This review is for Samsung 980 Pro 2TB NVMe SSD. I have a pair of these in a RAID 1 Mirror setup. I have actually used them in two different systems as such. I have been very happy with the compatibility, ease of setup, and performance.
I also like the Samsung Magician and Samsung Date Migration software (although the Data Migration software has its limits). The Samsung Magician software is very easy to use, and it is very easy to update NVMe & SSD firmware with. Please note that you can't update firmware of NVMe drives that are in a RAID array or that are in an external enclosure. You will need to have the NVMe plugged into the motherboard or into a PCIe card in order to update the firmware. So, it is a good idea to update the firmware in a system that is up and running before you put the drive into a RAID array.
I have used multiple quantities and models of Samsung NVMe drives over the years in multiple systems. I have almost always used them in a RAID 1 mirror setup. My very first pair of NVMe drives were Samsung 970 Evo drives in a RAID 1 Mirror. Unfortunately, after about two years one completely failed and the second one started to crash just a few weeks later. Both drives were made on the same day, so this greatly increased the odds of them having failures near the same time. Fortunately, I was able to put the mostly working drive into an external enclosure and copy all files from it. Samsung, was fantastic in their warranty service on these drives. It was some of the best customer/warranty service I have seen a company do. So, I continue to purchase Samsung NVMe & SSDs.
The only complaint I have is that I don't like that Samsung calls these drives Pro drives. In the past Samsung reserved the Pro name for their 1 & 2-bit NAND, where this Pro is a 3-bit NAND. The lower the bit, the greater the write-durability is.
On a side note, I have been using RAID 1 Mirror arrays for a long time and on many systems. Drives don't cost much anymore, so it's a low cost option to add additional security and convenience to your system. Most motherboards have a built in RAID controller, and you can do software RAID in Windows as well. I have only used the motherboard RAID controllers myself though. RAID 1 Mirror is also allows you to remove the drive and put it into an external enclosure or into another machine to pull your data from. Also, there is one lesson I learned from my NVMe drives that crashed. Do not get multiple drives that are built from the same batch to reduce the chance of multiple drives failing at or near the same time. I now purchase drives either at different locations or at different times to get them from different batches. You will want to make sure that UPC and product numbers match. All NVMe & SSD manufacturers have alternated chips in their drives ever since supply chain issues have developed. It is critical that RAID drives be identical in specs. Also, a RAID 1 Mirror is still not a replacement for dedicated backups, especially external backups. However, it is still a big convenience when a drive does fail, and all drives do fail, eventually.
System Information:
Gigabyte AORUS Z590 Xtreme
Intel i9-11900K
Zalman CNPS9900MAX-Blue
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
ASUS GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC Edition 8GB GDDR6
4 x 16GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4 3600 16-19-19-39
2 x 2TB Samsung 980 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD in RAID 1 Mirror
1 x 2TB Seagate Constellation ES.3 SATA3 HDD
1 x 4TB Samsung 870 EVO 2.5" SATA SSD in a Fideco external USB enclosure for backups
2 x ASUS BD-RE Burner
Corsair AX1200i 1,200W PSU
Thermaltake Core W100 Super Tower Chassis
Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
4 x Gigabyte AORUS FI25F 25" 240Hz 1080P IPS Monitor
| Hard Drive | 1 TB Solid State Hard Drive |
|---|
