PC Components

SSD under test: Samsung SSD 870 QVO

With the Samsung SSD 870 QVO, the Koreans are launching their second generation of the so-called QLC SSD. The product family with its own QLC NAND flash was founded in 2018, when Samsung was already able to convince a large number of customers with the 860 QVO series. So it is not surprising that the successful series was relaunched. Whether the comparatively inexpensive SSD can also offer a correspondingly good performance, we would like to check in our review.

What does QVO stand for?

With QVO, Samsung has coined an abbreviation for “Quality and Value Optimized”. Here it becomes clear what Samsung is aiming at with its product range. The QVO products should offer high quality at a great price-performance ratio. The Koreans make the low price possible with a custom-made QLC memory. Thanks to its high memory density, this ensures that the cost per bit is lower in the long term. This ensures that storage media such as SSDs and memory cards become less expensive. A disadvantage of QLC technology, however, is its speed and durability. In contrast to the premium series EVO and PRO, the SSDs of the 870 QVO series are not only slower but also less durable.

We have tested the version with 1 TB storage space.

Technical data

Dimensions (W x H x D) 100 mm x 69.85 mm x 6.8 mm
Performance up to 560 MB/s sequential read speed
Weight 57 grams
Application Client PCs
Interfaces SATA 6 Gb/s interface, compatible with SATA 3 Gb/s & SATA 1.5 Gb/s interface
Warranty 3 years manufacturer warranty (max. 2880 TBW)
Price 1 TB: € 92.04 *, 2 TB: € 162.90 *, 4 TB: € 249.99 *, 8 TB: € 512.99 *

A new controller and memory

The 860 QVO already relied on a corresponding QLC memory. However, Samsung has opted for a new QLC memory in the new series. While the 860 QVO still relied on a NAND memory with 64 layers, the new version offers 96 layers. But this is not the only innovation. The Koreans also use a new controller. According to the manufacturer, this should not only provide more performance. In addition, the revisions also allow for a doubling of the maximum memory space. This is doubled from 4 TB to 8 TB.

More performance than the predecessor

Of course, Samsung is hoping for performance improvements by upgrading the memory and controller. However, a look at the manufacturer’s specifications makes it clear that the performance only increases marginally in comparison to the predecessor. Thus, the 870 QVO offers only 10 MB/s more transfer rates with 560 MB/s (read) and 530 MB/s (write). The same should apply to the IOPS. Here, almost 13 percent more IOPS should be possible in 4K random read. But it also remains somewhat the same: The guarantee. Thus, the 870 QVO, like its predecessor, also offers a three-year manufacturer’s warranty. However, this can also expire prematurely. This is the case if the number of Total Bytes Write (TBW) is exceeded. The number is 360 terabytes, just like the predecessor.

At first glance, the 870 QVO cannot be distinguished from the premium models PRO and EVO.

Many things from our own production

Samsung has not only manufactured the memory and the controller in its own production. The Koreans also developed the DRAM cache themselves. Here the tech group relies on LPDDR4 memory. This should primarily be characterized by economical operation. Samsung remains true to its self-imposed rule. The manufacturer uses 1 GB DRAM per 1 TB NAND flash. This ensures that the top model with a proud 8 terabytes of memory also has an impressive 8 GB LPDDR4. Otherwise the SSD would probably suffer from noticeable performance drops.

Some things stay the same

In the SLC cache area, Samsung leaves the previous one from the 860 QVO. The so-called TurboWrite function makes sure that 6 GB are available at any time. Should the free data make it possible, this even increases to up to 78 GB. Accordingly, the writing performance of the SLC cache doesn’t change in the new series. For example, the largest version with 8 TB should only allow 160 MB/s for sequential writing. Unfortunately, an improvement over the predecessor can’t be seen here.

New memory for more durability

But the new storage facility is expected to bring significant improvements in one area. This primarily concerns the durability of the SSD. For example, the memory cells of the SLC cache should be able to offer a much higher durability. Especially the so-called SLC-Endurance will be increased. This is achieved by switching from 64 layers (860 QVO) to 96 layers (870 QVO).

