Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review

Samsung's 970 EVO 2TB is the first SSD we've tested that comes armed with 512Gbit (64GB per die) flash. How does it perform?

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: Samsung
18 minutes & 5 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 95%
TweakTown award

The Bottom Line

2TB of super-fast, affordable NVMe storage on a single sided M.2 SSD makes the 2TB 970 EVO a must have.

Introduction, Drive Specifications, Pricing & Availability

Almost two years ago, Samsung brought to market the world's first 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD, the 960 Pro 2TB. The exotic MLC powered 2TB 960 Pro came with eye-popping $1,300 price tag that placed out of reach for the typical consumer. Now, Samsung is back with another 2TB single-sided M.2 NVMe SSD and this time it's much more affordable. Enter the 970 EVO 2TB. Like the 960 Pro 2TB, Samsung's 970 EVO is a desirable single sided design but thanks to advances in 3-bit flash technology, the cost of ownership isn't nearly as steep.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 01

When the 2TB 960 Pro emerged on the scene, Samsung's own 256Gbit flash was the highest density in production. The 960 Pro employed four 512GB flash packages, each composed of sixteen 256Gbit (32GB) die. With 512GB flash packages at the top of the food chain, Samsung had to fit four flash packages, DRAM and a controller on one side of the 2TB 960 Pro's PCB to achieve a single-sided design. Not easy to do.

Samsung's 2TB 970 EVO is the first consumer NVMe SSD to arrive armed with 512Gbit V-NAND. The density afforded by 512Gbit flash allows Samsung to fit 1024GB (1TB) of storage on a single sixteen die flash package. With 1TB of V-NAND on a single flash package, a single-sided 2TB M.2 SSD with a conventional two-package flash array is possible.

Having already tested the 1TB 970 EVO, which earned an editor's choice award, we have high expectations for the 2TB model. However, we also know that with different flash (256Gbit vs. 512Gbit), there may be some performance differences as well.

The 970 EVO is powered by Samsung's "Phoenix" NVMe controller. Phoenix, like its predecessor "Polaris" is a 5-core ARM-based processor. One core is dedicated to host communication and the other four to the drives NAND array. Samsung's Phoenix controller features increased core-clock speeds and enhanced thermal capabilities over previous generations.

With Samsung's potent Phoenix controller powering a 64-layer V-NAND flash array, the 970 EVO delivers performance that is far better than the 960 EVO. The 970 EVO provides up to 32% faster sequential speeds and up to 36% faster random speeds than its predecessor.

Samsung's 64-layer 3-bit V-NAND is faster and more enduring than the previous generation 3-bit V-NAND. Material improvements and lower voltage requirements for cell programming have increased the 970 EVO's endurance rating by 50% at each capacity point over the 960 EVO. Additionally, Samsung has increased the EVO's warranty period from 3-years to 5-years.

Like the 960 EVO, the 970 EVO employs a copper infused label on the back of the drive's PCB for enhanced heat dissipation. In addition, the Phoenix controller is nickel plated allowing it to dissipate heat faster which helps maintain peak performance better than ever before.

The 970 EVO's improved thermal performance delays the trigger point of Samsung's Dynamic Thermal Guard (DTG) by 14 seconds in comparison to the 960 EVO.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 02

Higher throughput and DTG triggering 14 seconds later than before allows the 970 EVO to transfer approximately 26% (approximately 32GB) more sequentially written data before thermal throttling is induced.

Samsung's 2TB 970 EVO is more about capacity than anything else. 2TB of super-fast NVMe storage on a tiny single-sided M.2 x 2280 SDD is very appealing and unique in the world of storage. As it stands, the 2TB 970 EVO has no direct competitor, because so far no one else has delivered a similarly configured M.2 SSD. Others are coming, but Samsung's 2TB 970 EVO is the first.

Let's get into the review and see how the world's first NVMe SSD equipped with 512Gbit flash performs.

