Just a few months back, Samsung unveiled a 2.5-inch solid-state drive with 8TBs of storage. It was an upgrade that doubled what the company had previously been capable of. The new Samsung 980 PRO SSD series debuted earlier today, and instead of focusing on capacity, the company has doubled down on performance. Users can anticipate up to 7,000MB/s file transfers, a boost that is twice the speed of its 970 PRO lineup. Continue reading to learn more.
New Samsung 980 PRO SSD lineup is wicked fast
Today, Samsung took the wraps off its first consumer-focused PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid-state drive. It’s dubbed Samsung 980 PRO, and it certainly packs a punch. The company touts this lineup as designed with gaming and creative work in mind, making it great for playing graphics-heavy games and working with 8K content.
There are four capacities which include 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. Unfortunately, the performance of each is not equal, with 1TB and 2TB units eking out the fastest read and write speeds of up to 7,000MB/s and 5,000MB/s respectively. The slowest of which is unsurprisingly the 250GB model, but even so, it still manages to deliver 6,400MB/s and 2,700MB/s read and write performance.
As many would expect, these speeds can build up a lot of heat. Samsung claims each unit boasts “outstanding thermal control” that’s carried out thanks to copper heatsinks, nickel coating, and a heat spreader label along the back. Each model is backed with a five-year warranty.
“Over the years, Samsung has continuously challenged the limits of high-speed flash memory storage solutions,” said Dr. Mike Mang, vice president of Memory Brand Product Biz at Samsung Electronics. “The new 980 PRO SSD reflects our continuing commitment to delivering exceptional products consumers have come to expect from Samsung.”
Pricing and availability
Availability of Samsung’s new 980 PRO solid-state drives will begin by the end of this month. At least that is the case for 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities. If you’re interested in a 2TB model, you’ll have to wait a bit. Samsung plans to ship its largest capacity by the end of 2020. Pricing will start at $89.99, but it’s unclear how much cost will jump from there. We anticipate this lineup will adhere closely to what current models sell for.
9to5Toys’ Take
With next-generation consoles touting incredibly fast onboard storage, the timing couldn’t be better for gaming PCs to receive this upgrade. While graphics are bound to look and play well on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, gaming PCs will continue to retain an edge due to sheer upgradability.
Faster storage leads to short load times and the potential to utilize assets of higher quality. The new Samsung 980 PRO lineup paves the way for this and without a doubt, competing brands will undoubtedly do their best to quickly follow suit.
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