Performance tests

In order to put the Samsung 870 QVO SSD through its paces, we put it through a few benchmarks.

Our test system

Benchmarks

wdt_ID SSD Seq (lesen, MB/s) Seq (schreiben, MB/s) 4K (lesen, MB/s) 4K (schreiben, MB/s) 4K-64-Thrd (lesen, MB/s) 4K-64-Thrd (schreiben, MB/s)
1 Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB 506,29 468,26 20,07 83,41 353,98 228,57
2 Crucial BX300 480 GB 516,37 472,97 32,40 113,85 376,93 349,97
3 Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB 526,20 498,49 45,57 129,23 377,11 340,89
4 Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB 528,46 498,50 43,69 130,20 378,80 342,79
5 SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB 489,92 496,99 36,36 88,72 373,74 334,34
7 Toshiba TR200 960 GB 463,37 371,80 27,40 70,12 268,58 168,03
8 Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB 522,71 460,83 15,56 92,66 205,45 220,96
9 Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB 523,80 494,89 35,53 96,22 368,67 331,16
10 LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB 517,78 401,51 24,52 70,22 238,72 226,73
11 Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB 526,54 493,04 37,07 90,57 372,59 337,20
SSD Seq (lesen, MB/s) Seq (schreiben, MB/s) 4K (lesen, MB/s) 4K (schreiben, MB/s) 4K-64-Thrd (lesen, MB/s) 4K-64-Thrd (schreiben, MB/s)
wdt_ID SSD Lesen Schreiben Gesamt
1 Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB 425 359 1.004
2 Crucial BX300 480 GB 461 511 1.217
3 Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB 474 520 1.252
4 Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB 475 523 1.256
5 SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB 459 473 1.180
7 Toshiba TR200 960 GB 342 275 798
8 Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB 273 360 774
9 Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB 457 477 1.178
10 LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB 315 337 816
11 Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB 461 477 1.183
SSD Lesen Schreiben Gesamt

