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Pm981

NVMe Samsung 256GB

▲ 500 ▼

Release date ≈ Q2 2018.

Average Bench: 206% (62nd of 1011)

Based on 2,286 user benchmarks.  Model: PM981 NVMe Samsung 256GB
Poor: 138%Average: 206% Great: 255%

Popular builds with this SSD

Outstanding average bench

The Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB averaged 106.5% 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 813MB/s
Avg. Sequential Read Speed 1,849MB/s

Terrible consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB is 118%. 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 363MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 117MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 2,286 samples)
Rank 62206%
Min Avg Max
903 Read 1,849 2,243
738 Write 1,203 1,412
573 Mixed 993 1,192
220 SusWrite 363 450
244% 1,102 MB/s
Min Avg Max
38.1 4K Read 56.8 65.9
68.5 4K Write 117 168
46.3 4K Mixed 68.3 86.1
236% 80.7 MB/s
Min Avg Max
424 DQ Read 867 981
249 DQ Write 835 1,294
307 DQ Mixed 813 1,005
621% 838 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
106GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 718 525 294 298 295 297 MB/s
243% Outstanding
Read 2,227
Write 1322
Mixed 1187
SusWrite 404
284% 1,285 MB/s
4K Read 57.8
4K Write 139
4K Mixed 76.1
259% 91 MB/s
DQ Read 974
DQ Write 1234
DQ Mixed 948
758% 1,052 MB/s
102GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD71D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 337 280 281 279 291 270 MB/s
220% Outstanding
Read 2,181
Write 1311
Mixed 1,121
SusWrite 290
271% 1,226 MB/s
4K Read 60.7
4K Write 98
4K Mixed 68.8
232% 75.8 MB/s
DQ Read 974
DQ Write 979
DQ Mixed 990
740% 981 MB/s
101GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 504 324 318 318 306 308 MB/s
216% Outstanding
Read 2231
Write 1,335
Mixed 1,086
SusWrite 346
276% 1,250 MB/s
4K Read 52.9
4K Write 106
4K Mixed 67.4
223% 75.4 MB/s
DQ Read 930
DQ Write 685
DQ Mixed 797
598% 804 MB/s
102GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 510 287 321 314 316 298 MB/s
214% Outstanding
Read 2,200
Write 1,334
Mixed 1,148
SusWrite 341
278% 1,256 MB/s
4K Read 53.2
4K Write 105
4K Mixed 67.5
223% 75.4 MB/s
DQ Read 933
DQ Write 683
DQ Mixed 360
390% 659 MB/s
199GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD71D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1034 338 300 299 301 301 MB/s
191% Outstanding
Read 1,252
Write 1,330
Mixed 737
SusWrite 429
210% 937 MB/s
4K Read 56.2
4K Write 111
4K Mixed 71.5
236% 79.6 MB/s
DQ Read 978
DQ Write 898
DQ Mixed 986
726% 954 MB/s
177GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1009 302 299 301 305 303 MB/s
156% Outstanding
Read 1,476
Write 1,277
Mixed 914
SusWrite 420
228% 1,022 MB/s
4K Read 50.4
4K Write 108
4K Mixed 65.1
217% 74.6 MB/s
DQ Read 55
DQ Write 112
DQ Mixed 67.7
56% 78.2 MB/s
2,286 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 19,849,350 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 11,738 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 16%
Surfboard
Desktop
Desktop 86%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 58%
Gunboat

System: Dell XPS 15 9570

CPU
Core i7-8750HIntelBench 73%, 190,677 samples9,553x
Core i9-8950HKIntelBench 78%, 5,739 samples1,482x
Core i5-8300HIntelBench 68%, 59,369 samples702x
GPU
UHD Graphics 630IntelBench 6%, 132,815 samples7,605x
GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile Max-Q)NvidiaBench 28%, 4,942 samples3,790x
GTX 1050 (Mobile)NvidiaBench 26%, 68,776 samples150x
SSD
NVMe Samsung 256GBPm981Bench 206%, 2,286 samples1x
RAM
HMA81GS6CJR8N-VK 2x8GBUnknownBench 76%, 8,335 samples2,646x
8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1 2x8GBUnknownBench 75%, 4,388 samples1,658x
16ATF2G64HZ-2G6E1 2x16GBUnknownBench 81%, 2,684 samples1,368x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER

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) December 2019 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

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Reaching its prime
Age: 17 months

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
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vs Crucial MX300 275GB
vs Crucial MX200 250GB

1011 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 i5-9400F $145Nvidia GTX 1660S (Super) $244Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-9600K $200Nvidia RTX 2060 $324Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $150
Intel Core i7-9700K $360AMD RX 590 $180Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $54
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $32Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $76SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $38Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $58SanDisk Extreme 32GB $46
Seagate Barracuda 3TB (2016) $80G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $613SanDisk Extreme 16GB $24
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