SM951 NVMe Availability

[Epos7]

I'm interested in picking up a 256-512GB SM951 for a build I'll be putting together in the next couple of weeks. The NVMe version of the SM951 appears to have some substantial benefits over the AHCI iteration as far as I can tell, but availability is limited despite the NVMe iteration being released back in June.

Has anyone managed to track down one of the NVMe drives? Is it worth holding out for over the AHCI part, or is the real world performance negligible?

 

[Marlfox]

Samsung is supposed to be releasing a new nvme retail drive this month, rumored to be the retail version of the sm951 nvme with much needed driver support (possibly called the 950 Pro based on a french site's listing)

If you still want the nvme version the below site had stock on Monday for the 512 model and i think they had stock all of last week for the 256 and 128 models.
http://www.flexxmemory.co.uk/solid-...e-drive-ssd-2280-mzvpv512hdgl-00000-oem-nvme/

 

[Epos7]

Interesting, thanks for the heads up on that. I'm guessing being a retail drive it will likely be a PCIe drive like the Intel 750 series rather than using an M.2 slot? I'm building a system around the ASRock X99 ITX motherboard, and I think the only PCIe slot will be used by the GFX card, so I'll only have the M.2 slot left.

 

[Zangmonkey]

Samsung is supposed to be releasing a new nvme retail drive this month, rumored to be the retail version of the sm951 nvme with much needed driver support (possibly called the 950 Pro based on a french site's listing)

If you still want the nvme version the below site had stock on Monday for the 512 model and i think they had stock all of last week for the 256 and 128 models.
http://www.flexxmemory.co.uk/solid-...e-drive-ssd-2280-mzvpv512hdgl-00000-oem-nvme/

I can confirm that I've been looking for this drive and UK distributors are the only place I've found it.

All domestic sellers (to the US) appear to be mislabeling the AHCI version.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1874292

 

[Epos7]

I wonder if retailers are waiting for AHCI stock to dwindle before putting the NVMe up for sale. Seems like somewhere would have it though.

 

[Blue Fox]

You can easily use the Intel 750 with that ASRock board. Just get the M.2 to U.2 adapter and the 2.5" version if you'd prefer it over the Samsung.

 

[Epos7]

You can easily use the Intel 750 with that ASRock board. Just get the M.2 to U.2 adapter and the 2.5" version if you'd prefer it over the Samsung.

Thanks for the heads up on that, good to know.

Given the current availability issues, I decided to just get an 850 Evo 500GB. Twice the capacity for $50 less than the 256 GB SM951. In real world use I don't think I'll notice a huge difference, and I can put a faster hard drive in the M.2 slot next year when prices come down and availability is better.