wdt_ID SSD ISO (in MB/s) Programm (in MB/s) Spiel (in MB/s)
1 Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB 380,64 193,10 244,38
2 Crucial BX300 480 GB 257,05 105,71 183,26
3 Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB 475,42 328,58 456,63
4 Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB 460,70 327,49 440,99
5 SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB 561,93 416,23 505,09
7 Toshiba TR200 960 GB 252,77 131,44 146,53
8 Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB 267,41 109,81 196,38
9 Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB 269,89 118,24 243,96
10 LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB 215,69 103,90 186,73
11 Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB 472,84 309,70 438,83
SSD ISO (in MB/s) Programm (in MB/s) Spiel (in MB/s)
wdt_ID SSD Seq Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) Seq Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) 4K Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) 4K Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) Seq (lesen, in MB/s) Seq (schreiben, in MB/s) 4K (lesen, in MB/s) 4K (schreiben, in MB/s)
1 Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB 544,40 504,50 347,90 334,30 522,80 483,40 26,93 96,19
2 Crucial BX300 480 GB 552,90 514,20 377,20 356,30 535,30 499,10 32,73 143,10
3 Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB 560,40 529,40 398,40 357,20 537,90 514,80 49,47 151,30
4 Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB 562,20 533,10 403,10 359,00 551,30 522,80 48,49 155,00
5 SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB 563,00 534,10 394,70 361,10 294,10 276,90 40,71 110,60
6 Toshiba TR200 960 GB 549,60 519,80 307,90 256,00 483,40 398,60 29,31 79,30
7 Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB 560,50 373,10 252,80 189,30 507,50 372,70 24,52 91,99
8 Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB 560,00 529,10 295,10 299,10 533,50 501,10 35,77 97,54
9 LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB 520,00 442,80 248,30 219,60 440,80 436,90 27,14 61,66
10 Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB 561,40 528,90 312,80 284,50 542,20 503,00 42,89 93,74
SSD Seq Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) Seq Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) 4K Q32T1 (lesen, in MB/s) 4K Q32T1 (schreiben, in MB/s) Seq (lesen, in MB/s) Seq (schreiben, in MB/s) 4K (lesen, in MB/s) 4K (schreiben, in MB/s)
tab]
wdt_ID SSD 512 B 1 KB 2 KB 4 KB 8 KB 16 KB 32 KB 64 KB 128 KB 256 KB 512 KB 1 MB 2 MB 4 MB 8 MB 12 MB 16 MB 24 MB 32 MB 48 MB 64 MB
5 Toshiba Q300 Pro 1 TB 12.288 26.425 50.688 88.969 131.657 216.627 293.011 354.146 406.935 444.835 468.590 480.421 484.759 486.957 492.542 488.872 492.542 489.954 490.293 490.470 492.542
6 Crucial BX300 480 GB 16.302 29.802 55.158 91.701 124.616 155.847 176.690 370.350 207.580 218.453 243.289 246.144 302.183 381.647 420.481 446.677 458.018 472.242 476.354 477.849 480.488
7 Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB 21.067 40.091 74.240 131.766 212.460 304.158 387.404 444.311 483.066 504.123 515.270 520.385 524.288 526.922 524.615 524.506 524.124 523.960 524.369 524.192 524.016
8 Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB 20.428 39.737 74.240 116.155 213.970 300.847 377.474 443.238 480.704 504.123 515.270 521.679 525.602 526.261 525.272 525.602 525.766 525.821 525.684 526.359 526.989
9 SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB 18.460 36.440 120.610 216.800 355.470 450.870 458.640 489.000 509.590 496.280 503.020 503.360 489.000 510.200 466.200 423.580 425.420 424.400 424.570 424.830 425.890
10 Toshiba TR200 960 GB 13.952 21.291 33.224 74.380 105.966 126.030 171.176 188.141 193.702 197.471 257.003 501.711 321.156 341.277 263.958 244.518 263.254 251.935 249.123 248.852 247.121
11 Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB 15.577 29.952 56.039 101.890 163.840 255.493 317.109 321.254 360.800 361.577 364.088 384.798 371.835 388.721 394.572 412.960 433.631 432.997 422.972 407.304 404.422
12 Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB 14.720 28.855 54.511 100.101 169.560 254.862 333.371 354.248 412.575 459.901 489.988 505.337 516.539 518.455 518.455 518.882 518.579 520.385 520.950 519.439 518.637
13 LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB 12.323 21.852 1.777 18.662 17.266 19.980 242.128 338.979 370.958 418.951 436.906 442.437 445.255 443.841 445.018 443.060 440.346 439.347 439.366 439.653 439.102
14 Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB 13.952 27.188 50.693 93.499 161.276 243.943 286.563 309.841 372.232 439.614 474.058 499.414 516.222 519.971 521.233 523.544 522.502 522.309 522.502 523.249 525.057
SSD 512 B 1 KB 2 KB 4 KB 8 KB 16 KB 32 KB 64 KB 128 KB 256 KB 512 KB 1 MB 2 MB 4 MB 8 MB 12 MB 16 MB 24 MB 32 MB 48 MB 64 MB
