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Pm981a

NVMe Samsung 512GB

▲ 500 ▼

Release date ≈ Q2 2019.

Average Bench: 220% (80th of 1072)

Based on 3,592 user benchmarks.  Model: PM981a NVMe Samsung 512GB
Poor: 132%Average: 220% Great: 298%

Popular builds with this SSD

Outstanding average bench

The Pm981a NVMe Samsung 512GB averaged 119.5% higher than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Pm981a NVMe Samsung 512GB near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 738MB/s
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 1,658MB/s

Terrible consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Pm981a NVMe Samsung 512GB is 166%. This is a particularly wide range which indicates that the Pm981a NVMe Samsung 512GB performs inconsistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 103MB/s
Avg. Sustained Write Speed 758MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 3,592 samples)
Rank 80220%
Min Avg Max
774 Read 1,822 2,638
626 Write 1,658 2,373
654 Mixed 1,327 1,849
389 SusWrite 758 1,037
312% 1,392 MB/s
Min Avg Max
34.1 4K Read 52.4 66.6
47.3 4K Write 103 154
37.3 4K Mixed 66.2 89.1
219% 73.9 MB/s
Min Avg Max
281 DQ Read 867 1,371
131 DQ Write 583 1,070
203 DQ Mixed 738 1,180
547% 729 MB/s
User Benchmarks BenchSequentialRandom 4kDeep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
250GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 15302129 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1460 874 869 874 881 837 MB/s
307% Outstanding
Read 2,549
Write 2,314
Mixed 1479
SusWrite 966
408% 1,827 MB/s
4K Read 62.2
4K Write 141
4K Mixed 82.9
275% 95.3 MB/s
DQ Read 1,481
DQ Write 1,242
DQ Mixed 1,340
1,010% 1,354 MB/s
254GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 15305129 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 865 855 813 815 809 802 MB/s
278% Outstanding
Read 2,615
Write 2,280
Mixed 1,836
SusWrite 826
422% 1,889 MB/s
4K Read 60.1
4K Write 142
4K Mixed 85
275% 95.6 MB/s
DQ Read 968
DQ Write 684
DQ Mixed 820
614% 824 MB/s
426GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 15303129 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1836 898 802 805 805 809 MB/s
262% Outstanding
Read 2,368
Write 1,790
Mixed 1,554
SusWrite 992
374% 1,676 MB/s
4K Read 56.1
4K Write 104
4K Mixed 70.6
231% 77.1 MB/s
DQ Read 944
DQ Write 619
DQ Mixed 760
573% 774 MB/s
282GB free
Firmware: 15302129 Max speed: PCIe 16,000 MB/s
SusWrite @10s intervals: 1101 885 886 885 885 884 MB/s
253% Outstanding
Read 2272
Write 2,108
Mixed 1,727
SusWrite 921
394% 1,757 MB/s
4K Read 52.4
4K Write 99.1
4K Mixed 67
218% 72.8 MB/s
DQ Read 963
DQ Write 738
DQ Mixed 886
653% 862 MB/s
3,592 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 75,663,930 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 512GB Builds (Compare 4,028 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 12%
Tree trunk
Desktop
Desktop 72%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 12%
Tree trunk

System: Dell XPS 15 7590

CPU
Core i7-9750HIntelBench 73%, 328,182 samples3,099x
Core i9-9980HKIntelBench 82%, 8,965 samples770x
Core i5-9300HIntelBench 65%, 116,682 samples159x
GPU
UHD Graphics 630IntelBench 5%, 506,702 samples2,473x
GTX 1650 (Mobile)NvidiaBench 41%, 92,838 samples1,490x
GTX 1080Nvidia  $400Bench 102%, 1,082,454 samples6x
SSD
NVMe Samsung 512GBPm981aBench 220%, 3,592 samples1x
RAM
HMA81GS6JJR8N-VK 2x8GBUnknownBench 74%, 13,906 samples588x
HMA82GS6JJR8N-VK 2x16GBUnknownBench 80%, 6,839 samples543x
M471A1K43DB1-CTD 2x8GBSamsungBench 76%, 43,895 samples294x
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Popular NVMe Samsung 512GB systems:

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

Welcome to our 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 value for money upgrades.

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How it works

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  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
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  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
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Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) April 2024 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 $279Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $134Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $182Nvidia RTX 4070 $409Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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