Internals, UEFI/GPT, Testing Methodology and System Setup
Internals:
Three pentalobe screws and we're in. Thanks to the 48-layer V-NAND, PCB size has not increased over the older 2TB model.
On the controller side, we've got some DRAM and four flash packages.
Four more flash packages at the rear. Similar layout to the 2TB model, but with twice the flash die density.
UEFI/GPT Configuration:
One thing to consider when purchasing this 4TB model is that if you want one huge bootable partition, you will need to have a system that supports UEFI BIOS / GUID Partition Tables (GPT), as you are creating a >2TB volume (MBR limits to 2TB).
Installing Windows to such a configuration typically requires disabling any Compatibility Support Module (CSM) in your motherboard BIOS.
The catch-22 here is that unless your USB installer has been similarly partitioned (GPT), it may not be seen by the system when you attempt to do the install. I’ve found the easiest way to ensure you have a properly configured USB device is to configure the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool to only download the ISO locally, then use Rufus (with GPT partition scheme selected as shown above) to do the actual writing to your USB installer drive. We usually keep separate GPT and MBR installers around, just in case we need to do an install to a legacy (non-UEFI) system. More info on this here.
Testing Methodology
Our tests are a mix of synthetic and real-world benchmarks. IOMeter, HDTach, HDTune, Yapt and our custom File Copy test round out the selection to cover just about all bases. If you have any questions about our tests just drop into the Storage Forum and we'll help you out!
Test System Setup
We have several storage testbeds. A newer ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt and an ASUS Z87-PRO. Variance between both boards has been deemed negligible when testing SATA devices. Future PCIe and SATA device testing, including this review, take place on a new ASUS Sabertooth X99, which comes equipped with USB 3.1, M.2, and can also handle SFF-8639 devices with the proper adapter.
PC Perspective would like to thank Intel, ASUS, Corsair, Kingston, and EVGA for supplying some of the components of our test rigs.
| Hard Drive Test System Setup | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 5820K @ 4.125 GHz |
| Motherboard | ASUS Sabertooth X99 |
| Memory | 16GB Micron DDR4 @ 3333 |
| Hard Drive | G.Skill 32GB SLC SSD |
| Sound Card | N/A |
| Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 750 |
| Video Drivers | GeForce Game Ready Driver 347.88 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CMPSU-650TX |
| DirectX Version | N/A |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 Pro X64 (update) |
- PCPer File Copy Test
- HDTach
- HDTune
- IOMeter
- YAPT
- PC Perspective Exclusive Latency Percentile and new Mixed Burst workloads
I think there is a demand for
I think there is a demand for high capacity SSDs it’s just the price is nowhere near where it needs to be. As the price comes down, demand goes up as we learned in Economics 101 :). Maybe when we see $0.20/GB. Are SSD prices artificially high? Seems like profit-taking at this point.
At the risk of being
At the risk of being pedantic, saying that demand goes up is slightly misleading. Only quantity demanded will increase when price decreases. Demand also depends on other factors other than price (i.e quality of product, price of other competing SSDs)
Why wouldn’t Samsung want to maximise profits if they’re the only ones with consumer SSDs with 4TB capacity?
Thank you. I’m glad I’m not
Thank you. I’m glad I’m not the only one that cringed a little when I read the original comment.
By demand I did mean quantity
By demand I did mean quantity demanded, the demand curve remains the same. My point was the large SSD demand is there just not at this price.
The 2TB 850 EVO is going for
The 2TB 850 EVO is going for $635(Sale Price) at Amazon, so $1270 for 2 drives and 4TB “total”. That’s around $0.32/GB and what is the performance metrics for 2/2TB drives in various raid/other configurations.
So long as you’re on a
So long as you're on a desktop with Intel RST, almost every performance metric doubles when shifting to a pair of SATA devices. If you need 4TB on desktop, a pair of 2TB would be the way to go, but pay attention to the yet-to-be-fixed performance issues we noted with the 2TB model. It's possible that the 48-layer version of the same capacity fixed that issue, but we don't have a sample to test.
We already have $0.20/GB
We already have $0.20/GB prices for SSDs. Simply go to pcpartpicker and sort by price/GB
I have a couple cheap silicon
I have a couple cheap silicon power SSDs and they are meh at best, then again they are the 120gb version not 480.
But not high quality SSDs in
But not high quality SSDs in large capacities. Obviously the 1TB+ SSD market is pretty pricey still. My point is there will be a large demand once the price becomes more reasonable.
TLC is still relatively new
TLC is still relatively new so not sure if it’s “price taking” so much as Samsung trying to get a reasonable ROIC on all the R&D they took to bring TLC to market in the first place.
I grabbed 2 250gb evos on
I grabbed 2 250gb evos on amazon for 78 each or ~$.31 per gig… hopefully they get down there again. Made for a fun raid 0.
300TBW = the flash is rated
300TBW = the flash is rated for 75 write cycles before kaput(warranty)?
I don’t like the idea of
I don’t like the idea of having TLC. I would be willing to pay a bit more and have the pro version with a warranty of more than 300TBW. Allyn, do you know when will Samsung release the pro version?
That’s wonderful, too bad I
That’s wonderful, too bad I won’t be able to afford it. I can’t even afford the 1 TB EVO yet.
So want, such money, can’t
So want, such money, can’t afford.
I bought the muschkin 1tb
I bought the muschkin 1tb when it first came out. It has been solid for my z97 build. What I’ve seen so far, their 4tb is supposed to be a good deal when it comes out. I’ll pair that with my 950 pro 512gig in my laptop I just purchased. Do believe it’ll be a good replacement for the 7200 rpm drive that’s in there. Maybe it’ll even push the price of this samsung drive down, 4tb ssd with rapid mode with magician would be solid also.