wdt_ID SSD 512 B 1 KB 2 KB 4 KB 8 KB 16 KB 32 KB 64 KB 128 KB 256 KB 512 KB 1 MB 2 MB 4 MB 8 MB 12 MB 16 MB 24 MB 32 MB 48 MB 64 MB
5 Toshiba Q300 Pro 1 TB 6.194 13.212 24.778 93.499 143.382 223.665 283.402 343.344 404.103 438.584 467.424 479.349 482.580 478.281 481.498 482.031 479.349 480.835 481.498 481.532 481.498
6 Crucial BX300 480 GB 17.920 32.859 65.024 115.423 183.402 277.142 330.095 391.259 445.390 478.801 476.625 488.846 491.136 488.846 486.578 487.709 486.437 486.672 488.704 490.252 489.385
7 Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB 21.833 41.984 78.140 136.192 210.417 303.104 385.505 442.368 477.203 499.321 514.007 517.815 521.679 516.539 517.495 516.752 514.165 516.327 515.112 516.940 516.687
8 Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB 21.248 40.960 75.399 122.880 213.439 291.992 377.474 437.988 468.114 493.447 507.784 512.751 515.270 513.378 511.188 511.292 512.281 511.292 511.812 511.783 511.991
9 SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB 31.490 61.280 124.510 250.980 392.580 489.740 515.630 528.610 535.710 536.990 479.620 497.510 537.630 536.910 537.270 535.480 534.580 533.690 527.360 534.730 534.810
10 Toshiba TR200 960 GB 10.518 20.327 40.448 99.852 172.356 234.635 352.256 409.600 473.754 480.998 504.123 472.331 460.912 464.485 480.172 486.578 485.873 487.143 488.206 489.763 492.542
11 Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB 10.086 17.698 38.114 70.970 117.899 187.478 220.632 291.992 326.862 359.101 434.192 469.161 486.578 498.135 505.033 506.966 508.863 509.842 509.326 510.415 386.846
12 Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB 15.360 29.952 56.690 102.654 171.602 253.318 330.908 349.102 401.871 455.336 493.447 502.914 505.337 501.711 502.612 500.712 506.100 508.708 506.941 509.734 510.697
13 LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB 11.080 20.378 41.671 66.064 114.401 200.704 281.788 312.076 373.601 443.238 484.330 483.214 471.270 502.311 493.447 508.195 502.311 508.297 509.403 509.432 510.166
14 Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB 14.208 27.068 51.200 96.804 166.154 228.286 276.627 321.126 367.393 432.507 481.498 494.811 498.256 501.748 504.104 504.462 505.290 504.462 506.481 506.937 506.481
SSD 512 B 1 KB 2 KB 4 KB 8 KB 16 KB 32 KB 64 KB 128 KB 256 KB 512 KB 1 MB 2 MB 4 MB 8 MB 12 MB 16 MB 24 MB 32 MB 48 MB 64 MB
[/tab]
wdt_ID SSD Minimum (in MB/s) Maximum (in MB/s) Average (in MB/s)
1 Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB 298,10 408,00 351,10
2 Crucial BX300 480 GB 323,60 443,30 428,40
3 Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB 438,00 460,30 456,40
4 Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB 451,30 459,30 456,90
5 SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB 415,70 438,20 434,60
7 Toshiba TR200 960 GB 447,30 455,90 454,70
8 Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB 306,20 349,40 324,30
9 Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB 353,60 413,90 373,50
10 LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB 337,30 398,10 365,10
11 Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB 313,80 370,10 337,10
SSD Minimum (in MB/s) Maximum (in MB/s) Average (in MB/s)
wdt_ID SSD AS SSD (schreiben) HD Tune Pro
1 Toshiba Q300 Pro 1TB 0,040 0,070
2 Crucial BX300 480 GB 0,050 0,028
3 Samsung SSD 860 PRO 1 TB 0,025 0,028
4 Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1 TB 0,024 0,027
5 SanDisk Ultra 3D 500 GB 0,089 0,035
7 Toshiba TR200 960 GB 2,057 0,024
8 Verbatim Vi560 S3 512 GB 2,501 0,039
9 Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1 TB 0,345 0,030
10 LC-Power Phoenix 480 GB 2,725 0,031
11 Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2 TB 0,037 0,031
SSD AS SSD (schreiben) HD Tune Pro

Conclusion

With the 870 QVO, Samsung has once again brought an SSD with a very good price-performance ratio onto the market. Only the few changes to the previous generation are somewhat disappointing. If you take a look at the specifications, this already becomes clear. Thus, a comparison clearly shows that no significant improvements to the 860 QVO are recognizable despite the new memory and controller.

But if you need more storage space, the new 870 QVO will make you happy. The top model offers a proud 8 TB instead of the previous 4 TB. However, people who want to do a lot of workmanship should avoid the 870 QVO. After all, the SSD is not really faster than a classic HDD.

Samsung SSD 870 QVO

Access times
Transfer rate (read)
Transfer rate (write)
Value for money

83/100

Samsung offers an SSD with the 870 QVO at a good price-performance ratio. However, if you work with large amounts of data, you should take a little more money in your hand. Samsung probably offers a better alternative with the EVO and PRO models.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

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