Samsung’s M.2 NVMe SSDs have been thriving in the market since last year. And we all know that the 970 EVO series from Samsung has been highly rated by PC experts and enthusiasts all over the world. There are three different options to go within this series like the 970 EVO, 970 EVO Plus, and the 970 Pro. This makes things pretty complicated for newbies as they really don’t know which one they should choose.
Now all of these SSDs have a size of 1TB but are slightly different from each other in performance. Yes, the sequential and write speed of all three models are different. In this article, we will compare the Samsung 970 Evo, Evo Plus, and the 970 Pro in detail.
But before that, let us discuss some of the similarities first. First, all of these SSDs use advanced V-NAND technology and have the same endurance level (TBW). The EVO and Evo plus have come with an endurance level of 600 TBW, and the 970 Pro doubles this figure with an endurance level up to 1200 TBW. The TBW means the number of terabytes that you can write on a particular SSD in its lifetime.
Samsung 970 EVO vs 970 EVO Plus vs 970 PRO Compared
Samsung 970 EVO
PCIe 3 x4 NVMe 1.3
M.2 2280 single face
3,400 MB/s Read speed
2,500 MB/s Write Speed
Samsung 970 EVO Plus
PCIe 3 x4 NVMe 1.3
M.2 2280 single face
3,500 MB/s Read Speed
3,300 MB/s Write Speed
Samsung 970 Pro
PCIe 3 x4 NVMe 1.3
M.2 2280 single face
3,500 MB /s Read Speed
2,700 MB/s Write Speed
Furthermore, all the models come with a 2280 form factor and Samsung’s Thermal Guard to regulate consistent temperature. Lastly, all of these SSDs come with 5 years of warranty. In case anything goes wrong, you can replace them right away.
So, now we will compare Samsung 970 Evo, 970 Evo Plus, and 970 Pro in relation to their advertized specs vs real-life performance. Also, we will suggest to you which one of these you should buy in relation to your budget and need.
Samsung 970 EVO 1TB vs 970 EVO Plus 1TB
So we will begin our comparison from Samsung 970 EVO and EVO Plus. Note that we are using the 1 TB version of these SSDs for this article. Below is the table that shows the read/write speeds of both models as described here by Samsung.
| Model | Read Speed | Write Speed |
| Samsung 970 EVO 1TB | 3,400 MB/s | 2,500 MB/s |
| Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB | 3,500 MB/s | 3,300 MB/s |
But the reality is a little bit different in our benchmark test. See the results below
| Benchmark Results | Read Speed | Write Speed |
| Samsung 970 EVO 1TB | 2,450 MB/s | 2,316 MB/s |
| Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB | 2,550 MB/s | 2,369 MB/s |
Now the Price of Samsung 970 EVO 1TB is around $169 and EVO Plus at $199. And if we look at the results that we got in our benchmark test, it is obvious that there isn’t much difference in the sequential read/write speed of 970 EVO & EVO Plus. The only difference that we see at this point is the price, the EVO Plus costs few more bucks. Like if you are a budget geek, we recommend you stick with Samsung 970 EVO.
Samsung 1TB 970 EVO Plus vs Samsung 1TB 970 Pro
In our previous comparison, we have seen that the 970 EVO Plus gives you a slight edge over the 970 EVO. And now we will run the benchmark to know if the Samsung 970 Pro delivers better performance than the 970 Plus.
According to Samsung, the read/write speed is 3,500 MB/s and 2,700 MB/s. So let’s find out if it is really worth investing more money in buying the 970 Pro model.
| Samsung 1TB 970 EVO Plus | Samsung 1TB 970 Pro | |
| Avg Read Speed | 2,368 MB/s | 2,351 MB/s |
| Av Write Speed | 2,174 MB/s | 2,074 MB/s |
| Price | $199 | $349 MB/s |
So, by running the user benchmarks on Samsung 970 EVO, 970 EVO Plus, and 970 Pro, we have concluded that the Samsung 970 VO Plus shines out as compared to other SSD in the EVO Series.
Verdict
So, here is our verdict if you are willing to buy any of these SSDs. If you want to save more money and really don’t care about the sustained read/write speed, we highly recommend you to go with Samsung 970 EVO that lies on a sweet spot between price & performance.
Also, if you spend few more bucks, you get access to Samsung 970 EVO Plus that holds better-sustained read/write speed compared to both Samsung 970 EVO and EVO Plus. Although we had higher expectations from the 970 Pro, it failed to do so.
- Samsung 970 EVO | Most Affordable Option
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus | For sustained read/write speed
- Samsung 970 Pro | Costs more and does not deliver better performance than EVO Plus as expected
