Samsung 950 PRO 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Samsung
57 Overall Score
vs
Western Digital WD_BLACK SN8100 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Western Digital
89 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
Western Digital WD_BLACK SN8100 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
No customer feedback yet
Scores
Laptop
Budget
Workstation
Gaming
Console
Portable
Specifications
| Samsung 950 PRO | Western Digital WD_BLACK SN8100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | ||
| Capacity | ||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 |
| 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 | — |
| Reliability | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | ||
| MTBF (hours) | ||
| Warranty (years) | 5★ | 3 |
| 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 (92nd percentile)92nd %ile
- Strong social proof (87th percentile)87th %ile
- Strong random (78th percentile)
- Below average capacity (17th percentile)17th %ile
Western Digital WD_BLACK SN8100 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong random (98th percentile)98th %ile
- Strong speed (98th percentile)98th %ile
- Strong feature (97th percentile)97th %ile
- Strong social proof (95th percentile)95th %ile
Pricing
Samsung 950 PRO 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 22800.573score per dollar
vs
Western Digital WD_BLACK SN8100 1TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 22800.356score per dollar
Samsung 950 PRO 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280 offers 1.6x better value for money
Verdict
Winner: Western Digital WD_BLACK SN8100
Scores 89 overall, wins 6 of 6 usage categories and 8 of 18 specs.
