Samsung 990 Pro SSD 4TB very low random writes IOPS

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jarablue

[H]ard|Gawd
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May 31, 2003
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Hey guys. I bought a 4 TB 990 pro from microcenter for 279$ (now 249$ getting a refund for the difference tomorrow). I got it home and installed the latest version of win 11. Everything is updated. Bios, Win 11 updates, mobo drivers, samsung magician software, latest ssd firmware. The system is tight. The Samsung magician software is in full performance mode and also I am running it in 4x4 gen4 speeds and verified it. The m2 slot I am using is capable of gen5 speeds. I am running a 7900x and a asus x670-p wifi board.

The Q32T22 random and seq looks to be half. I even upped the cpu threads from 16 to 22 to get better results.

I ran crystaldiskmark for the ssd benchmark. I ran the test in peak performance and NVME mode. Now I do have my os on here when testing but I am getting less than half the random write IOPS as advertised. Random reads seem ok. Is this normal? Thinking a firmware update might be in order from samsung. I know the 990pro was having issues. Wondering if samsung still needs to work on their firmware. The following numbers are from samsungs page for the specs of the 990 pro. I have attached my pic of crystaldiskmark. It looks like the write speed on my 4tb drive is half what is should be. Looking at the benchmark from here:

https://www.thessdreview.com/our-re...eries-review-samsung-reigns-true-yet-again/3/

Thanks.

RANDOM WRITE (4KB, QD32)​

1TB: Up to 1,550,000 IOPS
2TB: Up to 1,550,000 IOPS
4TB: Up to 1,550,000 IOPS

RANDOM READ (4KB, QD32)​

1TB: Up to 1,200,000 IOPS
2TB: Up to 1,400,000 IOPS
4TB: Up to 1,600,000 IOPS
 

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I'm getting some off numbers myself on the 4tb, waiting to see if a firmware update will resolve.
 
Yeah for some reason, the random writes q32t22 are half what they should be right now on my drive. The random reads are ok though. Maybe a firmware update will fix it.
 
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That's what I'm hoping as well.

I would like to see what others are getting, and with the Black Friday deals, hopefully others will report back with their results.
 
Did you remember to enable NVME mode in Crystal Disk Mark?
 
ZodaEX said:
Did you remember to enable NVME mode in Crystal Disk Mark?
Click to expand...

Yup. Also ran cdm at default and peak performance settings. I even increased the cpu thread count to 22 on my 7900x to get more oomph in the test. For some reason random writes are half what is should be. Everything else looks fine though.
 
Is there any other processes using disk activity in the background?
WinDefender and bitlocker (if enabled) will slow things down. I recommend leaving them off (getting rid of defender permanently!) and turning off system restore as well.
Seems like we need a better nvme driver for 11.
 
No nothing. I disabled ms defender and also bitlocker is not on. I have disabled system restore. Still the random write iops won't get above 900k. Last test was 875k..nowhere near the 1,550,000 rated. My random reads are good though.
 
cpufrost said:
Is there any other processes using disk activity in the background?
WinDefender and bitlocker (if enabled) will slow things down. I recommend leaving them off (getting rid of defender permanently!) and turning off system restore as well.
Seems like we need a better nvme driver for 11.
Click to expand...

How do I get rid of ms defender permanently in win11? I heard doing so can cause issues. I would love to get rid of it as I do not download anything. Thanks.
 
It depends on how new your installer (ISO) is. Latest builds are a real PIA as you can disable defender yet a key component will still run and slow things down. In that case you have to start in safe mode and disable the service. (using a program called autoruns makes this simple). Be forewarned, however, that in future updates it can be enabled again!

The nuclear option is to boot up with rescue media, take ownership of the windows defender folders and delete them.

As far as random writes have you tried other programs such as AS-SSD and Anvil?

I don't have a 4TB 990 in my hands and it looks like Microcenter completely removed them from their site, odd, eh?
The fastest 4TB I have is the Crucial T700 which is a PCI-E 5.0 part and it is wicked fast. I wouldn't dare put it in a laptop, maybe a brick of a gaming system that could deal with its heat but that's about it.
 
Yeah i have tried samsung magician benchmark and cdm but no others. CDM is valid and is pretty trustworthy. I just think this is a firmware thing on my drive OR it being the fact that my windows install is on it is slowing the random writes. Maybe if it were my D drive I could get the correct write speed. Dude 4tb T700 is 500$....that is way to rich for my blood. I will enjoy this drive for now and when I hit the lottery I'll get the T700.

Looks like too much work to uninstall defender. I'll settle with turning off the auto protection for now when gaming.
 
jarablue said:
Yeah i have tried samsung magician benchmark and cdm but no others. CDM is valid and is pretty trustworthy. I just think this is a firmware thing on my drive OR it being the fact that my windows install is on it is slowing the random writes. Maybe if it were my D drive I could get the correct write speed. Dude 4tb T700 is 500$....that is way to rich for my blood. I will enjoy this drive for now and when I hit the lottery I'll get the T700.

Looks like too much work to uninstall defender. I'll settle with turning off the auto protection for now when gaming.
Click to expand...
I hear you on the expensive stuff! Laughably cheap compared to Apple still! ;-)
 
So my system is fully updated. Latest firmware, benchmark apps. Everything is fully updated as to today.

Highest random write IOPS I can get in CDM is 902,000k. When the drive is listed to perform at 1,550,000 random writes. I am using 22 threads to get that 902k. My random read IOPS are awesome though. Getting 1,619,000 IOPS which is crazy good.

Maybe some firmware updates will resolve this.
 
Short of booting from a LIVE USB of linux and running tests from there, you wont ever see "best case scenario" IOPS on any drive. If the 990 is your main OS drive, that is enough to have it not perform to perfect conditions.
 
jarablue said:
The Q32T22 random and seq looks to be half. I even upped the cpu threads from 16 to 22 to get better results.
Click to expand...
You sure it isn't something about Q32T22? your "thessdreview' link, used Q32T16. Tomshardware used Q16T16.
 
jarablue said:
I am going to stop benching. It works fine as it is. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Good choice.
Like trying to get 4 32GB DDR5-6000 modules to run at 6000 (XMP) on 14900K. Best I can do is 5600. 6000 works with two modules and I know if I mess with it and do completely custom settings (timings, voltages, etc) it will work but after benching at 6000 with two modules I've made my mind up it's not worth the constant hassle especially if the BIOS decides to reset itself!
 
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