Samsung Series 470 250GB 2.5in SSD

Solid-state stunner

Review Reg Hardware first reviewed a Samsung SSD - the South Korean giant's first, and a device aimed at computer makers rather than upgrade-hungry punters - way back in March 2009. Rather keen we were on it too.

But that was two years ago - how has Samsung managed to improve matters in the meantime?

Samsung's Series 470: cornering the market?

Currently available in the usual 64GB (£110), 128GB (£180) and 256GB (£400) capacities, Samsung isn’t going too wild with this one, except for perhaps the chrome and orange finish.

Despite the casual capacities and reasonable pricing, Samsung has sunk a considerable amount into R&D on this one by designing its own controller rather than doing the usual and buying in a SandForce or Marvell part.

It’s called the S3C29RBB01-YK40, and Samsung claims it will allow the 256GB model I have here to read at 250MB/s and write at 220MB/s through its 3Gb/s Sata interface.

The closest rival to Samsung’s new toy is Intel’s 320 series, which is very similarly priced and also features a 3Gb/s Sata interface. Before I get technical with this one, here’s a quick real-world time comparison between the two:

Times in Seconds
Shorter bars are better

As you can see, the Intel drive seems to have a slight edge in booting and shutting down, but the Samsung drive claws back some glory in being quicker on the application front.