Samsung NVMe SSD in the test: 990 Pro, 980 Pro, 970 Pro, 960 Pro and 950 Pro in comparison 91 comments
Samsung’s NVMe SSDs have been available in the Pro series since 2015. Together with the 990 Pro, 980 Pro, 970 Pro, 960 Pro and 950 Pro, they are all tested again for generation comparison. A lot has changed in terms of performance in 7 years. But there are also some surprises.
Table of contents 990 Pro, 980 Pro, 970 Pro, 960 Pro and 950 Pro in comparison A look back at five generations Key data in comparison Benchmarks Writing performance (SLC mode) Reading and copying Gaming performance Office performance Theoretical performance Power consumption and temperatures Conclusion
A look back at five generations
In October 2015, the era of Samsung Pro series SATA SSDs ended and the Samsung SSD 950 Pro (test) was the first model with PCI Express and NVMe. This relied on the UBX controller manufactured in 32 nm, LPDDR3 cache and Samsung’s second generation 3D NAND at 2 bits per cell (MLC). A maximum of 512 GB of storage space and 2,500 MB/s and 300,000 IOPS were offered. As with subsequent successors, the interface was always PCIe 3.0 x4.
The Samsung SSD 960 Pro (test), released a year later, produced models up to 2 TB thanks to more modern memory chips with twice the capacity. Additionally, performance, at least in reading, almost reached the interface’s limit at up to 3,500 MB/s, which even the test system of the time couldn’t really deliver.
At least in terms of writing, the Samsung 970 Pro (test) has improved somewhat in terms of performance, thanks to the new Phoenix controller and fourth generation MLC-NAND.
However, only the Samsung 980 Pro (test) upgraded the interface to PCIe 4.0 x4. This simply doubled the maximum possible flow rate. So the datasheet now shows up to 7,000 MB/s for sequential reading and up to 1 million IOPS for random reading and writing.
However, there was a step backwards in terms of memory type, which also attracted a lot of criticism: instead of MLC with 2 bits per cell, TLC-NAND with 3 bits per cell was used for the first time in the series. Because it is potentially less durable, the change was not deemed worthy of a “Pro” series. TLC should be reserved for the cheaper Evo series.
However, the higher bit density and, ultimately, above all the costs, have meant that MLC has today almost disappeared from the market and TLC is the most widely used memory type. This is why the still current fifth generation of Samsung Pro SSDs also relies on TLC. The Samsung 990 Pro (test), released in October 2022, which later received a 4TB model and variants with heatsink as a latecomer, uses Samsung’s seventh generation 3D NAND. While other manufacturers already had PCIe 5.0 on the list, Samsung, to the surprise of some, stuck with PCIe 4.0. There had also been rumors the other way before.
The Samsung 990 Pro runs at a maximum of 7,450 MB/s and 1.6 million IOPS at the absolute limit of PCI 4.0 x4. Like its predecessor, the Pascal controller is still manufactured in 8nm, but operates much more efficiently thanks to the improved architecture.
Comparison of key data
950 Pro 960 Pro 970 Pro 980 Pro 990 Pro Form factor M.2-2280 (protocol) PCIe 3.0 x4 (NVMe 1.1) PCIe 3.0 x4 (NVMe 1.2) PCIe 3.0 x4 (NVMe 1.3) PCIe 4.0 x4 (NVMe 1.3c) PCIe controller 4.0 x4 (NVMe 2.0) Samsung UBX (32 nm) Samsung Polaris (28 nm) Samsung Phoenix (14 nm) Samsung Elpis (8 nm) Samsung Pascal (8 nm) NAND-Flash-Speicher 3D-MLC (V2, 32 Layer, 128 Gbit ) 3D-MLC (V3, 48 layers, 256 Gbit) 3D-MLC (V4, 64 layers, 256 Gbits) 3D-TLC (V6, 128 layers, 512 Gbits) 3D-TLC (V7, 176 layers, 512 Gbits) DRAM cache LPDDR3 LPDDR3 LPDDR4 LPDDR4 LPDDR4 SLC cache – – – ✓ ✓ Seq . Read/write (max.) 2500/1500 MB/s 3500/2100 MB/s 3500/2700 MB/s 7000/5100 MB/s 7450/6900 MB/s Read/write random (max.) 300,000/110,000 IOPS 440 000/360,000 IOPS 500,000/500,000 1,000,000,000,000 0,000,000 or 1,600,000 or 1,550,000 GB 1000/2000/4000 GB TBW 200/400 TB 400/800/1200 TB 600/1200 TB 150/300/600/1200 TB 600/1200/2400 TB Garantiedauer 5 Jahre Kühler – – – optional optional Marktstart (Series) October 2015 October 2016 May 2018 September 2020 October 2022
Landmarks
Write performance (SLC mode)
The transition from MLC storage to TLC storage and the introduction of SLC cache can be clearly seen in the diagram. The older 950 Pro, 960 Pro, and 970 Pro models with MLC memory offer an almost constant write rate without any spikes. With SSDs with TLC storage like the Samsung 990 Pro, the SLC cache significantly speeds up the writing of a certain amount of data, so that around 5 GB/s is possible in this case. After that, the write rate drops quickly because writing is now done in slower TLC mode. Then the write speed of 990 Pro is even lower than that of 970 Pro.
