Samsung SSD 980

The SSD 980 is a successor to Samsung’s tremendously successful 970 EVO and EVO Plus. However, the SSD 980 does away with the EVO branding and neither is it suitable for a QVO designation. Compared to the 970 EVO range, the SSD 980 uses the same PCIe Gen3 interface but does not come with a DRAM buffer.

Overview: Memory Type, Controller, and Cache

Although an increasing amount of entry-level NVMe M.2 SSDs on the market in 2021 use cheaper QLC (quad-level cell) NAND, Samsung has not taken this route with the SSD 980. It uses similar TLC (triple-level cell) NAND as its predecessor as well as Samsung’s PCIe Gen4-enabled flagship, the 980 PRO (earlier PRO models used more expensive and durable MLC NAND).

Interestingly, the SSD 980 doesn not employ a variation of the Elpis controller found in the 980 PRO, but one called Samsung Pablo. This is an NVMe 1.4-compliant controller that, according to AnandTech, has previously been in Samsung’s portable T7 line of SSDs. It has four NAND channels instead of the eight found in higher-end NVMe drives, and lacks a DRAM interface.

Being DRAMless puts the SSD 980 in the same category of drives as other budget-oriented alternatives such as the WD Blue SN550. It also means that the drive utilizes up to system RAM as a buffer – in this case between 16 MB and 64 MB. The SSD 980 also makes aggressive use of an SLC-mode cache to prevent performance from deteriorating when the drive has to write directly to its comparatively slow TLC NAND.

Performance & Detailed Specifications

In terms of performance, the Samsung 980 is limited by the PCIe 3.0 interface, meaning that sequential performance is about half that of the 980 PRO and also slower than other Gen4 SSDs. As is usually the case, larger capacities perform better and only the 1TB model reaches the highest sequential transfer rates of 3500 MB/s (read) and 3000 MB/s (write). The same is true for random performance.

Specs: SSD 980 Vs. 970 EVO Plus Vs. 980 PRO

Compared to the 970 EVO Plus predecessor, it is clear that the SSD 980 is in several regards a step down in a technical sense and also in terms of performance. However, in spite of being DRAMless, the SSD 980 manages to mostly saturate the PCIe Gen3 interface as measured in peak sequential transfer rates.

At this writing, the largest capacity for the SSD 980 is 1 TB and higher-capacity models have yet to be announced.

Power Consumption (Laptop Suitability)

Idle power (L1.2) is as low as 5 mW and the 980’s active power draw is up to 4.6 W with the 1 TB capacity. This is more frugal compared to high-end Gen4 SSDs such as the 980 PRO, which may use up to 8.5 W when actively writing or reading.

Warranty and Endurance Rating

The SSD 980 is no different from the other Samsung NVMe SSDs when it comes to warranty and endurance. In other words, Samsung offers a limited 5-year warranty and/0r an endurance rating of 600 TBW (terabytes written) with the 1TB capacity, whatever comes first. Write endurance for the different capacities are:

• 150 TBW for 250 GB model
• 300 TBW for 500 GB model
• 600 TBW for 1 TB model

Expert Reviews

Additional info and comparisons can be found in our M.2 PCIe ranking here and our overall SSD top list here.

AnandTech:

Compared to its most important competitor, the year-old WD Blue SN550, the Samsung SSD 980 clearly hits better highs but also has more serious pitfalls.

StorageReview:

… In the end, though, the drive is still slower than the existing PCIe Gen3 comparables across many operating systems and benchmarks.

Guru3D:

Do more with less, and use what you got. This is the generic thesis behind the Samsung 980, which is exactly that, generic.