The 1TB Samsung Spinpoint M8 offers a mainstream 9.5mm drive height with two 500GB platters, bringing high capacity notebook storage to the masses. Previously if you wanted a 1TB internal hard drive, the only option was to buy a bulky notebook that supported the larger 12.5mm drive sizes. With the Spinpoint M8, just about any machine can now have a beefy storage system ready to warehouse digital assets.
The 1TB Samsung Spinpoint M8 offers a mainstream 9.5mm drive height with two 500GB platters, bringing high capacity notebook storage to the masses. Previously if you wanted a 1TB internal hard drive, the only option was to buy a bulky notebook that supported the larger 12.5mm drive sizes. With the Spinpoint M8, just about any machine can now have a beefy storage system ready to warehouse digital assets.
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Samsung-Spinpoint-M8.jpg)
- Capacity: 1TB
- Platters: 2 (500GB x2)
- Interface: SATA 3.0Gbps
- Cache: 8MB
- Rotational speed: 5400RPM
- Average seek time: 12 ms
- Average latency: 5.6 ms
- Form factor: 2.5”
- Z-Height: 9.5 mm
- Format: Advanced 4K sector
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Samsung-Spinpoint-M8-bottom.jpg)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Samsung-Spinpoint-M8-side.jpg)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Samsung-Spinpoint-M8-apart.jpg)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Samsung-Spinpoint-M8-controller.jpg)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Samsung-Spinpoint-M8-pcb-top.jpg)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Samsung-Spinpoint-M8-pcb-bottom.jpg)
Synthetic Benchmarks
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_2mb_sequentialtransfer.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_2mb_randomtransfer.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_4k_randomtransfer_mb.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_4k_randomtransfer_iops.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_write_latency.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_iops_database.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_iops_workstation.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_iops_webserver.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_iops_fileserver.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_crystaldiskmark_500mbtest_fast.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_crystaldiskmark_500mbtest_slow.png)
Real-World Benchmarks
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_storagemark2010_htpc_4k.png)
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_storagemark2010_gaming.png)
Power Consumption
![](https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/samsung_spinpoint_m8_1tb_power_values.png)
Warranty
Conclusion
Pros:
- 1TB in a 9.5mm form factor
- Low power consumption
- Well-priced
- Buyers trade speed for capacity when comparing the M8 to high-capacity 7200RPM notebook drives.