Samsung 980 500GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
The PCIe 3.0 x4 interface delivers up to 3100 MB/s reads and 2600 MB/s writes, with 470K random write IOPS, making it a fast drop-in upgrade for older systems. Its nickel-coated controller and heat spreader label keep thermals in check during sustained workloads, while hardware encryption adds security without extra cost. Best for budget-conscious gamers or content creators upgrading a laptop or desktop from SATA, who want NVMe speed and Samsung reliability without paying for PCIe 4.0.
No current retailer price
Snapshot
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong social proof (95th percentile) 95th
- Strong random (85th percentile) 85th
- Strong feature (79th percentile) 79th
- Strong user sentiment (79th percentile) 79th
Cons
- Below average capacity (26th 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 6 dated customer reviews, grouped by calendar quarter. Period analysis is in English.
The proof
Performance
Specifications
Full Specifications
Drive
| Capacity | 500 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 3 |
| External | No |
Performance
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | 3100 |
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | 2600 |
| Random Read (IOPS) | 400000 |
| Random Write (IOPS) | 470000 |
Hardware
| NAND | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | No |
| Controller | Pablo |
Reliability
| Endurance (TBW) | 300 |
| MTBF (hours) | 1500000 |
Features
| Hardware Encryption | Yes |
vs Competition
| Spec | Samsung 980 | Western Digital Black SN850X | Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 | Crucial T500 | SanDisk WD_BLACK SN8100 | Seagate FireCuda 530R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB | 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 | 3,100 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 | false | true | true | true | true | false |
| Endurance | 300 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 980 | 58 | 84.9 | 78.8 | 26.4 | 78.8 | 70.3 | 95.2 | 50.7 |
| 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.
