Samsung 980 Pro vs. WD_Black SN850

The Samsung 980 Pro and Western Digital WD_Black SN850 are recent PCIe 4.0 NVMe Solid State Drives. So, what are the main differences between these two?

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

Quick Summary

For maximum sequential reading, the 500GB SN850 is slightly faster than the 500GB 980 Pro while the 1TB and 2TB versions for both solid state drives are identical.

When it comes to maximum sequential writing, 500GB 980 Pro is quite a bit faster than the 500GB SN850. On the other hand, the 1TB SN850 is a little faster than the 1TB 980 Pro. The 2TB versions are the same.

For maximum random reading, the 500GB SN850 is slightly faster than the 500GB 980 Pro. Otherwise, the 1TB and 2TB versions of both products are the same in this regard.

When it comes to maximum writing, the 980 Pro has a big advantage over the SN850 in all capacities.

Overall, we give the edge to the Samsung 980 Pro. While the SN850 is a little faster in some areas, the 980 Pro is quite a bit faster in areas in which it has an advantage, especially when it comes to writing.

The two SSDs are identical when it comes to durability and warranty coverage.

If you are interested, you can purchase either of the aforementioned solid state drives on Amazon with the following links:

• Samsung 980 Pro PCIe 4.0 NVMe Solid State Drive
• Western Digital WD_Black SN850 PCIe 4.0 NVMe Solid State Drive

You can also see how the 980 Pro stacks up to the Corsair Force Series MP600 with this guide.

Samsung 980 Pro vs. WD_Black SN850 Comparison Chart

You can find a comparison table for the two PCIe 4.0 SSDs below.

Capacity Options

The 980 Pro offers four capacity options as you can pick between 250GB, 500GB and 1TB. The SN850 comes in three capacities: 500GB, 1TB and 2TB.

Optional Heatsink Variant

The Western Digital WD_Black SN850 is the only one to come with an optional heatsink variant, which also adds additional RGB lighting effects to the SSD.

Model Number

You can take a look at the model number for each available option of both products below:

• 250GB 980 PRO: MZ-V8P250B/AM
• 500GB 980 PRO: MZ-V8P500B/AM
• 1TB 980 PRO: MZ-V8P1T0B/AM
• 2TB 980 PRO: MZ-V8P2T0B/AM

• 500GB WD_Black SN850: WDS500G1X0E-00AFY0
• 1TB WD_Black SN850: WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0
• 2TB WD_Black SN850: WDS200T1X0E-00AFY0
• 500GB WD_Black SN850 with Heatsink: WDS500G1XHE-00AFY0
• 1TB WD_Black SN850 with Heatsink: WDS100T1XHE-00AFY0
• 2TB WD_Black SN850 with Heatsink: WDS200T1XHE-00AFY0

Form Factor

The Samsung 980 Pro and Western Digital WD_Black SN850 use the same M.2 2280 form factor.

Dimensions

The 980 Pro and non-heatsink version of the SN850 are pretty similar in size. The heatsink-equipped version of the SN850 adds more bulk to the dimensions.

You can take a look at the measurements below:

980 Pro: 80.15 mm x 2.38 mm x 22.15 mm

• WD Black SN850 Without Heatsink: 80.00 mm (± 0.15 mm) x 22.00 mm (± 0.15 mm) x 2.38 mm
• WD Black SN850 With Heatsink: 80.00 mm (± 0.20 mm) x 23.40 mm (± 0.20 mm) x 8.80 mm (± 0.20 mm)

Interface

Both of the internal storage drives in this versus guide utilize the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface.

NAND

When it comes to memory components, the 980 Pro is equipped with the Samsung 1xx-layer V-NAND 3-bit MLC while the WD_Black SN850 is equipped with the BiCS4 96L TLC.

Controller

For the controller, the 980 Pro uses the Samsung Elpis while the SN850 uses WD_BLACK G2.

Maximum Sequential Read Speed

When you compare the same capacities, the 500GB WD_Black SN850 is 100 MB per second faster (which is around 1.45% faster) than the 500GB 980 Pro at maximum sequential reading speeds. The 1TB and 2TB capacities are the same in this category.

