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  • Neden - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    I wonder if these will find their way into mainstream gaming laptops in lieu of M.2 or SATA SSDs.
  • ShieTar - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Seems unlikely. Samsungs 950 Pro is already prone to overheat, so this chip will require some serious power management compromises. I'd rather expect to see them in tablets, Ultrabooks, maybe even very-high-end phones. Intels core m does support PCIe 3.0.
  • Raniz - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link

    Wouldn't be surprised if we see them in ultrabooks, or even the entire Macbook series.
  • jsntech - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Has anyone seen endurance info for these?
  • JoeyJoJo123 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Why do you care and when would "endurance" make a difference between a working SSD and a dead SSD to you, as a consumer, whom I'd expect to run typical I/O consumer workloads.
  • WithoutWeakness - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    It's using Samsung's V-NAND in MLC mode. Whatever device this is put into will be obsolete before the SSD dies from NAND degredation.
  • valinor89 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    It seems to use TLC, but should still be quite durable. I doubt you would put this SSD on a machine that is expected to trash the SSD. This looks to be a tablet thing.
  • RU482 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    is there truly any difference between TLC/MLC/SLC, other than how the controller manages the NAND?
  • Meaker10 - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link

    Yes, the granulinity of voltage levels required. A cell in a much more degraded state can easily hold a voltage or no voltage but no be able to guarantee a clear difference between 1v and 1.1v.
  • bug77 - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link

    Also, the access speed decreases when you hold more values onto the same cell. Hence the "SLC" caching.
  • fanofanand - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link

    "Typically, Samsung uses its TurboWrite for its TLC NAND-based drives, which makes the PM971-NVMe the company’s first MLC-based SSD with a pseudo-SLC buffer."

    Typically, reading prior to commenting enhances the experience for all.
  • Bulat Ziganshin - Thursday, June 15, 2017 - link

    not exactly this, but 850 evo 256 GB was died after writing more than 2 PB in 3dnews.ru test. 850 Pro is still alive :)
  • notveryodd - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    It's amazing to see how far storage has come... sorry if this is a weird question, but what fonts do you guys use for the tables? Looks really clean.
  • Raniz - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    A quick CSS inspection reveals that the font used in the tables is called "Arimo". I google search reveals that it's licensed under Apache License 2.0 and available through Google Fonts.
  • Shadowmaster625 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    That is small enough to fit onto an interposer right next to the HBM chips. Hint hint. Imagine CPU + GPU + 16GB shared HBM + 512GB flash, all in one package that easily fits onto a 4"x4" mainboard.
  • Eden-K121D - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    hmmm. All in one chip
  • lilmoe - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    "and can thus save space inside SFF PCs to make them either thinner, or prolong their battery life"

    Any word on load/idle/slumber power envelops?

    On another note, I hate how everything's going BGA...
  • BrokenCrayons - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Nonsense! Putting more balls in technology has been an important goal for basically everyone responsible for designing devices for years. In the recent past, we've started seeing RAM chips with balls, chipsets getting balls, and even CPUs exhibiting their balls for everyone to see. It's perfectly normal and completely natural for SSDs to finally grow their own set of balls for average consumers like you and me to fawn over each and every evening after we get home from work when all we want to do is curl up in bed with our favorite ball-equipped devices to blow off steam.

    So, in short, I'm all about Samsung foisting their balls on us. Even if the PM971-NVMe's balls are tiny, there are lots of them and they comply with JEDEC's standards regarding how you implement and properly use them. I can't imagine anyone else who doesn't agree with me when I say, "Hey world, all of us are eagerly anticipating grabbing your new, revolutionary balls off the tech meat market and we stand here in open-mouthed awe at how amazing they look!"
  • scholztec - Saturday, June 4, 2016 - link

    I signed in just to thank you for making me laugh my balls off.
  • osxandwindows - Saturday, June 4, 2016 - link

    😂😂😂😂
  • bigboxes - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    What don't you like about using BGA?
  • A5 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Makes repair/replace impossible without serious soldering equipment and skill.

    It's not a huge concern overall in the market, but it is something to note.
  • MadAd - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Its a pita replacing the masking tape when they fall off.
  • jkhoward - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    You can't remove a defective unit without replacing the motherboard or upgrade to larger capacity down the road.
  • bigboxes - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Aren't they just using BGA in space constrained spaces where you most likely wouldn't be doing your own repairs anyways? Tablet, phone, ultra-thin laptops... all devices you (most likely) won't be breaking open to repair. I get the urge to do-it-yourself. I'm one of those guys. But were not talking about desktops here.
  • vladx - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Exactly, it's a non-issue but people just can't get over their preconceptions.
  • name99 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    However things were done (hardware design, software practices, car engines, music, TV programs) from when I was age 15 to age 30 is the ONE TRUE WAY OF DOING THINGS.

    Once you understand that, you will understand 90% of internet whining...
  • Krysto - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    I want my RAM and SSD to be replaceable, thank you.
  • MadAd - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Yeah its a liberty making us use our soldering irons to upgrade ram, even my 520STFM upgrade came on its own board, the price of progress huh?
  • stephenbrooks - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Maybe they could give it pins like a CPU and keep the small footprint? Although I think M.2 has shorter-length forms too.
  • owan - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Would still have issues with z-height, which is critical for tablets/2-in-1's/ultrabooks etc.... which is the real target market. You will still have plenty of chances for user-replaceable NVME drives in m.2 form. This is not a replacement for those, but a new solution to a different problem.... though it likely means that user upgradeability will suffer in form factors that are already so unfriendly to upgrade that it barely matters.
  • stephenbrooks - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    M.2 22x30 isn't bad I guess. I also notice some of the ZIF sockets (where a flexible tape of contacts is clamped to the corresponding contacts) used to connect things to motherboards are very compact, but still replaceable by a human being. It would be good to have this sort of smallness but not sacrifice replaceability. I don't think you'll ever beat soldered BGA on size though.
  • Exodite - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    I would like to see this in my next phone, though I assume the power consumption and/or physical footprint makes it unsuitable.

    I'd be happy going to a 5.5" phone if that's what it takes though.
  • creed3020 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    At least for me this is the first new interesting product in SSDs for a long time. Kudos to Samsung to pushing the envelope of whats possible. Cannot wait to see the trickle down effect of this type of product.
  • AnotherGuy - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    True that!
  • vladx - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Surface 5 will get this most likely.
  • brucek2 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    This feels like an important development to me. Any idea how the cost to OEM compares to their other choices for storage solutions? (i.e., is this a premium items only deal or is it headed for mass market gear over the next few years?)
  • vladx - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link

    Sadly it's 100% for premium devices, eMMC will still be used for mainstream tablets and phones for a long time.
  • tuxRoller - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link

    I know it's still big but this COULD still fit into a smartphone. Potentially this could lead to better battery life (obviously it would let you page out without ux tanking so much,allow mobile OSs to be less stingy when it comes to io access thus allowing for a richer experience,etc) along with a much snappier overall experience.
    The big question is: what's the peak current this thing needs?
  • AnnonymousCoward - Saturday, June 11, 2016 - link

    They should also make a 128GB version while they're at it, and destroy the low-end HDD market.

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