Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SATA III M.2 2280

The Samsung 860 EVO is a reliable SATA workhorse with stellar reviews, but it's slow by modern standards and overpriced at USD 300-349. It's best for older systems that can't use NVMe. If you have NVMe, buy something else.

Sequential reads hit 550 MB/s and writes land at 520 MB/s, which is basically the SATA III speed limit. Random performance sits at 97K read IOPS and 88K write IOPS, which lands in the middle of the pack compared to everything else we track. The 78GB TurboWrite buffer is a nice upgrade over the old 850 EVO, so sustained writes hold up better before slowing down. But let's be real, against NVMe drives like the SN850X or Crucial T500, this thing looks like it's running in slow motion. For a SATA drive, it's solid. For 2024 standards, it's a relic that still works.

Stack this against the Western Digital Black SN850X or Crucial T500 and it's not even a fair fight. Those NVMe drives push 7,000+ MB/s while the 860 EVO is stuck at 550 MB/s. The Kingston Fury Renegade and SanDisk WD_BLACK also blow past it on every speed metric. Where the 860 EVO wins is trust and compatibility. Older laptops and desktops without NVMe slots can't use those faster drives, and Samsung's reputation for reliability is hard to beat. The Seagate FireCuda 530R is another NVMe option that makes this look ancient. If your system supports NVMe, buy NVMe. Period.

This is where it gets awkward. You're looking at USD 300 to USD 349 for a 1TB SATA drive, and that's a tough pill to swallow when NVMe drives with 5-10x the speed cost the same or less. The best deal in our database is on Amazon at USD 300, but even that feels steep. You're paying for the Samsung name and the proven track record, not the performance. If you absolutely need SATA and want maximum reliability, fine. Otherwise, your money goes way further elsewhere.

The Samsung 860 EVO is the old reliable of the SATA SSD world. It's not the fastest drive in our database, not even close, but it's one of the most trusted. With a 4.8-star rating from over 6,000 reviews, people clearly love this thing. It's the M.2 2280 version, so it slots right into laptops and desktops that still run SATA III.

Here's the thing though. SATA III caps out around 550 MB/s, and this drive hits that ceiling. If your board has an NVMe slot, you're leaving a ton of performance on the table by going SATA. But if you're upgrading an older machine or need a reliable workhorse for everyday tasks, the 860 EVO still makes a strong case for itself.

Skip this if your motherboard has an NVMe M.2 slot, because you'd be paying the same money for a fraction of the speed. Also skip it if you need a portable drive, this is an internal component and scores terribly for portability. And if you're on a tight budget, there are cheaper SATA SSDs that get the job done without the Samsung premium.

Buy this if you have an older machine with only SATA III and you want a drive that just works. The 860 EVO is perfect for breathing life into an aging laptop or desktop, especially if you're cloning from a spinning hard drive. Samsung's Magician software makes migration painless, and the endurance rating means you won't be replacing it anytime soon. But if you have an NVMe slot available, skip this entirely and get something faster for the same money.