Specifications, Features and Availability

Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD

Samsung's 970 EVO series is available at four capacity points: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 333

The 2TB 970 EVO we have on the bench sports the following factory specifications:

  • Sequential Read: up to 3,500 MB/s
  • Sequential Write: up to 2,500 MB/s
  • Max 4K Random Read Speed: up to 500,000 IOPS
  • Max 4K Random Write Speed: up to 480,000 IOPS
  • 4K QD1 Random Read Speed: up to 15,000 IOPS
  • 4K QD1 Random Write Speed: up to 50,000 IOPS
  • Endurance: up to 1,200 TBW
  • MTBF: 1.5 Million Hours
  • Warranty: 5-Year Limited Warranty

Features: TRIM (Required OS support), Garbage Collection, S.M.A.R.T Monitoring, Samsung NVMe Driver 3.0.

Data Security Features: AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption, TCG/Opal V2.0, Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667).

Available Free Software: Samsung Magician SSD Toolbox, Samsung Data Migration Tool and Samsung NVMe driver 3.0.

Samsung, as they always do, provide value-add software for your 970 EVO available free via download. Samsung's Magician SSD Toolbox allows you to monitor the drive, tune your OS for optimized SSD usage, update firmware, Secure Erase, and test performance.

Samsung's Data Migration software makes it as easy as a couple of mouse clicks to migrate your Operating System to your new 970 EVO SSD. Samsung's NVMe driver 3.0 provides better performance, better data security and higher compatibility.

MSRP Samsung 970 EVO Series:

250GB = $109.99

500GB = $199.99

1TB = $399.99

2TB = $799.99

Note: The prices given reflect Samsung's updated MSRP.

Availability: Now

Drive Details

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 04

The 970 EVO ships in familiar looking packaging. There is an image of the enclosed SSD on the front. Capacity, model and V-NAND architecture are advertised here.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 05

The back of the packaging advertises Samsung's new slogan and 5-year warranty.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 06

The drive is cradled in a thick plastic protective carrier.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 07

Included with the drive is a printed installation guide and warranty statement.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 08

The component side of the PCB has a manufacturer label covering the major components.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 09

The back of the PCB is devoid of components. This is where Samsung's exclusive copper infused thermal label is applied.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 10

Removing the manufacturer label reveals Samsung's nickel plated "Phoenix" five-core 8-channel NVMe controller, a Samsung DDR4 2048MB DRAM package and two 1024GB 64-layer V-NAND 3-bit flash packages.

Test System & Drive Properties

Jon's Consumer Z270 PCIe SSD Review Test System Specifications

We would like to thank ASRock, Crucial, Intel, Corsair, RamCity, IN WIN, and Seasonic for making our test system possible.

Drive Properties

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD OS Disk 75% Full

The majority of our testing is performed with the test subject as our boot volume. Our boot volume is 75% full for all OS Disk "C" drive testing to replicate a typical consumer OS volume implementation. We feel that most of you will be utilizing your SSDs for your boot volume and that presenting you with results from an OS volume is more relevant than presenting you with empty secondary volume results.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 11

System settings: Cstates and Speed stepping are both disabled in our systems BIOS. Windows High-Performance power plan is enabled. We are utilizing Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS for testing except for our MOP (Maxed-Out Performance) benchmarks where we switch to Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit. Empty Windows 10 benchmark screenshots will also be shown on our MOP page.

Please note: When comparing our results to those of other review sites, look at page 10 'Maxed Out Performance - Windows 10' which is done with the disk empty.

Synthetic Benchmarks - ATTO & Anvil Storage Utilities

ATTO

Version and / or Patch Used: 3.05

ATTO is a timeless benchmark used to provide manufacturers with data used for marketing storage products. When evaluating ATTO performance we focus on the drive's performance curve.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 12

Sequential Write

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 13

The 2TB 970 EVO exactly matches the 1TB model when writing sequential data of various file sizes. The 970 EVO delivers exceptional small file performance which is what we are looking for.

Sequential Read

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 14

The 2TB 970 EVO runs even with the 1TB model until we hit file sizes of 512KB. At 512KB and above the 1TB model delivers slightly more throughput.

