Samsung Announces 870 EVO SSDs with 128-Layer TLC Flash

Samsung is preparing to update its EVO lineup of SSDs with the new 870 EVO series, featuring generational improvements to Samsung's current 860 EVO lineup.

Samsung uses the latest 128-Layer 3D TLC NAND technology (same as the 980 Pro) for its 870 Evo, which could boost read and write speeds by up to 10% (if the SATA 3 interface will allow it) and increase queue depth 1 performance by up to 30%.

The drives come in capacities ranging from a paltry 250GB up to a capacious 4TB. Samsung covers the drives with a five-year warranty. Both sequential and random performance is identical regardless of the capacity point, with up to 560 MBps of sequential read and 530 MBps of write throughput, and 98,000/88,000 random read/write IOPS on tap. 

The SSDs also come armed with a new controller, the Samsung MKX, but we don't know how much of an impact this updated controller will have on the new 870 EVO's performance, but we are busy putting the drives through the paces in our SSD testing suite.

The only strange thing about the 870 EVO is its rather high suggested pricing; you can find Samsung's 860 EVO drives for much cheaper than the 870 EVO's prices. However, the 860 EVO lineup has become cheaper over the years, so perhaps we will see the same thing with the 870 EVO.

We're working on our full review of the 870 EVO; stay tuned.