Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallOutdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchZ-NAND is Samsung’s specialized, non-volatile NAND flash technology for very low-latency solid-state storage. It keeps data without power, unlike DRAM, and it is not a replacement for a computer’s working memory. Samsung used Z-NAND in its enterprise SZ985 Z-SSD, combining the flash with a custom controller and 1.5GB of LPDDR4 DRAM.
The important qualification is scope: the often-quoted speed figures are Samsung’s 2017–2018 claims for named products and comparison parts. They are not a current, independent benchmark of every NAND SSD, Z-NAND device or DRAM system.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What Z-NAND is
Z-NAND is a Samsung flash-memory technology associated with the company’s Z-SSD line. Samsung described it as sharing the fundamental structure of its V-NAND while using a distinct circuit design and controller approach to reduce access latency. In other words, Z-NAND is still NAND flash: it is a persistent storage medium, not volatile system memory.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
The clearest documented implementation is the 800GB SZ985 Z-SSD announced in 2018. That drive combined three major elements:
#1 Best Overall
- NONSTOP SPEED: Race through projects with our fastest SSD for creators; Load, edit and transfer with sustained read and write speeds of up to 2,000MB/s1; The T9 Portable SSD performs at high speeds even during longer processes
- DYNAMIC THERMAL GUARD: When you’re elbow-deep in a passion project, the T9 Portable SSD stays cool; Its advanced thermal solution withstands and controls heat to keep the SSD at ideal temperatures—even in heavy use2
- ADAPTS TO EVERY NEED: Whether you’re using a desktop, camera or a gaming console3, count on the T9 Portable SSD for extensive compatibility; It’s a true team player when it comes to heavy-duty application usage or file-saving
- STRONG. SOLID. STABLE: From concept to completion – the T9 Portable SSD gives you the longevity to last through heavy use with one convenient drive that dares to go the distance
- WORKS LIKE MAGIC: Your T9 Portable SSD performs like new with the always up-to-date Magician Software; With firmware updates, extra encryption and continual monitoring of your drive health, it works like a charm
- Z-NAND chips for persistent data storage.
- A high-performance controller to manage flash access and the host interface.
- 1.5GB of LPDDR4 DRAM used inside the drive.
The presence of DRAM in the SZ985 is sometimes misunderstood. It does not make Z-NAND volatile or turn the drive into a DRAM module. The two memories perform different jobs inside one storage device: Z-NAND retains user data when power is removed, while the LPDDR4 provides fast working space for the SSD’s operation.
Samsung positioned the original Z-SSD technology for data-center and high-performance-computing workloads such as real-time analytics, server caching, artificial-intelligence processing and other applications that are sensitive to storage delay. Its 2016, 2017 and 2018 announcements describe that historical positioning, rather than proving that the SZ985 remains a current or widely available product.
Samsung’s 2018 launch statement described the intended goal as “a new level of storage” for AI, big-data and Internet-of-Things applications, based on high performance, reliability and ultra-low latency. That is a product-positioning statement from Samsung, not an independent result across all applications.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
How Z-NAND relates to ordinary NAND and V-NAND
NAND is the underlying non-volatile memory category
NAND flash stores information in cells that retain their state without continuous power. It is used in SSDs, memory cards, phones and embedded storage. “Conventional NAND” in this comparison means the broader flash category, while Samsung’s V-NAND is its vertical, three-dimensional implementation of NAND cells.
NAND devices differ substantially by generation, cell configuration, controller, interface, firmware, queue depth and workload. A statement about one NAND chip or SSD cannot be generalized to every product sold as NAND flash.
Rank #2
- THE SSD ALL-STAR: The latest 870 EVO has indisputable performance, reliability and compatibility built upon Samsung's pioneering technology
- EXCELLENCE IN PERFORMANCE: Enjoy professional level SSD performance which maximizes the SATA interface limit to 560 530 MB/s sequential speeds,* accelerates write speeds and maintains long term high performance with a larger variable buffer
- INDUSTRY-DEFINING RELIABILITY: Meet the demands of every task — from everyday computing to 8K video processing, with up to 600 TBW** under a 5-year limited warranty***
- MORE COMPATIBLE THAN EVER: The 870 EVO has been compatibility tested**** for major host systems and applications, including chipsets, motherboards, NAS, and video recording devices
- UPGRADE WITH EASE: Using the 870 EVO SSD is as simple as plugging it into the standard 2.5 inch SATA form factor on your desktop PC or laptop; The renewed migration software takes care of the rest
Z-NAND is a specialized Samsung design, not a new volatility class
Samsung said Z-NAND shares V-NAND’s fundamental structure but adds a different circuit design and controller strategy. That makes it a specialized performance-oriented implementation of flash rather than a separate memory class equivalent to DRAM.
