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Samsung

PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB

▲ 5320 ▼

Release date ≈ Q4 2016.

Average Bench: 201% (70th of 1016)

more Based on 23,761 user benchmarks.  Models: NVMe SAMSUNG MZVLW512, NVMe PM961 NVMe SAMSU, PM961 NVMe SAMSUNG 512GB, SAMSUNG MZVLW512HMJP-000H1, SAMSUNG MZVLW512HMJP-000L2, SAMSUNG MZVLW512HMJP-000L7, SAMSUNG MZVLW512HMJP-00000
Poor: 128%Average: 201% Great: 259%

Popular builds with this SSD

Outstanding average bench

The Samsung PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB averaged 100.6% higher than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Samsung PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 783MB/s
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed 933MB/s

Terrible consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Samsung PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB is 131%. This is a particularly wide range which indicates that the Samsung PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 566MB/s
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 755MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 23,761 samples)
Rank 70201%
Min Avg Max
765 Read 1,505 1,969
662 Write 1,226 1,529
497 Mixed 755 940
293 SusWrite 566 678
226% 1,013 MB/s
Min Avg Max
27.8 4K Read 50.6 61.8
53.1 4K Write 116 168
30.1 4K Mixed 64.4 83.4
221% 77 MB/s
Min Avg Max
189 DQ Read 933 1,497
160 DQ Write 768 1,279
177 DQ Mixed 783 1,138
605% 828 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
225GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXY7301Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 780 637 626 630 628 621 MB/s
210% Outstanding
Read 1,086
Write 854
Mixed 594
SusWrite 654
178% 797 MB/s
4K Read 56.5
4K Write 145
4K Mixed 76.8
261% 92.7 MB/s
DQ Read 1,119
DQ Write 929
DQ Mixed 957
735% 1,002 MB/s
406GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXY74D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 814 637 639 640 637 640 MB/s
200% Outstanding
Read 1,282
Write 1,107
Mixed 708
SusWrite 668
210% 941 MB/s
4K Read 52.6
4K Write 116
4K Mixed 67.2
227% 78.7 MB/s
DQ Read 904
DQ Write 771
DQ Mixed 847
632% 841 MB/s
428GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXY7301Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 824 619 623 632 628 385 MB/s
195% Outstanding
Read 1,179
Write 1,021
Mixed 770
SusWrite 618
201% 897 MB/s
4K Read 37.1
4K Write 106
4K Mixed 72.9
206% 72.1 MB/s
DQ Read 1,066
DQ Write 934
DQ Mixed 986
743% 995 MB/s
386GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXY74D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 672 617 615 638 627 642 MB/s
192% Outstanding
Read 1,843
Write 1,476
Mixed 906
SusWrite 635
270% 1,215 MB/s
4K Read 48.6
4K Write 102
4K Mixed 60
204% 70.1 MB/s
DQ Read 51.1
DQ Write 647
DQ Mixed 69.8
137% 256 MB/s
314GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXY7501Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 731 592 588 583 582 582 MB/s
185% Outstanding
Read 920
Write 744
Mixed 646
SusWrite 610
164% 730 MB/s
4K Read 50.2
4K Write 112
4K Mixed 65.8
220% 75.9 MB/s
DQ Read 1,037
DQ Write 886
DQ Mixed 932
707% 952 MB/s
79GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXY73H1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 588 369 364 358 334 318 MB/s
185% Outstanding
Read 1,568
Write 1,328
Mixed 771
SusWrite 389
226% 1,014 MB/s
4K Read 50.7
4K Write 115
4K Mixed 64.5
221% 76.9 MB/s
DQ Read 903
DQ Write 451
DQ Mixed 578
455% 644 MB/s
283GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXY70H1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 783 535 565 570 567 563 MB/s
173% Outstanding
Read 1,387
Write 1,151
Mixed 730
SusWrite 597
216% 966 MB/s
4K Read 53.3
4K Write 132
4K Mixed 71.4
242% 85.6 MB/s
DQ Read 59.4
DQ Write 168
DQ Mixed 76
69% 101 MB/s
434GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXY7501Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 691 576 565 623 622 605 MB/s
171% Outstanding
Read 898
Write 945
Mixed 614
SusWrite 614
172% 768 MB/s
4K Read 34.4
4K Write 81.1
4K Mixed 41.6
148% 52.4 MB/s
DQ Read 1,276
DQ Write 1061
DQ Mixed 1,058
823% 1,132 MB/s
23,761 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 21,624,497 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 PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB Builds (Compare 16,147 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 15%
Surfboard
Desktop
Desktop 75%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 47%
Yacht

System: Dell XPS 15 9560 - $1,100

CPU
Core i7-7700HQIntelBench 62%, 287,552 samples14,949x
Core i5-7300HQIntelBench 59%, 95,384 samples1,176x
Core i3-7100HIntelBench 43%, 65 samples20x
GPU
HD Graphics 630IntelBench 5%, 182,922 samples10,193x
GTX 1050 (Mobile)NvidiaBench 26%, 75,368 samples5,777x
GTX 1080Nvidia  $540Bench 104%, 564,777 samples46x
SSD
PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GBSamsungBench 201%, 23,761 samples1,593x
RAM
HMA81GS6AFR8N-UH 2x8GBHynixBench 70%, 37,764 samples6,451x
HMA851S6AFR6N-UH 2x4GBHynixBench 55%, 15,208 samples1,821x
HMA82GS6AFR8N-UH 2x16GBHynixBench 73%, 3,846 samples1,204x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Total price: $1,100

Popular PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB systems:

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Welcome to our freeware 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 upgrades.

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  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string.
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations.
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO.
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  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com.
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Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) January 2020 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.

 Comments

Added n/a ago.
USA-User
Avatar level
6,118

Terrible (edit your comment) Add link

1 month ago.

came in a new lenovo neither lenovo or samsung support it and it wont clone tested with data migration / and disk director from acronis 12 and 12.5

JPN-User
Avatar level
2,510

Excellent

2 years ago.

I own it, got it virtually brand new at 2nd hand price

SWE-User
Avatar level
1,892

Terrible

12 months ago.

Dreadful performance on non-sequential writes. Like a cheap thumbdrive.

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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 i5-9400F $155Nvidia GTX 1660S (Super) $240Crucial MX500 250GB $43
Intel Core i5-9600K $218Nvidia GTX 1650S (Super) $170Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $78
Intel Core i7-9700K $370Nvidia RTX 2060 $340Samsung 850 Pro 512GB $204
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $37Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $73SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $42Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $63SanDisk Extreme 32GB $46
Seagate Barracuda 3TB (2016) $85G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $643SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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