Introduction
Samsung released a new version of Magician and a new 840 EVO firmware. Are the troubles finally over?
The tale of the Samsung 840 EVO is a long and winding one, with many hitches along the way. Launched at the Samsung 2013 Global SSD Sumit, the 840 EVO was a unique entry into the SSD market. Using 19nm planar TLC flash, the EVO would have had only mediocre write performance if not for the addition of a TurboWrite cache, which added 3-12GB (depending on drive capacity) of SLC write-back cache. This gave the EVO great all around performance in most consumer usage scenarios. It tested very well, was priced aggressively, and remained our top recommended consumer SSD for quite some time. Other editors here at PCPer purchased them for their own systems. I even put one in the very laptop on which I'm writing this article.
An 840 EVO read speed test, showing areas where old data had slowed.
About a year after release, some 840 EVO users started noticing something weird with their systems. The short version is that data that sat unmodified for a period of months was no longer able to be read at full speed. Within a month of our reporting on this issue, Samsung issued a Performance Restoration Tool, which was a combination of a firmware and a software tool that initiated a 'refresh', where all stale data was rewritten, restoring read performance back to optimal speeds. When the tool came out, many were skeptical that the drives would not just slow down again in the future. We kept an eye on things, and after a few more months of waiting, we noted that our test samples were in fact slowing down again. We did note it was taking longer for the slow down to manifest this time around, and the EVOs didn't seem to be slowing down to the same degree, but the fact remained that the first attempt at a fix was not a complete solution. Samsung kept up their end of the bargain, promising another fix, but their initial statement was a bit disappointing, as it suggested they would only be able to correct this issue with a new version of their Samsung Magician software that periodically refreshed the old data. This came across as a band-aid solution, but it was better than nothing.
Now we have the fix and I can report on what it is actually doing and accomplishing. I've been working with the new firmware and a beta version of Magician 4.6 (to be released today as I understand). Before getting into the actual results, I'll post the Q+A I had with Samsung as we were testing. This should explain at least what we expect to see:
Q: The new firmware appears to restore read performance without the need for Magician. How was this accomplished?
A: Samsung revised the firmware algorithm to maintain consistency in performance for old data under exceptional circumstances. Therefore, read performance was restored without the need for Magician. This algorithm is based on a periodic refresh feature that can maintain the read performance of this older data. The algorithm does not affect normal user scenarios (i.e. occasional PC performance degradation due to background work of SSD) or the lifespan of an SSD and can actively maintain its performance without the help of Magician. However, this algorithm does not operate when the power is off.
Q: Are there any functions of the new Magician that are required to keep read performance high?A: The read performance has been improved by the revised firmware algorithm. If performance recovery is slow in instances where the SSD did not have enough run-time for the firmware algorithm to reach normal performance levels, or similarly, had been powered off for an extended amount of time, the performance can be recovered by using the Advanced Performance Optimization feature in Magician 4.6. This is a supplementary feature to maintain normal performance for a few exceptional circumstances.
Q: What is the upgrade process for those who did not previously upgrade using the performance restoration tool (meaning they are still on the original firmware)? Is it possible to skip directly to this new firmware and not use the performance restoration tool?A: Users can upgrade to the new firmware through Magician 4.6, without using the performance restoration tool.
Q: Will there be a firmware update for the other Samsung TLC-based SSD models that have also demonstrated this read performance issue? If so, which models and how soon will that firmware be made available?A: This issue had been reported for the 840 EVO SSD only.
**Edit** The new firmware will be available 'later this month'.
…so we have a firmware that can do its own periodic refreshing of data, along with an 'Advanced Performance Optimization' that can be triggered from within Samsung SSD Magician. Those that had not updated their 840 EVO before this update can skip directly to the new firmware without the need to run the old 'Performance Restoration Tool'. We were a bit disappointed to see Samsung still ignoring their other TLC SSDs, on which many have reported seeing the same type of slow down (us included), but we've pushed that one about as hard as we could. For now, lets focus on the 840 EVO and see if this fix is really what it claims to be.
Hello i manually updated to
Hello i manually updated to magician 4.6 still don’t see the firmware.When is it coming?
Just gonna add my drives are
Just gonna add my drives are defiantly slowing down again.I have 120gb evo.AS SSD benchmarks are all fine even benchmark inside samsung magician is fine.But HDtune,hd tach all tell a different story.Is it safe to run the performance restore utility again?I ran it first when i installed windows.I see there is a registry entry of it.If i delete it, i guess i can run it again.
