MARCH 2021 PCWorld 69
The 870 QVO offers outstanding small file
performance, only losing out in some tests to its
QVO cousin.
Random Write 4K (Q=1, T=1)
126
73
125
CrystalDiskMark 6
MBps
Samsung 870 EVO Samsung 870 QVO
Seagate Barracuda SSD Seagate 110 IronWolf
97
Random Read 4K (Q=1, T=1)
39
47
LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE
Random Write 4K (Q=32, T=1)
357
280
351
342
Random Read 4K (Q=32, T=1)
393
333
369
381
Random Write 4K (Q=8, T=8)
351
320
354
344
Random Read 4K (Q=8, T=8)
399
332
402
387
28
26
The Samsung 870 EVO was the fastest overall
in our real world 48GB transfers, though by a
relatively small margin.
Total Time
668
660
616
48GB transfers
Seconds
628
48GB Folder Write
232
199
175
176
LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE
48GB Folder Read
232
234
237
231
48GB Write
96
120
106
107
48GB Read
108
107
108
114
Samsung 870 EVO Samsung 870 QVO
Seagate Barracuda SSD Seagate 110 IronWolf
a lot of tasks, and over the long run that will
add up.
Note that I included the 2019-era Seagate
IronWolf 110 (go.pcworld.com/iwlf) in the
test comparisons, as it’s one of the few drives
that can keep up with the 870 EVO in all
phases. However, it’s significantly more
expensive and designed for SMB or the
enterprise.
As you can see left, there’s scant
difference among the competitors when it
comes to sustained write or read
performance. However, as you can see
below, design prowess and components can,
and do, make a difference in random and
small file performance.
As in the CrystalDiskMark 6 sustained