Five Samsung SSDs Are 'Qualified' for Use, But Not 'Certified' for Performance

Effective today, Convergent Design cut the price of its Odyssey SSDs by between 37% and 43%. The move is designed to lower the cost of operation for the company's Odyssey7, 7Q and 7Q+ monitor/recorders. Also, the Odyssey7Q+ now ships with a 256GB Odyssey SSD included.

The new price of a 256 GB SSD is $249, a 512GB Odyssey SSD is $449, and a 1 TB drive is $795. The Odyssey-branded SSDs are certified to work in Odyssey units, and Convergent Design guarantees their performance. 

Capacity Old List Price New List Price % Drop
256GB $395 $249 37%
512GB $795 $449 44%
1TB
(1024GB)
$1395 $795 43%
Source: Convergent Design

In addition, the company said it has begun qualifying third-party SSDs for use in the Odyssey line. Five Samsung SSDs are qualified for all 7.7-inch Odyssey monitor recorders, and will work once the forthcoming 2015.07 firmware update is released.

Not the company's distinction between certified drives and qualified drives. The significantly less-expensive Samsung drives have been "tested extensively" with all Odyssey recording modes, the company said, but unlike the certified Odyssey-branded drives, their performance is not guaranteed. Drives that are not at least qualified by Convergent Design will be prevented from working in the Odyssey.

Qualified Samsung SSDs
Samsung 850 PRO 128GB
Samsung 850 PRO 256GB
Samsung 850 PRO 512GB
Samsung 850 PRO 1024GB (1TB)
Samsung 850 EVO 1000GB
Note: Although the Samsung 850 EVO 500GB was previously named by Convergent Design as a supported drive, it has not been qualified for use with the Odyssey.
Source: Convergent Design

"Convergent Design customer support is available to our clients 24/7, but we may not be able to successfully support third-party product to the same extent as our own products," the company said in a prepared statement. In other words: do you feel lucky?