I search around this drive is $700 for 1T and I hope since Intel has open up the spec for TB 3 - that the prices would drop. I have also heard that new controller will be backwards compatible with USB 3.x - of course at much slower speed.
One thing that would be nice in review - is compare a similar drive using USB 3.x - actually both Gen 1 and Gen 2.
Someone mentioned recently that despite Intel's statement that they would open up TB3, it hasn't yet happened and communication on the topic has ceased. I haven't looked into it myself yet, but if true that implies that it really won't ever go mass market or get much cheaper.
In that case, TB has cemented its legacy as Firewire's successor, and in a few years will vanish entirely unless Intel decides to keep it on extended life support.
The throttling scheme is by far the most concerning part of this. I doubt there are firmware changes that could enable greater performance at the same temperature... but I wonder if Samsung could release firmware to increase the maximum internal temperature. 56C seems a bit low as a threshold, given that the thermal protection works as planned. Perhaps raising the throttling threshold to 60-65C could increase performance? The older 850 EVO series was rated up to 70C, and AnandTech preciously reported that the 970 EVO (which this is supposedly based on) gives thermal warnings at 85C.
Running hot might have a small effect on shelf life, but I doubt most people will be writing 100GB+ to it constantly.
I would be pissed if I used one of these to make an initial backup and it took several hours due to throttling, but if that one-time load was successful, incremental changes shouldn’t hit the higher thermal threshold at all.
It depends on how balanced the trade off is. 56C seems rather low given the higher thermal limits on other SSDs, and seems to be heavily impacting performance after just a couple minutes of sustained transfer. Raising it to 60-65C shouldn’t heavily impact long term lifespan, since their desktop version can handle higher temperatures just fine.
I have trouble believing the durability impact, just from raising the throttle temp into the 60-65C range, is so massive that it justifies this much throttling. Especially since this is a mobile device, which isn’t going to serve as a boot drive or anything like that.
The DIY configuration took around 650 seconds to write 900GB of data, while, for the same queue depth and write block size, the X5 took almost 7000 seconds.
Thermal throttling IS a feature. It just shouldn’t come on under normal circumstances (and sustained use in a temperature controlled office is a “normal circumstance”.
Could you review the Sonnet Fusion Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Flash Drive? It claims not to have any thermal throttling and therefore to be able to maintain maximum throughput ... the Achilles' heel of this unit, it seems.
That would be very interesting and helpful comparison,
The new Titan Ridge chips have been shipping for some time now (2018 MacBook Pro, HP Thunderbolt Dock G2), and would allow for use via regular USB-C as well.
I've been waiting for a TB3 upgrade to my 1TB Samsung T1 drive, which, among other things, I use to backup photo/video from my action cam and phone while travelling. It would sure be nice to use the TB3 on my PC to retrieve all that when back home, but without USB-C compat, it's basically impossible to get anything onto the drive out in the field, making this offering useless.
I don't understand offering an expensive premium device like this which such limited technology when the right solution is already out there!? :-(
Wow, awesome job getting a full review of this up on release day, ganeshts! This pretty much answered all of my questions that the other sites regurgitating press releases left unanswered.
I just don’t get the case design and material. No matter what Samsung says, this is a bad case. I wonder how it would perform outside of the case? Unless Samsung is expecting people to constantly drop this on concrete, the increase in protection isn’t worth the additional throttling. No one is going to buy this because the case is, supposedly, more durable, if it results in a $700 1TB drive performing badly for one of the most important aspects of its purchase.
60Mb/s is just not excusable, no matter what. A 10 year old HDD is better than that.
I just got one today (1tb), and trying to pop in a 960pro 2tb I had laying around. Will this enclosure support it ? And how exactly did you take it apart ? You mentioned ‘there are two tabs that push in and attach to the rest of the chassis’ can you please elaborate a bit on that part ? Love your review !
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23 Comments
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HStewart - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
I search around this drive is $700 for 1T and I hope since Intel has open up the spec for TB 3 - that the prices would drop. I have also heard that new controller will be backwards compatible with USB 3.x - of course at much slower speed.One thing that would be nice in review - is compare a similar drive using USB 3.x - actually both Gen 1 and Gen 2.
