Samsung 870 QVO 1TB | Review

Samsung's QVO series takes its name from the memory used, of the QLC type; these are cells capable of containing 4 bits, less fast than TLCs (in which 3 bits per cell can be entered) but cheaper and allowing for greater capacity. This last point is reflected on the Samsung 870 QVO subject of this review, available in denominations up to 8TB. ​​

Samsung's SSD has a new controller and takes advantage of the 9-layer V-NAND V5 memories produced from society. The form factor is the classic 2.5 "and the interface is SATA, so the company claims a maximum speed of 560 MB / s in reading and 530 MB / s in writing. The model we tested is the 1TB one, but as mentioned there is also a variant with an 8TB capacity.

To improve the performance and endurance of the 870 QVO, Samsung uses the same TurboWrite cache technology SLC view of the old 860 QVO. It is a hybrid caching system that uses both a static 6GB SLC cache and a dynamic 36-72GB cache, depending on the SSD capacity. The 1TB model we have available offers 42GB of TurboWrite cache.

The Samsung 870 QVO has an above average endurance of QLC SSDs, which for the variant we tested is around 360TB. The warranty is limited to 3 years, against the 5 years usually offered by other brands.

Product 870 QVO 1TB 870 QVO 2TB 870 QVO 4TB 870 QVO 8TB Capacity (user / raw) 1000GB / 1024GB 2000GB / 2048GB 4000GB / 4096GB 8000GB / 8192GB Form Factor 2.5 ″ 7mm 2.5 ″ 7mm 2.5 ″ 7mm 2.5 ″ 7mm Interface / Protocol SATA 6.0 Gb / s / AHCI SATA 6.0 Gb / s / AHCI SATA 6.0 Gb / s / AHCI SATA 6.0 Gb / s / AHCI Controller Samsung MKX 'Metis' Samsung MKX 'Metis' Samsung MKX 'Metis' Samsung MKX 'Metis' DRAM LPDDR4 LPDDR4 LPDDR4 LPDDR4 Memory Samsung 9xL QLC Samsung 9xL QLC Samsung 9xL QLC Samsung 9xL QLC Sequential Read 560 MBps 560 MBps 560 MBps 560 MBps Sequential Write 530 MBps 530 MBps 530 MBps 530 MBps Random Read 98,000 IOPS 98,000 IOPS 98 IOPS Random Write 88,000 IOPS 88,000 IOPS 88,000 IOPS 88,000 IOPS Security AES 256-bit, TCG / Opal V2.0, IEEE1667 AES 256-bit, TCG / Opal V2.0, IEEE1667 AES 256-bit, TCG / Opal V2.0, IEEE1667 AES 256-bit, TCG / Opal V2.0, IEEE1667 Endurance (TBW) 360 TB 720 TB 1,440 TB 2,880 TB Warranty 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years T Among the features we highlight the support for Trim, Smart, secure erase and AES 256-bit encryption compliant with the TCG Opal 2.0 specification. Samsung's Magician and Migration software can be downloaded from the Samsung website and allow you to monitor the status of the 870 QVO, update its firmware, perform benchmarks and clone data from one SSD to another.

The Samsung 870 The 1TB QVO integrates a single package of the V5 QLC V-NAND memory mentioned earlier, within which we find eight 128GB (1Tb) 9-layer QLC dies. Samsung's MKX Metis controller is based on ARM and can leverage 1GB of LPDDR4 DRAM as a buffer for NAND space management and background operations.

Performance

We decided to compare the Samsung 870 QVO with two other SATA SSDs, the T-Force Delta Max Teamgroup and the GoodRAM CX400. Below we leave you a table with the test configuration on which we installed the SSDs to perform the various tests.

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X processor (available here) Asus ROG Ryujin 360 heatsink (available here) Asus motherboard ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero (available here) G.Skill TridentZ Royal RAM 16 GB 3600 MHz (available here) PCIe 4.0 SSD storage Corsair MP600 2 TB (available here) Asus ROG Thor 850M power supply (available here) Asus ROG Strix RTX video card 2080 Ti (available here) Windows 10 operating system version 1909 (available here)

CrystalDiskMark

With CrystalDiskMark we performed tests to obtain a nominal value of the performance of the drive, this regarding the values ​​in reading / writing. In the graphs we have included as random values ​​those inherent to the data QD1. When we refer to the Queue Depth or the "queue depth", we mean how many I / O operations (IOPS) the operating system is able to send to a particular device, before waiting for a response (to any of these operations) from it.

For the daily use of the vast majority of users, the QD1 value represents the most interesting to determine whether or not to purchase, as most of the operations we perform concern this value.



The sequential performance test carried out with CrystalDiskMark does not reserve any surprises: the Samsung 870 QVO records values ​​in line with those reported by the manufacturer.



The Samsung 870 QVO also scores well in the random performance test, outperforming both the T-Force Delta Max and the GoodRAM CX400 and always ensuring excellent responsiveness.

DiskBench

With DiskBench we try to get a value that we can use to indicate a typical "real" usage, and then test the copy and read speeds of the storage drive using data chosen by the user, to obtain a performance data as faithful as possible.



We have chosen a folder of 30 GB for the copy test, to simulate as much as possible a real load we have inserted the different types and sizes such as images, videos and various documents. The Samsung 870 QVO reaches 477.3 MB / s, outperforming the T-Force Delta Max by around 20 MB / s. Much behind the CX400, which as we have seen in the past has some problems in copying large files.

In the reading test we use a single 6GB file instead. In this benchmark the Samsung 870 QVO stops at 406 MB / s and is the worst of the three, with the T-Force Delta Max being 80 MB / s faster.

Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood

Last as usual, the benchmark on Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood. The test integrated into this title allows us to obtain a value regarding the possible loading times of scenarios within real games.



Here the Samsung 870 QVO offers convincing performances, reaching an average load time of 11.3 seconds and being nearly 4 seconds faster than the T-Force Delta Max and GoodRAM CX400.

Conclusions

The Samsung 870 QVO is a SSD that aims to offer users large capacity, while partially sacrificing performance. As we have seen from our tests, the performances are actually not too different from those of other tested SATA SSDs and, while not reaching the speeds of some top-of-the-range models, the new 870 QVO provides the user with good reading and writing, reduced game loading times and excellent responsiveness.

The 1TB variant we tested is available for 110 euros, an average price higher than that of other 1TB SSDs that cost between 90 and 100 euro and offer a 5-year warranty instead of 3. Different speech for the 8TB model, available at about 850 euros: at the moment the only other SSD to reach this capacity is the Sabrent Rocket Q, a unit that uses the NVMe protocol but which costs the beauty of 1500 euros.

What to choose then? If you need a lot of storage space and don't want to deal with the slowness of a classic hard drive, the 8TB Samsung 870 QVO is a product to be taken into serious consideration, especially if you don't want to spend almost double on the Sabrent. Rocket Q. If, on the other hand, you simply want to buy a new 1TB SSD on which to install all your games, Samsung remains an excellent option, but when choosing, remember that there are equally valid and cheaper alternatives on the market, such as the Crucial MX500.