solid-state standouts

RevieweRs aRe impRessed by the RemaRkably balanced peRfoRmance of samsungs new 470 seRies ssds
febRuaRy 1, 2011

summary

What The Reviewers Said

More than a dozen leading news publications and blogs have evaluated Samsungs 470 Series solid-state drives (SSDs) since their introduction in late 2010. Their outstanding performance has been widely praised by numerous reviewers, who have subjected them to an exhaustive battery of tests.

the samsung 470 series ssd is the top-performing SSD tested since our first review was published in 2007. . . this is simply the best drive on the market.
les tokar, the ssd Review

Although different reviewers have chosen to emphasize a variety of performance benchmarks, the predominant conclusion is that the 470 Series SSDs are among the fastest drives currently on the market, and that they offer outstanding all-around performance in both reading and writing data. Les Tokar, editor and founder of The SSD Review website, set the tone for later reviewers in his November 4, 2010 review1, which noted that The Samsung 470 Series SSD is the top-performing SSD tested since our first [review] was published in 2007. Tokars article went on to conclude that: This is simply the best drive on the market.

About this report

This report is intended to help readers better understand the advantages of Samsungs 470 Series SSDs. By collecting in one place the highlights from multiple reviews and digesting their sometimes lengthy and technically detailed results into a more concise format, our intent is to provide a comprehensive resource for consumers evaluating SSD upgrades for their own computers. Samsung Electronics is grateful to the many journalists and technical evaluators who took the time to review our new SSDs. Their findings are summarized on the following pages.

introduction

The Solid-State Difference

SSDs, unlike conventional hard disk drives that store data on spinning disks, rely on NAND flash memory chips that are extremely fast, silent, energy efficient andbecause they have no moving partsresistant to shock, vibration and other physical damage. As the cost of SSD storage declines, consumers are increasingly opting for the speed, reliability and energy savings of solid-state storage. Objective Analysis forecasts that worldwide SSD shipments will reach nearly 40 million drives per year in 2015, generating more than $7 billion in annual revenue.2 Samsung introduced the 470 Series line of SSDs in August, 2010. These new drives are the companys first aftermarket SSDs designed specifically for consumers upgrading their existing computers. They are also the first SSDs to use Samsungs 30-nanometer (nm) class toggle-mode double data rate (DDR) NAND chips, which enable extremely high data throughput rates. Equipped with a 3 gigabits per second (Gb/s) Serial ATA 2.0 interface and available in three storage capacities64 gigabytes (GB), 128GB and 256GBthe 470 Series SSDs read and write data up to three times faster than typical hard disk drives, allowing them to store two standard-length DVD movies in just a minute.

470 series overview

Inside Samsungs SSDs

One of the key differences between Samsungs SSDs and other manufacturers drives is the high percentage of components designed and manufactured by Samsung itself. As HotHardware.com reviewer Paul Lilly noted: Pop the hood and youll find the Samsung label through and through, from the memory chips to the custom controller... as well as a pair of 128MB [dynamic random-access (DRAM)] modules.3 In contrast, most SSD makers procure their NAND and DRAM memory, controller chips, or all of the above, from outside suppliers. Samsungs ability to control the production of all major components offers several advantages. Not only is it able to assure a reliable supply of key components, it also has the unique ability to ensure that its NAND flash memory chips and SSD controllers are optimized to work together for maximum performance.

samsung has clearly put together a formidable controller thats more than capable of holding its own next to the competition.
paul lilly, hothardware.com

SSD controllers are embedded microprocessors that reside between the drives input/output interface and their flash memory. Besides managing the reading and writing of data to the flash chips, controllers typically oversee a variety of other essential drive functions such as diagnostics, error correction, wear leveling, caching and security. Controller technology is often considered the single most important factor affecting SSDs overall performance. Its important to put [SSD drive] controllers in the spotlight, because most SSD innovation happens on this front, noted Toms Hardware editors Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos in a recent roundup of leading SSDs.4 In reality, they contend, its the controllers [on the drive] that are responsible for most performance tweaking and faster interface bandwidth. Not surprisingly, many reviewers of Samsungs 470 Series drives take note of their triple-core controllers, which improve multi-tasking performance by distributing reading, writing and optimization tasks as needed between the cores. Samsung has clearly put together a formidable controller thats more than capable of holding its own next to the competition, commented HotHardware.com, adding: We have to give kudos to Samsung where they are due, for putting together an impressive SSD controller.