Anvil Storage Utilities

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1.0

Anvil's Storage Utilities is a storage benchmark designed to measure the storage performance of SSDs. The Standard Storage Benchmark performs a series of tests; you can run a full test or just the read or write test, or you can run a single test, i.e. 4K QD16. When evaluating NVMe SSDs we are typically looking for a minimum total score of over 10K. We place a greater importance on read performance than write performance.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 15

Scoring

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 16

The 2TB 970 EVO delivers a new flash-based lab record for total write score. However, we value read performance more than write performance and this is where we find the 970 EVO somewhat lacking.

(Anvil) Read IOPS through Queue Depth Scale

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 17

We are hitting 240,000 4K random read IOPS at QD32 with our system disk 75% full.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 18

Here is where we begin to see a performance differentiation between 256Gbit flash and 512Gbit flash. The 256Gbit sporting 1TB 970 EVO performs significantly better than the 512Gbit equipped 2TB 970 Pro when reading random data.

(Anvil) Write IOPS through Queue Scale

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 19

At QD32 with a partition on our drive, and 75% full we are able to match factory specs which are given at QD128.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 20

There is very little difference between the 1TB and 2TB 970 EVO when writing random data. Both models perform well, but the SanDisk Extreme Pro takes the win, because of its superior performance at low queue depths.

Synthetic Benchmarks - CrystalDiskMark & AS SSD

CrystalDiskMark

Version and / or Patch Used: 3.0 Technical Preview

CrystalDiskMark is disk benchmark software that allows us to benchmark 4K and 4K queue depths with accuracy. Note: Crystal Disk Mark 3.0 Technical Preview was used for these tests since it offers the ability to measure native command queuing at QD4. When evaluating CDM results, we focus on 4K random performance at QD1 and QD4.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 21
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 22

CDM is showing us exactly what we saw with Anvil's. 256Gbit flash has a significant advantage over 512Gbit flash when reading random data.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 23

When writing random data, there is no significant difference between the 1TB and 2TB 970 EVO. We see a nice performance boost over the 960 EVO. SanDisk's write-centric Extreme Pro easily wins this test.

AS SSD

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.8.5611.39791

AS SSD determines the performance of SSDs. The tool contains four synthetic as well as three practice tests. The synthetic tests are to determine the sequential and random read and write performance of the SSD. We evaluate AS SSD performance in terms of overall score. We are looking for a minimum score of 2,000 when evaluating NVMe SSDs.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 24
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 25

AS SSD is a demanding test and the 2TB 970 EVO performs quite well, just not as well as the 1TB model. Keep in mind that this is our system disk and it is 75% full. By this point we can see that current 512Gbit flash has a performance disadvantage in comparison to 256Gbit flash when running synthetic benchmarks. Let's see how that translates when running workloads.

Benches (OS) - Vantage, PCMark 7, PCMark 8 & SYSmark 2014 SE

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 consumer guidelines. Steady state testing simulates a drive's 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

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 26

OS Volume 75% Full - Steady State

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 27

Secondary Volume Empty - FOB

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 28
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 29

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 test really highlights the impact low queue depth random read performance has on consumer workloads. As our synthetic benchmarks showed, the 2TB 970 EVO has significantly lower random read performance than the 1TB model. This directly impacts consumer type workload performance as shown by the above chart.

PCMark 7 - System Storage

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.4.0

We will look to Raw System Storage scoring for evaluation because it's done without system stops and, therefore, allows us to see significant scoring differences between drives. When evaluating NVMe SSDs we are looking for a minimum score of 11,000

OS Volume 75% Full - Lightly Used

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 30
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 31

The results of this test back up what we saw with Vantage. 512Gbit flash offers more density but does so at the expense of performance.

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

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 32

PCMark 8 is the most intensive moderate workload simulation we run. With respect to moderate consumer type workloads, this test is what we consider the best indicator of a drive's performance.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 33
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 34

PCMark 8 again highlights the fact that 512GB flash is lower performing than 256Gbit. How significant is the impact to the average user? Our next test should give us a clearer picture because it is application-based as opposed to simulated.

BAPCo SYSmark 2014 SE Application Performance

Version and / or Patch Used: 2.0.0.70

SYSmark 2014 SE is considered the gold standard for testing system performance because it is an application-based benchmark. This test gives us the ultimate in real-world results because it utilizes actual applications running on the system, instead of playing back recorded traces. If you want to know what kind of impact a particular SSD will have on your system's overall performance; this test will show you.

