[SOLVED] Is Samsung 950 Pro really that good even 6 years later?

SweettSpott7

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Jan 4, 2022
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I'm [slowly] working on a new build and my new motherboard only has one M.2 slot versus the 2 I have now. My current main SSD is the Samsung 950 Pro 256GB, which is good but obviously generally too small to have more than an OS and a game or two (hence my second M.2 slot having a larger-less nice SSD). I was looking at getting a Samsung 980 Pro 1TB, which at my first glance seems way faster and better, but UserBenchmark (or anyone else for that matter) isn't able to compare the two side by side. Plus I'm still seeing 950 Pros going for over 200$ used and I'm not sure if that's due to demand or performance since there are plenty of newer models for half the cost. If anyone is familiar with these I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Many thanks!
 
Solution
I'm [slowly] working on a new build and my new motherboard only has one M.2 slot versus the 2 I have now. My current main SSD is the Samsung 950 Pro 256GB, which is good but obviously generally too small to have more than an OS and a game or two (hence my second M.2 slot having a larger-less nice SSD). I was looking at getting a Samsung 980 Pro 1TB, which at my first glance seems way faster and better, but UserBenchmark (or anyone else for that matter) isn't able to compare the two side by side. Plus I'm still seeing 950 Pros going for over 200$ used and I'm not sure if that's due to demand or performance since there are plenty of newer models for half the cost. If anyone is familiar with these I would greatly appreciate any advice...

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I'm [slowly] working on a new build and my new motherboard only has one M.2 slot versus the 2 I have now. My current main SSD is the Samsung 950 Pro 256GB, which is good but obviously generally too small to have more than an OS and a game or two (hence my second M.2 slot having a larger-less nice SSD). I was looking at getting a Samsung 980 Pro 1TB, which at my first glance seems way faster and better, but UserBenchmark (or anyone else for that matter) isn't able to compare the two side by side. Plus I'm still seeing 950 Pros going for over 200$ used and I'm not sure if that's due to demand or performance since there are plenty of newer models for half the cost. If anyone is familiar with these I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Many thanks!
All my SATA III Samsung EVOs, going back to a couple of 250GB 840s in 2014), still run just as fast as they did as new.

If you're getting a motherboard with a native PCIe 4.0 port, then little reason to not get a 980 Pro if it is in your budget.
Otherwise, a 970 EVO Plus.

A 950 Pro sells for more than current drives, because they don't make them any more. Limited supply.

On a valid motherboard, benchmark numbers for a 980 Pro will be much faster than a 950.


I'm about to embark on an actual user application test, with the various drives in my current system.
908 Pro, Intel 660p, random SATA III drives.
We shall see what actual difference there is.
 
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Solution

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
I'm [slowly] working on a new build and my new motherboard only has one M.2 slot versus the 2 I have now. My current main SSD is the Samsung 950 Pro 256GB, which is good but obviously generally too small to have more than an OS and a game or two (hence my second M.2 slot having a larger-less nice SSD). I was looking at getting a Samsung 980 Pro 1TB, which at my first glance seems way faster and better, but UserBenchmark (or anyone else for that matter) isn't able to compare the two side by side. Plus I'm still seeing 950 Pros going for over 200$ used and I'm not sure if that's due to demand or performance since there are plenty of newer models for half the cost. If anyone is familiar with these I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Many thanks!
The write endurance for the 950 Pro is greater than the 980 Pro. There could be users that will pay extra for the extra write endurance.