Samsung 980 Pro vs 970 EVO Plus, Which One is Better?

I'd like to know the results of the Samsung 980 Pro vs 970 EVO Plus

"I have a desktop computer that was purchased in 2014 and despite its price at the time, I can only use it for simple tasks now and I had to repurchase a computer for entertainment and work reasons. Referring to the configuration list provided to me by a friend, I have purchased a graphics card, CPU, motherboard etc. The only thing that makes me hesitate is the SSD. the configuration list recommends a Samsung 980 Pro, but I am not sure if I need such an expensive SSD as the Samsung 970 EVO Plus seems to be more cost effective. Can anyone give some valid advice? I just want to know if the difference in performance between the two SSDs outweighs the difference in price."

Samsung Electronics, a subsidiary of the Samsung Group, is both the world's largest information technology company and a world-renowned manufacturer of products that have released many storage devices, such as solid state drives (SSDs), USB portable drives, SD cards, etc., of which the Samsung 980 Pro and Samsung 970 EVO Plus are just two of the most popular SSDs currently available, and the ones that many computer users struggle with The focus. So should you choose the Samsung 980 Pro or the Samsung 970 EVO Plus? Read on below and we'll show you a detailed comparison of these two popular SSDs.

Samsung 980 Pro vs 970 EVO Plus metrics

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus was released in February 2019 and is in the first tier of PCIe 3.0 drives with faster sequential read and write and 4K random read and write speeds and a capacity of 2TB compared to the previous Samsung 970 EVO. The Samsung 980 Pro was released in January 2021 and supports the latest PCIe 4.0 interface and is compatible with PCIe 3.0 interfaces, making it in the top tier of all SSDs in terms of overall performance.

So, how can you tell which is better for you, the Samsung 980 Pro or the 970 EVO Plus? As the same internal hard drive, we will compare the Samsung 980 Pro and 970 EVO Plus in 7 aspects, including interface and specifications, capacity and model, particles, controller, performance, warranty and security, and price, and finally a comprehensive evaluation.

Interfaces and Specifications

M.2 interface SSDs can be divided into SATA and PCIe bus (channel), the latter is more common in the market and can also be subdivided into PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0, with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus having a PCIe Gen 3.0×4 interface protocol and the Samsung 980 Pro having a PCIe Gen 4.0×4 interface protocol, which is one of the one of the main differences.

This means that the Samsung 970 EVO Plus can only be used on motherboards with PCIe Gen 3.0×4 interfaces; while the Samsung 980 Pro can be used on both the latest PCIe Gen 4.0×4 interface motherboards as well as PCIe Gen 3.0×4 interface motherboards, except that the latter cannot deliver maximum performance. Other than that, the spec used in both SSDs is M.2 (2280).

Capacity and Model

Whether you choose a mechanical hard drive (HDD) or an SSD, the first thing you should consider is capacity, as more capacity means more storage space and you can keep more data for files, folders, games, etc. Samsung 980 Pro vs 970 EVO Plus, both offer a wide range of capacity options, namely 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB.It is important to note that even with the same SSD, the models represented by different capacities can vary, here are the 980 Pro vs 970 EVO Plus models with different capacities.

Capacity / Model	Samsung 980 Pro	Samsung 970 EVO Plus
250GB	MZ-V8P250B	MZ-V7S250B
500GB	MZ-V8P500B	MZ-V7S500B
1TB	MZ-V8P1T0B	MZ-V7S1T0B
2TB	MZ-V8P2T0B	MZ-V7S2T0B

Particles (NAND Flash)

The particles in an SSD will be a direct reflection of the materials used in that product and are also the most costly component of an SSD, often accounting for around 80% of the total cost. In addition, the particles are not only the storage medium for computer data, but also determine the life and performance of that SSD. The SSD particles currently on the market can be divided into SLC, MLC, TLC and QLC, although the Samsung 980 Pro and Samsung 970 EVO Plus claim that the NAND flash is Samsung MLC, but it is still essentially TLC, but don't worry, the average user can use it for ten years without too many problems.

Controller

The controller is essentially an embedded processor that executes firmware code and can be seen as the brain of the SSD. The controllers used in the Samsung 980 Pro and 970 EVO Plus are both developed in-house by Samsung. The controller used in the Samsung 980 Pro and 970 EVO Plus is the Samsung Phoenix (2nd generation), which is equipped with the 5th generation V-NAND technology developed and produced by Samsung, integrating Samsung's years of technology accumulation in the NAND flash memory industry, which can provide you with stable and efficient storage performance.

