Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Notebook Battery Life
For more information on how we test notebook battery life, click here.
The momentum continues in the 850 EVO's favor. Earlier, we suggested that the 2TB model would serve up more notebook battery life than the 850 Pro, even though the specifications suggest that Samsung's Pro uses less power. I love it when the results turn out this way because they throw everyone off.
When companies measure SSD power they do it looking at all four corners of performance. When the test is over, the meter stops and the results are recorded. SSDs don't actually stop working when the workload ends, though. If we write a 5GB file, the data moves and the system resumes normal operation (to our eyes). The SSD doesn't see it that way. Rather, after the transfer, the controller takes over and moves information around, cleaning flash cells and preparing the emulated SLC for its next task.
In the measurement of of notebook battery life, it isn't just about the amount of power consumed during the initial workload, but also the trailing end power use as well. The faster a drive can finish shuffling data, the less power is used overall.
The 850 EVO 2TB's SLC is so good that it allows the drive to deliver the best notebook performance in a power-restricted environment we've seen. In this measurement, each point represents a large change in user experience. We normally only see small variations since the CPU, GPU and system buses are running in a low-power mode to conserve energy. Given that the only difference between these configurations is the SSD, Samsung's 850 EVO proves that SLC is more efficient than MLC (and every other competing drive).