470 series overview

Controllers arent the only hardware highlight of Samsungs 470 Series drives. Geoff Gasiors review for The Tech Report, for instance, cited Samsungs toggle DDR NAND chips as important contributors to the drives impressive performance. Faster flash chips can make a big difference, he said.5 He went on to explain how toggle NAND technology enables data rates up to 133 megabits per second (Mbps)more than three times as fast as conventional single-data-rate NAND chips. Several reviewers also cited the 470 Series use of 256 megabytes (MBs) of DRAM cache memory. We were surprised to find two cache chips, one on either side of the PCB [printed circuit board], as every SSD we have seen so far only includes a single cache chip, notes TechSpot reviewer Steven Walton.6 Cache memory helps to reduce data-transfer bottlenecks by holding frequently accessed data that is needed repeatedly and by speeding up the writing of small data files. Whether you want to give full credit to the controller or the decision to use two 128MB DRAM chips when most SSDs use a single chip is irrelevant, wrote HotHardware.com. The bottom line is Samsungs 470 puts up respectable numbers and hardly ever flinches at virtually any desktop workload you can throw at it. A final differentiator mentioned by most reviewers was the 470 Series drives aesthetic appearance and packaging. Unlike most competing drives plain, utilitarian appearance, Samsungs new consumer SSDs distinguish themselves with stylish, brushed metal enclosures highlighted by a thin, orange accent band and corner insert. Samsung capitalizes on the drives attractive design with clear acrylic cases that show off their visual appeal to full effect. Its almost a shame to hide it inside your desktop or notebook chassis, commented HotHardware.coms Lilly. Slashgear editor Ewdison Then described the 470 Series as having a premium feel that sets it apart.7 Storage Reviews Editor in Chief Brian Beeler praised the gorgeous design of Samsungs consumer SSDs. We dont talk about drives being pretty and well packaged very often, he admitted, adding This may even be a first.8

test Results

Test methodologies
Reviewers have relied upon a variety of standard as well as customized benchmark tests to evaluate Samsungs 470 Series SSDs. Among the more popular applications used to put the drives through their paces were: ATTO Technologys ATTO Disk Benchmark Crystal Technologys CrystalDiskMark benchmark Simpli Softwares HD Tach hardware benchmark EFD Softwares HD Tune Pro hard disk utility The Iometer Projects open source IOMeter benchmark tool Futuremarks PCMark Vantage HDD test suite Others supplemented those benchmarks with additional tests, some of which are custom-designed to simulate real-world SSD use patterns. Typically, they began with drives that were blank and unpartitioned, unless the tests called for specific partitions or formatting.

Boot-ups and software loading until i installed this drive, it would take me about five minutes between the time i turned on the pc and the time i could actually start to use it. ... now it takes about 30 seconds from a cold start
larry magid, san Jose mercury news
One of SSDs biggest advantages over conventional hard disk drives is how much faster they allow users to boot up their PCs and load software applications. Larry Magid, technology columnist for the Huffington Post and the San Jose Mercury News, for instance, experienced a significant speedup after installing a Samsung 256GB 470 Series SSD in his desktop PC. Until I installed this drive, it would take me about five minutes between the time I turned on the PC and the time I could actually start to use it... Now it takes about 30 seconds from a cold start to loading Mozilla Firefox, Larry Magid reported.9 He also noted that his PC now wakes much faster from sleep mode. Before, from the time I touched the keyboard or moved the mouse while the machine was sleeping, I had to wait 30 seconds or more for the hard drive to spin up. Now its usable a few seconds after I start waking it up. Its also faster to shut down a machine, because that often requires writing to the drive. TechSpot reported similarly impressive speed increases in booting up a Windows 7 PC test system. TechSpots Walton noted

test Results

that there is typically very little difference between most SSDs on this test because nearly all SSDs perform exceptionally well in terms of boot-up time. That was until we tested the Samsung 470 256GB, which loaded Windows 7 about 18 percent faster [9.5 seconds vs. 11.7 seconds] than the Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB, he said. The result makes the Samsung 470 Series 256GB the fastest SSD we have tested here. (See Figure A, below). TechSpot also compared how fast Samsung and 10 other SSDs and hard disk drives loaded a variety of popular games and software applications, including Photoshop, StarCraft II, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word. In all but one test, the Samsung SSD achieved the fastest launch time (although the 100GB OCZ Vertex2 Pro was a half-second faster in launching eight simultaneous software applications in a Windows 7 environment).

