Samsung PM953 480GB U.2 NVMe Enterprise SSD (MZQLV480HCGR-00003) — Refurbished
Technical Identity
The Samsung PM953 480GB U.2 NVMe Enterprise SSD (MZQLV480HCGR-00003) is a 2.5-inch read-centric enterprise NVMe solid-state drive built on Samsung V-NAND MLC flash with the Samsung Polaris controller. It was Samsung's first volume-shipping enterprise NVMe drive and is engineered for read-heavy datacenter workloads — boot volumes, OS images, read caching tiers, content distribution, virtualization datastores, and analytics scratch space. The drive uses a U.2 (SFF-8639) connector over a PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 1.2 host interface. Condition: Refurbished — tested and verified by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS.
Specifications
OEM: Samsung
Series / Family: PM953 (read-centric enterprise NVMe)
Part Number (MPN): MZQLV480HCGR-00003
Capacity: 480 GB
Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.2
Form Factor: 2.5-inch U.2 (SFF-8639), 15 mm z-height
NAND Type: Samsung V-NAND MLC (3D)
Controller: Samsung Polaris
Sequential Read: Up to 2,100 MB/s
Sequential Write: Up to 660 MB/s
Random Read (4K): ~220,000 IOPS
Power-Loss Protection: Capacitor-backed
Security: AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Workload Profile: Read-intensive (≤1 DWPD class)
Condition: Refurbished — Tested by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
What This Is NOT
NOT a consumer SSD — this is enterprise-grade with PLP and AES, not a desktop 970 EVO.
NOT a SATA or SAS drive — the U.2 (SFF-8639) connector carries PCIe/NVMe signaling and will not negotiate on a SATA/SAS backplane.
NOT an M.2 module — this is a 2.5-inch hot-swap drive, not an M.2 22110/2280 card.
NOT a 7 mm SATA-bay drive — the 15 mm z-height does not fit standard 7 mm trays.
NOT a write-intensive drive — for mixed-use or write-heavy workloads, the Samsung PM1725b is the appropriate alternative.
NOT PCIe 4.0 — the PM953 is a PCIe 3.0 x4 device; successors PM963 (PCIe 3.0) and PM9A3 (PCIe 4.0) cover later generations.
Compatibility
The Samsung PM953 MZQLV480HCGR drops into any U.2 (SFF-8639) NVMe-capable backplane with 15 mm clearance, or into a PCIe slot via a U.2-to-PCIe carrier card. Typical deployment platforms include Dell PowerEdge R630 / R730xd / R740xd, HPE ProLiant DL360 / DL380 Gen9–Gen10, Lenovo ThinkSystem SR630 / SR650, and Supermicro NVMe-enabled chassis. The drive is OS-agnostic at the NVMe layer (VMware ESXi, Windows Server, Linux distributions, FreeBSD). For SATA-to-NVMe migration in existing servers, verify the chassis exposes U.2 bays on a PCIe-routed backplane (not SAS-only). The PM953 is read-centric and intentionally paired with separate write-tier or persistent-log devices when used in mixed workloads.
FAQ
Q: What are the read throughput and IOPS of the Samsung PM953 480GB MZQLV480HCGR?
The Samsung PM953 480GB (MZQLV480HCGR-00003) delivers up to 2,100 MB/s sequential read and approximately 220,000 random 4K read IOPS over PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 1.2. Sequential write throughput is up to 660 MB/s. This represents roughly 4x the throughput of SATA SSDs like the Samsung SM863.
Q: Can the Samsung PM953 MZQLV480HCGR fit in a SATA or 7mm drive bay?
No. The Samsung PM953 MZQLV480HCGR is an NVMe drive with a U.2 SFF-8639 connector. It does NOT work in SATA or SAS backplanes. The 15mm z-height does NOT fit standard 7mm SATA trays. A U.2 NVMe backplane or PCIe adapter with 15mm clearance is required.
Q: What is the condition of the Samsung PM953 MZQLV480HCGR from T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS?
The Samsung PM953 480GB MZQLV480HCGR-00003 sold by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS at tes-itsolutions.com is refurbished and lab-tested with NVMe SMART data verification to confirm drive health, remaining endurance, and full functionality before shipment.
Why Choose T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS
Every Samsung PM953 SSD sold by T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS is lab-tested with NVMe SMART data verification to confirm drive health, remaining endurance, and full functionality. T.E.S IT-SOLUTIONS provides technical consultation for SATA-to-NVMe migration planning, server compatibility verification, and enterprise storage architecture. Orders ship within 1–3 business days with global delivery via DHL, FedEx, and UPS.