In its January 2018 launch announcement, Samsung reported that Z-NAND chips delivered 10 times higher cell-read performance than its 3-bit V-NAND chips. This is a Samsung-reported, chip-level comparison tied to that product generation. It describes cell-read behavior, not a universal tenfold advantage for every Z-NAND SSD over every modern NAND SSD.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Z-SSD is the complete drive
“Z-NAND” names the flash technology. “Z-SSD” names a finished storage product built around it. The SZ985 therefore cannot be reduced to a chip-speed claim: its observed behavior also depends on the controller, firmware, DRAM, PCIe interface, host system and workload.
Z-NAND versus NAND versus DRAM
The most useful comparison is not simply “which is fastest?” It is whether the memory is persistent, what role it plays in a system, and what kind of access pattern it is designed to handle.
| Technology or product | Persistence | Typical system role | What the documented evidence supports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional NAND flash, including Samsung V-NAND | Non-volatile; data remains stored without power | Mass storage in SSDs and other devices | Samsung compared Z-NAND cell-read performance with its 3-bit V-NAND chips in 2018. The source does not establish a current market-wide performance ratio. |
| Z-NAND | Non-volatile flash | Low-latency storage technology used in Samsung’s Z-SSD line | Samsung described a V-NAND-based structure with distinct circuit and controller design, and reported a 10× cell-read comparison against its 3-bit V-NAND chips. |
| DRAM, including the LPDDR4 used in the SZ985 | Volatile; contents are lost when power is removed | Working memory for active programs, operating systems and device controllers | Samsung’s brochure explicitly distinguishes DRAM’s volatility from flash storage. The SZ985 included 1.5GB of LPDDR4. |
| Samsung SZ985 Z-SSD | Persistent storage, with volatile DRAM inside the drive | Enterprise and HPC storage for data-intensive workloads | Historical product specifications: 800GB, PCIe Gen3 x4, Half-height Half-length, 20/16 microseconds typical read/write latency and up to 30 drive writes per day for five years. |
Volatility and data persistence
DRAM must be continually refreshed and powered to retain its contents. It is therefore used as working memory: the CPU and operating system can access active data quickly, but a power loss removes that in-memory state unless software has saved it elsewhere.
Rank #3
- GO THE DISTANCE: Withstand whatever adventure with the wildly reliable T7 Shield; It’s designed for the elements with water1, dust2 and drop3 resistance—all, of course, at lightning speeds
- YOUR CONTENT CAPTURED: Take on the project, then transfer all your heavy files within seconds with the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Portable Solid-State Drive; Compatible with PC, Mac, Android devices, gaming consoles and more
- SHARE IDEAS IN A FLASH: The T7 is embedded with PCIe NVME technology that brings you fast read and write speeds up to 1,050/1,000 MB/s4, making it almost twice as fast as the T5
- MAKE ROOM FOR MEMORIES: Forge your own path with a full range of storage capacities; Keep all your prized files in one place with options from 1TB to 4TB; Pack in more personal content or store your biggest tasks on this palm-sized SSD
- BRAVE THE ELEMENTS: Get it done, rain or shine. With an IP65 rating for water1 and dust2 resistance, this SSD is ready to rough it; So even when you’ve got a dreary-day deadline, you can keep your projects in perfect condition
NAND flash is non-volatile. An SSD can be powered off and still retain its stored files. Z-NAND remains in that category even when paired with DRAM inside a drive. The LPDDR4 in the SZ985 supports drive operation; it does not change the persistence of the Z-NAND media.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Latency is a layer-specific measurement
“Latency” can refer to a flash-cell operation, a controller transaction, a complete SSD request or the response time an application experiences. Those are different measurements. Samsung’s 10× statement concerns chip-level cell-read performance, while its IOPS and microsecond figures concern the SZ985 drive. Neither should be treated as a direct measurement of application response on every server.
Capacity and cost context
The documented SZ985 capacity was 800GB. The available product material does not establish a contemporary price, a cost-per-gigabyte comparison with current NAND SSDs, or a price comparison with DRAM. Capacity, endurance and price vary by product generation and market, so a historical Z-NAND specification should not be used to infer today’s economics.
