Tested: Samsung 860 EVO, 2TB and 4TB

2018-06-23 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: Other World Computing, Samsung, SSD, Thunderbolt, weather events

Get Samsung SSD at MacSales.com and Samsung EVO at B&H Photo. For those looking for capacious portable and ultralight storage, see the Samsung T5.

Thanks to B&H Photo for loaning the 2TB and 4TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD for testing. Drives tested in the OWC Thunderbolt 2 Drive Dock.

For high performance needs, see the OWC Envoy Pro EX Thunderbolt 3 series.

MPG reviewed the predecessor Samsung 850 EVO 2TB SSD 18 months prior to this review. Since then, Samsung upped their game. Compared to the EVO 850, the EVO 860:

• EVO 860 is faster, hitting data rates that approach the limits of SATA III (see test results).
• 860 EVO is rated for up to 8X more terabytes written than the 850 EVO—far more durable. For most users, the longevity is way beyond what will ever be needed.
• 860 EVO includes a 4TB EVO 860 option.

As SATA III drives, they cannot be expected to perform like PCIe drives, or Thunderbolt 3 drives, since they are limited to 600 MB/sec by the SATA III bus.

Read more:

Samsung 860 EVO, 2TB and 4TB SSDs

Both drives are very fine performers. MPG expects to test some similar capacity OWC SSDs soon.

Sustained transfer speed of 2TB and 4TB Samsung 860 EVO across entire drive capacity
in OWC Thunderbolt 2 Drive Dock, 2015 MacBook Pro