for mainstream systems and Pro for professionals out there. The 970 series has a bearing on the 64 layer flash utilized by the competing brands. It should be noted here that the 960 EVO series comes with the 48 layer flash.
The 960 series was indeed a massive competition for the competing manufacturers and given this fact, Samsung had been looking for regaining the position that could be lost to the rivals. The advent of 64 layer flash has been quite reviving for the company, and they launched the 970 series EVO with the 64 layer flash NANDs. The 970 EVO comes with a new age flash and five core Phoenix storage controllers.
The storage capacity of the 970 EVO series ranges from 250 GB to 2 TB. The 2 TB mark is indeed the highest for the EVO series so far. Like the 960 EVO series, the 970 EVO also offers you the Intelligent Turbo Write capability. The TurboWrite performance reads 2500 MB per sec for 250 GB, 2300 MB per sec for 500 GB and 2500 MB per sec for the 1 TB and 2 TB capacity.
You have access to Microsoft’s eDrive and TCG 2.0 Opal. The EDrive is incidentally the technology for encryption used on Windows 8.1 and 10.
A few specifications for the 970 EVO is described here below –
| Features/ Particulars | 970 EVO 250 GB
| 970 EVO 500 GB
| 970 EVO 1000 GB
| 970 EVO 2000 GB
|
| Form factor | PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 2280 S3 | PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 2280 S3 | PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 2280 S3 | PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 2280 S3 |
| Protocol | PCIe 3.0 / NVMe 1.3 | PCIe 3.0 / NVMe 1.3 | PCIe 3.0 / NVMe 1.3 | PCIe 3.0 / NVMe 1.3 |
| Controller | Samsung Phonix | Samsung Phonix | Samsung Phonix | Samsung Phonix |
| DRAM | Samsung LPDDR4 512MB | Samsung LPDDR4 512MB | Samsung LPDDR4 512MB | Samsung LPDDR4 512MB |
| NAND | Samsung 64-Layer TLC | Samsung 64-Layer TLC | Samsung 64 layer TLC | Samsung 64-Layer TLC |
| Sequential Read | 3400 MB per sec | 3400 MB per sec | 3400 MB per sec | 3500 MB per sec |
| Sequential Write | 1500 MB peer sec | 1800 MB peer sec | 1900 MB per sec | |
| Random Read | 200000 IOPS | 370000 IOPS | 500000 IOPS | 500000 IOPS |
| Encryption | Class 0 (256-bit FDE), TCG Opal 2.0, Microsoft eDrive | Class 0 (256-bit FDE), TCG Opal 2.0, Microsoft eDrive | Class 0 (256-bit FDE), TCG Opal 2.0, Microsoft eDrive | Class 0 (256-bit FDE), TCG Opal 2.0, Microsoft eDrive |
| Endurance Limit | 150 TBW | 300 TBW | 600 TBW | 1200 TBW |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years |
Samsung 960 vs 970 Evo Nvme – The Differences
The difference between the two SSDs from Samsung should be quite evident from the comparison we have presented in the above discussion. Both of them are capable players in their genre and have a couple of similar features and functionalities. Even then, a few salient differences in the form of improvement on the 970 EVO should be the high-level encryption and a higher capacity option at 2 TB. One other major difference lies in the interface provided on the 970 EVO in the form of NVMe 1.3.
Another advantage that 970 series offers you includes the Magician and Data Migration software available on it. There are a couple of other aspects like enhanced cooling performance, a new controller and improved flash is what would make 970 EVO an advanced option in its own right.