Damn. I have a 840EVO in my
Damn. I have a 840EVO in my iMac. The last FW update on the DOS-disc were impossible since it could not be booted. Had to disassemble the machine and put the SSD into the Macbook, where it was able to boot off the ISO and update. The drive in this Macbook is also an 840EVO. I am back down to 10MB/s on the iMac yet – tested with old movies residing in the iTunes folder. Do i have to repeat this effin procedure again over and over? They should recall those suckers and exchange with 840 PRO or newer models. I own three 840EVOS in total, and paid more than 1.200 EUROs in total for them. This is not acceptable. At least they should create some native FW-Updater for Linux and Mac users. I’m pissed.
They can’t since Apple
They can’t since Apple doesn’t allow 3rd party SSD companies access to their AHCI driver.
does anyone know where i can
does anyone know where i can dl this firmware and updated software?
Did you read the
Did you read the article?
“**Edit** The new firmware will be available ‘later this month’.”
Is it “later this month” yet?
Is it “later this month” yet?
I apologize I feel like the
I apologize I feel like the answer is there but I’m not sure. I know this whole problem has been focused on the evo drive and they state it’s only the evo drive; however, there where reports jt affected the vanilla 840 as well, which I have. Can I apply this update to the vanilla 840? Thanks for working on this issue.
Allyn I hope you asked
Allyn I hope you asked Samsung, if they could release this “software” for all their SSD’s.
I’d love a button I could press, to get a fresh drive, even though I’ve got a 840pro, it still would benefit from rewriting all.
(really don’t feel like cloning it back and forth when there is a better way.)
Please advise, have 4 of
Please advise, have 4 of these drives in linux machines with ext4:
Last time to run a fix you had to have some “known” file system recognizable by update software, I suppose ntfs or fat.
This time, as just fw update should be enough to deploy the fix, will this operation be file system agnostic?
Last time to run a fix you
Also Linux on ext4 here, with the 1TB mSATA 840 Evo. It is not true that the last update/”fix” had assumptions about the file system. I made the update via a free-DOS thumb drive and that performance restoration tool worked flawlessly. It took more than an hour, as far as I remember.
Hi Allyn,Please keep pressure
Hi Allyn,Please keep pressure on Samsung-RE Non EVO 840.
At least give us Advanced Optimization in Magician-Would
be a compromise we could probably accept………….
Bit of a advanced Defrag for SSD’s……..
And added benefit of smaller metadata table-sweet…..
Have to have a giggle-The No of times I’ve read-
“NEVER NEVER DEFRAG A SSD” haha
Must be something wrong with
Must be something wrong with this “fix” or they would have released it already.
Frustrating.
So, they let the press see
So, they let the press see this to get positive reviews, but then don’t release it. Does something smell fishy to anyone else?
Did they specify the conditions of these test?
When is it firmware coming
When is it firmware coming out?
New Firmware is out
New Firmware is out
New /Magician/ software is
New /Magician/ software is out for Windows, and perhaps that in turn downloads firmware.
There is not yet any new /firmware/ available for Mac or Linux users.
And even for Magician, check
And even for Magician, check out this bizarre message from Samsung:
We apologize for your inconvenience
Please try again within 24 hours
From April 23-April 27, 2015, there is a daily limit on the number of Magician 4.6 downloads.
Unfortunately, the download limit for the day has been reached, please try again within 24 hours.
We apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused you. Thank you.
From the 4.6 Installation
From the 4.6 Installation Guide: “Advanced Performance Optimization of Magician 4.6 is only supported in Samsung SSD 840 EVO 2.5” model.”
So 840 EVO mSATA users are SOL, assuming its NAND is the same as or substantially similar to the 840 EVO 2.5″, which you would think based on:
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/global/html/ssd840evo/specifications.html
* * *
mSATA version was released later than the 2.5″ version. If mSATA versions are actually immune to the problem, perhaps Samsung noticed and stopped a manufacturing problem or only sourced the NAND for mSATA version from a plant that had no such problem?
mSATA is not immune.
I posted
mSATA is not immune.
I posted a comment in the previous article including screenshots of a before and after state of the 1 TB mSATA SSD.
