Samsung 950 Pro Vs Samsung SM951 NVMe. What's the difference?

[PlymouthJoseph]

Just a simple question, but is the differences between the Samsung 950 Pro and the Samsung SM951 NVMe? And is it worth getting the 950 Pro, knowing it has a £30 price premium?

I just wanna know the Pros and Cons of each side.

Another thing, could you guys find me a low profile M.2 to PCIe adaptor? This is for another build, and I don't want it taking away airfow from my GPU.

Also, I've heard that the SM961 has been realised, is this true? If so... Is the 3.5GB/s read really going to be true. Also, will there be a 960 Pro available soon? Would be nice to add to my main workstation.

 

[JQB45]

Speed, Cost, Length of Warranty. Also The 950 Pro is a retail product and SM951 is OEM.

 

[PlymouthJoseph]

Speed, Cost, Length of Warranty. Also The 950 Pro is a retail product and SM951 is OEM.

Could you go into more detail please?

 

[JQB45]

The SM951 is a little slower, has a 3 year warranty, cost less then the 950 PRO. The 950 Pro has a 5 year warranty, is faste overall then the SM951 but I doubt you'd notice the speed difference. When the retail version of the SM951 comes out it will be the 960 EVO, so we are comparing the low end 960 to the high end 950.

SM951 512GB Read/Write/Random Read Speed/Random Write Speed: 2,150MBps, 1,550MBps, 300K IOPS, 100K IOPS

950 PRO 512GB Read/Write/Random Read Speed/Random Write Speed: 2,500MBps, 1500MBps, 300K IOPS, 110K IOPS

 

[PlymouthJoseph]

So, the SM951 is almost exactly the same as the 950 Pro, but with 1GB/s slower max read and slightly slower max random write, and the 950 Pro, being the retail version, having the longer warranty.

And you said the retail version of the SM951 will be the 960 Evo? I thought the SM951 was just the OEM variant of the 950 Pro. And that the SM961 is going to be the OEM variant of the 960 Pro.

Sorry, I'm still a little lost.

Also, could you possibly compare the AHCI SM951 and the PM951? Just would like to see how they compare and their main differences are.

 

[JQB45]

PlymouthJoseph: "And you said the retail version of the SM951 will be the 960 Evo? I thought the SM951 was just the OEM variant of the 950 Pro. And that the SM961 is going to be the OEM variant of the 960 Pro."

Sorry I got confused for a moment you are correct.

 

[JQB45]

Review of the SM951, PM951, SM961, PM961, 950 PRO and 850 PRO.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10168/samsung-shows-off-sm961-and-pm961-ssds-oem-drives-get-a-boost

 

[PlymouthJoseph]

PlymouthJoseph: "And you said the retail version of the SM951 will be the 960 Evo? I thought the SM951 was just the OEM variant of the 950 Pro. And that the SM961 is going to be the OEM variant of the 960 Pro."

Sorry I got confused for a moment you are correct.

xD You confused me there for a second.

Review of the SM951, PM951, SM961, PM961, 950 PRO and 850 PRO.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10168/samsung-shows-off-sm961-and-pm961-ssds-oem-drives-get-a-boost

So, apparently the Samsung PM961 is going to be faster than the Samsung 950 Pro? And most likely cheaper too? So would it be worth waiting for the PM961?

Also, would there be any real-world benefits to having the 950 Pro compared to the SM951 other than the warranty? Like, would you notice any performance differences in any way? And I've seen some SM951 running at 2.2GB/s read...

 

[JQB45]

"And I've seen some SM951 running at 2.2GB/s read... "
Samsung SSD's and NVME parts tend to exceed Samsung's performance ratings in reviews I've read. Perhaps Samsung is conservative in their performance estimates.

I seriously doubt you would notice the difference in speed. I personally would want the longest warranty over the best performance hands down. I'm not worried about a few seconds here and there, I am however concerned with the integrity of my data long term.

 

[PlymouthJoseph]

"And I've seen some SM951 running at 2.2GB/s read... "
Samsung SSD's and NVME parts tend to exceed Samsung's performance ratings in reviews I've read. Perhaps Samsung is conservative in their performance estimates.

I seriously doubt you would notice the difference in speed. I personally would want the longest warranty over the best performance hands down. I'm not worried about a few seconds here and there, I am however concerned with the integrity of my data long term.

That makes absolute sense, but is it worth another £30? The slight performance boost and the longer warranty?

I can get a 950 Pro for £139 and I can get a SM951 NVMe for £109, but I could most likely get it cheaper if I keep looking.

Also, I know I can afford the SM951, but maybe not the 950 Pro.

 

[PlymouthJoseph]

Also, could you tell me the differences between these 2 adaptors? I cannot find any, other than price and colour?

1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/LyCOM-DT-120-Lycom-PCI-e-Adapter/dp/B00MYCQP38/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467892950&sr=8-1&keywords=DT-120

2: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lycom-DT-129-3-3V5A-Adapter-PCIe-NVMe/dp/B01AHYYZAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467892971&sr=8-1&keywords=DT-129

Also, do you know if this is good adaptor?

 

[JQB45]

I have no experience with those (or any) M.2 Adapters. They both have good reviews on Amazon. Pick the one that you think is nicer looking as they both have a year warranty, but with no moving parts or major circuitry its likely they will last a long time.

 

[PlymouthJoseph]

Fair enough I guess. Did you see my other post? One before that one? Do you think it is worth getting the SM951, knowing it is £30 cheaper and the only main differences are the warranty and a tiny performance impact?

 

[JQB45]

Yeah I would say its a fair deal.

 

[PlymouthJoseph]

So, diffidently go for the SM951? Or do you think I should wait for the new SM961 and PM961?

 

[JQB45]

Oh I would wait, you can back order now from Ram City: https://www.ramcity.com.au/upgrade/data-storage/internal-solid-state-drives/samsung-sm961/143419

Also worth reading: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-sm961-ssd,4608.html