The Samsung 980 Pro, on the other hand, has a Samsung Elpis controller that uses a new 8nm process and supports 128 queues working in parallel, and carries 6th generation V-NAND particles with 1XX layers of stack inside, which means more data can be stored. On the whole, the Samsung 980 Pro has a significantly better controller.

Performance (sequential reads and writes vs. 4k random reads and writes)

The level of performance will directly affect your computer experience, so it is also an important consideration when choosing an SSD, mainly divided into sequential read/write and 4k random read/write. Sequential read/write refers to the speed of the drive when reading and writing coherent and concentrated high-capacity files, such as transferring videos, copying files or folders, while 4k random read/write refers to the speed of the drive when reading and writing incoherent, scattered and smaller-capacity files, which will directly affect the smoothness and responsiveness of your computer.

With the same SSD, sequential reads and writes vs. 4k random reads and writes can vary by capacity. Here is a performance comparison of the Samsung 980 Pro and Samsung 970 EVO Plus with different capacities.

Capacity/performance	Samsung 980 Pro		Samsung 970 EVO Plus
	Sequential read/write (MB/s)	4k random read/write	Sequential read/write (MB/s)	4k random read/write
250GB	6400/2700	500K/600K	3500/2300	250K/550K
500GB	6900/5000	800K/1000K	3500/3200	480K/550K
1TB	7000/5000	1000K/1000K	3500/3300	600K/550K
2TB	7000/5100	1000K/1000K	3500/3300	620K/560K

Durability

In addition to performance, endurance is an important consideration when shopping for an SSD. Total writes (TBW) is a measure of the reasonable amount of writes that can be expected to accumulate over the life of the SSD and can be seen as an estimate of the SSD's lifespan. a higher TBW value means that the SSD is expected to last longer and can be used for a longer period of time. The following is the endurance of the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus compared to the Samsung 980 Pro for different capacities.

Capacity/Durability (TBW)	Samsung 980 Pro	Samsung 970 EVO Plus
250GB	150	150
500GB	300	300
1TB	600	600
2TB	1200	1200

Warranty and Safety

Both the Samsung 980 Pro and the Samsung 970 EVO Plus have a 5-year warranty, and it should be noted that the warranty is limited and only applies to failures that are not caused by human damage. In addition, the security of the Samsung SSD 980 Pro vs 970 EVO Plus is the same, with both being AES 256-bit encrypted to effectively prevent data leakage.

Price

Price is an important factor for many users who are torn between the Samsung 980 Pro and the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, and is also an important factor in measuring how good an SSD is for the money. It is important to note that even for the same SSD, the price can vary for different capacities. Here are the prices of the Samsung 980 Pro compared to the Samsung 970 EVO Plus for different capacities.

Capacity/price	Samsung 980 Pro	Samsung 970 EVO Plus
250GB	$73.67	$53.25
500GB	$128.66	$84.67
1TB	$235.48	$156.93
2TB	$455.40	$314.02

Note:✎...

The prices listed in the table are original prices, actual prices may fluctuate depending on events or discounts.

Samsung 980 Pro vs. 970 EVO Plus: Which one is better for you

If you think the above is too complicated, please refer to the table below. Taking the 1TB capacity as an example, we show you a detailed comparison of the Samsung 980 Pro and Samsung 970 EVO Plus in terms of various indicators so that you can choose a more suitable SSD.

Comparison Items	Samsung 980 Pro (1TB)	Samsung 970 EVO Plus (1TB)
Release Date	January 2021	February 2019
interface protocol	PCIe Gen 4.0×4	PCIe Gen 3.0×4
Shape/Specifications	M.2 (2280)	M.2 (2280)
Particles (NAND Flash)	1XXL TLC V-NAND	92L TLC V-NAND
controller	Samsung Elpis	Samsung Phoenix (2nd generation)
Cache DDR4 SDRAM	1GB	1GB
Sequential reads (MB/s)	7000	3500
Sequential write (MB/s)	5000	3300
4k random reads (IOPS)	1000K	600K
4k random writes (IOPS)	1000K	550K
security	AES 256-bit encryption	AES 256-bit encryption
Durability (TBW)	600	600
warranty period	5 years	5 years
price	$235.48	$156.93

As you can see from the above, the Samsung 980 Pro and Samsung 970 EVO Plus remain the same in terms of specifications, cache DDR4 SDRAM, security, endurance and warranty. However, in terms of interface protocol, particles, controller, and performance (sequential read/write vs. 4k random read/write), the Samsung 980 Pro is significantly better than the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, which has the only advantage in lower price.

