We now have a better sense of where this reimagined RAM disk improves performance-and where it has the opposite effect.īefore diving into our results, let’s spend a moment to, ahem, refresh our memory about what RAPID mode is all about. Since the EVO review, we’ve been putting RAPID mode through its paces across our entire storage test suite. It’s also coming to Samsung’s 840 Pro later this year. This optional, software-based solution commandeers a portion of system memory for use as a separate drive cache. As a result, we weren’t able to explore thoroughly the EVO’s secondary caching layer, otherwise known as RAPID mode. We got the drive only a few days before the product launch, and there was barely enough time to test the thing, let alone write about it. Our first look at the 840 EVO was admittedly put together in a bit of a hurry. Meanwhile, the 500GB drive we reviewed last month is under $400. The 250GB model has dropped to $185 already, and the terabyte variant sells for 65 cents per gig. Yet the 840 EVO is priced firmly in budget territory. In some tests, it’s even faster than Samsung’s flagship 840 Pro. Thanks in part to this TurboWrite cache, the EVO is quick enough to keep pace with high-end SSDs. It’s a true original-the first solid-state drive to combine TLC main storage with a faster SLC write cache.

Samsung’s 840 EVO is a breath of fresh air in a sea of largely cookie-cutter SSDs.

Samsung rapid mode not supported