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Samsung

PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GB

▲ 501 ▼

Release date ≈ Q4 2016.

Average Bench: 184% (123rd of 1080)

Based on 7,214 user benchmarks.  Models: NVMe PM961 NVMe SAMSU, PM961 NVMe SAMSUNG 256GB
Poor: 107%Average: 184% Great: 243%

Popular builds with this SSD

Outstanding average bench

The Samsung PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GB averaged 83.6% higher than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Samsung PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 694MB/s
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed 908MB/s

Terrible consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Samsung PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GB is 136%. This is a particularly wide range which indicates that the Samsung PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 310MB/s
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 688MB/s

Average Bench

(Based on 7,214 samples)
Rank 123184%
Min Avg Max
698 Read 1,555 2,023
463 Write 1,011 1,344
375 Mixed 688 971
156 SusWrite 310 357
197% 891 MB/s
Min Avg Max
26 4K Read 57.1 62.3
41.3 4K Write 109 156
26.3 4K Mixed 61.5 81.1
223% 75.8 MB/s
Min Avg Max
289 DQ Read 908 1,541
154 DQ Write 643 1,087
209 DQ Mixed 694 1,019
540% 748 MB/s
User Benchmarks BenchSequentialRandom 4kDeep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
144GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 479 316 320 318 320 318 MB/s
196% Outstanding
Read 1,909
Write 1,132
Mixed 746
SusWrite 345
228% 1,033 MB/s
4K Read 49.8
4K Write 98.7
4K Mixed 62.9
208% 70.5 MB/s
DQ Read 867
DQ Write 659
DQ Mixed 746
562% 757 MB/s
187GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 467 315 327 330 329 331 MB/s
176% Outstanding
Read 1,819
Write 1,064
Mixed 729
SusWrite 350
218% 991 MB/s
4K Read 44.9
4K Write 81.1
4K Mixed 55.2
182% 60.4 MB/s
DQ Read 638
DQ Write 498
DQ Mixed 552
417% 563 MB/s
127GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 427 248 249 246 244 244 MB/s
166% Outstanding
Read 1,819
Write 1,098
Mixed 733
SusWrite 276
216% 981 MB/s
4K Read 44.8
4K Write 73.7
4K Mixed 53.4
175% 57.3 MB/s
DQ Read 551
DQ Write 446
DQ Mixed 490
369% 496 MB/s
183GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 462 316 311 319 321 320 MB/s
142% Outstanding
Read 1,333
Write 983
Mixed 513
SusWrite 342
176% 793 MB/s
4K Read 39
4K Write 71.7
4K Mixed 49.3
160% 53.3 MB/s
DQ Read 516
DQ Write 297
DQ Mixed 497
345% 437 MB/s
139GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 456 301 301 297 301 301 MB/s
140% Outstanding
Read 1,390
Write 1,095
Mixed 656
SusWrite 326
192% 867 MB/s
4K Read 46.2
4K Write 69.6
4K Mixed 49.9
171% 55.2 MB/s
DQ Read 332
DQ Write 198
DQ Mixed 226
178% 252 MB/s
7,214 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 77,607,762 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 256GB Builds (Compare 3,125 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 8%
Tree trunk
Desktop
Desktop 61%
Destroyer
Workstation
Workstation 8%
Tree trunk

System: Dell Inspiron 7577

CPU
Core i7-7700HQIntelBench 62%, 473,208 samples2,252x
Core i5-7300HQIntelBench 57%, 170,871 samples873x
GPU
HD Graphics 630IntelBench 5%, 310,249 samples1,598x
GTX 1060 (Mobile Max-Q)NvidiaBench 43%, 36,643 samples1,089x
GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile)NvidiaBench 29%, 105,856 samples344x
SSD
PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GBSamsungBench 184%, 7,214 samples182x
RAM
HMA82GS6AFR8N-UH 1x16GBUnknownBench 40%, 10,726 samples362x
M471A2K43CB1-CRC 1x16GBSamsungBench 40%, 36,753 samples293x
HMA81GS6AFR8N-UH 2x8GBUnknownBench 70%, 27,567 samples266x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER

Popular PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GB systems:

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Speed Comparisons

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1080 Drives (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list

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?
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How is the AS SSD read score calculated?
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The Best
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $210Nvidia RTX 4060 $285WD Black SN850X M.2 2TB $125
Intel Core i5-12600K $155Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $389WD Black SN850X M.2 1TB $80
Intel Core i5-12400F $111Nvidia RTX 4070 $500Crucial T700 M.2 4TB $330
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