Reflex - Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - link
Someone mentioned recently that despite Intel's statement that they would open up TB3, it hasn't yet happened and communication on the topic has ceased. I haven't looked into it myself yet, but if true that implies that it really won't ever go mass market or get much cheaper.The_Assimilator - Thursday, August 30, 2018 - link
In that case, TB has cemented its legacy as Firewire's successor, and in a few years will vanish entirely unless Intel decides to keep it on extended life support.shelbystripes - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
The throttling scheme is by far the most concerning part of this. I doubt there are firmware changes that could enable greater performance at the same temperature... but I wonder if Samsung could release firmware to increase the maximum internal temperature. 56C seems a bit low as a threshold, given that the thermal protection works as planned. Perhaps raising the throttling threshold to 60-65C could increase performance? The older 850 EVO series was rated up to 70C, and AnandTech preciously reported that the 970 EVO (which this is supposedly based on) gives thermal warnings at 85C.Running hot might have a small effect on shelf life, but I doubt most people will be writing 100GB+ to it constantly.
I would be pissed if I used one of these to make an initial backup and it took several hours due to throttling, but if that one-time load was successful, incremental changes shouldn’t hit the higher thermal threshold at all.
shelbystripes - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
Previously, not previously. It’s 2018, why don’t comments have an edit button?shelbystripes - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
Sigh.jordanclock - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
If it means the NAND lasts longer, I think it's a fair trade off.shelbystripes - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
It depends on how balanced the trade off is. 56C seems rather low given the higher thermal limits on other SSDs, and seems to be heavily impacting performance after just a couple minutes of sustained transfer. Raising it to 60-65C shouldn’t heavily impact long term lifespan, since their desktop version can handle higher temperatures just fine.I have trouble believing the durability impact, just from raising the throttle temp into the 60-65C range, is so massive that it justifies this much throttling. Especially since this is a mobile device, which isn’t going to serve as a boot drive or anything like that.
notashill - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
It's 1C cooler than the TEKQ model and 1/10 the performance, in spite of a larger and heavier package.Dug - Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - link
Where do you get 1/10 the performance from?ganeshts - Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - link
The DIY configuration took around 650 seconds to write 900GB of data, while, for the same queue depth and write block size, the X5 took almost 7000 seconds.MarkieGcolor - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
Hard to believe Samsung messed up the thermals so bad. Thank you for pointing this out!It's great how the marketing then spins the throttling into a feature 😂
shelbystripes - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
Thermal throttling IS a feature. It just shouldn’t come on under normal circumstances (and sustained use in a temperature controlled office is a “normal circumstance”.Simpliciter - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
Could you review the Sonnet Fusion Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Flash Drive? It claims not to have any thermal throttling and therefore to be able to maintain maximum throughput ... the Achilles' heel of this unit, it seems.That would be very interesting and helpful comparison,
Thanks
BPB - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
"our DIY Thunderbolt 3 SSD is a better choice"Did I miss the article or note on this?
ganeshts - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
https://www.anandtech.com/show/13034/a-diy-portabl...BPB - Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - link
Thank you sir!4everalone - Thursday, August 30, 2018 - link
Thank you, not sure how I missed that gem.hubick - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
WTF Samsung, Alpine Ridge? :-(The new Titan Ridge chips have been shipping for some time now (2018 MacBook Pro, HP Thunderbolt Dock G2), and would allow for use via regular USB-C as well.
I've been waiting for a TB3 upgrade to my 1TB Samsung T1 drive, which, among other things, I use to backup photo/video from my action cam and phone while travelling. It would sure be nice to use the TB3 on my PC to retrieve all that when back home, but without USB-C compat, it's basically impossible to get anything onto the drive out in the field, making this offering useless.
I don't understand offering an expensive premium device like this which such limited technology when the right solution is already out there!? :-(
repoman27 - Tuesday, August 28, 2018 - link
Wow, awesome job getting a full review of this up on release day, ganeshts! This pretty much answered all of my questions that the other sites regurgitating press releases left unanswered.melgross - Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - link
I just don’t get the case design and material. No matter what Samsung says, this is a bad case. I wonder how it would perform outside of the case? Unless Samsung is expecting people to constantly drop this on concrete, the increase in protection isn’t worth the additional throttling. No one is going to buy this because the case is, supposedly, more durable, if it results in a $700 1TB drive performing badly for one of the most important aspects of its purchase.60Mb/s is just not excusable, no matter what. A 10 year old HDD is better than that.
SwissDataHoarder - Friday, August 31, 2018 - link
Thunderbolt is an Apple - Intel Technology and you tested the X5 without "MacOS journaled", only NTFS exFAT...Arsix - Tuesday, October 23, 2018 - link
I just got one today (1tb), and trying to pop in a 960pro 2tb I had laying around. Will this enclosure support it ? And how exactly did you take it apart ? You mentioned ‘there are two tabs that push in and attach to the rest of the chassis’ can you please elaborate a bit on that part ? Love your review !