Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB vs Samsung 980 1TB
At least one of these has no price the site currently tracks, so what follows weighs specifications alone.
| Specification | Samsung970 EVO Plus 1TB | Samsung980 1TB |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity (GB) | 1000 | 1000 |
| Sequential read (MB/s) | 3500 | 3500 |
| Sequential write (MB/s) | 3300better | 3000 |
| Current best price | — | — |
| Price per TB | — | — |
| Endurance (TBW) | 600 | 600 |
| Warranty (years) | 5 | 5 |
| DRAM cache | Yes | No |
| NAND type | tlc | tlc |
| Controller | Samsung Phoenix controller | Samsung Elpis controller |
How these two compare
Sequential throughput
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB states 3500 MB/s read and 3300 MB/s write; Samsung 980 1TB states 3500 MB/s read and 3000 MB/s write, both over PCIe. Sequential numbers like these describe large sustained transfers; the responsiveness you notice day to day tracks random access more closely than the peak figures do.
Random access
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB is rated 600.000 IOPS random read and 550.000 random write; Samsung 980 1TB, 480.000 and 500.000. Random 4K access — many small, scattered operations — is what a drive does booting, launching apps and juggling everyday tasks, and it tracks that feel far more closely than the sequential figures above.
Endurance
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB is rated for 600 TBW and Samsung 980 1TB for 600 TBW — the total the maker warrants you can write over the drive's life. A typical desktop writes only a few terabytes a year, so either rating is many years of headroom; the figure matters mainly as a relative signal of how hard each is built to be driven.
DRAM cache
On the cache question: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB carries a DRAM cache, and Samsung 980 1TB is DRAM-less. The DRAM keeps the flash-translation table close, sparing a lookup on nearly every access; a drive without it leans on host memory or its own flash, which usually shows as slower sustained random writes rather than in the headline sequential numbers.
NAND, controller and warranty
On the flash itself: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB uses TLC, and Samsung 980 1TB uses TLC. NAND tiers count bits per cell — more bits pack more capacity into the same silicon but shorten write endurance and slow sustained writes, which is why QLC sits below TLC on lasting performance even when the sequential numbers match. Controller: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB uses the Samsung Phoenix controller and Samsung 980 1TB uses the Samsung Elpis controller. The controller runs wear-levelling, error correction and the mapping table, so it shapes sustained and random behaviour as much as the flash does — though the model name alone predicts little without testing. Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB carries a 5-year warranty and Samsung 980 1TB carries a 5-year warranty — the length the maker will stand behind the drive, and usually a proxy for the endurance it is rated to.
Which to buy
The site holds no current price for at least one of these, so it cannot call the buy on cost. Judge them on the specifications above — at the same capacity and interface, two drives usually part on things like the DRAM cache, the NAND tier, endurance and warranty, so weigh whichever of those the sections above report.
Common questions about this pair
- Which is faster, Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB or Samsung 980 1TB?
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB states 3500 MB/s read and 3300 MB/s write; Samsung 980 1TB states 3500 MB/s read and 3000 MB/s write, both over PCIe. Sequential numbers like these describe large sustained transfers; the responsiveness you notice day to day tracks random access more closely than the peak figures do.
- How do Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB and Samsung 980 1TB compare on random access?
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB is rated 600.000 IOPS random read and 550.000 random write; Samsung 980 1TB, 480.000 and 500.000. Random 4K access — many small, scattered operations — is what a drive does booting, launching apps and juggling everyday tasks, and it tracks that feel far more closely than the sequential figures above.
- Should you buy Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB or Samsung 980 1TB?
- The site holds no current price for at least one of these, so it cannot call the buy on cost. Judge them on the specifications above — at the same capacity and interface, two drives usually part on things like the DRAM cache, the NAND tier, endurance and warranty, so weigh whichever of those the sections above report.