Samsung 950 PRO 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
The Samsung UBX controller and TLC NAND deliver 2200 MB/s reads and 270K random read IOPS, with a 5.7 W peak power draw that keeps heat low in compact M.2 2280 builds. Hardware encryption and Samsung Magician software add management and security without extra cost, backed by a 5-year warranty and 200 TBW endurance. This drive suits workstation users upgrading older PCIe 3.0 systems who need reliable NVMe speed for intensive workloads, though its 256GB capacity limits bulk storage.
No current retailer price
Snapshot
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong feature (94th percentile) 94th
- Strong endurance (92nd percentile) 92nd
- Strong social proof (87th percentile) 87th
- Strong random (78th percentile) 78th
Cons
- Below average capacity (18th percentile)
What owners think
How owner sentiment changed over time
ExclusiveBased on when customers actually wrote their reviews - so you can see whether early praise held up.
Based on 8 dated customer reviews, grouped by calendar quarter. Period analysis is in English.
The proof
Performance
Specifications
Full Specifications
Drive
| Capacity | 256 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 3 |
| External | No |
Performance
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | 2200 |
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | 900 |
| Random Read (IOPS) | 270000 |
| Random Write (IOPS) | 85000 |
Hardware
| NAND | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | Yes |
| Controller | Samsung UBX controller |
Reliability
| Endurance (TBW) | 200 |
| MTBF (hours) | 1500000 |
| Warranty (years) | 5 |
Features
| Hardware Encryption | Yes |
vs Competition
| Spec | Samsung 950 PRO | Western Digital Black SN850X | Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 | Crucial T500 | SanDisk WD_BLACK SN8100 | Seagate FireCuda 530R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 256GB | 4TB | 4TB | 2TB | 8TB | 4TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Seq Read | 2,200 MB/s | 7,300 MB/s | 14,800 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s | 14,900 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s |
| Nand Type | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC |
| Dram Cache | true | true | true | true | true | false |
| Endurance | 200 TBW | 2400 TBW | 4000 TBW | 1200 TBW | 4800 TBW | 5050 TBW |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | Speed | Random | Feature | Capacity | User Sentiment | Endurance | Social Proof | Affordability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung 950 PRO | 45.5 | 77.9 | 93.5 | 17.5 | 43.7 | 92.4 | 86.8 | 75.2 |
| Western Digital Black SN850X Compare | 88.5 | 95.2 | 89 | 92.6 | 94.5 | 88 | 95.2 | 11.4 |
| Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 Compare | 99.4 | 98.7 | 90.5 | 92.6 | 28.9 | 93.4 | 86.8 | 6.5 |
| Crucial T500 Compare | 93.8 | 96.5 | 98.9 | 78.3 | 78.8 | 82.8 | 95.2 | 20 |
| SanDisk WD_BLACK SN8100 Compare | 98.9 | 99.1 | 97.3 | 98.2 | 94.5 | 80.7 | 45.2 | 3.4 |
| Seagate FireCuda 530R Compare | 92.5 | 96.4 | 53.6 | 92.6 | 65.2 | 95.6 | 77.4 | 7 |
Usage Scores
A full written review is coming soon. The specs, scores, prices and charts above are always up to date.
