Random Performance – Iometer (IOPS/latency), YAPT (random)
We are trying something different here. Folks tend to not like to click through pages and pages of benchmarks, so I'm going to weed out those that show little to no delta across different units (PCMark). I'm also going to group results performance trait tested. Here are the random access results:
Iometer:
Iometer is an I/O subsystem measurement and characterization tool for single and clustered systems. It was originally developed by the Intel Corporation and announced at the Intel Developers Forum (IDF) on February 17, 1998 – since then it got wide spread within the industry. Intel later discontinued work on Iometer and passed it onto the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL). In November 2001, code was dropped on SourceForge.net. Since the relaunch in February 2003, the project is driven by an international group of individuals who are continuously improving, porting and extend the product.
Iometer – IOPS
The Intel SSD 750 has always dominated this test, but it gets a bit of an unfair advantage as this test is run with the SSD only partially filled (more on that on the next page). The 512GB 950 PRO comes in next, followed by the SM951 and the 256GB 950 PRO, which trade blows from test to test. Next up is the Kingston HyperX Predator followed by the Plextor M6e Black. The OCZ RevoDrive 350 is present, but it starts out slower than the SATA units and takes forever to ramp up to full speed. No consumer ever comes anywhere close to QD=256.
Iometer – Average Transaction Time
For SSD reviews, HDD results are removed as they throw the scale too far to tell any meaningful difference in the results. Queue depth has been reduced to 8 to further clarify the results (especially as typical consumer workloads rarely exceed QD=8). Some notes for interpreting results:
- Times measured at QD=1 can double as a value of seek time (in HDD terms, that is).
- A 'flatter' line means that drive will scale better and ramp up its IOPS when hit with multiple requests simultaneously, especially if that line falls lower than competing units.
The above latencies are average figures. If you want far greater detail on this data, simply flip to the next page!
YAPT (random)
YAPT (yet another performance test) is a benchmark recommended by a pair of drive manufacturers and was incredibly difficult to locate as it hasn't been updated or used in quite some time. That doesn't make it irrelevant by any means though, as the benchmark is quite useful. It creates a test file of about 100 MB in size and runs both random and sequential read and write tests with it while changing the data I/O size in the process. The misaligned nature of this test exposes the read-modify-write performance of SSDs and Advanced Format HDDs.
YAPT is a 'misaligned' test, in that it does not adhere to 4k boundaries. This makes some SSDs flinch a bit, but not any of the Samsung parts. They just keep on chugging.
Got it installed yesterday,
Got it installed yesterday, clean install from a thumb-drive using rufus and GPT with W10 Threshold 2….plus it activated no problem. This is on a Maxuimas VII Z97 MB with the latest bios installed…about 6 minute on the install. Here’s a couple of links of screenshots using Magician 4.9 (just came out a couple of days) and CystalMark…
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz143/fvbounty/cystal%201.jpg
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz143/fvbounty/samsung%204.9%20first%20run.jpg
Here’s a link to a picture of
Here’s a link to a picture of temps running Cystalmarks….
http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz143/fvbounty/HD%20Sentinal3.jpg
After a fruitless week I am
After a fruitless week I am not able to load Windows 7 & boot from my Samsung the Pro 950 M.2 NVMe PCIe 256GB SSD when fitted to my Asus Z170 Deluxe Motherboard (latest BIOS v1302). Using both the Samsung Utilities for the Pro 950 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD, I can see this device within the Windows 7 environment & know it works, but I just cannot load my W7 OS onto this card.
I have tried using the Windows 7 Rescue Disc, after cloning my W7 OS system onto the Pro 950 card, but this card just does not appear to exist in the DOS environment!
I am waiting for Asus to reply to my plea for help, but I am not hopeful.
I believe the answer is going to be with new BIOS update from American Megatrends, see link:
http://ami.com/news/press-releases/?PressReleaseID=338&/American%20Megatrends%20Announces%20Support%20for%20NVMe%E2%84%A2%20Host%20Interface%20in%20Aptio%C2%AE%20V%20UEFI%20Firmware/
Since Windows 10 includes a
Since Windows 10 includes a native NVMe driver, and can be installed and run for 30 days (without a product key) for free, why not try with that O.S. and see if the Samsung 950 Pro NVMe SSD can succeed at booting, whereas Win 7 was unable to do so. May require certain UEFI bios settings (such as: disabling CSM), as well as a complete wipe of any existing partitions, letting the Win10 installer create fresh ones.
I take it that you know that
I take it that you know that you have to install windows on this SSD with a UEFI bios setup? Also Samsung have released their own NVME driver. You can find it here:
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/global/html/support/downloads.html
Allyn,
Great Review.
Allyn,
Great Review.
I’ve got a question about using the 950 Pro M.2 on my new build. I’ve got an MSi Z97M gaming motherboard, it has an M.2 slot (X2 speed) & also supports NVMe in the UEFI/BIOS. Would I benefit from using the 950 Pro M.2 over the 850 EVO M.2 drive.. or would the 950 Pro M.2 be limited by the X2 M.2 slot? I’m looking at either the 256GB 950 Pro or the 500GB 850 EVO, if the Z97 M.2 slot is going to limit the speed of the 950 Pro to that of the 850 EVO, I’ll probably just go with the latter!? I’m still new to the way M.2 works so, thanks for the assistance.
Again, Thanks. Phil B.
Hi Phil B. This reply is
Hi Phil B. This reply is probably a bit late for you. I have both a 500G 850 EVO and 950 Pro in an i7-6700 build (Asus Z170M MOBO). The 950 is blazingly fast on M.2 NVMe with circa 1,500 MB/s write and 2,400 MB/s reads. For single threaded work on a desktop it’s great. Eg copying 1G files is almost sub second. However if you throw lots of work at it Eg a big W10 update it grinds to 100% busy with latencies over 1,000ms. I even got a peak atency of 10,000ms running Performance Test 8. In these circumstances the 850 is faster overall.
I have a “GA-Z97X-SLI” which
I have a “GA-Z97X-SLI” which has entrance to SSD M.2 10 / Gbs, if I buy a Samsung 950 Pro M.2, it will work 100%? with maximum efficiency?
Sadly, no. I also have the
Sadly, no. I also have the same board, and from what I understand, it only supports the first-gen NVMe M.2 drives at full speed. At best, it’ll work at half-speed.
Mind you, that’s according to what the manual says. I e-mailed Gigabyte about that too, and they were only slightly better than completely unhelpful.
So, again, not having actually tried it, I would say yes, but don’t expect it to perform at full capacity, not with this board.