Kingston KC3000 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Kingston
85 Overall Score
vs
Samsung PM981 512GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Samsung
37 Overall Score
What Buyers Say
Kingston KC3000 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
No customer feedback yet
Samsung PM981 512GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
72 out of 100 medium confidence 12 reviews
The Samsung PM981 NVMe SSD generally delivers excellent performance, with users reporting fast boot times and high read/write speeds. However, several reviewers received used or OEM units instead of new retail drives, and one received a Kingston drive instead of Samsung. Overall, the drive is praised for its speed and ease of installation, but the packaging and authenticity issues are notable concerns.
Pros
- Fast boot times
- High read/write speeds
- Easy installation
- Good value for money
- Compatible with many laptops
Cons
- Received used or OEM units
- One received Kingston instead of Samsung
- Packaging not retail
- Pre-installed software on used drive
Performance 6
Authenticity 3
Packaging 2
Ease of installation 4
Value for money 3
Compatibility 3
Scores
Budget
Workstation
Gaming
Console
Laptop
Portable
Specifications
| Kingston KC3000 | Samsung PM981 | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | ||
| Capacity | ||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 4★ | 3 |
| External | ✗ | ✗ |
| Performance | ||
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | ||
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | ||
| Random Read (IOPS) | No data | |
| Random Write (IOPS) | No data | |
| Hardware | ||
| NAND | TLC★ | — |
| DRAM Cache | ✓★ | — |
| Controller | Phison E18 | — |
| Reliability | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | No data | |
| MTBF (hours) | No data | |
| Warranty (years) | 5★ | — |
| Features | ||
| Heatsink | ✓★ | — |
Pros & Cons
Kingston KC3000 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong feature (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong random (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
- Strong endurance (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
- Strong social proof (87th percentile)87th %ile
Samsung PM981 512GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Below average feature (15th percentile)15th %ile
- Below average endurance (15th percentile)15th %ile
- Below average user sentiment (29th percentile)
- Below average capacity (34th percentile)
Verdict
Winner: Kingston KC3000
Scores 85 overall, wins 6 of 6 usage categories and 12 of 17 specs.