Samsung 980 1000GB

The Samsung 980 1TB is Samsung's first DRAM-less NVMe SSD for the consumer market, using the proprietary Pablo controller (S4LR033) with a streamlined 4-channel design. To compensate for the lack of onboard DRAM, the drive uses Host Memory Buffer (HMB) to use a portion of system RAM for mapping tables. Storage is managed by Samsung’s 6th Generation 128-layer 3-bit MLC (TLC) V-NAND, allowing the drive to fully saturate the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface despite the absence of a dedicated cache module. Field notes indicate the 980 runs significantly cooler than its PCIe 4.0 counterpart, the Samsung 980 PRO, and that Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0 (pseudo-SLC caching) creates a large buffer (up to 160GB on the 1TB model) with sustained writes falling back to native TLC speeds of approximately 900 MB/s to 1,100 MB/s. Unlike many entry-level NVMe drives, Samsung uses TLC NAND rather than QLC, preserving higher endurance and better post-cache write performance.

Key Specifications

• Interface: PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.4
• Max Sequential Speeds: 3,500 MB/s Read / 3,000 MB/s Write
• Controller: Samsung Pablo (S4LR033)
• NAND Type: Samsung 128-Layer V-NAND 3-bit MLC (TLC)
• DRAM Cache: None (Supports Host Memory Buffer - HMB)
• Endurance: 600 TBW (Total Bytes Written)
• Security: AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption, TCG Opal 2.0, Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667)
• PCB Layout: Single-sided M.2 2280

Hardware Alternatives

• Western Digital Blue SN570: This is the most direct architectural competitor, using a proprietary in-house controller and TLC NAND in a DRAM-less configuration with nearly identical sequential throughput limits on PCIe 3.0.
• SK Hynix Gold P31: Uses the same PCIe 3.0 interface but includes a dedicated LPDDR4 DRAM cache, offering similar sequential speed caps and notable power efficiency.
• Kioxia Exceria G2: An alternative for workloads requiring DRAM; it runs at slightly lower peak sequential speeds than the Samsung 980 but uses BiCS FLASH TLC and a dedicated DRAM cache, affecting random I/O characteristics.