Workload fit
DRAM is appropriate when a processor needs rapidly changing working data. Ordinary NAND SSDs are the general persistent-storage choice for operating systems, applications and files. Z-NAND was aimed at enterprise workloads in which storage latency and random-access behavior were important enough to justify a specialized drive, such as server caching, real-time analytics and selected AI or HPC pipelines.
What Samsung reported about SZ985 performance
The following figures come from Samsung’s 2018 launch announcement and technical brochure. They are manufacturer specifications and comparisons for the SZ985 era, not tests conducted for this article.
Rank #4
- THE SPEED YOU NEED: Spend less time waiting and more time creating, gaming, and multitasking with up to 7,250/6,450 MB/s sequential read/write speeds and up to 850K/1,200K IOPS random read/write speeds¹. Load large games quickly, install updates smoothly, transfer high resolution files, and export complex projects with ease. Whether exploring virtual worlds or jumping into your next creative project, enjoy smooth, responsive performance.
- POWER CONSCIOUS PERFORMANCE: Strike the right balance between performance and power consumption with up to 38% improved performance per watt over the 990 PRO². Thanks to optimized power usage, easily handle games, large files, and everyday workloads on laptops and PCs while supporting smooth, responsive workflows.
- FULL LIBRARY, FEWER COMPROMISES: The days of deleting games or offloading files to free up space are over. With up to 2TB of storage, keep your favorite games installed, store high resolution 4K footage, personal files, and long-term archives, with enough room for growing libraries and less time spent managing storage.
- WORKS LIKE MAGIC: Manage your SSD confidently with a suite of helpful tools built to maintain high performance. Get the latest firmware updates, extra encryption and continual monitoring of your drive health.³
- MORE DATA? NO PROBLEM: Keep every adventure installed, every save securely stored, and every project ready when inspiration strikes. With massive storage for your favorite games, creative projects, and personal files, uninstalling becomes optional.
| Metric | Samsung-reported figure | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 800GB | The capacity of the announced SZ985 model. |
| Interface and form factor | PCIe Gen3 x4; Half-height Half-length | Compatibility depends on the host’s slot, chassis clearance, firmware and platform support. |
| Random read IOPS | 750,000 | A launch specification for the drive; the source does not establish a current independent benchmark. |
| Random write IOPS | 170,000 | Also a launch specification, subject to the test conditions and workload used by Samsung. |
| Typical read/write latency | 20/16 microseconds | Values listed in Samsung’s April 2018 product brochure. |
| Write latency in the launch announcement | 16 microseconds | Consistent with the brochure’s typical write-latency figure, but still a product-era specification. |
| Endurance | Up to 30 drive writes per day for five years | Samsung’s stated endurance rating; it is not a guarantee that every workload will achieve the same service life. |
| DRAM included | 1.5GB LPDDR4 | Volatile memory inside the drive, separate from the persistent Z-NAND media. |
Samsung’s 2017 announcement also used a 15-microsecond read-latency figure and said that this was approximately one-seventh of an NVMe SSD. That statement belongs to the announcement’s specific comparison context. It should not be merged with the brochure’s 20-microsecond typical read-latency figure or presented as a universal ratio between Z-NAND and all NVMe drives.
Likewise, Samsung’s 2018 launch materials compared the SZ985 with its PM963 NVMe SSD in a product-specific context. A comparison between two named products is not the same as a comparison between the abstract categories “Z-NAND” and “NVMe.” NVMe is a protocol and interface family used by many different SSD designs.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How a Z-NAND SSD can reduce storage delay
A storage request passes through several layers: the application, operating system, driver, PCIe link, SSD controller, flash-management logic and memory cells. Improving only one layer does not guarantee a proportional improvement at the application level.
Flash-side design
Samsung’s description says Z-NAND shares the fundamental V-NAND structure but uses a distinct circuit design. The stated purpose was to improve cell-read performance and reduce the delay associated with flash access.
Controller and firmware
The controller schedules NAND operations, handles error correction and translates logical block addresses into physical flash locations. Samsung paired Z-NAND with a high-performance controller in the SZ985. Controller behavior, firmware, queue depth and background maintenance can all affect measured latency.
Best Value
- MZILT3T8HBLS-00007-2
- Item Weight: 0.02 kg
- Model number: MZILT3T8HBLS-00007
On-drive DRAM
The 1.5GB LPDDR4 in the SZ985 provided volatile working space for the drive. It is best understood as part of the SSD’s control and buffering architecture, not as an expansion of the host’s RAM and not as the storage medium itself.