Reading and copying
The Samsung 990 Pro just doesn’t like the hands-on reading test in the Editor’s Latest Test Course. This is also clear when comparing generations, in which even the predecessor achieves better results. But this only applies to the freshly formatted empty state. At a fill level of 80%, the 980 Pro offers the worst result.
The Samsung 970 Pro is relatively solid despite PCIe 3.0. A 950 Pro with only 256 GB is far behind.
The 980 Pro is also slightly better than the 990 Pro in the copy test. The predecessors have no chance of following. With the 950 Pro at 256 GB and the tests with a fill level of 80%, there is no longer enough free storage space for this test which requires almost 400 GB.
Gaming Performance
In the first gaming test, the 3DMark Storage, the Samsung 990 Pro shows that it is the youngest and fastest model in the series. With a whopping 39% lead, it leads the 980 Pro. The performance of the 970 Pro is once again impressive: it is only 6% behind the 980 Pro, which has an interface twice as fast.
The Samsung 970 Pro is about twice as fast as the oldest models in this test based on Microsoft’s Direct Storage API. But it also impressively shows that the move to PCIe 4.0 is worth it. Surprisingly, the 990 Pro also falls behind its predecessor, the 980 Pro, in this test. However, repeated measurements did not change this result.
Office performance
UL’s benchmarks are particularly good for the 990 Pro. As in 3DMark Storage, the lead over the 980 Pro is enormous. Older PCIe 3.0-equipped models see no sunshine in this test and are also close together. The differences in latency and throughput between the slowest and fastest models are huge.
Theoretical performance
The 990 Pro can only beat its predecessor when it comes to sequential playback, while the 980 Pro is the series champion when it comes to random playback. As expected, the 950 Pro finished in last place, far behind. The 960 Pro and 970 Pro are at the limit of PCIe 3.0 x4 with a maximum throughput of around 3,500 MB/s.
Writing performance has particularly increased with the generation change from 950 Pro to 960 Pro and from 970 Pro to 980 Pro. In both cases, the sequential write speed is more than doubled.
Power consumption and temperatures
We cannot say generally that power consumption has increased with each generation depending on performance. A 960 Pro actually requires more power than a 950 Pro. But the 990 Pro proves that it can sometimes be inferior to its predecessor. Increases in energy efficiency among younger generations are therefore notable. This is due not only to the finer manufacturing process of the new controllers, but also to their architecture.
What can definitely be said, however, is that more modern SSDs require better cooling. Although they don’t require more power, controllers have become smaller. The heat release area has therefore also decreased. The trick of the copper foil in the sticker is often no longer sufficient to prevent temperature-related performance limitation. Therefore, since the 980 Pro it has always been possible to purchase a variant with a suitable heatsink.
But with the Samsung 950 Pro in 2015, performance loss due to high temperatures suddenly became a problem that the editorial team was not yet aware of and therefore dedicated a separate article to.
Samsung SSD 950 Pro: Temperature and performance in a battle
Last word
A look at five generations of Samsung SSD 9xx Pro reveals: A lot has happened in seven years in the NVMe era. Throughputs have increased significantly with the move from PCIe 3.0 to PCIe 4.0, and yet younger models like the 980 Pro and 990 Pro don’t require much more, or sometimes even less, power than some predecessors. This is made possible by modernly manufactured and designed controllers as well as fewer memory chips with more volume. The energy efficiency of Samsung SSDs has increased significantly, but using a cooler is still recommended.
Five generations of Samsung SSD 9xx Pro in comparison
The tests also revealed a few surprises. Not only was the 950 Pro sometimes faster than the 960 Pro (this was also the case for smaller versions in 2016), but the latest flagship, the 990 Pro, also sometimes had to admit defeat to its predecessor, the 980 Pro. So there has been no progress in all situations.
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