Samsung SSD 960 Pro Has 3,500 MB/s Read and 2,100 MB/s Write Speeds

By Nathan Kirsch

The Samsung 960 PRO was unveiled today in South Korea and it looks like a beast. The Samsung SSD 960 PRO NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4 uses the new Samsung Polaris controller and uses Samsung’s 3D V-NAND. The 960 PRO delivers peak sequential read and write transfer speeds of 3,500 MB/s and 2,100 MB/s, respectively. The 4K Random read and write IOPS on the 960 PRO series is up to 440,000 IOPS Read and 360,000 IOPS Write. The Samsung SSD 960 Pro uses Samsung Dynamic Thermal Guard Technology to manage performance levels to prevent overheating. Samsung has released drives that are known to have heat issues when running extreme workloads in systems with low airflow, so this technology should ensure the best user experience no matter the temperature of the drive.

Samsung SSD 960 Pro 2TB M.2 SSD

Besides being fast, the Samsung SSD 960 PRO will be available in 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities. The Samsung SSD 960 Pro 2TB M.2 NVMe drive is the first 2TB M.2 NVMe drive to come to market.

When it comes to endurance the Samsung SSD 960 Pro series is backed by a 5-year warranty and the 2TB capacity has a 1,200 TBW rating or a 1.2 petabytes written (PBW) rating. That is the highest rating that we have ever seen on a consumer drive!

Pricing on the Samsung SSD 960 Pro starts at $329.99 for the 512GB drive and the series will be available worldwide in October 2016.

Samsung SSD 960 PRO M.2 SSD

Samsung SSD 960 PRO Specifications:

  • Samsungs highest capacity NVMe consumer SSD (2TB) for next generation, professional-level performance and endurance with an innovative new PCB design
  • Available in 512GB and 1TB and 2TB capacities
  • Sequential read speeds up to 3,500 MB/s
  • Sequential write speeds up to 2,100 MB/s
  • Five-year limited warranty up to 1.2 Petabytes for 2TB capacity, whichever occurs first.
  • Dynamic Thermal Guard technology to manage performance levels and prevent overheating
  • M.2 form factor ideal for ultra-thin notebooks and PCs
  • Features PCIe Gen.3 x4 lane interface
  • Compliant with all NVMe specifications

Samsung SSD 960 PRO Performance Details:

SSD 960 PRO 512 GB SSD 960 PRO 1TB SSD 960 PRO 2TB
Sequential Read 3,500 MB/s 3,500 MB/s 3,500 MB/s
Sequential Write 2,100 MB/s 2,100 MB/s 2,100 MB/s
4KB Random Read QD32/4T 330,000 IOPS 440,000 IOPS 440,000 IOPS
4KB Random Write QD32/4T 330,000 IOPS 360,000 IOPS 360,000 IOPS
4KB Random Read QD1/1T 14,000 IOPS 14,000 IOPS 14,000 IOPS
4KB Random Write QD1/1T 50,000 IOPS 50,000 IOPS 50,000 IOPS
DRAM Cache 512MB 1GB 2GB
Power (Load/Idle) 5.1W/1.2W 5.3W/1.2W 5.8W/1.2W
TBW 400 TB 800TB 1,200TB
MSRP $329 $629 $1299