![](/html/64/6458/64587a437209a20fb0f62d065f5a91df2199b2e4970fc8979bf6a20d42bbbadc/bg1.png)
DATA SHEET
Rev. 1.0, September., 2016
Samsung SSD 960 PRO M.2
Data Sheet Rev.1.0 (September 2016)
Summary
- PCIe 3.0 x4 NVM Express SSD for Client PCs
- M.2 (2280)
- Samsung V-NAND
- Samsung Polaris controller
- Samsung Magician Software for SSD
management
THE SAMSUNG NVMe SSD
960 PRO
The new Samsung SSD 960PRO is the 2nd
generation NVMe SSD for Samsung’s client
PC SSD. As such, the Samsung SSD 960 PRO
is designed for professionals & enthusiasts
that are seeking next generation
performance and endurance. It offers the
ultimate in performance, breaks storage
limits for the m.2 form factor and banks on
its solid reliability to offer customers the
most advanced SSD technology currently
available for client PCs
Samsung’s unique and innovative V-NAND
flash memory architecture is a breakthrough
in overcoming the density limitations, while
improving on the performance and
endurance of today’s conventional planar
NAND architecture. V-NAND is fabricated by
stacking layers vertically over one another
rather than decreasing the cells dimensions
and trying to fit itself onto a fixed horizontal
space resulting in higher density and better
performance utilizing a smaller footprint.
Experience next-generation
professional performance
and endurance
This cutting-edge V-NAND-based NVMe
1
![](/html/64/6458/64587a437209a20fb0f62d065f5a91df2199b2e4970fc8979bf6a20d42bbbadc/bg2.png)
DATA SHEET
Rev. 1.0, September., 2016
SSD supports PCI Express® Gen 3 x4 lanes,
providing a higher bandwidth and lower
latency to process even more massive
amounts of data than our previousgeneration NVMe SSD.
Building on the PCIe Gen. 3.0 x 4 lane
interface and support of the NVMe 1.2
protocol, the 960PRO, in combination with
our advanced 3rd generation V-NAND and
newly developed Polaris controller is able to
offer sequential read performance of
3,500MB/s and sequential write speeds of
2,100MB/s. The 960PRO achieves random
performance of up to 440,000IOPS and
360,000IOPS for read and write operations
respectively for industry leading
performance across key metrics.
Breaking storage limits
Thanks to our advanced packaging
technology, the use of a four-landing-design
and the integration of the DRAM and Polaris
Controller in a Package-on-Package solution
the 960PRO becomes the world’s first client
PC SSD in the standard 2280 m.2 form factor
to be able to pack 2TB of capacity. For
greater consumer choice, the 960PRO will
also be available in 1TB and 512GB versions
Bank on solid reliability
The 960 PRO, thanks to the use of our 3rd
generation V-NAND Flash technology, offers
users not only improved performance and
higher density, but also solid reliability.
The 960 PRO’s improved thermal solutions,
advanced hardware encryption and
enhanced endurance enable users to
confidently entrust their data to their SSD
Improved thermal solutions
In most cases of data transfers, heavy
workloads can induce heat and result in high
temperatures. Once temperatures reach a
threshold, memory performance may be
adversely affected. As the leader in SSD
memory solutions, the 960 PRO adopts a
new heat spreader for dissipating heat more
efficiently during heavy workload use. It
achieves this by integrating a thin copper
film and because copper is a great heat
conductor it helps to shed heat faster than
would be possible without the label.
Furthermore, the new 4 landing design also
improves thermal characteristics, as it can
reduce heat generation per unit area.
Advanced data encryption
The 960 PRO provides the same data
encryption features as other Samsung SATA
SSDs. Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) security
technology will help keep data safe at all
times. It includes an AES 256-bit hardwarebased encryption engine to ensure that your
personal files remain secure. Being
hardware-based, the encryption engine
secures your data without performance
degradation that you may experience with a
software-based encryption. Also, the
960PRO is compliant with advanced security
management solutions (TCG Opal).
Enhanced endurance
When users spend money on an SSD, first of
all, they consider value for money and want
an SSD that will last. Starting with the 850
PRO, Samsung’s 1st V-NAND SATA SSD,
Samsung’s V-NAND changed the paradigm.
Now in its 3rd generation, the 960 PRO
boasts Total Bytes Written of up to 1.2
Petabytes for the 2TB model.
2