Figure A. Samsungs 470 Series SSDs booted up faster in Windows 7 than any previous SSDs tested by TechSpot. Source: http://www.techspot.com/review/340-samsung-470-series-ssd/page6.html

test Results

IOMeter data-transfer rates

Several reviewers used IOMeter file transfer tests to evaluate the 470 Series drives sequential data transfer rates. IOMeters software allows testers to evaluate how quickly the drives transfer both sequential and random files of varying sizes. In Storage Reviews tests of transferring 2MB sequential files, Samsungs 256GB 470 Series drive demonstrated an average read speed of 243MB/s and a write speed of 233MB. That gave it a slightly slower average read speed than SSDs from Corsair, Crucial and Intel, but higher average write speeds than every other model tested except the 256GB Crucial RealSSD C300. Where Samsungs 470 Series drive really stood out, however, was in Storage Reviews IOMeter 4K random transfer test, where the Samsung drive blew away Intels 160GB X25-M SSD, the previous performance leader in that category, with an exceptional 54.69MB/s write speed, and a read speed of 12.36MB/s. As Storage Reviews Beeler notes, . . .the Samsung SSD 470 excels in unaligned 4K transfers. . . actually beating out the Intel in its stronghold.

Read and write performance

HotHardware.com used the latest version of HD Tune Pro (v4.60) to test a variety of read and write performance factors including minimum, maximum and average transfer rate, access time and burst rate. This suite of tests offers a wide-ranging performance overview and also helps to reveal drives that run inconsistently.
READ
Samsung 470 Series 256GB Corsair Nova Series V128 128GB Intel X25-M Gen2 80GB Kingston SSDNov V Series 64GB OCZ Vertex 2 100GB
Minimum Transfer Rate (MB/s) Maximum Transfer Rate (MB/s) Average Transfer Rate (MB/s) Access Time (ms) CPU Usage (%)

221.8 217.9 175.2 221.8 194.4

Minimum Transfer Rate (MB/s)

226.2 225.4 234.1 233.5 206.3

Maximum Transfer Rate (MB/s)

225.3 222.2 227.5 226 201.1

Average Transfer Rate (MB/s)

0.18 0.08 0.09 0.22 0.11

Access Time (ms)

1.4 1.1 1.3 1.3 1.1

CPU Usage (%)

WRITE
Samsung 470 Series 256GB Corsair Nova Series V128 128GB Intel X25-M Gen2 80GB Kingston SSDNov V Series 64GB OCZ Vertex 2 100GB

184.5 150.2 0.4 7.4 131.5

194.2 192.6 82.7 154.9 200

191.9 177.5 73.5 94.4 197.9

0.05 0.04 0.5 0.09 0.18

1.3 1.2 0.6 0.7 1.2

Figure B. HotHardwares test results show that Samsungs 470 Series SSDs offer the fastest minimum data transfer rates for both reading and writing. Source: http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Samsung-470-Series-256GB-SSD-Review/?page=3

test Results

When compared to a selection of Corsair, Intel and OCZ SSDs, Samsungs 470 Series drive recorded the second-highest average read speed (just 2.2 MB/s slower than Intels 80GB X25-M drive) as well as the second-highest average write speed (6 MB/s slower than OCZs 100GB Vertex 2 drive). In terms of minimum transfer rates, though, the Samsung drive easily outperformed every other model tested (See Figure B, previous page). HotHardware.coms reviewer complimented Samsungs SSDs for their solid, all-around performance. Samsung didnt turn in the highest average transfer rate, but it did come awfully close and trounced the competition in minimum transfers, he said. What this all means is that over the long haul, the Samsung drive should perform more consistently no matter what the task. TechSpot reported a rather strong sequential read speed of 262.1 MB/s after using CrystalDiskMark 3.0 to compare the performance of Samsungs 470 Series drives to 10 other leading SSDs and hard disk drives. Although Samsungs SSDs were slower than the top-ranked 256GB Crucial RealSSD C300, they offset that deficit by dominating the sequential write-speed test with a speed of 257.2 MB/s. (See Figure C, below) This is simply off the charts, beating the next fastest SSD by an 18 percent margin, exclaimed TechSpots reviewer.

Figure C. Samsungs 470 Series SSDs dominated TechSpots sequential write speed rankings, with a speed of nearly 260 MB/s. Source:http://www.techspot.com/review/340-samsung-470-series-ssd/page7.html
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test Results

Real-life testing
Although numerous reviewers took note of the Samsung SSDs outstanding write speeds measured by CrystalDiskMark, PCMark Vantage and other standard benchmark tests, they were also impressed by the results generated by their own customized tests designed to duplicate real-life SSD users challenges.

the real-world performance is impressive, posting some of the best times we have seen.
Joe evans, legit storage Reviews