You can find the max sequential read speed specifications below:

• 250GB 980 Pro: Up to 6400 MB per second
• 500GB 980 Pro: Up to 6900 MB per second
• 1TB 980 Pro: Up to 7000 MB per second
• 2TB 980 Pro: Up to 7000 MB per second

• 500GB WD_Black SN850: Up to 7000 MB per second
• 1TB WD_Black SN850: Up to 7000 MB per second
• 2TB WD_Black SN850: Up to 7000 MB per second

Maximum Sequential Write Speed

For maximum sequential writing speeds, the 500GB 980 Pro is 900 MB per second faster (or 21.95% faster) than the 500GB SN850. On the other hand, the 1TB SN850 is 300 MB per second faster (or 6% faster) than the 1TB 980 Pro. The 2TB versions are the same.

You can check out the max sequential write speed specs below:

• 250GB 980 Pro: Up to 2700 MB per second
• 500GB 980 Pro: Up to 5000 MB per second
• 1TB 980 Pro: Up to 5000 MB per second
• 2TB 980 Pro: Up to 5100 MB per second

• 500GB WD_Black SN850: Up to 4100 MB per second
• 1TB WD_Black SN850: Up to 5300 MB per second
• 2TB WD_Black SN850: Up to 5100 MB per second

Maximum Random Read Speed

The 500GB SN850 is 10K IOPS faster (which is 1.25% faster) than the 500GB 980 Pro at maximum random reading. The 1TB and 2TB versions of the two solid state drives are the same in this category.

You can check out the max random read speeds below:

• 250GB 980 Pro: Up to 500K IOPS
• 500GB 980 Pro: Up to 800K IOPS
• 1TB 980 Pro: Up to 1000K IOPS
• 2TB 980 Pro: Up to 1000K IOPS

• 500GB WD_Black SN850: Up to 810K IOPS
• 1TB WD_Black SN850: Up to 1000K IOPS
• 2TB WD_Black SN850: Up to 1000K IOPS

Maximum Random Write Speed

The Samsung 980 Pro is all round faster than the Western Digital Black SN850 at maximum random writing. The 500GB 980 Pro is 320K IOPS faster (or 47.06% faster) than the 500GB SN850 while the 1TB 980 Pro is 280K IOPS faster (or 38.89% faster) than the 1TB SN850. The 2TB 980 Pro is 290K IOPS faster (or 40.85% faster) than the SN850.

You can check out the random write speeds below:

• 250GB 980 Pro: Up to 600K IOPS
• 500GB 980 Pro: Up to 1000K IOPS
• 1TB 980 Pro: Up to 1000K IOPS
• 2TB 980 Pro: Up to 1000K IOPS

• 500GB WD_Black SN850: Up to 680K IOPS
• 1TB WD_Black SN850: Up to 720K IOPS
• 2TB WD_Black SN850: Up to 710K IOPS

Management Software

For software, the 980 Pro can be used with Samsung Magician while the SN850 can be used with the WD_BLACK Dashboard.

Endurance

Endurance for the Samsung 980 Pro and Western Digital Black SN850 is measured as Terabytes Written, which stands for the amount of data you can write on a solid state drive during it warranty coverage period. When you compared the same capacities, the two SSDs in this comparison are identical when it comes to endurance.

You can find Terabytes Written (TBW) stats below:

• 250GB 980 PRO: 150 TBW
• 500GB 980 PRO: 300 TBW
• 1TB 980 PRO: 600 TBW
• 1TB 980 PRO: 1200 TBW

• 500GB WD_Black SN850: 300 TBW
• 1TB WD_Black SN850: 600 TBW
• 2TB WD_Black SN850: 1200 TBW

Warranty

The Samsung 980 Pro PCIe 4.0 NVMe Solid State Drive and Western Digital WD_Black SN850 PCIe 4.0 NVMe Solid State Drive each comes with a 5-year limited warranty.

Resources:

• https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/memory-storage/solid-state-drives/980-pro-pcie-4-0-nvme-ssd-1tb-mz-v8p1t0b-am
• https://shop.westerndigital.com/products/internal-drives/wd-black-sn850-nvme-ssd