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Samsung

PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GB

▲ 501 ▼

Release date ≈ Q4 2016.

Average Bench: 184% (116th of 1072)

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
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Average Bench

(Based on 7,214 samples)
Rank 116184%
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%
126GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 484 325 321 324 325 323 MB/s
201% Outstanding
Read 1,431
Write 964
Mixed 746
SusWrite 350
194% 873 MB/s
4K Read 56.5
4K Write 128
4K Mixed 56.1
225% 80.2 MB/s
DQ Read 1,360
DQ Write 1,084
DQ Mixed 1,078
846% 1,174 MB/s
152GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 477 326 322 320 327 324 MB/s
190% Outstanding
Read 1,756
Write 1,147
Mixed 743
SusWrite 349
221% 999 MB/s
4K Read 49.7
4K Write 98.4
4K Mixed 63.9
209% 70.7 MB/s
DQ Read 884
DQ Write 601
DQ Mixed 731
549% 739 MB/s
88GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 472 326 326 321 313 311 MB/s
178% Outstanding
Read 1,727
Write 1,154
Mixed 770
SusWrite 345
221% 999 MB/s
4K Read 45.7
4K Write 101
4K Mixed 42.3
177% 63.1 MB/s
DQ Read 899
DQ Write 632
DQ Mixed 742
560% 757 MB/s
196GB free (System drive)
Firmware: CXB73D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 491 325 329 331 333 334 MB/s
161% Outstanding
Read 1,189
Write 981
Mixed 667
SusWrite 357
178% 799 MB/s
4K Read 42.4
4K Write 84.4
4K Mixed 55.5
180% 60.8 MB/s
DQ Read 872
DQ Write 730
DQ Mixed 776
588% 793 MB/s
7,214 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 73,438,433 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 2,838 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 samples2,045x
Core i5-7300HQIntelBench 57%, 170,871 samples793x
GPU
HD Graphics 630IntelBench 5%, 310,249 samples1,449x
GTX 1060 (Mobile Max-Q)NvidiaBench 43%, 36,643 samples991x
GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile)NvidiaBench 29%, 105,856 samples311x
SSD
PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GBSamsungBench 184%, 7,214 samples157x
RAM
HMA82GS6AFR8N-UH 1x16GBUnknownBench 40%, 10,726 samples334x
M471A2K43CB1-CRC 1x16GBSamsungBench 40%, 36,753 samples270x
HMA81GS6AFR8N-UH 2x8GBUnknownBench 70%, 27,567 samples247x
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Popular PM961 NVMe PCIe M.2 256GB systems:

How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

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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How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC
  • - See speed test results from other users
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) December 2023 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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1072 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?
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 $270Nvidia RTX 4060 $295Crucial MX500 250GB $30
Intel Core i5-12400F $146Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $360Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $189Nvidia RTX 3060-Ti $340Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $49
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $40Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $42SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $50G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $357SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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