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Samsung PM9A1 256 GB

256 GB
Capacity
Samsung Elpis
Controller
TLC
Flash
PCIe 4.0 x4
Interface
M.2 2280
Form Factor
Back
Back
SSD Controller
Controller
NAND Die
NAND Die
The Samsung PM9A1 is a solid-state drive in the M.2 2280 form factor, launched on September 22nd, 2020. It is available in capacities ranging from 256 GB to 2 TB. This page reports specifications for the 256 GB variant. With the rest of the system, the Samsung PM9A1 interfaces using a PCI-Express 4.0 x4 connection. The SSD controller is the Elpis (S4LV003) from Samsung, a DRAM cache chip is available. Samsung has installed 128-layer TLC NAND flash on the PM9A1, the flash chips are made by Samsung. To improve write speeds, a pseudo-SLC cache is used, so bursts of incoming writes are absorbed more quickly. The cache is sized at 49 GB, once it is full, writes complete at 500 MB/s. Thanks to support for the fast PCI-Express 4.0 interface, performance is excellent. The PM9A1 is rated for sequential read speeds of up to 6,400 MB/s and 2,700 MB/s write; random IO reaches 500K IOPS for read and 600K for writes.
At its launch, the SSD was priced at 90 USD. The warranty length is set to five years, which is an excellent warranty period. Samsung guarantees an endurance rating of 150 TBW, a typical value for consumer SSDs.

Solid-State-Drive

Capacity: 256 GB
Variants: 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2 TB
Overprovisioning: 17.6 GB / 7.4 %
Production: Active
Released: Sep 22nd, 2020
Price at Launch: 90 USD
Part Number: MZVL2256HCHQ-00000
Market: Consumer

Physical

Form Factor: M.2 2280 (Single-Sided)
Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4
Protocol: NVMe 1.3
Power Draw: Unknown

Controller

Manufacturer: Samsung
Name: Elpis (S4LV003)
Architecture: ARM 32-bit Cortex-R8
Core Count: 5-Core
Foundry: Samsung
Process: 8 nm
Flash Channels: 8 @ 1,400 MT/s
Chip Enables: 8
Controller Features: DRAM (enabled)

NAND Flash

Manufacturer: Samsung
Name: V-NAND V6
Type: TLC
Technology: 128-layer
Speed: 800 MT/s .. 1200 MT/s
Capacity: 2 chips @ 1 Tbit
Toggle: 4.0
Topology: Charge Trap
Dies per Chip: 4 dies @ 256 Gbit
Planes per Die: 2
Decks per Die: 1
Word Lines: 136 per NAND String
94.1% Vertical Efficiency
Read Time (tR): 45 µs
Program Time (tProg): 400 µs
Block Erase Time (tBERS): 3.5 ms
Die Read Speed: 711 MB/s
Die Write Speed: 84 MB/s
Page Size: 16 KB

DRAM Cache

Type: LPDDR4-1866
Name: SAMSUNG
Capacity: 512 MB
(1x 512 MB)
Organization: 4Gx32

Performance

Sequential Read: 6,400 MB/s
Sequential Write: 2,700 MB/s
Random Read: 500,000 IOPS
Random Write: 600,000 IOPS
Endurance: 150 TBW
Warranty: 5 Years
MTBF: 1.5 Million Hours
Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD): 0.3
SLC Write Cache: approx. 49 GB
(45 GB Dynamic
+ 4 GB Static)
Speed when Cache Exhausted: approx. 500 MB/s

Features

TRIM: Yes
SMART: Yes
Power Loss Protection: No
Encryption:
  • AES-128
  • AES-256
  • TCG Opal
RGB Lighting: No
PS5 Compatible: Yes

Notes

Drive:

Nand bus speed: 800 MT/s up to 1400 MT/s
This SSD's design is based on the Samsung 980 Pro, but with firmware changes for better use in OEM machines and Laptops

Controller:

NAND Flash Bus not confirmed, could be higher or slower.

NAND Die:

This die, in theory should have half the block count per each plane

Oct 5th, 2024 02:47 EDT change timezone

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