“From the 4.6 Installation
“From the 4.6 Installation Guide: “Advanced Performance Optimization of Magician 4.6 is only supported in Samsung SSD 840 EVO 2.5” model.”
I have 840 EVO 2.5 model and Magician 4.6 does not have the
Advanced Performance Optimization option. Maybe the option
will be displayed when new firmware is avalable – so far
Magician 4.6 does not find any new FW version.
Samsung’s kookin somthin :/
I surmise they want the
I surmise they want the firmware rolled out slowly so that if there are any problems the damage is limited. That’s reasonable. I will wait a week. It’s probably in your and my best interest do move cautiously. But next week I sure hope the DOS updater is available so I can fix the drives in my Mac.
What are u talking about?
What are u talking about? that users are beta testers? they releasing an untested firmware lol cmon Sammy…
I’m not making excuses for
I’m not making excuses for Samsung. I own thousands of dollars worth of 840 EVO drives and I am /not/ happy.
However, the distinction between beta and released code is just whenever someone decides enough testing has been done. Testing still goes on after GA, it’s just more widely tested by actual users… For example, I typically wait a week before applying iOS updates — sometimes nasty bugs don’t appear until a day or two after release. Another example: Samsung recently bricked some 850 PRO drives with a bad firmware udpate, so they’re probably gun shy now.
I just updated to the new
I just updated to the new firmware.Speed back like it was day 1.Booting was lightning fast.ALL benchmarks again show day 1 result.Now lets see if it last.
..J
..J
I got good
I got good results:
http://i.imgur.com/goL3le9.png
http://i.imgur.com/j2SaX3r.png
(can you tell which data has been there since December? I installed the last ‘fix’ when it was released)
Just the firmware update 4/23/2014:
http://i.imgur.com/owAMZOo.png
http://i.imgur.com/hXMvFO7.png
After optimization:
http://i.imgur.com/4jgUuzA.png
http://i.imgur.com/frImhI4.png
This is in my primary desktop that is on/used for 8-12 hours a day. I game 2-3 nights a week. Loading times have been suffering lately in ‘older’ games. Felt like they were back on a mechanical drive.
Oh yeah, I got a generic
Oh yeah, I got a generic response from Samsung over a month ago along the lines of “is the computer on” and to apply the last ‘fix’…
I’m glad enough people got through and the issue is now hopefully fixed.
Optimization can only be done
Optimization can only be done in Windows and on an NTFS drive. If it helps this much, why is Samsung not providing a Linux/Mac version as they did with the restoration tool?
Anyone else getting lower
Anyone else getting lower average sequential read speeds after the update? Initially my speeds were maxed out at 480MB/Sec. Now its consistently around 430MB/sec.
The new firmware completely
The new firmware completely fuc*s up the trim functionality in Linux. It’s impossible to execute the “fstrim /” command and formatting the drive in ext4 causes alerts for the presence of bad sectors.
You’re kidding, right? I too
You’re kidding, right? I too I’m on linux.
Ubuntu does a “auto” trim (scheduled with fstrim), do you think this is also affected?
By the way I can’t see the new iso firmware for linux.
Sadly I’m not kidding, I
Sadly I’m not kidding, I really don’t know what to do, I’m powerless. The first reports of other people are appearing through the net (http://www.overclock.net/t/1507897/samsung-840-evo-read-speed-drops-on-old-written-data-in-the-drive/2660). Yes even that is affected because the command is the same. You probably have not experienced any issues yet because it’s a weekly job. Try to execute “sudo fstrim /” and see. Can the maker of this article point out this new problem? Otherwise I think we are really in the s**t
The older firmwares for the
The older firmwares for the 840 EVO did not report that they supported queued TRIM. The new firmware does, perhaps by accident as the support does not appear complete. It will likely be added to the queued TRIM blacklist in Linux (like a few other SSDs that fall into the same boat).
Do not do any fstrim or
Do not do any fstrim or similar…
Boot appending “libata.force=noncq” to the kernel command line and you are OK, then if you want to enable ncq you should rebuild a kernel adding a little patch to drivers/ata/libata-core.c: Just add ATA_HORKAGE_ZERO_AFTER_TRIM form “Samsung SSD 840 EVO*” in struct ata_blacklist_entry ata_device_blacklist.
If you are not so confortable with kernel build I think you can safely use “libata.force=noncq” until the next firmware update that hopefully will resolve the BUG.