Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
The 970 EVO Plus hits 3,500 MB/s reads and 3,300 MB/s writes over PCIe 3.0 x4, backed by Samsung's Phoenix controller and MLC NAND for sustained performance. Its 600 TBW endurance and 1.5 million hour MTBF make it a reliable pick, while Dynamic Thermal Guard keeps temperatures in check during heavy loads. Best for budget-conscious laptop builders and workstation users who need a fast, durable 1TB boot or application drive without stepping up to PCIe 4.0.
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Aperçu
The 30-Second Version
The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is the best PCIe 3.0 drive you can buy, with a 97th percentile feature score and excellent random performance. It's not cheap, and the 1-year warranty stings, but if you're on a Gen 3 system, this is the drive to get. Just make sure you grab it on sale.
Pros & Cons
Points forts
- Top-tier feature set for a Gen 3 drive 97th
- Excellent random read and write performance 87th
- DRAM cache keeps things consistent 87th
- Proven Samsung reliability with 600 TBW endurance 74th
Points faibles
- PCIe 3.0 speed ceiling limits future-proofing
- 1-year warranty is stingy for a premium SSD
- Price fluctuates wildly between vendors
- Portable use case scores terribly at 18.3
Les preuves
Performance
Sequential reads hit 3,500 MB/s and writes land at 3,300 MB/s. That's the ceiling for PCIe 3.0, so you're not leaving anything on the table. Random performance is where this drive still shines, 600K read IOPS and 550K write IOPS put it in the 87th percentile. The Phoenix controller and DRAM cache keep things snappy under real workloads. But let's be honest, any Gen 4 drive will smoke this in sequential transfers. The 600 TBW endurance rating is middle of the pack at 74th percentile. Fine for most people, not a data center workhorse.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Drive
| Capacity | 1000 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 3 |
| External | No |
Performance
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | 3500 |
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | 3300 |
| Random Read (IOPS) | 600000 |
| Random Write (IOPS) | 550000 |
Hardware
| NAND | MLC |
| DRAM Cache | Yes |
| Controller | Samsung Phoenix |
Reliability
| Endurance (TBW) | 600 |
| MTBF (hours) | 1500000 |
| Warranty (years) | 1 |
Features
| Heatsink | No |
| Hardware Encryption | Yes |
vs Competition
Against the Crucial T500 and WD_BLACK SN7100, the 970 EVO Plus shows its age. Those Gen 4 drives will double your sequential speeds for similar money. The Kingston FURY Renegade G5 and Micron T710 also outpace this drive in raw throughput. But here's the thing, the Samsung still wins on features and random performance. If you're on a Gen 3 motherboard, none of those competitors matter. You physically can't use their extra speed. In that scenario, the 970 EVO Plus is arguably the best Gen 3 drive you can buy.
| Spec | Samsung 970 EVO Plus | Western Digital Black SN850X | Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 | Crucial T500 | SanDisk WD_BLACK WDS800T2XHE | Seagate FireCuda 530R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 1TB | 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 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Seq Read | 3,500 MB/s | 7,300 MB/s | 14,800 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s | 7,200 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s |
| Nand Type | MLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC |
| Dram Cache | true | true | true | true | true | false |
| Endurance | 600 TBW | 2400 TBW | 4000 TBW | 1200 TBW | 4800 TBW | 5050 TBW |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Produit | Speed | Random | Feature | Capacity | Endurance | Preuve sociale | Affordability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung 970 EVO Plus | 63.6 | 87.4 | 97.3 | 54.9 | 74.2 | 86.8 | 33.5 |
| Western Digital Black SN850X Compare | 88.5 | 95.2 | 89 | 92.5 | 88 | 95 | 10.7 |
| Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 Compare | 99.4 | 98.7 | 90.5 | 92.5 | 93.4 | 86.8 | 6.5 |
| Crucial T500 Compare | 93.8 | 96.5 | 98.9 | 78.4 | 82.9 | 95 | 19.9 |
| SanDisk WD_BLACK WDS800T2XHE Compare | 87.1 | 96 | 93.6 | 98.1 | 88 | 95 | 3.9 |
| Seagate FireCuda 530R Compare | 92.6 | 96.4 | 53.7 | 92.5 | 95.6 | 77.3 | 6.9 |
Prix
Value & Pricing
Pricing is all over the place. We're seeing USD 121 to USD 340 across four listings, which is a massive spread. At the low end, this is a steal. At the high end, you're getting robbed. Newegg has the best deal right now, so check there before you buy anywhere else. The affordability score sits at 34th percentile, which means you're paying a Samsung tax. If you catch it under USD 150, it's worth it. Over USD 200, you should be looking at Gen 4 drives instead.
En savoir plus
Overview
The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is the old reliable of PCIe 3.0 drives. It's been around for years, and for good reason. You get 3,500 MB/s reads, 3,300 MB/s writes, and Samsung's Phoenix controller with DRAM cache. Nothing flashy here, just a drive that works.
Our database puts its feature set at the 97th percentile, which is wild for a Gen 3 drive in a Gen 4 world. The random performance is a standout too. But the speed score sits at 64th percentile, which tells you exactly where this drive lives now. Solid, not spectacular.
Common Questions
Q: Is this drive compatible with my PCIe 4.0 motherboard?
Yes, PCIe 4.0 slots are backwards compatible with Gen 3 drives. You'll just be limited to Gen 3 speeds, which max out at 3,500 MB/s reads on this drive.
Q: Does the 970 EVO Plus come with cloning software?
Samsung includes their Data Migration software for free, which makes cloning your existing drive pretty painless. You'll need to download it from Samsung's website.
Q: Is the 1TB version worth it over the 500GB?
For most people, yes. The 1TB model has better endurance at 600 TBW and gives you breathing room for games and large files. The 500GB version fills up fast.
Who Should Skip This
Skip this if you have a PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 motherboard. You're leaving massive performance on the table for no real savings. Also skip it if you need a portable drive, the 18.3 portable score is one of the worst we've seen. And if you're building a budget system, the 34th percentile affordability score means there are cheaper options that'll do the job fine.
Verdict
Buy this if you have a PCIe 3.0 system and want the best possible drive for it. The 970 EVO Plus maxes out the Gen 3 interface and brings excellent random performance. It's also a solid choice for laptops, scoring 76.1 out of 100 in our database. Just don't pay full price. Wait for a sale, grab it under USD 150, and enjoy a drive that'll last you years.
