[section_title title=”Closer Look”]Closer Look
Starting out with the packaging, Samsung have gone with a white themed box with a nice large illustration of the 850 EVO on the front. The box features the Samsung logo in the top left hand corner and the storage capacity in the top right; in this case, 250GB.
Inside the box aside from the Samsung 850 EVO SSD, we have an installation CD, quick start guide and of course a warranty statement; as previously mentioned, the 850 EVO range comes with a 5 year warranty and not a 10 year like the more expensive 850 PRO.
Samsung have chosen to go with an all-black metallic casing with a similar theme compared to the 850 PRO and the 840 series before it; the only difference is the 850 EVO features a grey tab below the logo.
The Samsung 850 EVO features Samsung’s own 32 layer 3D V-NAND technology which has previously only been seen in enterprise drives. The 850 EVO is powered by the Samsung MGX controller with the 1TB version being run over the Samsung MEX controller. TRIM and all the regular SSD features are included such as S.M.A.R.T. Samsung’s magician software also makes a feature with the 850 EVO as does the RAPID mode; this allows for much faster read and write speeds at the sacrifice of RAM (memory). This however does not work in RAID situations so that is worth bearing in mind if you plan to pick up more than one drive and want to RAID them.
It is worth noting that the 850 EVO is classed as a 7mm drive and is an ample size for notebooks and also suitable for desktops which of course have the space for it; most PC cases do these days.
On the rear we have all the relevant information needed to make a warranty claim such as the serial number, model number and branding. Also featured is the European electrical safety information which is required by law; I like the fact Samsung have gone with a slightly different shade of black for the sticker and not white.
