Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD Review: The Best Just Got Better (Updated)

Samsung’s 870 EVO is poised to continue the 860 EVO’s market domination.

Reviews
By Sean Webster
published
Samsung 870 EVO 4TB
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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In light of the new gaming consoles driving faster NVMe adoption, it won't be too long until SATA SSDs are increasingly sidelined in the high-performance market. SATA is getting dated, especially in light of the wave of Gen4 SSDs hitting the market this year, and all that high-speed flash looks ever more appealing. But, while SATA is dated, it is still very much needed for compatibility with millions of systems, not to mention that the size of games continue to grow every year. SATA provides simple and easy storage expansion for the many gamers who don’t have more M.2 slots available. 

Samsung’s 870 EVO follows in the footsteps of the 860 EVO before it and attains higher marks with responsive and consistent performance throughout testing. The drive is fast, but it is also very efficient, scoring top marks compared to the SATA contestants.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Samsung’s 870 EVO carries premium pricing compared to the 870 QVO, but it's a better SSD overall with much better-sustained performance, solid endurance ratings, and a 5-year warranty. Though it doesn't match the 870 QVO’s spacious 8TB of capacity, the 4TB 870 EVO is just $30 more than its 870 QVO equivalent. With everything in mind, that's well worth the extra few bucks. If you're pinching pennies, we would recommend cheaper TLC flash SSDs that come with DRAM, like WD’s Blue 3D or Crucial’s MX500. 

Samsung’s 870 EVO lacks the oomph that most NVMe SSDs provide due to the SATA interface's limitations, but it still offers plenty of speed for most applications, especially compared to a slow HDD. Samsung’s 870 EVO is secure, reliable, and a solid choice for those looking for the best consumer SATA SSD they can get their hands on. 

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Sean Webster
Sean Webster
Storage Reviewer

Sean is a Contributing Editor at Tom’s Hardware US, covering storage hardware.

18 Comments Comment from the forums
  • mdd1963
    It would be nice to see ~ $50 trimmed from the 2 TB variant's price, to be sure...; at the current MSRP, the MX500 would get my nod...

    (It would also be nice for someone to make some faster SATA spec ports...SATA4, at 12 Gbps/~1100 MB/sec? Not needed for spinning drives, of course, but If not that, then Intel needs to push a cabled NVME replacement standard so that more mainboards can have more smallish internal ports with sufficient speed, which means much more lanes available. Even one PCI-E 4.0 lane should give 1100 MB/sec, correct?
    Reply
  • Altsuperego
    mdd1963 said:
    It would be nice to see ~ $50 trimmed from the 2 TB variant's price, to be sure...; at the current MSRP, the MX500 would get my nod...

    (It would also be nice for someone to make some faster SATA spec ports...SATA4, at 12 Gbps/~1100 MB/sec? Not needed for spinning drives, of course, but If not that, then Intel needs to push a cabled NVME replacement standard so that more mainboards...

    It would be nice, even internal usb3.1 would suffice, but given how fast intel works...
    I have to say my 860's real world speeds are way less than advertised and I'm not the only one
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Altsuperego said:
    I have to say my 860's real world speeds are way less than advertised and I'm not the only one
    What performance are you getting, and how are you testing this?

    All my Samsung 8xx seem to still be doing fine.
    Reply
  • Altsuperego
    About 200mbps max writes and 40ish for random. Reads are ok. 2tb from amazon. Not sure if I should rma.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Altsuperego said:
    About 200mbps max writes and 40ish for random. Reads are ok. 2tb from amazon. Not sure if I should rma.
    Wow.
    All mine are still reporting mid 500's, even the 6 year old 840 EVOs.
    Reply
  • Altsuperego
    USAFRet said:
    Wow.
    All mine are still reporting mid 500's, even the 6 year old 840 EVOs.

    Maybe I got a dud because I've also had several
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Altsuperego said:
    About 200mbps max writes and 40ish for random. Reads are ok. 2tb from amazon. Not sure if I should rma.
    Testing with what tool? Samsung Magician?
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    Micron responded to that right quick -

    Crucial MX500 2 TB just dropped to $199 at Amazon.

    Thanks Samsung!
    Reply
  • ph00ny
    Good thing about samsung is that they participate in corporate discount programs making this lot cheaper for me
    Reply
  • Sergei Tachenov
    mdd1963 said:
    (It would also be nice for someone to make some faster SATA spec ports...SATA4, at 12 Gbps/~1100 MB/sec? Not needed for spinning drives, of course, but If not that, then Intel needs to push a cabled NVME replacement standard so that more mainboards can have more smallish internal ports with sufficient speed, which means much more lanes available. Even one PCI-E 4.0 lane should give 1100 MB/sec, correct?
    What would be the point if we have NVMe? It may be a dumb question, but I'm really new to NVMe, and I see SATA as a legacy interface now. Sure thing, there are still rack servers with SATA around, but when talking purely about regular desktop rigs, why the need for SATA at all? I bought my 850 EVO solely because I have no NVMe at all, but for my new rig I plan to replace it with an NVMe one and forget my case even has 2.5"/3.5" mount points. Am I wrong somehow?
    Reply