Our systems are much more powerful than the calibration system (1000-point baseline) used by BAPCo, so we ran an OCZ TL100 120GB SATA III SSD to establish a comparison point relative to our test systems. We will be running this test going forward and we will add drives to our chart as we test them.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 35
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 36

In terms of overall rating, the 2TB 970 EVO and 1TB 970 deliver an identical result of 1952. This indicates that user experience between the two capacity points should be quite similar. The 2TB 970 EVO is showing itself to be a bit more responsive than SanDisk's Extreme Pro, and Plextor's M9PeY.

Benchmarks (Secondary) - IOPS, Response & Transfer Rate

Iometer – Maximum IOPS

Version and / or Patch Used: Iometer 2014

We use Iometer to measure high queue depth performance. (No Partition)

Max IOPS Read

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 37

Max IOPS Write

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 38
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 39

We test NVMe SSDs using eight threads at QD32 (QD256). We do this because we want to see what the drive can generate at its maximum attainable queue depth.

At lower queue depths, the 1TB 970 EVO has a significant advantage over the 2TB model. However, as this test shows, at extremely high queue depths the 2TB model can surpass the 1TB model. This reflects what Samsung's spec sheet indicates.

Iometer – Disk Response

Version and / or Patch Used: Iometer 2014

We use Iometer to measure disk response times. Disk response times are measured at an industry accepted standard of 4K QD1 for both write and read. Each test runs twice for 30 seconds consecutively, with a 5-second ramp-up before each test. We partition the drive/array as a secondary device for this testing.

Avg. Write Response

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 40

Avg. Read Response

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 41
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 42

Response testing shows what we've seen throughout. The 1TB 970 EVO is more responsive when reading random data than the 2TB model.

DiskBench – Transfer Rate

Version and / or Patch Used: 2.6.2.0

We use DiskBench to time a 28.6GB block (9,882 files in 1,247 folders) composed primarily of incompressible sequential and random data as it's transferred from our Toshiba RD400 1TB NVME SSD to our test drive. We then read from a 6GB zip file that's part of our 28.6GB data block to determine the test drive's read transfer rate. Our system is restarted prior to the read test to clear any cached data, ensuring an accurate test result. We consider write transfers to be more important than read transfers.

Write Transfer Rate

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 43

Read Transfer Rate

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 44
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 45

The 2TB 970 EVO ties with the 1TB model for best write transfer rate of any TLC SSD we've tested to date.

Benchmarks (Secondary Volume) - PCMark 8 Extended

Futuremark PCMark 8 Extended

Heavy Workload Model

PCMark 8's consistency test simulates an extended duration heavy workload environment. PCMark 8 has built-in, command line executed storage testing. The PCMark 8 Consistency test measures the performance consistency and the degradation tendency of a storage system.

The Storage test workloads are repeated. Between each repetition, the storage system is bombarded with a usage that causes degraded drive performance. In the first part of the test, the cycle continues until a steady degraded level of performance has been reached. (Steady State)

In the second part, the recovery of the system is tested by allowing the system to idle and measuring the performance after 5-minute long intervals. (Internal drive maintenance: Garbage Collection (GC)) The test reports the performance level at the start, the degraded steady-state, and the recovered state, as well as the number of iterations required to reach the degraded state and the recovered state.

We feel Futuremark's Consistency Test is the best test ever devised to show the true performance of solid state storage in an extended duration heavy workload environment. This test takes on average 13 to 17 hours to complete and writes somewhere between 450GB and 14,000GB of test data depending on the drive. If you want to know what an SSDs steady-state performance is going to look like during a heavy workload, this test will show you.

