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Pm981

NVMe Samsung 256GB

▲ 500 ▼

Release date ≈ Q2 2018.

Average Bench: 194% (81st of 1030)

Based on 2,777 user benchmarks.  Model: PM981 NVMe Samsung 256GB
Poor: 110%Average: 194% Great: 247%

Popular builds with this SSD

Outstanding average bench

The Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB averaged 93.6% 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 726MB/s
Avg. Sequential Read Speed 1,780MB/s

Terrible consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB is 138%. 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 337MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 109MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 2,777 samples)
Rank 81194%
Min Avg Max
783 Read 1,780 2,240
454 Write 1,177 1,456
495 Mixed 979 1,223
177 SusWrite 337 449
237% 1,068 MB/s
Min Avg Max
31.6 4K Read 51.5 64.3
52 4K Write 109 157
34.4 4K Mixed 64.8 83.3
219% 75.1 MB/s
Min Avg Max
321 DQ Read 802 979
138 DQ Write 717 1,292
222 DQ Mixed 726 1,005
553% 748 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
238GB free
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 718 600 305 306 307 306 MB/s
240% Outstanding
Read 2,125
Write 1,227
Mixed 1,014
SusWrite 424
264% 1,197 MB/s
4K Read 60
4K Write 141
4K Mixed 77.5
265% 92.8 MB/s
DQ Read 974
DQ Write 1,134
DQ Mixed 963
751% 1,024 MB/s
199GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1084 303 305 306 305 305 MB/s
235% Outstanding
Read 2,199
Write 1,321
Mixed 1,166
SusWrite 435
283% 1,280 MB/s
4K Read 60.6
4K Write 135
4K Mixed 77.7
263% 91 MB/s
DQ Read 943
DQ Write 782
DQ Mixed 903
666% 876 MB/s
168GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD71D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 339 322 324 329 324 321 MB/s
209% Outstanding
Read 1,727
Write 1,266
Mixed 865
SusWrite 326
232% 1,046 MB/s
4K Read 60.7
4K Write 146
4K Mixed 79.4
271% 95.4 MB/s
DQ Read 884
DQ Write 705
DQ Mixed 722
560% 771 MB/s
102GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD71D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 342 254 254 250 248 244 MB/s
207% Outstanding
Read 2,156
Write 1451
Mixed 1,177
SusWrite 266
279% 1,262 MB/s
4K Read 51.3
4K Write 94.2
4K Mixed 63.7
209% 69.7 MB/s
DQ Read 978
DQ Write 776
DQ Mixed 872
654% 875 MB/s
193GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD71D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 384 322 323 323 323 323 MB/s
116% Outstanding
Read 754
Write 670
Mixed 610
SusWrite 333
132% 591 MB/s
4K Read 39.9
4K Write 68.3
4K Mixed 46.1
156% 51.4 MB/s
DQ Read 557
DQ Write 209
DQ Mixed 399
291% 388 MB/s
2,777 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 29,804,615 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 1,831 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 103%
UFO
Desktop
Desktop 96%
Nuclear submarine
Workstation
Workstation 96%
Nuclear submarine

System: Alienware Aurora R8

CPU
Core i7-9700Intel  $295Bench 94%, 23,901 samples385x
Core i7-9700KIntel  $300Bench 98%, 230,235 samples379x
Core i5-9600KIntel  $192Bench 96%, 170,229 samples288x
GPU
RTX 2070Nvidia  $450Bench 107%, 244,535 samples430x
RTX 2060Nvidia  $320Bench 85%, 246,007 samples211x
RTX 2080Nvidia  $698Bench 119%, 172,165 samples192x
SSD
NVMe Samsung 256GBPm981Bench 194%, 2,777 samples125x
RAM
XJ69DF-MIE 2x8GBUnknownBench 83%, 1,325 samples244x
HMA81GU6JJR8N-VK 2x8GBUnknownBench 81%, 2,930 samples195x
8ATF1G64AZ-2G6E1 2x8GBUnknownBench 79%, 5,041 samples184x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 71% - Very good Total price: $745

Popular NVMe Samsung 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.
  • - 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.
  • - Share your opinion by voting.
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) August 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.

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Speed Comparisons

vs Crucial MX500 250GB
vs Samsung 850 Evo 120GB
vs Samsung 860 Evo 250GB
vs Samsung 850 Pro 512GB
vs Samsung 850 Evo 250GB
vs HyperX Savage 240GB
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vs Crucial MX300 275GB
vs Crucial MX200 250GB

1030 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 i5-9600K $192Nvidia GTX 1660S (Super) $230Crucial MX500 250GB $43
Intel Core i5-9400F $151Nvidia GTX 1650S (Super) $170Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $78
Intel Core i7-9700K $300Nvidia RTX 2070S (Super) $510Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $47
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $42Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $60SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $34Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $69SanDisk Extreme 32GB $46
Seagate Barracuda 3TB (2016) $85G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $681SanDisk Extreme 16GB $24
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