Samsung SSD 980 vs Samsung SSD 980 PRO – Comparison, Differences, Pros and Cons

After the Samsung SSD 980 PRO from fall 2020, the Samsung SSD 980 will appear on the hardware market in spring 2021. The tasks between Samsung’s two SSD series are clearly distributed. While the 980 PRO serves the demands of professional users, the 980 without any additions in the model name is primarily aimed at newcomers to the world of NVMe SSD drives.

Advantages of Samsung SSD 980 compared to Samsung SSD 980 PRO

• Larger SLC cache for TurboWrite
• Lower cost per gigabyte
• Significantly lower price

Advantages Samsung SSD 980 PRO compared to Samsung SSD 980

• Connection via PCIe Gen 4.0 interface
• Higher read and write performance
• Internal DRAM cache memory
• Variant with 2 TB memory size available

find best buy SSD on Amazon.com #ad

shop worldwide on | Amazon.com #ad | computeruniverse.net | eBay.com | AliExpress.com |

Overview of the new features and innovations

The Samsung SSD 980 and the Samsung SSD 980 PRO each shine with special innovations. On the one hand, the 980 without PRO is the first drive from Samsung that doesn’t use the internal DRAM cache memory. Instead, the manufacturer relies on the HMB technology (Host Memory Buffer), which gives the SSD direct access to the system memory. On the other hand, the 980 with PRO is Samsung’s first PRO drive with Triple Level Cell NAND (TLC), which can store up to 3 bits per cell.

Performance and interface comparison

One difference between the Samsung SSD 980 PRO and the Samsung SSD 980 that is significant for performance is found in the interface used. Although both NVMe SSD drives conform to the M.2 2280 plug-in card format, the PRO variant is connected to the system via fourth-generation PCI Express. The more modern interface enables maximum read speeds of up to 7,000 MB/s compared to 3,500 MB/s of the Samsung SSD 980. The Samsung SSD 980 PRO is also clearly ahead in write with 5,100 MB/s compared to 3,000 MB/s.

Differences in warranty and configuration

Both the Samsung SSD 980 and the Samsung SSD 980 PRO use TurboWrite technology for write performance acceleration. The SLC cache buffer area of the former has been increased considerably in view of the missing DRAM. The manufacturer’s warranty of 5 years is pleasantly long for both SSD series and the TBW values are equally generous. The Samsung SSD 980 and the Samsung SSD 980 PRO overlap in capacities from 250 GB to 1 TB, the latter additionally offers a 2 TB variant.

Comparison of read and write speeds

product / model	Samsung SSD 980	Samsung SSD 980 PRO
sequential read with PCIe 4.0	–	6.400 MB/s (250 GB) 6.900 MB/s (500 GB) 7.000 MB/s (1 TB)
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 4.0	–	2.700 MB/s (250 GB) 5.000 MB/s (500 GB, 1 TB) 5.100 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)	2.700 MB/s (250 GB) 3.400 MB/s (500 GB) 3.450 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)	500 MB/s (250 GB) 1.100 MB/s (500 GB) 2.000 MB/s (1 TB, 2 TB)

Conclusion SSD comparison – Samsung SSD 980 and Samsung SSD 980 PRO differences

Purely reduced to the performance rates, the Samsung SSD 980 PRO is clearly ahead in comparison to the Samsung SSD 980, as expected. Whether on a PCIe 4.0 or a PCIe 3.0 port and even without the acceleration via TurboWrite, the NVMe SSD drive with the PRO in the model name is always faster. However, the higher performance, which rather only professional users benefit from, also means significantly higher costs per gigabyte. Therefore, every prospective buyer should individually check whether the Samsung SSD 980 could be the better, because cheaper, solution for him.

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 980 PRO – Technical data comparison differences

product / model	Samsung SSD 980	Samsung SSD 980 PRO
form factor	M.2 2280 SSD	M.2 2280 SSD
interface	PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.4	PCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.3c
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 Elpis 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)	49 GB (250 GB) 94 GB (500 GB) 114 GB (1 TB) 222 GB (2 TB)
sequential read	2.900 MB/s (250 GB) 3.100 MB/s (500 GB) 3.500 MB/s (1 TB)	6.400 MB/s (250 GB) 6.900 MB/s (500 GB) 7.000 MB/s (1 TB, 2 TB)
sequential write	1.300 MB/s (250 GB) 2.600 MB/s (500 GB) 3.000 MB/s (1 TB)	2.700 MB/s (250 GB) 5.000 MB/s (500 GB, 1 TB) 5.100 MB/S (2 TB)
sequential write after TurboWrite	250 MB/s (250 GB) 500 MB/s (500 GB) 900 MB/S (1 TB)	500 MB/s (250 GB) 1.100 MB/s (500 GB) 2.000 MB/s (1 TB, 2 TB)
random read (QD1)	17.000 IOPS	22.000 IOPS
random write (QD1)	53.000 IOPS (250 GB) 54.000 IOPS (500 GB, 1 TB)	60.000 IOPS
random read (QD32)	230.000 IOPS (250 GB) 400.000 IOPS (500 GB) 500.000 IOPS (1 TB)	500.000 IOPS (250 GB) 800.000 IOPS (500 GB) 1.000.000 IOPS (1 TB)
random write (QD32)	320.000 IOPS (250 GB) 470.000 IOPS (500 GB) 480.000 IOPS (1 TB)	600.000 IOPS (250 GB) 1.000.000 IOPS (500 GB, 1 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-V8P250BW (250 GB) MZ-V8P500BW (500 GB) MZ-V8P1T0BW (1 TB) MZ-V8P2T0BW (2 TB)