Here's a breakdown of Futuremark's Consistency Test:

Precondition phase:

1. Write to the drive sequentially through up to the reported capacity with random data.

2. Write the drive through a second time (to take care of over-provisioning).

Degradation phase:

1. Run writes of random size between 8*512 and 2048*512 bytes on random offsets for 10 minutes.

2. Run performance test (one pass only).

3. Repeat 1 and 2 for 8 times, and on each pass increase the duration of random writes by 5 minutes.

Steady state phase:

1. Run writes of random size between 8*512 and 2048*512 bytes on random offsets for 50 minutes.

2. Run performance test (one pass only).

3. Repeat 1 and 2 for 5 times.

Recovery phase:

1. Idle for 5 minutes.

2. Run performance test (one pass only).

3. Repeat 1 and 2 for 5 times.

Storage Score, Storage Bandwidth

PCMark 8's Consistency test provides a ton of data output that we use to judge a drive's performance.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 46

We consider steady-state bandwidth (the blue bar) our test that carries the most weight in ranking a drive/arrays heavy workload performance. Performance after Garbage Collection (GC) (the orange and red bars) carry the most weight when evaluating moderate consumer workload performance.

The 1TB 970 EVO and the 2TB model deliver similar steady-state bandwidth. The 1TB model delivers higher overall performance because it is the faster drive. SanDisk's Extreme Pro remains our lab champion for a flash-based SSD in terms of bandwidth at the points charted above. Let's if this holds true when we dig a bit deeper.

Storage Bandwidth Per Phase

We chart our test subject's storage bandwidth as reported at each of the test's 18 trace iterations. This gives us a good visual perspective of how our test subjects perform as testing progresses. This chart sheds more light on how the drives perform as they progress through the testing phases.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 47

When we look at all the phases on this graph it is clear that the 970 EVO at both capacity points is performing better than the SanDisk Extreme Pro during heavy workloads.

Total Access Time (Latency)

We chart the total time the disk is accessed as reported at each of the test's 18 trace iterations. This helps shed some light on how the drive performs at each of the 18 phases of this test.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 48

Latency is much more important than bandwidth, and this is where we see a huge advantage over the Extreme Pro when running heavy workloads. This 2TB 970 EVO displays better latency than the 1TB model during heavy workloads. This is likely due to the fact that the 2TB 970 EVO has 48GB of OP (Over Provisioning); double the amount of the 1TB model.

Disk Busy Time

Disk Busy Time is how long the disk is busy working. We chart the total time the disk is working as reported at each of the tests 18 trace iterations.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 49

The 2TB 970 EVO works less and gives more during heavy workloads than any of the competitors in our test pool. Now that is impressive.

Data Written

We measure the total amount of random data that our test drive/array is capable of writing during the degradation phases of the consistency test. Pre-conditioning data is not included in the total. The total combined time that degradation data is written to the drive/array is 470 minutes. This can be very telling. The better a drive/array can process a continuous stream of random data; the more data will be written.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 50

These results clearly show the benefit of overprovisioning when writing data while garbage collection is running simultaneously. The 2TB 970 EVO has double the OP of the 1TB model, and therefore it can write far more data while operating in a steady-state. Corsair's NX500 has the most OP (over 200GB), so it writes the most data even though it's overall performance is inferior.

Benchmarks 70/30 Mixed Workload & Sustained Seq. Write

70/30 Mixed Workload Test (Sledgehammer)

Version and / or Patch Used: Iometer 2014

Heavy Workload Model

This test hammers a drive so hard we've dubbed it "Sledgehammer". Our 70/30 Mixed Workload test is designed to simulate a heavy-duty enthusiast/workstation steady-state environment. We feel that a mix of 70% read/30% write, full random 4K transfers best represents this type of user environment. Our test allows us to see the drive enter into and reach a steady state as the test progresses.

Phase one of the test preconditions the drive for 1 hour with 128K sequential writes at QD32. Phase two of the test runs a 70% read/30% write at QD32, full random 4K transfer workload on the drive for 1 hour. We log and chart (phase two) IOPS data at 5-second intervals for 1 hour (720 data points). 60 data points = 5 minutes.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 51

What we like about this test is that it reflects reality. Everything lines up, as it should. Consumer drives don't outperform Enterprise-Class SSDs that were designed for enterprise workloads. Consumer drives based on old technology are not outperforming modern Performance-Class SSDs, etc.

