After launching the 980 Pro SSD back in September, 2020, Samsung has announced the launch of the next SSD in the lineup, simply called the 980. It is an M.2 NVMe SSD that uses the PCIe Gen.3.0 x4 interface and offers read speeds up to 3,500 MB/s and write speeds up to 3,000 MB/s.
The 980 is Samsung’s first consumer SSD to feature a DRAM-less NVMe design, which is possible thanks to Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology. Its TurboWrite 2.0 technology allocates a larger buffer storage area, allowing for improved sustained performance over the previous iteration.
The drive features Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard technology, a nickel-coated controller and heat spreader label solutions, offering stable and reliable performance. It also offers improved power efficiency of up to 56% over the 970 EVO, which is useful for laptops and their power management.
| Category | Samsung 980 NVMe SSD |
| Interface | PCIe Gen.3.0 x4, NVMe 1.4 |
| Form Factor | M.2 (2280) |
| Capacity | 1TB, 500GB, 250GB |
| Sequential Read/Write Speed | Up to 3,500 / 3,000 MB/s |
| Random Read/Write Speed (QD32) | Up to 500K IOPS / 480K IOPS |
| Management Software | Samsung Magician |
| Data Encryption | AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption, TCG/Opal V2.0, Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667) |
| Total Bytes Written | 600TBW (1TB) 300TBW (500GB) 150TBW (250GB) |
The Samsung 980 SSD is available for a price of $49.99 (Approx. Rs. 3,641) for the 250GB, $69.99 (Approx. Rs. 5,098) for the 500GB and $129.99 (Approx. Rs. 9,468) for the 1TB.
In India, the Samsung 980 SSD is available at an MRP of INR 6,499 for the 250GB, INR 8,999 for the 500GB and INR 16,999 for the 1TB.
Commenting on the launch, KyuYoung Lee, vice president of Memory Brand Product Biz team at Samsung Electronics said:
Through both hardware and software innovations, our new 980 SSD brings greater value without compromising the high-end NVMe performance. The 980 offers an excellent blend of speed, power efficiency and reliability, making it suitable for everyday PC users and gamers as well as content creators.