The Marvell 88SS1093 is a thoroughly modern NVMe controller. It can definitely compete with Polaris (Samsung's NVMe controller used on the 960) and they are actually very similar as far as cores, processing power, channels, etc.
So it will really come down to NAND. Although I am a Toshiba fan (they turned around OCZ after all) it's obvious their NAND just can't compete with Samsung's. My fear is this drive will be overpriced (the Plextor M9Pe that is) but historically Lite-On drives based on Marvell controllers have been VERY reliable. You find them in a plethora of laptops from HP, Dell, and even Apple, and some models have essentially been reference designs of Micron/Crucial drives for a lower price.
As someone who owns an M8Pe, the only reason I got it was because it was at the time less expensive (by a huge margin) than the 950 Pro NVMe. These days it's hard to ignore the 960 Pro even though it's 20% more expensive than other NVMe drives.
And at the end of the day, all of these drives are so fast at least for my applications it's irrelevant. I am buying based on reliability and price. That isn't to say Samsung is unreliable, they have been incredibly reliable since the 840 days. But Samsung knows what they have and they charge a pretty penny for it.
Beyond a certain point extra performance in the consumer space is mostly just for bragging rights. In the pro/prosumer space maybe it makes sense if you're actually recovering the investment through the increased performance.
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menthol1979 - Thursday, November 9, 2017 - link
And the only meaningful question to such reviews is: Is it any worth against the Samsung 960 PRO?shabby - Thursday, November 9, 2017 - link
Pro? I'd be happy if it even competes with the evo.Samus - Thursday, November 9, 2017 - link
The Marvell 88SS1093 is a thoroughly modern NVMe controller. It can definitely compete with Polaris (Samsung's NVMe controller used on the 960) and they are actually very similar as far as cores, processing power, channels, etc.So it will really come down to NAND. Although I am a Toshiba fan (they turned around OCZ after all) it's obvious their NAND just can't compete with Samsung's. My fear is this drive will be overpriced (the Plextor M9Pe that is) but historically Lite-On drives based on Marvell controllers have been VERY reliable. You find them in a plethora of laptops from HP, Dell, and even Apple, and some models have essentially been reference designs of Micron/Crucial drives for a lower price.
As someone who owns an M8Pe, the only reason I got it was because it was at the time less expensive (by a huge margin) than the 950 Pro NVMe. These days it's hard to ignore the 960 Pro even though it's 20% more expensive than other NVMe drives.
And at the end of the day, all of these drives are so fast at least for my applications it's irrelevant. I am buying based on reliability and price. That isn't to say Samsung is unreliable, they have been incredibly reliable since the 840 days. But Samsung knows what they have and they charge a pretty penny for it.
ddrіver - Sunday, November 12, 2017 - link
Beyond a certain point extra performance in the consumer space is mostly just for bragging rights. In the pro/prosumer space maybe it makes sense if you're actually recovering the investment through the increased performance.