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Pm981

NVMe Samsung 256GB

▲ 500 ▼

Release date ≈ Q2 2018.

Average Bench: 192% (105th of 1072)

Based on 5,350 user benchmarks.  Model: PM981 NVMe Samsung 256GB
Poor: 110%Average: 192% Great: 255%

Popular builds with this SSD

Outstanding average bench

The Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB averaged 92.0% higher than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 724MB/s
Avg. Sequential Read Speed 1,702MB/s

Terrible consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB is 145%. This is a particularly wide range which indicates that the Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 339MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 111MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 5,350 samples)
Rank 105192%
Min Avg Max
732 Read 1,702 2,243
405 Write 1,158 1,506
470 Mixed 938 1,225
179 SusWrite 339 453
229% 1,034 MB/s
Min Avg Max
28 4K Read 57.6 66
40.2 4K Write 111 177
27.8 4K Mixed 64.7 86.7
229% 77.7 MB/s
Min Avg Max
363 DQ Read 814 978
160 DQ Write 678 1,204
240 DQ Mixed 724 1,021
548% 739 MB/s
User Benchmarks BenchSequentialRandom 4kDeep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
83GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 362 229 227 223 209 213 MB/s
230% Outstanding
Read 2,236
Write 1,386
Mixed 1,145
SusWrite 244
277% 1,253 MB/s
4K Read 64
4K Write 137
4K Mixed 80.4
273% 93.9 MB/s
DQ Read 982
DQ Write 852
DQ Mixed 999
726% 944 MB/s
149GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 367 310 303 302 290 280 MB/s
214% Outstanding
Read 2,119
Write 1,171
Mixed 1,056
SusWrite 308
257% 1,164 MB/s
4K Read 50.5
4K Write 96.9
4K Mixed 64.1
210% 70.5 MB/s
DQ Read 968
DQ Write 1,044
DQ Mixed 964
737% 992 MB/s
128GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 372 282 283 283 281 281 MB/s
201% Outstanding
Read 1,422
Write 1,267
Mixed 1,059
SusWrite 297
226% 1,011 MB/s
4K Read 58.4
4K Write 138
4K Mixed 77.2
260% 91 MB/s
DQ Read 974
DQ Write 1,048
DQ Mixed 1,042
776% 1,022 MB/s
35GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 230 115 110 106 99 101 MB/s
171% Outstanding
Read 1,965
Write 528
Mixed 1192
SusWrite 127
209% 953 MB/s
4K Read 43.8
4K Write 73.6
4K Mixed 52.7
173% 56.7 MB/s
DQ Read 758
DQ Write 608
DQ Mixed 669
505% 678 MB/s
205GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD71D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1125 306 306 307 303 302 MB/s
133% Outstanding
Read 1,036
Write 988
Mixed 818
SusWrite 441
184% 821 MB/s
4K Read 35.7
4K Write 73
4K Mixed 29.6
131% 46.1 MB/s
DQ Read 677
DQ Write 479
DQ Mixed 664
472% 606 MB/s
5,350 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 75,829,964 SSDs tested

Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU GPU SSD HDD RAM MBD
Typical NVMe Samsung 256GB Builds (Compare 4,629 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 12%
Tree trunk
Desktop
Desktop 70%
Battle cruiser
Workstation
Workstation 12%
Tree trunk

System: Dell XPS 15 9570

CPU
Core i7-8750HIntelBench 70%, 442,631 samples3,724x
Core i9-8950HKIntelBench 74%, 14,729 samples636x
Core i5-8300HIntelBench 65%, 167,898 samples269x
GPU
UHD Graphics 630IntelBench 5%, 506,702 samples2,900x
GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile Max-Q)NvidiaBench 25%, 10,407 samples1,596x
GTX 1050 (Mobile)NvidiaBench 23%, 160,694 samples57x
SSD
NVMe Samsung 256GBPm981Bench 192%, 5,350 samples1x
RAM
HMA81GS6CJR8N-VK 2x8GBUnknownBench 75%, 18,486 samples778x
16ATF2G64HZ-2G6E1 2x16GBUnknownBench 79%, 7,078 samples492x
8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1 2x8GBUnknownBench 75%, 11,016 samples391x
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Popular NVMe Samsung 256GB systems:

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Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.

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Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) May 2024 SSD Rankings

Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. [SSDrivePro]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

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Speed Comparisons

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See how consistently different SSDs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Devices FAQ
What is sustained sequential write speed?
What’s the difference between SLC, MLC and TLC?
What is 3D XPoint and how fast is it?
What’s the difference between SATA, PCIe and NVMe?
What’s the difference between NAND and V-NAND?
What is sequential write speed?
What is sequential read speed?
What is incompressible data?
What is queue depth?
Solid State Drives
What is the SSD value for money rating?
What is 4K 64 thread write speed?
Can CPU power saving states (C1,C2,C3) impact SSD speed?
What is the effective SSD speed index?
How is the AS SSD write score calculated?
How is the AS SSD read score calculated?
How is the AS SSD total score calculated?
ALL FAQs »

 Best User Rated
The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $260Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12400F $133Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $175Nvidia RTX 4070 $539Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $45SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $32Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $48SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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