Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SATA III M.2 SSD Review
Moderate Workload Model
We categorize these tests as indicative of a moderate workload environment.
PCMark Vantage - Hard Disk Tests
Version and / or Patch Used: 1.2.0.0
The reason we like PCMark Vantage is because the recorded traces are played back without system stops. What we see is the raw performance of the drive. This allows us to see a marked difference between scoring that other trace-based benchmarks do not exhibit. An example of a marked difference in scoring on the same drive would be empty vs. filled vs. steady state.
We run Vantage three ways. The first run is with the OS drive 75% full to simulate a lightly used OS volume filled with data to an amount we feel is common for most users. The second run is with the OS volume written into a "Steady State" utilizing SNIA's guidelines. Steady state testing simulates a drives performance similar to that of a drive that been subjected to consumer workloads for extensive amounts of time. The third run is a Vantage HDD test with the test drive attached as an empty, lightly used secondary device.
OS Volume 75% Full - Lightly Used
OS Volume 75% Full - Steady State
Secondary Volume Empty - FOB
There's a big difference between an empty drive, one that's 75% full/used, and one that's in a steady state.

The important scores to pay attention to are "OS Volume Steady State" and "OS Volume 75% full." These two categories are most important because they are indicative of typical of consumer user states. When a drive is in a steady state, it means garbage collection is running at the same time it's reading/writing. This is exactly why we focus on steady state performance.
Samsung's 850 Pro continues to dominate this testing. The 850 EVO comes in with the second best results for SATA-based SSD we've recorded to date.
PCMark 7 - System Storage
Version and / or Patch Used: 1.4.0
We will look to Raw System Storage scoring for an evaluation because it's done without system stops and therefore allows us to see significant scoring differences between drives.
OS Volume 75% Full - Lightly Used

Again, the 850 EVO M.2 comes in second to the 850 Pro. Both Samsung drives are able to outperform the competition by a large margin.
PCMark 8 - Storage Bandwidth
Version and / or Patch Used: 2.4.304
We use PCMark 8 Storage benchmark to test the performance of SSDs, HDDs, and hybrid drives with traces recorded from Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and a selection of popular games. You can test the system drive or any other recognized storage device, including local external drives. Unlike synthetic storage tests, the PCMark 8 Storage benchmark highlights real-world performance differences between storage devices.
OS Volume 75% Full - Lightly Used

PCMark 8 is the most intensive light model workload simulation we run. With respect to light model simulations, this test is what we consider the best indicator of a drive's performance and the 850 EVO M.2 unseats our long time champion, the Intel 730 480GB. The 850 EVO M.2 is considerably faster than the 850 Pro in this test.
PRICING: You can find the Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SATA III M.2 SSD for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link below to see real-time pricing for the best deal:
United States: The Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SATA III M.2 SSD retails for $194.99 at Amazon.
Australia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at PLE Computer's website.
Canada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon Canada's website.
- Page 1 [Introduction, Drive Specifications, Pricing and Availability]
- Page 2 [Drive Details]
- Page 3 [Test System Setup and Properties]
- Page 4 [Samsung Magician 4.6 and Samsung Data Migration Software]
- Page 5 [Synthetic Benchmarks - ATTO & Anvil Storage Utilities]
- Page 6 [Synthetic Benchmarks - CrystalDiskMark & AS SSD]
- Page 7 [Benchmarks (Trace Based OS Volume) - PCMark Vantage, PCMark 7 & PCMark 8]
- Page 8 [Benchmarks (Secondary Volume) - Max IOPS, Disk Response & Transfer Rates]
- Page 9 [Benchmarks (Secondary Volume) - PCMark 8 Extended]
- Page 10 [Benchmarks (Secondary Volume) - 70/30 Mixed Workload]
- Page 11 [Maxed-Out Performance (MOP) and RAPID]
- Page 12 [Final Thoughts]
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