A First Look At Samsung's PM971 Entry-Level NVMe SSD

[Guest]

Just days ago we told you about the Samsung PM981 NVMe SSD that should be the OEM version of Samsung's upcoming 980. Today we tracked down the PM971 that should come to the retail market as the Samsung 970 NVMe SSD.

A First Look At Samsung's PM971 Entry-Level NVMe SSD : Read more

 

[Giroro]

Hold on, why are we talking about the soldering technology? Aren't the vast majority of flash chips already using Ball Gate Array (BGA)?
I assume the real news is that this drive uses fewer chips than normal. So shouldn't we be calling this a System On a Chip (SOC) Instead?

 

[Tanyac]

Regardless of how it mounts, the specs for this drive are quite unimpressive.
Given how long the 950 pro and 960 pro have been out, the specs of those drives should be the baseline of any new model. The PM971 is reminiscent of the AHCI PM951 drive.

Disappointing

 

[Valantar]

Hold on, why are we talking about the soldering technology? Aren't the vast majority of flash chips already using Ball Gate Array (BGA)?
I assume the real news is that this drive uses fewer chips than normal. So shouldn't we be calling this a System On a Chip (SOC) Instead?

The difference is that the m.2 card here is nothing more than a riser card - the entire SSD is one BGA package, as opposed to a controller, RAM, flash chips, and all the capacitors and resistors and stuff required to keep it working right. This has absolutely everything integrated. I love that they're making an m.2 version, though - BGA SSDs soldered to the motherboard is kind of a nightmare scenario. This, on the other hand, should be compact enough for all but the most tiny devices, while still being replaceable. Love it.

 

[Rodney Wilder]

Hold on, why are we talking about the soldering technology? Aren't the vast majority of flash chips already using Ball Gate Array (BGA)?
I assume the real news is that this drive uses fewer chips than normal. So shouldn't we be calling this a System On a Chip (SOC) Instead?

The difference is that the m.2 card here is nothing more than a riser card - the entire SSD is one BGA package, as opposed to a controller, RAM, flash chips, and all the capacitors and resistors and stuff required to keep it working right. This has absolutely everything integrated. I love that they're making an m.2 version, though - BGA SSDs soldered to the motherboard is kind of a nightmare scenario. This, on the other hand, should be compact enough for all but the most tiny devices, while still being replaceable. Love it.

This also allows for larger capacity and newer/cheaper or more reliable M.2 drives in the shorter 2242 (42mm long) and 2230 lengths. Of note, most m.2 devices currently on the market are 2280 (80mm long), there are very few 2242 models currently available, especially in sizes over 250gb. I have multiple 2U rack servers which cannot accept m.2 drive longer than a 2242 which greatly limits options. Fairly certain also have a few all-in-1 pcs which accept only 2242 length m.2 ssds