Introduction

Samsung is one of the world leaders in digital technology, making pretty much any electronic device you can think of. Their products are used by millions of people around the world.

Being a leader in DRAM and flash memory production, it comes as no surprise that they are also a player in the SSD business. Their EVO and PRO Series SSDs are highly popular among upgraders, system builders, and enthusiasts.

Today, we are reviewing the Samsung 970 Pro 512 GB, which is the company's flagship solid-state drive. For the 970 Pro, Samsung is using their 4th generation V-NAND and an upgraded Phoenix controller. Just like previous "Pro" drives, the 970 Pro uses MLC, whereas the cheaper 970 EVO uses TLC. For host connectivity, the PCI-Express x4 interface is used, which guarantees the highest possible throughput.

Samsung ships the 970 Pro in only two capacities: 512 GB ($200) and 1 TB ($400). The 512 GB version has an endurance rating of 600 TBW, and the 1 TB version has 1200 TBW. Both drives come with five years of warranty.

Packaging and Contents

The Drive

The drive uses the M.2 2280 form factor, which means it is 22 mm wide and 80 mm long.


Like most M.2 NVMe SSDs, the Samsung 970 Pro uses a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 interface.


You will find the SSD controller and two flash chips on the PCB. A single LPDDR4 DRAM chip is also present to provide the SSD controller with operating memory for the mapping tables. The other side of the PCB is empty.


On the back of the PCB you'll find a thin copper foil, which is used to help spread the heat over a larger area.


The Samsung Phoenix is a new controller for the 970 Series, which now has a metal case to improve thermal performance over the traditional packaging that was used on earlier models.


The two flash chips are Samsung 3D V-NAND, using 64 layers of MLC flash. Each chip has a capacity of 256 GB.


A Samsung 512 MB LPDDR4 chip provides fast DRAM storage for the controller to store the mapping tables in.

Test Setup