Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB SSD Review

Samsung Attempts To Lead The Pack

We missed getting product for the initial release of the Samsung 840 Pro SSD, although we did get in on the non-pro version back in November. When we mentioned it to Samsung during our meeting at CES, they handed over a 512GB version to throw on our test bench upon our return. Good times! Better late then never, right? We talked a lot about the focus of SSD makers now that performance has hit a bit of a plateau while awaiting the next generation of SATA interfaces as well as alternative interfaces like PCIe. One of those areas coming into focus is power consumption which is something we’ve been keeping an eye on but we lack the expensive hardware to really measure it objectively. We also talked a bit about the contraction of the SSD market with the smaller players starting to bow out (a la Patriot) and how that may impact end consumers. We’ll talk a bit about these in this and upcoming articles but for now, we’ll focus on the fancy 512GB 840 Pro we have in our hands. Samsung has come a long way with their drives and have really placed themselves at the forefront of SSD manufacturers. Based on the results from the testing we’ve seen, the 840 Pro is quite the beast so this is Samsung’s flagship consumer drive and their bid to lead the SSD pack.

Unlike the non-pro version (which we’ll just refer to as simply the 840) which was designed for economy in terms of pricing and power consumption with its TLC NAND, the Pro ups the ante on performance and price with a more enterprise/enthusiast demographic in mind. Topping out at 540MB/s reads and 520MB/s writes along with IOPS hitting six figures, it promises to be one of the fastest drives available in terms of raw horsepower. It also leverages 21nm MLC Toggle 2.0 NAND which carries a longer endurance rating and is faster than the TLC variant. Samsung also pointed out something we mentioned before in that they are the only manufacturer to build drives comprised of 100% in house manufactured parts. This allows them to control costs and quality more definitively than if they sourced them. The Pro model can be found in capacities of 128GB (MZ-7PD128), 256GB (MZ-7PD256) and 512GB (MZ-7PD512) and can be found online for $139, $239 and $529 respectively.

Samsung 840 Pro Series 512GB (MZ-7PD512) SSD Features and Specifications:

Type:
Product Type:	Solid State Drive
Design:	2.5″ 7mm (Ultraslim) Form Factor
Series:	840 PRO
Storage:
Capacity:	512GB
Features:
Sequential Read Speed:	Up to 540MB/s
Sequential Write Speed:	Up to 520MB/s
Random Read Speed:	Up to 100K IOPS
Random Write Speed:	Up to 90K IOPS
Power:
Power Consumption (W):	0.15W
Voltage:	5V ± 5%
Operating Systems:
Compatible:	Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Vista, XP, MAC OSX, Linux
Environmental Specs:
Operating Temperature:	32F to 140F
Weight:
Product:	0.15 lb
Warranty:
Product:	5 Years
Product Contents
Contents:	Samsung SmartMigration Software, Samsung Software & Manual CD, Quick User Manual

The design of the drive is not unlike the non-pro version and similar to that of the 830 version save for the change in placement of the orange decorative square that graces the front of the drive. All have a 7mm height for easy fit into any system.

The drive comes with an installation guide, a warranty pamphlet, a few stickers (who doesn’t like stickers?) and a CD containing the migration software as well as the Samsung Magician toolbox software.