What’s the difference between the 970 PRO and 980 PRO?

Samsung recently released the 980 PRO NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive. So, how does the new internal storage drive stack up against the similar 970 PRO NVMe?

You can find out in this comparison guide between the two SSDs.

Quick Summary

When compared to the 970 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD, the 980 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD is faster when it comes to maximum sequential read speed over PCIe 4.0, maximum sequential write speed over PCIe 4.0, maximum random read speed over PCIe 4.0, maximum random write speed over PCIe 4.0, maximum sequential write speed over PCIe 3.0, maximum random read speed over PCIe 3.0 and maximum random write speed over PCIe 3.0.

Both solid state drives have the same maximum sequential read speed over PCIe 3.0.

With that said, the Samsung 970 PRO has much better endurance than the Samsung 980 PRO as you can write twice the amount of data on the 970 PRO when compared to 980 PRO.

If you want the best speeds, then you should get the 980 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD.

If you want your storage drive to last as long as possible, then you may want to get the 970 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD instead.

970 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD vs. 980 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD Comparison Chart

You can check out Seeking Tech’s comparison table for these two Samsung SSDs below.

Capacity Options

The Samsung 980 PRO comes in three size options as you can choose between 250 GB, 500 GB and 1 TB.

The older Samsung 970 PRO is available at either 512 GB and 1 TB.

You can take a look at the model number for each capacity option for both internal solid state drives below:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: MZ-V7P512BW
• 1 TB 970 PRO: MZ-V7P1T0BW

• 250 GB 980 PRO: MZ-V8P250B/AM
• 500 GB 980 PRO: MZ-V8P500B/AM
• 1 TB 980 PRO: MZ-V8P1T0B/AM

Interface

The 970 PRO uses the PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 interface while the 980 PRO uses the newer PCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.3c interface.

Form Factor

Both internal solid-state drives in this versus guide utilize the M.2 2280 form factor.

Storage Memory Technology

When it comes to storage memory technology, the Samsung 970 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD and 980 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD are equipped with the Samsung V-NAND 2-bit MLC.

Controller

The 970 PRO uses the Samsung Phoenix Controller while the 980 PRO uses the Samsung Elpis Controller.

Sequential Read Speed over PCIe 4.0

If you pair the Samsung 970 PRO on a motherboard with the PCIe 4.0 interface, you will be limited to PCIe 3.0 speeds.

When compared to the 512GB version of 970 PRO, the 500GB version of the 980 PRO is 97 percent faster at maximum sequential reads.

When compared to the 1TB version of the 970 PRO, the 1TB version of the 980 Pro is 100 percent faster.

You can take a look at the PCIe 4.0 sequential read speed specifications below:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: Up to 3,500 MB per second
• 1 TB 970 PRO: Up to 3,500 MB per second

• 250 GB Samsung 980: Up to 6,400 MB per second
• 500 GB Samsung 980: Up to 6,900 MB per second
• 1 TB Samsung 980: Up to 7,000 MB per second

Sequential Write Speed over PCIe 4.0

For maximum sequential writes, the 500GB 980 PRO is 117 percent faster than the 512GB 970 PRO while the 1TB 980 PRO is 85 percent faster than the 1TB 970 PRO.

You can take a look at the PCIe 4.0 sequential writing speeds below:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: Up to 2,300 MB per second
• 1 TB 970 PRO: Up to 2,700 MB per second

• 250 GB 980 PRO: Up to 2,700 MB per second
• 500 GB 980 PRO: Up to 5,000 MB per second
• 1 TB 980 PRO: Up to 5,000 MB per second

Random Read Speed over PCIe 4.0

For the maximum random read speeds, the 500GB 980 PRO is 170% faster than the 512GB 970 PRO while the 1TB 980 PRO is 100% faster than the 1TB 970 PRO.