Joe Evans of Legit Storage Reviews, for instance, used a free application called Teracopy to measure how fast the Samsung SSD 470 could copy large numbers of JPG and MP3 files from one folder to another on the same drive, requiring the drive to simultaneously perform both sustained read and writes. Evans was surprised at how well the Samsung SSD performed. The real-world performance is impressive, he said, posting some of the best times we have seen.10 For its real-world benchmarks, Storage Review used several custom StorageMark 2010 traces designed to simulate common user scenarios. The first test aimed to replicate the storage demands of a home theater PC (HTPC) by playing one 720p high-definition movie in Media Player Classic mode, playing another 480p standard-definition movie in VideoLANs VLC media player, downloading three movies simultaneously through iTunes and recording one 1080i HDTV stream through Windows Media Centerall within a 15 minute period. In the HTPC test the Samsung SSD 470 trailed the 120GB Corsair F120 drive (by 179 MB/s to 248 MB/s), but handily outperformed the 256GB Crucial RealSSD C300 (140 MB/s) and the 160GB Intel X25-M SSD (127 MB/s). A second real-world productivity test included three hours of running Outlook 2007 in 32-bit Windows Vista while connected to an Exchange server, surfing the Internet with both Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 8 browsers, editing files in Office 2007, viewing PDF files in Adobe Reader, and an hour of local music playback followed by two hours of streaming online music from Pandora. Again, the Samsung 470 Series SSD trailed the Corsair F120 (by 166 MB/s to 209 MB/s) while keeping its lead over the Intel (120 MB/s) and Crucial (114 MB/s) drives.

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conclusion

Positive Impressions
Although Samsung is still a relative newcomer to the consumer SSD market, the reviews of its new drives are rolling in, and the verdict is extremely positive. Consider the following comments: We were most impressed with how consistently Samsungs 470 256GB performed throughout our entire round of testing. With few exceptions, the 470 held a steady pace, and it really flexed its muscle when it came to writes. Paul Lilly, HotHardware.com.

the samsung 470 series 256gb has certainly surprised us. this quiet achiever came from nowhere to dominate our performance charts with stellar performance.
steven walton, techspot

The Samsung 470 Series 256GB has certainly surprised us. This quiet achiever came from nowhere to dominate our performance charts with stellar performance. Steven Walton, TechSpot The Samsung 470 reaches higher throughput and is stronger than most of the other SSDs, including the SandForce party, in our PCMark Vantage application tests. Additionally, we found it to be the best drive on sustained performance. Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos, Toms Hardware The Samsung 470 shines where it matters the most: performance. Like other hard drives, we tested Samsung thoroughly with many different applications, and it did an excellent job with most of them.11 Dong Ngo, CNET Reviewers agree, Samsungs 470 Series SSDs are among the most consistently high performing solid-state storage devices currently on the market. Although not the fastest by every measure, they offer remarkably consistent balance between read and write speeds, while avoiding most of the weak points of other drives. For additional information about Samsungs new solid-state drives, please visit: www.samsung.com/ssd

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sources

References
1. Les Tokar, Samsung 470 series 256 GB SSD review (30nm), The SSD Review, Nov. 4, 2010, http://thessdreview.com/our-reviews/samsung-470-series-256-gb-ssd-review-30nm/

2. Lucas Mearian, NAND flash memory pricing to plummet to $1 per GB, Computerworld, Aug. 19, 2010, http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9180943/NAND_flash_memory_pricing_to_plummet_to_1_per_GB?

3. Paul Lilly, Samsungs Hot, New 470 Series 256GB SSD Burned In, HotHardware.com, Dec. 9, 2010, http://hothardware.com/News/Samsungs-Hot-New-470-Series-256GB-SSD-Burned-In/

4. Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos, Roundup: The Best SSDs for Enthusiasts, Toms Hardware, Nov. 1, 2010, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-470-sandforce-best-ssd,2783.html

5. Geoff Gasior, Samsungs 470 Series solid-state drive: Toggle DDR NAND arrives, The Tech Report, Dec. 13, 2010, http://techreport.com/articles.x/20087

6. Steven Walton, Samsung 470 Series 256GB SSD Review, TechSpot, Nov. 22, 2010, http://www.techspot.com/review/340-samsung-470-series-ssd/

7. Ewdison Then, Samsung 256GB SSD 470 Series Review, SlashGear Nov. 24, 2010, http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-256gb-ssd-470-series-review-24116133/

8. Brian Beeler, Samsung 470 Series SSD Review 256GB (MZ5PA256HMDR), Storage Review, Nov. 2, 2010, http://www.storagereview.com/samsung_470_series_ssd_review_256gb_mz5pa256hmdr

9. Larry Magid, Flash Drives Speed up PC Start Times, Huffington Post, Nov. 14, 2010, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-magid/flash-drive-speeds-up-pc_b_783331.html

10. Joe Evans, Samsung 470 Series 256GB SSD Review, Legit Storage Reviews, Jan. 18, 2011, http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1532/1/

11. Dong Ngo, Samsung 470 (64GB, SSD): CNET Editors Review, CNET, Nov. 15, 2010, http://reviews.cnet.com/laptop-hard-drives/samsung-470-64gb-ssd/4505-9997_7-34212143.html

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