The 970 EVO is giving us what we want to see – tight, consistent and predictable performance. The EVO Series are the only consumer TLC SSDs that deliver tight consistency when running this test. OP plays a key role in the amount of time it takes for a drive to descend into a steady-state. This is where the 2TB 970 EVO has the advantage over the 1TB model and why its average is so much better.

Sustained Sequential Write

Version and / or Patch Used: Iometer 2014

Heavy Workload Model

We write to the drive for 1 hour with 128K sequential writes at QD32. We log and chart megabytes per second data at 5-second intervals for 1 hour (720 data points). 60 data points = 5 minutes.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 52

The 2TB 970 EVO delivers the same sustained sequential write performance as the 1TB model. The write-centric SanDisk Extreme Pro does a bit better and thus retains the sustained sequential write crown for consumer TLC SSDs.

Maxed-Out Performance (MOP)

This testing is just to see what the drive is capable of in an FOB (Fresh Out of Box) state under optimal conditions. We are utilizing empty volumes running on Windows 10 64-bit and Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit for this testing.

Windows 10 MOP

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 53
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 54
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 55
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 56
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 57
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 58

Windows Server 2008 R2 MOP

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 59
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 60
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 61
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 62
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 63
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 64
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 65

Final Thoughts

Having already reviewed the 1TB 970 EVO, our focus for this review was to compare the 2TB model with the 1TB model. This becomes especially interesting because the 2TB 970 EVO is the first SSD we've tested with 512Gbit die flash. 512Gbit flash paves the way for higher capacity conventionally configured SSDs at a lower cost per gigabyte of storage.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 66

However, increased die density does come with a user tax in the form of reduced performance. Our testing shows that increased die density brings with it the unfortunate side effect of reduced random read performance at low queue depths. This is exactly where we don't want to see reduced performance, because this is where performance matters most.

So, is the performance for capacity tradeoff worth it? We believe that for most people the answer is yes. Yes, because even incurring a performance hit where it matters most, the 2TB 970 EVO is still plenty fast. In reality, there is no way other than benchmarks to visibly distinguish between the user experience delivered by the 2TB 970 EVO and the 1TB model.

At this time, there is really no competitor for 970 EVO 2TB. It's the only current generation 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD on the market. But, competition is looming just over the horizon and this time the competition is a real threat to Samsung's TLC performance supremacy. This is good news for the consumer because without doubt price wars will ensue. We've already seen this happening with SATA SSDs.

The 2TB 970 EVO has a lot going for it. It's a single sided M.2 design which is the most desirable configuration for any modern SSD. The 970 EVO Series is backed with an industry best 5-year warranty, an industry leading endurance rating and Samsung's extensive software package. Additionally, when you buy a Samsung NVMe SSD you get something we wish all NVMe SSDs came with; a proprietary NVMe driver.

Samsung 970 EVO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Review 67

Because TweakTown tests SSDs with the drive running as our system (OS) disk we are in a relatively unique position to comment on what matters most - actual user experience. The user experience delivered via the 970 EVO is outstanding. Everything about the way your system performs when running a 970 EVO your system disk is Tier-1, which is why Samsung's 2TB 970 EVO is TweakTown recommended.

Pros:

  • Overall Performance
  • High Endurance
  • Value
  • Included Software

Cons:

  • Random Read
TweakTown award
Performance 90%
Quality 98%
Features 98%
Value 95%
Overall 95%

The Bottom Line: 2TB of super-fast, affordable NVMe storage on a single sided M.2 SSD makes the 2TB 970 EVO a must have.

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Jon joined the TweakTown team in 2013 and has since reviewed 100s of new storage products. Jon became a computer enthusiast when Windows XP launched. He was into water cooling and benching ATI video cards with modded drivers. Jon has been building computers for others for more than 10 years. Jon became a storage enthusiast the day he first booted an Intel X25-M G1 80GB SSD. Look for Jon to bring consumer SSD reviews into the spotlight.

Newsletter Subscription
We openly invite the companies who provide us with review samples / who are mentioned or discussed to express their opinion. If any company representative wishes to respond, we will publish the response here. Please contact us if you wish to respond.