In our 450GB write test, which we use largely to spot any dips in performance due to running out of cache, the T5 eventually caught the T7. It can also illustrates Tortoise-vs.-Hare behavior, as it did with the T7 and T5. The 450GB copy shown below is a test we use to reveal cache dropouts with larger-capacity drives, which may allot more cache than the 48GB we're limited to writing from our 50GB RAM disk.
The 1GB T7 would likely have posted better numbers in this test.
With our 500GB T7, that was at roughly the halfway mark in the 48GB write test, allowing the T5 to catch up. The T5 (350MBps) is actually a bit faster writing once the T7 runs out of cache (300MBps). On our 500GB T7, that was at roughly the halfway mark in this test, allowing the T5 to catch up. The older Samsung T5 is a bit faster writer than the T7, once the latter runs out of cache. That’s likely 99 percent of the time for most users. If you write only to the cache, the T7 tops 500MBps and is much faster. That deficit slowly catches up with the drive as the amount of data being written increases, so it actually turned in slower 48GB and 450GB write results than the T5. Once the T7 dropped out of cache, it wrote about 50MBps slower than the older T5, which maintains long writes at 350MBps to 375MBps. With very small amounts of data that's true, but in real-world copies, its reading and writing is about half what CDM 6 (and AS SSD-not shown) show. With very small amounts of data it is, but in real-world copies, it's not nearly this fast.Īccording to CrystalDiskMark 6, the T7 is megafast. Jacobi/IDGĪccording to CrystalDiskMark 6, the T7 is mega-fast. There are smart cache allotment controllers out there that will increase cache according to need, but from the behavior, it doesn’t seem as if the T7 is one of them. Samsung and most vendors have historically assigned cache by percentage, but we didn’t have the larger-capacity drives to check that theory on the T7. Our test 500GB model had around 20GB of cache, so we expect that the 1TB will have 40GB of cache, and the 2TB, 80GB. The SSD creates cache by treating some of the NAND as SLC (generally) by writing only 1 bit-a much quicker operation than writing the 3 bits TLC is capable of storing, and especially the 4 bits QLC can store. While it’s reading or writing to cache, it does. If you saw nothing but the CrystalDiskMark 6 and AS SSD 2 synthetic benchmark results, you’d think the T7 outperformed the T5 by a mile.
You can turn off secure mode at any time, but you’ll need to go through the entire password selection and fingerprint acquisition routine again to turn it back on. A password mode that’s less fun and efficient does require the software, but I’m guessing it's there largely in case something goes awry with the scanner.
You don't need the software to use the scanner other than for initial configuration. The scanner responds quickly, and the simple swipe required is a pretty painless routine. So what’s it like using the T7 in 256-bit AES hardware encryption mode? Actually, kind of fun with the fingerprint recognition. It’s inactive by default, but you can enable it using the Windows/macOS app that ships with the drive. Samsung's three-year warranty is a bit skimpy, and the company also declined to provide a TBW (Terabytes written) reliability rating, but it’s unlikely you’ll come close to maxing out whatever is inside in even 10 years.īy far the most salient new feature on the T7 is the square fingerprint scanner on top of the unit. The drive is available in basic, businesslike charcoal and silver hues. That’s about what you’d pay for similar non-secure drives, and far less than FIPs-certified units or Thunderbolt SSDs.
The T7 ships in three capacities: Our 500GB test unit ( $130 on Amazon), plus 1TB ( $230 on Amazon Remove non-product link), and 2TB ( $400 on B&H Photo Remove non-product link). The Samsung T7 has a fingerprint scanner, but its use is strictly optional. The improved performance is largely because the unit is NVMe on the inside, but Samsung was mum as of the time of this writing as to which type of NAND is employed, whether TLC or QLC. I'd actually prefer if it were a bit more substantial in the palm of my hand. The T7 is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) SSD that’s roughly the shape of the older T5, but at 3.3 x 2.2 x 0.3 inches, it’s thinner and weighs a mere 2 ounces.