The new 830 Series SSDs receive a new Samsung S4LJ204X01-Y040 controller. This purportedly 3-core ARM-based controller supports the SATA 6Gb/s interface and can also be paired with the latest 20nm NAND flash memory. The 470 Series featured a pair of 128MB Samsung DDR2-667 cache chips for total cache capacity of 256MB. The 830 Series is also equipped with a 256MB cache but using a single chip, Samsung has used their own DDR2-800 (K4T2G314QF-MCF7) memory. Our 512GB review unit carried Samsung NAND flash memory labeled K9UHGY8U7A-HCK0. This memory is fabricated using 20nm tech, in total there are 8 chips with each IC having a massive 64GB density. The drive uses a thin 7mm chassis that will fit most modern ultraportables that require it. Samsung claims a MTBF of 1.5 million hours and 1500G shock resistance. This is a typical estimate that most manufacturers label their SSDs with. Like all SSDs the 830 Series is meant to be very power conservative. At idle all four models use 0.078 watts and a mere 0.127 watts when active according to spec. The active power rating is amazing as compared to most other SSDs that use between 2 and 4 watts of power. however early tests performed by Anandtech seem to contradict Samsung’s claims. The Samsung 830 Series drives measure 100 x 69.85 x 7mm and weigh 62.5 grams. The drives are backed by a limited 3-year warranty.
