Samsung SSD 980 vs Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus

The Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus supplemented the manufacturer’s SSD storage portfolio as an optimized 970 EVO at that time. The Samsung SSD 980 now appears as the successor generation of the same EVO series. But how do the two NVMe drives differ from each other in detail? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Samsung SSD 980 and the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus in comparison?

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Advantages of the Samsung SSD 980 compared to the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus

Enlarged SLC cache buffer memory
Lower prices on average
Lower cost per gigabyte

Advantages Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus compared to Samsung SSD 980

Internal DRAM cache memory
Partially faster read and write speeds
Better performance without TurboWrite
Version with 2 TB memory size available

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Similarities in interface and format

In terms of form factor as well as interface, the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus and the Samsung SSD 980 follow the usual standards that have long been established for NVMe drives. Both SSD hard drives correspond to the M.2 2280 plug-in card format with their outer dimensions of 80 millimeters in length and 22 millimeters in width. Both the 980 and the 970 EVO Plus are connected to the system via the PCIe Gen 3.0 protocol with 4 lanes. The 3-bit TLC NAND is used as the flash memory type in each case.

Samsung SSD 980 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD — Samsung SSD 980 (Source: Samsung)

Differences in DRAM cache and SLC cache

The biggest difference between the Samsung SSD 980 and the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus is the lack of internal DRAM cache memory in the former. As a replacement, unlike the 970 EVO Plus series, the manufacturer relies on the use of HMB (Host Memory Buffer) technology in the 980 series, which gives the SSD direct access to system memory, while also significantly expanding the TurboWrite buffer area, which serves as an SLC cache of write performance acceleration.

Comparison of performance and features

While the Samsung SSD 980 can still keep up well with the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus in sequential reads with up to 3500 MB/s, the gap in writes is still worth mentioning. The older SSD generation is also ahead in performance without TurboWrite technology. In contrast, the two NVMe SSD series from Samsung are identical in the offered warranty period of 5 years. The available storage capacities start at 250 GB and end at 1 TB for the Samsung SSD 980 and at 2 TB for the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus.

Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 SSD — Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus Series (Source: Samsung)

Comparison of read and write speeds

product / model	Samsung SSD 980	Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus
sequential read with PCIe 3.0	2.900 MB/s (250 GB) 3.100 MB/s (500 GB) 3.500 MB/s (1 TB)	3.500 MB/s
sequential write with PCIe 3.0	1.300 MB/s (250 GB) 2.600 MB/s (500 GB) 3.000 MB/s (1 TB)	2.300 MB/s (250 GB) 3.200 MB/s (500 GB) 3.300 MB/s (1 TB, 2 TB)
sequential write with TurboWrite	250 MB/s (250 GB) 500 MB/s (500 GB) 900 MB/S (1 TB)	400 MB/s (250 GB) 900 MB/s (500 GB) 1.700 MB/s (1 TB) 1.750 MB/s (2 TB)

Conclusion SSD comparison – Samsung SSD 980 and Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus differences

Even after years after its release, the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus does not lose its appeal thanks to the very good price-performance ratio. The Samsung SSD 980 should not be seen as a competitor product, but rather as an addition to the manufacturer’s range. Thus, the 980 without PRO takes over the task of a cheap entry-level SSD that opens the world of NVMe drives to all price-conscious buyers. The 970 EVO Plus remains the all-rounder that is aimed at both professional users and everyday users due to its reasonable cost per gigabyte and above-average performance.

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