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Peter Franks

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 9, 2011
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Hey, I've been using a Samsung 860 EVO 500 GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive since 2018 and want to change it up for a 1GB.
I've just noticed there are now a few more options, and wondered if anyone knew what the difference is between the …..

860 EVO
870 EVO

860 QVO
870 QVO

?

Think they’re all 2.5 internal but the newer model I assume is the QVO and they seem to be cheaper? Any help appreciated.
 

Basic75

macrumors 68000
May 17, 2011
1,996
2,342
Europe
The EVO drives use TLC flash (three bits per cell) while the QVO drives use QLC (four bits per cell). I would not get a crappy QLC drive as your internal boot drive.
 
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MarkC426

macrumors 68040
May 14, 2008
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What Mac are you putting this in...?
870 and any QVO drives are not compatible/reliable in a cMP.

Not too sure about other Macs.
 
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Peter Franks

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 9, 2011
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The EVO drives use TLC flash (three bits per cell) while the QVO drives use QLC (four bits per cell). I would not get a crappy QLC drive as your internal boot drive.
Thank you, so that's why the QVO are cheaper. Never seen anyone explain this so thanks. I assumed as it was a newer version they were an upgrade, but are cheaper and under £100 GB and the EVO isn't. So didn't make a lot of sense, and now a 'PRO' too? What about the 870 EVO, seems to also be less than the 860, were they not as popular?
What Mac are you putting this in...?
870 and any QVO drives are not compatible/reliable in a cMP.

Not too sure about other Macs.
2011 MBP which I've been using the EVO in for a good few years, but 500GB is never enough....
So aside from the EVO/QVO what's the deal with 860 and 870?
 
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rampancy

macrumors 6502a
Jul 22, 2002
683
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The 860 and 870 are just basically SSDs with general performance and efficiency increases vs. previous generations like the 850. If you're trying to decide on which one to get, I'd just say go with the option that has better pricing. For a machine as old as yours, you won't see too much of a difference.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the notorious reliability issues that owners have been having with the 870 EVO though. Though I think units produced in more recent batches are unaffected by this.
 
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Peter Franks

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 9, 2011
2,048
87
The 860 and 870 are just basically SSDs with general performance and efficiency increases vs. previous generations like the 850. If you're trying to decide on which one to get, I'd just say go with the option that has better pricing. For a machine as old as yours, you won't see too much of a difference.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the notorious reliability issues that owners have been having with the 870 EVO though. Though I think units produced in more recent batches are unaffected by this.
Thanks for that, much appreciated, And yes good points
 
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