Samsung takes SSDs to the next level with the new 960 series; offer blistering 3,200 MB/s read speeds

Samsung has taken the wraps off their next-generation of SSD at the annual SSD Global Summit in South Korea. The new drives are part of the 960 series and are available in Pro and Evo variants. Drive capacities range from 128GB to 2TB. Samsung says that the SSDs are “V-NAND based with an M.2 form factor” and support NVMe. Traditionally, Samsung’s Pro SSDs have been MLC models that offer great reliability and write speeds, while the Evo SSDs have been enthusiast-grade models using TLC technology with excellent burst performance but lower reliability. This generation is no different. Interestingly, Samsung says that both models are M.2 (over PCIe 3.0 x4) drives, which means that there is no SATA support just yet. PCIe 3.0 x4 does offer higher bandwidth and reduced latencies and Samsung claims read and write speeds of 3,500 MB/s and 2,100 MB/s respectively on the Pro. Random read and write IOPS (Input/Output Operatiops Per Second) stand at a staggering 440,000 and 360,000. For reference, normal hard disks will give you read and write speeds of about 90 MB/s and a good SATA-based SSD might manage 550 MB/s. Only the 960 Pro will be available in a 2TB variant, the largest in its class. The 960 Evo will top out at 1TB. The 960 Evo’s performance is pegged at 3,500 MB/s and 1,900 MB/s read and write speeds. IOPS stand at 380,000 to 360,000 in read and write mode. The 960 Pro will come with a 5 year warranty (or 1.2 petabytes written) and the 960 Evo will come with a 3 year warranty (or 400 terabytes written). “For more than 30 years, Samsung has continued to push the boundaries of what is possible to deliver innovative consumer memory experiences.” said Un-Soo Kim, Senior Vice President of Branded Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our V-NAND technology for NVMe-based storage products is our most recent advancement in the NVMe era.” The available models and prices are as follows: