The manufacturer itself calls the Samsung SSD 970 EVO the predecessor of the Samsung SSD 980, but what are the differences between the two SSD series from Samsung? What innovations does the 980 series without the epithets “EVO” or “PRO” have compared to the 970 EVO? Can the Samsung SSD 980, as the successor generation, come up with powerful advantages over the Samsung SSD 970 EVO?
- ADS -
Advantages of the Samsung SSD 980 compared to the Samsung SSD 970 EVO
- Significantly larger TurboWrite buffer memory
- Tendentially lower prices
- Lower cost per gigabyte
Advantages Samsung SSD 970 EVO compared to Samsung SSD 980
- Internal DRAM cache memory
- Partially higher performance values
- Slightly better performance without TurboWrite
- Version with 2 TB storage capacity available
find best buy SSD on Amazon.com #ad
shop worldwide on | Amazon.com #ad | computeruniverse.net | eBay.com | AliExpress.com |
Differences in DRAM and HMB
Probably the most significant difference between the Samsung SSD 970 EVO and the Samsung SSD 980 is the lack of internal DRAM cache memory in the newer generation. Instead, the manufacturer relies on the so-called Host Memory Buffer technology (HMB) in the current SSD series, whereby the drive directly accesses the computer’s working memory. The controller of the Samsung SSD 980 also undergoes a renewal.
Similarities in format and interface
In terms of form factor and interface, there are no changes between the Samsung SSD 980 and the Samsung SSD 970 EVO. The successor is also connected to the system via the M.2 port using the PCI Express 3.0 protocol with 4 lanes. The physical dimensions of both plug-in card drives correspond to the M.2 2280 standard with a height of less than 2.5 millimeters, which also makes retrofitting many slim notebooks with Samsung’s SSD possible.
Comparison of performance and SLC cache
The performance of the Samsung SSD 980 in comparison to the Samsung SSD 970 EVO is on a similar level with up to 3500 MB/s in read and a maximum of 3000 MB/s in write, whereby the smallest version of the 980 series is marginally slower. It seems to be more important that the manufacturer has significantly increased the buffer memory for the so-called TurboWrite SLC caching, which is used for write acceleration, from 42 GB to 160 GB in the 1 TB version.
Similarities in warranty and capacity
Fortunately, buyers of the Samsung SSD 980, which is explicitly aimed at the price-conscious prospective buyers, do not have to make any concessions compared to the Samsung SSD 970 EVO in terms of the 5-year warranty period. The amount of data that can be written to the drive during this time also remains the same. However, Samsung does not offer the largest version of the 980 series with a storage capacity of 2 TB.
Comparison of the read and write speeds
| product / model | Samsung SSD 980 | Samsung SSD 970 EVO |
| sequential read with PCIe 3.0 |
2.900 MB/s (250 GB) 3.100 MB/s (500 GB) 3.500 MB/s (1 TB) |
3.400 MB/s (250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB) 3.500 MB/s (2 TB) |
| sequential write with PCIe 3.0 |
1.300 MB/s (250 GB) 2.600 MB/s (500 GB) 3.000 MB/s (1 TB) |
1.500 MB/s (250 GB) 2.300 MB/s (500 GB) 2.500 MB/s (1 TB, 2 TB) |
| sequential write after TurboWrite |
250 MB/s (250 GB) 500 MB/s (500 GB) 900 MB/S (1 TB) |
300 MB/s (250 GB) 600 MB/S (500 GB) 1.200 MB/s (1 TB) 1.250 MB/S (2 TB) |
Conclusion SSD comparison – Samsung SSD 980 and Samsung SSD 970 EVO differences
The Samsung SSD 980 succeeds the Samsung SSD 970 EVO with a lower price, which should especially please frugal newcomers to the world of NVMe drives. The omission of the internal DRAM cache should hardly be noticed in everyday tasks of the current generation, whereas the SLC cache buffer has been expanded considerably. Whether the Samsung SSD 970 EVO or the Samsung SSD 980 is the better choice in the end will be decided by the individual usage behavior and perhaps also the costs per gigabyte.
find best buy SSD on Amazon.com #ad
shop worldwide on | Amazon.com #ad | computeruniverse.net | eBay.com | AliExpress.com |
Samsung SSD 980 vs Samsung SSD 970 EVO – Technical data comparison differences
| product / model | Samsung SSD 980 | Samsung SSD 970 EVO |
| form factor | M.2 2280 SSD | M.2 2280 SSD |
| interface | PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.4 | PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 |
| capacity | 250 GB 500 GB 1 TB |
250 GB 500 GB 1 TB 2 TB |
| dimensions | 80,15 x 22,15 x 2,38 mm | 80,15 x 22,15 x 2,38 mm |
| controller | Samsung Pablo Controller | Samsung Phoenix Controller |
| NAND type | Samsung V-NAND 3-Bit MLC (TLC) | Samsung V-NAND 3-Bit MLC (TLC) |
| DRAM cache | – | 512 MB LPDDR4 (250 GB, 500 GB) 1 GB LPDDR4 (1 TB) 2 GB LPDDR4 (2 TB) |
| TurboWrite cache | 45 GB (250 GB) 122 GB (500 GB) 160 GB (1 TB) |
13 GB (250 GB) 22 GB (500 GB) 42 GB (1 TB) 78 GB (2 TB) |
| sequential read | 2.900 MB/s (250 GB) 3.100 MB/s (500 GB) 3.500 MB/s (1 TB) |
3.400 MB/s (250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB) 3.500 MB/s (2 TB) |
| sequential write | 1.300 MB/s (250 GB) 2.600 MB/s (500 GB) 3.000 MB/s (1 TB) |
1.500 MB/s (250 GB) 2.300 MB/s (500 GB) 2.500 MB/s (1 TB, 2 TB) |
| sequential write after TurboWrite | 250 MB/s (250 GB) 500 MB/s (500 GB) 900 MB/S (1 TB) |
300 MB/s (250 GB) 600 MB/S (500 GB) 1.200 MB/s (1 TB) 1.250 MB/S (2 TB) |
| random read (QD1) | 17.000 IOPS | 15.000 IOPS |
| random write (QD1) | 53.000 IOPS (250 GB) 54.000 IOPS (500 GB, 1 TB) |
50.000 IOPS |
| random read (QD32) | 230.000 IOPS (250 GB) 400.000 IOPS (500 GB) 500.000 IOPS (1 TB) |
200.000 IOPS (250 GB) 370.000 IOPS (500 GB) 500.000 IOPS (1 TB, 2 TB) |
| random write (QD32) | 320.000 IOPS (250 GB) 470.000 IOPS (500 GB) 480.000 IOPS (1 TB) |
350.000 IOPS (250 GB) 450.000 IOPS (500 GB, 1 TB) 480.000 IOPS (2 TB) |
| reliability (MTTF) | 1,5 million hours | 1,5 million hours |
| TBW | 150 TB (250 GB) 300 TB (500 GB) 600 TB (1 TB) |
150 TB (250 GB) 300 TB (500 GB) 600 TB (1 TB) 1.200 TB (2 TB) |
| warranty | 5 years limited | 5 years limited |
| model code / part number | MZ-V8V250BW (250 GB) MZ V8V500BW (500 GB) MZ V8V1T0BW (1 TB) |
MZ-V7E250BW (250 GB) MZ-V7E500BW (500 GB) MZ-V7E1T0BW (1 TB) MZ-V7E2T0BW (2 TB) |
