Samsung PM871?? Anyone heard of it?

[dgingeri]

I just got a Dell laptop with a 256GB SSD, and they sent it with a Samsung PM871 installed. I've never heard of this drive before, and attempting to look up specs has been nearly impossible. I have found out they're quite cheap, at about $100 for a 256GB and just over $200 for a 512GB. Samsung's Magician software doesn't recognize it as a Samsung drive, but I was able to benchmark it. It comes up with 552MB/s on reads but only 304MB/s on writes. It seems it has some pretty dense flash memory, but I have been unable to find out what type of flash memory is used, buffer memory size, or controller type for it. Has anyone out there seen this drive before and figured out specs?

 

[MarkW]

Samsung makes a lot of OEM only SSD's. There are benefits to having the NAND fabs, and the capacity to make fast, cheap SSD's that last a long time.

Even retail, I see a:
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB $88.89
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB $172.49
Samsung 850 EVO 1TB $344.95

So the prices you found are pretty close to what I see at pcpartpicker.com, which checks a dozen or two retailers.

 

[dgingeri]

So it could be equal to an 850 EVO, using 3D-TLC flash memory?

 

[MarkW]

I found the Samsung page for that device...

http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/products/flash-storage/client-ssd/MZ7LN512HCHP?ia=831

 

[dgingeri]

I found the Samsung page for that device...

http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/products/flash-storage/client-ssd/MZ7LN512HCHP?ia=831

Yeah, I found that before (you're linking the 512GB version, while I have the 256GB version, which has slower writes), but it doesn't say a whole lot about it. It doesn't give what kind of flash memory is used or how much memory it has.

 

[MarkW]

That is how most companies operate when it comes to OEM sales. They don't want to give away all their secrets.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The PM designator at the beginning of the model number indicates it is a business enterprise level ssd. Samsung advertises the PM871 as being designed for use in data centers. The PM871 is available in 2.5 inch SATA 3, mSATA, and M.2 formats.

The Samsung PM871 is one of several OEM models sold to Samsung partners. They are strictly OEM versions that are not meant for retail sales. Samsung sells them in bulk quantities to partners like Dell, Lenovo, HP, IBM, and other pc brands. The problem with OEM specifications is that the pc companies can negotiate contracts with Samsung that list certain specifications and features to either be included or to be excluded. Typically the firmware for each pc company is different. Samsung has different product numbers, model numbers, and SKU's for each pc company specification. The identification data on the label usually identifies them as a bulk purchase item for a specific pc vendor. In addition the Samsung full factory warranty for OEM ssd's does not apply. If your Dell pc came with a PM871 ssd and there is a problem, then you would file a warranty claim with Dell rather than Samsung. If a user purchases the PM871 on ebay or from a retail vendor like newegg, then there is no warranty.

Unfortunately Samsung does not publish very much in the way of technical specifications for OEM models. Dell and the other pc vendors are the worst when it comes to technical specifications. There are just too many possible variations. However, according to Mr. Wonchul Lee, Senior Engineering, Samsung Electronics, who contributed to the development of the PM871, the ssd uses VNAND TLC flash memory.

The VNAND TLC flash memory used in the PM871 is related to but not the same as the flash memory used in the Samsung 850 EVO. The sequential write performance has been slowed down compared to the 850 EVO.