Exactly one year ago, Samsung introduced new models in its popular 850 PRO and 850 EVO SSD series, with a capacity of two terabytes. That launch banished the classic ghost of low capacity in solid-state drives, and since then it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the South Korean giant would push its drives even further. Today, we find a new Samsung 850 EVO that pushes the limit to four terabytes, without sacrificing performance and maintaining the same power consumption as its smaller siblings.
A leap to four terabytes
The evolution of solid-state drives has been extraordinary, both in terms of performance and cost. No matter how tight a user's budget is, they're likely to find an SSD that fits and get a decent "leap" in speed without burning a hole in their pocket. But the pulse of SSDs is measured through the high end, and that places us in territory completely dominated by Samsung. Its EVO and PRO series have established a kind of "one-two" that continues to knock out its direct competitors, and is only surpassed by very specific products, including solutions based on the PCI Express interface. If we add the advances in V-NAND memory (the portable T3 SSD) the next milestone for Samsung's commercial SSDs is the four terabytes bar.
That milestone is now history. Yesterday, Samsung lifted the embargo on its new 4TB 850 EVO SSD. This EVO series unit uses the same controller as its 2TB brother, which establishes very similar performance (550 MB/s read, and 520 MB/s write), but the key to the capacity increase lies in the new 48-layer, 256-gigabit chips. Samsung reports that power consumption is actually lower than the 2TB model, though in the general market, a couple of tenths of a watt don't represent a significant difference. The endurance/warranty parameters are identical on both models: 300 terabytes, or five years (whichever comes first).
Pricing and positioning
When it comes to price, well... I hope you're sitting down: $1,499. The number, placed on the table without anesthesia, seems outrageous; however, once we calculate the cost per gigabyte (37 cents per GB), it becomes much more reasonable. As the months go by, it's inevitable that this SSD will drop in price, but the big question is what kind of user it aims to seduce. Personally, I think of laptop owners with an enormous need for space. After all, it's four terabytes in a standard 2.5-inch format.
