80
Sean Webster
Tom's Hardware
“Samsung’s 500GB 980 is a very fast DRAM‑less M.2 NVMe SSD that runs both cool and efficiently.”
Critical Assessment
What Critics Praise
- Competitive performance for the price
- Large fast‑recovering dynamic SLC cache
- Attractive black PCB design
- AES‑256 hardware encryption
- 5‑year warranty
- Excellent sequential read speeds
Points of Contention
- No PCIe 4.0 support
- Reliance on Host Memory Buffer
- Limited future-proofing
Professional Reviews
3 reviews from 3 critics80
Mark Knapp
TechRadar
“It’s a strong drive, but just edged out by the competition at pretty much every angle.”
70
Jon L. Jacobi
PCWorld
“The Samsung 980 is affordable, but it’s no barn‑burning Samsung 980 Pro.”