Host and workload effects
Random reads, random writes, queue depth, request size, concurrency, steady-state behavior and cache state can produce very different results. A low number quoted for a flash or controller operation does not automatically equal the end-to-end time seen by a database, virtual machine or AI job.
Where Z-NAND makes sense—and where it does not
Potentially suitable scenarios
- Enterprise systems where tail latency or frequent random access is more important than maximum consumer capacity.
- Server-caching tiers that need persistent storage with faster response than a conventional flash tier can provide in a particular design.
- Real-time analytics or selected AI and HPC pipelines in which storage stalls materially affect the workload.
- Deployments that can use the SZ985’s PCIe Gen3 x4 interface and Half-height Half-length form factor and can validate software and platform support.
Reasons to choose another storage tier
- General desktop or laptop storage, where current mainstream SSDs may offer better availability, capacity and platform compatibility.
- Workloads that need active, rapidly changing data in processor-addressable memory; DRAM is the appropriate class for that job.
- Applications dominated by sequential throughput rather than small, latency-sensitive operations.
- Systems that cannot accommodate an HHHL PCIe card or that require a current interface, firmware and support lifecycle.
- Projects whose decision depends on current pricing or independent cross-vendor benchmarks, because those facts are not established by the historical SZ985 materials.
How to evaluate an SZ985 or another claimed Z-NAND product
The SZ985 documentation dates from 2018. Treat any listing as a historical enterprise component until its identity, condition and compatibility are verified.
- Confirm the exact model. Check that the listing identifies the Samsung SZ985 and not a different Z-SSD, a similarly named flash product or a generic NVMe card.
- Check the interface. The documented drive uses PCIe Gen3 x4. Verify that the host supports the required PCIe slot, lane width and boot or data-drive configuration.
- Check physical clearance. The brochure identifies a Half-height Half-length form factor. Confirm chassis brackets, airflow and card clearance.
- Verify firmware and operating-system support. Enterprise drives may require particular firmware revisions, drivers, monitoring tools or platform settings. Obtain these from a trustworthy source before deployment.
- Inspect endurance history. The 30-DWPD-for-five-years figure is a rating for the product specification, not proof that a used drive has remaining endurance. Request SMART or vendor health data where available.
- Measure the actual workload. Test representative random reads, writes, queue depths, request sizes and steady-state conditions. Do not substitute a cell-read claim for an application benchmark.
- Compare the complete system cost. Include the host adapter or slot, cooling, support, replacement availability and software integration—not only the drive’s purchase price.
What Z-NAND is not
- It is not DRAM. Z-NAND retains data without power; DRAM does not.
- It is not a universal replacement for NAND SSDs. It is a specialized Samsung flash implementation, and the documented performance claims concern specific products and dates.
- It is not a guarantee of application-level speed. Controller, interface, firmware, host software and workload determine end-to-end behavior.
- It is not automatically current. The SZ985 announcements and brochure are from 2016–2018, and they do not establish present-day availability.
- It is not synonymous with every newer product using a similar name. Samsung’s 2026 zNAND-O announcement describes a separate V-NAND-based concept under development for edge-AI environments.
Z-NAND and Samsung’s 2026 zNAND-O concept
In August 2026, Samsung described zNAND-O as a V-NAND-based high-performance NAND solution under development for edge-AI applications. The announcement refers to four- and eight-layer concept models. It does not establish that zNAND-O is the same implementation used in the SZ985, that it is shipping, or that it replaces the earlier Z-NAND product.
Keeping the names separate avoids a common error: transferring the SZ985’s historical specifications to a 2026 concept, or assuming that a concept announcement proves current retail availability. Any evaluation of zNAND-O requires its own final specifications, interface, endurance, pricing and independent testing.
What the evidence can and cannot establish
Samsung’s announcements and brochure establish how the company positioned Z-NAND and what it claimed for the SZ985 at launch. They support the distinction between chip-level cell-read performance, drive-level IOPS and latency, and system-level application response.
They do not establish a current apples-to-apples benchmark against modern NAND SSDs, a market-wide price advantage, a universal performance multiplier over DRAM, or current SZ985 inventory. No independent third-party benchmark or contemporary price and availability figure is established here.
For a technical decision, use the historical figures as a starting specification, then validate the exact drive and test it in the target platform. For a conceptual question, the short answer is clear: Z-NAND is persistent Samsung flash optimized for low-latency storage, while DRAM is volatile working memory and ordinary NAND is the broader persistent-storage category.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
