Conclusion, Pricing, and Final Thoughts

Conclusion:

PROS:

  • Superb IOPS performance.
  • Low power consumption.
  • 5-year warranty.

CONS:

  • High introductory cost/GB.

Pricing and Availability:

Samsung 830 Series:

  • 64G   @ $75   ($1.17 / GB)
  • 128G @ $120 ($0.94 / GB)
  • 256G @ $200 ($0.78 / GB)
  • 512G @ $540 ($1.05 / GB)

OCZ Vertex 4:

  • 64G   @ $65   ($1.01 / GB)
  • 128G @ $100 ($0.78 / GB)
  • 256G @ $200 ($0.78 / GB)
  • 512G @ $400 ($0.78 / GB) ("512G.M" model – uses Micron flash)
  • 512G @ $450 ($0.88 / GB)

* Note that various rebates impact the above prices. I have listed the current Newegg prices, without rebates.

Here are the 840 and 840 Pro prices straight from the Summit:

These are intro MSRP numbers, not street prices. They should come down relatively quickly once volume shipment begins.

Warranty:

The 840 Pro will ship with a 5-Year warranty.

* Firmware *:

Samsung tends to get firmwares correct right out of the gate, with no further tweaking required to squeak out more performance. Updates are rare, and have only been necessary to correct corner-case compatibility issues. Given that Samsung ships to many OEMs, including Apple, their quality control guys have to get it right the first time – and they do.

Final Thoughts:

With a faster, more optimized ARM Cortex R4 controller and NAND flash pushing data at 400 Mbps per channel, the Samsung 840 Pro has risen the bar yet another notch even while the competition was still trying to catch up to the 830 Series. If pricing can achieve parity with other SSDs out there, Samsung is sure to have a winner on its hands. The non-pro variant of the 840 will utilize TLC flash, which should offer a decent reduction in cost/GB for a minor dip in performance and endurance, which promises to make some form of 840 available to anyone seeking performance in the 100,000 IOPS range.

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