Samsung 950 PRO 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Samsung
57 Overall Score
vs
Kingston SSD PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 2280
Kingston
98 Overall Score
What Buyers Say
Samsung 950 PRO 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
78 out of 100 medium confidence 18 reviews
The Samsung 950 Pro SSD is praised for its blazing speed and performance, especially when properly configured with BIOS updates and NVMe drivers. Users report significant improvements over SATA SSDs, but some encountered issues with compatibility, thermal throttling, and Samsung's warranty support. Overall, it's a top-tier choice for enthusiasts, though setup can be tricky and requires careful motherboard compatibility checks.
Pros
- Blazing fast speeds
- Significant upgrade over SATA SSD
- Works well with proper BIOS settings
- Good for enthusiast builds
- Reliable after initial setup
Cons
- Compatibility issues with some motherboards
- Thermal throttling under load
- Samsung warranty support disappointing
- Requires BIOS updates and driver installation
- Not plug-and-play for all systems
Performance 7
Compatibility 6
Thermal throttling 3
Warranty support 2
Installation difficulty 4
Value for money 2
Kingston SSD PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 2280
No customer feedback yet
Scores
Laptop
Workstation
Gaming
Console
Budget
Portable
Specifications
| Samsung 950 PRO | Kingston SSD | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | ||
| Capacity | ||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 |
| Protocol | NVMe | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 3 | 5★ |
| External | ✗ | ✗ |
| Performance | ||
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | ||
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | ||
| Random Read (IOPS) | ||
| Random Write (IOPS) | ||
| Hardware | ||
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | ✓ | ✓ |
| Controller | Samsung UBX controller | SM2508 |
| Reliability | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | ||
| MTBF (hours) | No data | |
| Warranty (years) | 5 | 5 |
| Features | ||
| Heatsink | — | ✗ |
| Hardware Encryption | ✓★ | — |
Pros & Cons
Samsung 950 PRO 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong feature (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong endurance (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
- Strong social proof (87th percentile)87th %ile
- Strong random (78th percentile)
- Below average capacity (18th percentile)18th %ile
Kingston SSD PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong speed (100th percentile)100th %ile
- Strong random (99th percentile)99th %ile
- Strong endurance (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong capacity (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
- Below average affordability (6th percentile)6th %ile
Pricing
Samsung 950 PRO 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
No current pricing available
Kingston SSD PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 2280
Verdict
Winner: Kingston SSD
Scores 98 overall, wins 6 of 6 usage categories and 7 of 18 specs.
