The Intel SSD 540s (480GB) Review
by Billy Tallis on June 23, 2016 9:00 AM ESTAnandTech Storage Bench - Heavy
Our Heavy storage benchmark is proportionally more write-heavy than The Destroyer, but much shorter overall. The total writes in the Heavy test aren't enough to fill the drive, so performance never drops down to steady state. This test is far more representative of a power user's day to day usage, and is heavily influenced by the drive's peak performance. The Heavy workload test details can be found here.
On the Heavy test, the Intel 540s achieves an average data rate that is once again between the two SM2256 drives, but this is also par for Phison TLC drives.
The average service time of the Intel 540s is actually slightly better than the SP550 and significantly better than the BX200, but still poor compared to the best planar TLC drives.
The frequency of high-latency outliers for the 540s is half that of the BX200, but still clearly worse than the other TLC drives and more than an order of magnitude higher than the MLC drives.
The Intel 540s managed to improve on power efficiency compared to either SM2256 drive, putting it around the middle of the rankings.
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cbjwthwm - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
I'll pay a premium vs a generic like the SP550 because:1. Intel will undoubtedly manufacture the drive to reliable standards
2. it will be supported by a decent toolbox utility (eg: ADATA's is buggy junk)
3. Intel will rake SMI's controller firmware over the coals, like it did with Sandforce--an update has already been released since this review
4. its firmware update process will be simple & reliable
I picked up an SP550 for eval which eventually needed a firmware update. After experiencing the SP550's nasty firmware update process (a disorganized DIY mess), I now use BX200's as the cheapest drive choice simply because firmware updates are competently packaged. I've also had scenarios where fully updated OCZ Trions had terrible stuttering, and imaging to a BX200 solved the issue as well.
I see Intel's 540s as the combination of what the SMI-based TLC products like the SP550 and BX200 should be, if you combine their positive attributes (beyond price)--and for light load applications those benefits could sway me away from equivalently priced MLC-based drives with similar support issues and potential reliability compromises.
Samsung also has crappy firmware support (eg: the repeated 840 EVO performance fixes, and the 850 series update bricking issues which were pulled) so I rarely ever use them. Samsung may have an engineering lead, but they have a well established history as a consistently reckless company when it comes to support.
vladx - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
Another idiot spreading FUD about Samsung. 840 EVO works great and as new after applying the fix. Stuff like the trash you posted starts stupid myths that average joes keep repeating.cbjwthwm - Wednesday, June 29, 2016 - link
Myths? There is an established track record with them, widely reported and easy to find.1. Multiple rounds of 840 EVO firmware: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9196/samsung-release...
2. 850 firmware pulled, and the ISOs were never re-released: http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/after-samsung-840...
fanofanand - Thursday, June 30, 2016 - link
The evo issue was legitimate. That said, it isn't like Intel hasn't released a few turds in their day as well. Between broken AVX and numerous other problems, Intel is not the holy grail of perfection and quality control. Samsung has at least as strong a track record for reliability with their drives as Intel, so it makes no sense to purchase this over the comparatively priced Samsung drive. You reference "premium vs generic" but line this up in the premium vs premium space and you will find this drive underperforms and is overpriced. You are either an Intel shareholder, employee, or don't use critical thinking when it comes to your beloved brand.vladx - Thursday, June 30, 2016 - link
There were issues which they fixed. I call that great support from Samsung. It's FUD to say Samsung has a bad history based on fixed issues.Prof-Q - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
If Intel 540 and Adata SP550 used the same NAND, then why Intel's performance is so much better in UsersBenchmark?I was about to buy Intel but this article made me reconsider the options
SeanJ76 - Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - link
Intel will still be the king of SSD's, their top tier is no 1 in speed and reliability(Pci-e) version, their mid tier is holding their own as well, and their entry level tier, 540 series, is so damn affordable for the reliability who wouldn't buy them? I own 4 Intel 520/535 series currently, 2 of them are over 5 yrs old and they are still at 100% life span according to Intel's Toolbox. The main difference in brands is reliability, now that they're all pretty much on par with speed, you should go with the reliability winner which is none other than INTEL!