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Pm981

NVMe Samsung 256GB

▲ 500 ▼

Release date ≈ Q2 2018.

Average Bench: 199% (66th of 1010)

Based on 2,111 user benchmarks.  Model: PM981 NVMe Samsung 256GB
Poor: 121%Average: 199% Great: 251%

Popular builds with this SSD

Outstanding average bench

The Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB averaged 99.0% 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 788MB/s
Avg. Sequential Read Speed 1,768MB/s

Terrible consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Pm981 NVMe Samsung 256GB is 130%. 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 369MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 112MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 2,111 samples)
Rank 66199%
Min Avg Max
791 Read 1,768 2,240
670 Write 1,189 1,403
556 Mixed 971 1,190
252 SusWrite 369 448
238% 1,074 MB/s
Min Avg Max
32.4 4K Read 52.8 65.6
64 4K Write 112 164
41.3 4K Mixed 66 85.3
224% 77 MB/s
Min Avg Max
358 DQ Read 844 981
213 DQ Write 792 1,275
216 DQ Mixed 788 996
600% 808 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
160GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1006 416 309 308 308 309 MB/s
236% Outstanding
Read 2,210
Write 1,309
Mixed 1186
SusWrite 443
285% 1,287 MB/s
4K Read 60
4K Write 138
4K Mixed 76.7
262% 91.5 MB/s
DQ Read 749
DQ Write 1,020
DQ Mixed 73.6
282% 614 MB/s
101GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 371 328 303 303 300 304 MB/s
234% Outstanding
Read 2,164
Write 1,224
Mixed 1,066
SusWrite 318
263% 1,193 MB/s
4K Read 55.2
4K Write 140
4K Mixed 73.6
252% 89.7 MB/s
DQ Read 969
DQ Write 1,295
DQ Mixed 956
771% 1,073 MB/s
188GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1174 306 304 304 306 306 MB/s
170% Outstanding
Read 1950
Write 1,333
Mixed 1,085
SusWrite 450
267% 1,204 MB/s
4K Read 42.7
4K Write 77.7
4K Mixed 51.8
172% 57.4 MB/s
DQ Read 219
DQ Write 244
DQ Mixed 185
152% 216 MB/s
179GB free (System drive)
Firmware: EXD72D1Q Max speed: PCIe 5,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 711 281 293 293 300 306 MB/s
169% Outstanding
Read 1,622
Write 1,236
Mixed 944
SusWrite 364
232% 1,041 MB/s
4K Read 39.2
4K Write 83.8
4K Mixed 47.7
165% 56.9 MB/s
DQ Read 740
DQ Write 633
DQ Mixed 688
515% 687 MB/s
2,111 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 18,540,655 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 11,067 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 71%, 163,371 samples9,003x
Core i9-8950HKIntelBench 76%, 4,904 samples1,399x
Core i5-8300HIntelBench 63%, 53,953 samples664x
GPU
UHD Graphics 630IntelBench 6%, 119,381 samples7,183x
GTX 1050-Ti (Mobile Max-Q)NvidiaBench 26%, 4,437 samples3,564x
GTX 1050 (Mobile)NvidiaBench 23%, 67,893 samples141x
SSD
NVMe Samsung 256GBPm981Bench 199%, 2,111 samples1x
RAM
HMA81GS6CJR8N-VK 2x8GBUnknownBench 76%, 8,766 samples2,507x
8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1 2x8GBUnknownBench 75%, 4,819 samples1,579x
16ATF2G64HZ-2G6E1 2x16GBUnknownBench 82%, 2,578 samples1,276x
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Popular NVMe Samsung 256GB 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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  • - 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.
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Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) October 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: 16 months

Speed Comparisons

vs Samsung 850 Evo 250GB
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vs Samsung 850 Evo 120GB
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1010 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 $148Nvidia GTX 1660 $210Samsung 850 Evo 250GB $57
Intel Core i5-9600K $240Nvidia GTX 1660-Ti $270Samsung 850 Evo 500GB $107
Intel Core i7-9700K $350Nvidia RTX 2060 $342Samsung 850 Pro 256GB $160
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $40Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $77SanDisk Extreme 64GB $88
Seagate Barracuda 3TB (2016) $78G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $612SanDisk Extreme 32GB $48
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $35Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $83SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $14
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