In summary, if you are a professional gamer, computer expert or professional software user (3D design, video editing, post-production, etc.), then the Samsung 980 Pro is the recommended choice. The excellent performance and the PCIe 4.0 interface protocol prove that this SSD is a future-proof product. If you are just a gaming enthusiast or casual user, then the Samsung 970 EVO Plus is more recommended for a better overall price/performance ratio at a more aggressive discount.

Easy way to migrate your system to Samsung 980 Pro or 970 EVO Plus

Whether you choose the Samsung 980 Pro or the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, they both provide you with far better performance than HDDs, not only improving the speed of your computer, but also reducing the loading time of games or professional software, providing you with a better experience. If you have purchased a Samsung 980 Pro or Samsung 970 EVO Plus, it is recommended that you migrate your Windows system to one of these drives as soon as possible to improve your computer's performance and get a better experience. Here we recommend you to use AOMEI Backupper Professional to clone your system and improve your computer performance easily.

You can use AOMEI Backupper Professional for system cloning on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP and other system versions. With just a few clicks, you can clone your current operating system, software, applications, etc. to Samsung 980 Pro or 970 EVO Plus, saving time of reinstalling Windows system and also retains the original data of the system partition. Here are the detailed steps for system cloning, but before that, you need to do the following preparations.

• The software uses smart cloning by default, which means that you need to check the storage space on both disks participating in the system clone and make sure that the target disk is greater than or equal to the used space on the source disk, otherwise the clone may fail.
• System cloning will overwrite the partition of the target disk, if the target disk has more than one partition, please use the partition backup feature before system cloning to backup the required important data to prevent data loss.
• Download and install AOMEI Backupper trial version (30 days).

Note:✎...

Please note that system cloning in the trial version can only be demonstrated and cannot be performed, if you are satisfied after the demonstration, please upgrade to the Pro version and perform the system clone again.

 Step 1. Make sure your Windows system checks into the Samsung 980 Pro or 970 EVO Plus, Open AOMEI Backupper Professional. Select Clone > System Clone.

Step 2. The source drive is selected by default, you just need to choose a disk as the destination disk.

Step 3. If your destination disk is an SSD, please tick SSD Alignment to make the reading and writing speed faster. Confirm your operations and click Start Clone.

Note:✎...

A partition-by-partition copy requires ensuring that the target disk storage is larger or equal to the source disk storage, otherwise the clone will fail.

After the system clone is complete, change the boot order in the BIOS to ensure that the computer will boot successfully on the new drive (Samsung 980 Pro or 970 EVO Plus).

Note:✎...

The difference in partition table format of a computer disk will directly affect system cloning. If it is an MBR disk, only the system partition and the system reserved partition will be transferred; if it is a GPT disk, both the EFI system partition and the MSR partition will also be transferred to the new hard disk. It is worth mentioning that AOMEI Backupper Professional allows you to clone MBR to GPT disk without converting the partition style.

In addition to this, AOMEI Backupper Professional can provide you with other features that may be of interest.

• If you want to transfer your system without loading Windows, you can choose to create a bootable media and just boot from it.
• AOMEI Backupper Professional only supports the Personal User Edition of Windows, if you want to transfer your system to Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 R2/2008 R2/2003, please use AOMEI Backupper Server.
•  If you are concerned about the security of the data in your computer, you can also use the Disk Clone function to make a complete copy of all the data in the source hard disk and transfer it to the new one to further improve the security of your computer data.

Conclusion

If you're not sure which is better to buy, the Samsung 980 Pro or 970 EVO Plus, you can read this article in detail to find out how the Samsung 980 Pro compares to the 970 EVO Plus, and after a comprehensive evaluation, decide which SSD is better for you. After choosing the right SSD, how can I easily and quickly migrate my system to the new SSD? Here we recommend you to use AOMEI Backupper Professional for system cloning.

AOMEI Backupper Professional can provide you professional system cloning service, even beginners can easily migrate system to a new SSD and boot successfully. Besides, you can also perform Disk Backup, File Backup, Partition Clone, etc. through AOMEI Backupper Professional in order to enhance your computer data security.