You can check out the random read specs over PCIe 4.0 below:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: Up to 370K IOPS
• 1 TB 970 PRO: Up to 500K IOPS

• 250 GB 980 PRO: Up to 1,000K IOPS
• 500 GB 980 PRO: Up to 1,000K IOPS
• 1 TB 980 PRO: Up to 1,000K IOPS

Random Write Speed over PCIe 4.0

The Samsung 980 PRO is 100 percent faster than the Samsung 970 PRO at random writes over PCIe 4.0:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: Up to 500K IOPS
• 1 TB 970 PRO: Up to 500K IOPS

• 250 GB 980 PRO: Up to 1,000K IOPS
• 500 GB 980 PRO: Up to 1,000K IOPS
• 1 TB 980 PRO: Up to 1,000K IOPS

Sequential Read Speed over PCIe 3.0

You can also use the new 980 PRO on motherboards with PCIe 3.0 although you will get slower speeds as opposed to paring the same internal solid state drive with a PCIe 4.0 slot.

The Samsung 970 PRO SSD and Samsung 980 PRO SSD have the same maximum sequential read speed over PCIe 3.0 at up to 3,500 MB per second.

Sequential Write Speed over PCIe 3.0

When you compare the similar capacities, the 500GB version of the 980 PRO is 48 percent faster than the 512GB version of the 970 PRO when it comes to PCIe 3.0 maximum sequential writes.

The 1TB version of the 980 PRO is 28 percent faster than the 1TB version of the 970 PRO.

You can find the PCIe 3.0 sequential write specifications below:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: Up to 2,300 MB per second
• 1 TB 970 PRO: Up to 2,700 MB per second

• 250 GB 980 PRO: Up to 2,700 MB per second
• 500 GB 980 PRO: Up to 3,400 MB per second
• 1 TB 980 PRO: Up to 3,450 MB per second

Random Read Speed over PCIe 3.0

The 500GB 980 PRO is 86 percent faster than the 512 GB 970 PRO while the 1TB 980 PRO is 38 percent faster than the 1TB 970 PRO at random reads over PCIe 3.0:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: Up to 370K IOPS
• 1 TB 970 PRO: Up to 500K IOPS

• 250 GB 980 PRO: Up to 560K IOPS
• 500 GB 980 PRO: Up to 690K IOPS
• 1 TB 980 PRO: Up to 690K IOPS

Random Write Speed over PCIe 3.0

Last but not least, the 500GB 980 PRO is 24 percent faster than the 512GB 970 PRO while the 1TB 980 PRO is 32 percent faster than the 1TB 970 PRO at random writes over PCIe 3.0.

You can find that specification below:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: Up to 500,000 IOPS
• 1 TB 970 PRO: Up to 500,000 IOPS

• 250 GB 980 PRO: Up to 620K IOPS
• 500 GB 980 PRO: Up to 620K IOPS
• 1 TB 980 PRO: Up to 660K IOPS

Endurance

For the uninformed, endurance measures how much data can be written on a solid state drive during its expected lifespan.

The 970 PRO has a big advantage in this category as you can write twice the amount of data on the 512GB 970 PRO than the 500GB 980 PRO.

You can also write twice the amount on the 1TB 970 PRO when compared to the 1TB 980 PRO.

You can find the endurance specs below:

• 512 GB 970 PRO: 600 TBW
• 1 TB 970 PRO: 1,200 TBW

• 250 GB 980 PRO: 150 TBW
• 500 GB 980 PRO: 300 TBW
• 1 TB 980 PRO: 600 TBW

Data Encryption

Both solid state drives come with the following data encryption features:

• AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption
• Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667)
• TCG/Opal V2.0

Management Software

Both products support the Samsung Magician Software, which is used to check out the health of the storage drive, optimize performance, protect sensitive data and update firmware.

Warranty

The Samsung 970 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD and Samsung 980 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD each come with a five-year limited warranty or sooner if you reach the aforementioned TBW threshold.

Resources:

• https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/memory-storage/solid-state-drives/ssd-970-pro-nvme-m2-512gb-mz-v7p512bw
• https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/memory-storage/solid-state-drives/980-pro-pcie-4-0-nvme-ssd-500gb-mz-v8p500b-am/