Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare
PCIe 4.0 · 7450/6900 MB/s · 1TB
XPG MARS 980 BLADE
PCIe 5.0 NVMe · 14,000 MB/s read · PassMark #17
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare takes it — here’s why.
In our weighted Specdex score, Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare lands at 86 and XPG MARS 980 BLADE at 83. That puts Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare ahead by 3 points — a narrow margin driven mostly by its strengths in the categories below.
Pick Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare if…
- ✓M.2 NVMe
- ✓Competitive per-GB cost
- ✓TBW scales with capacity
Pick XPG MARS 980 BLADE if…
- ✓PassMark Disk Score top-20 (88,359) — sustained-write class-leading
- ✓Current street price around $721
Winner by scenario
Derived from the sub-score breakdown · not a separate testValue for money
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bareSpecdex score per dollar at MSRP
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare more score per dollar ($90 vs $300).
Score breakdown
Specs side-by-side
| Spec | Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare | XPG MARS 980 BLADE |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 |
| Capacity | 1TB | — |
| Read/Write | 7450/6900 MB/s | — |
| Form factor | — | M.2 2280 (passive, heat-spreader label) |
| Sequential read | — | 14,000 MB/s |
| Sequential write | — | 13,000 MB/s |
| Random read | — | 2,000,000 IOPS |
| Random write | — | 1,650,000 IOPS |
| Controller | — | Silicon Motion SM2508 (TSMC 6nm) |
| NAND | — | 232-layer Micron 3D TLC |
| DRAM | — | yes (DRAM cache buffer) |
| Endurance | — | 1,480 TBW |
| Warranty | — | 5 years |
| PassMark Disk Score | — | 88,359 |
| PassMark rank | — | #17 of 100 consumer SSDs |
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare
- +M.2 NVMe
- +Competitive per-GB cost
- +TBW scales with capacity
- −Thermals on Gen 5 drives
- −DRAM-less models slower under sustained load
- −Require heatsinks in many systems
XPG MARS 980 BLADE
- +PassMark Disk Score top-20 (88,359) — sustained-write class-leading
- +Current street price around $721
- −DRAM-less controllers on lower-tier variants may throttle under sustained writes
FAQ: Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare vs XPG MARS 980 BLADE
Which is better, Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare or XPG MARS 980 BLADE? +
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare scores 86 on our weighted rubric — ahead by 3. Your best pick depends on the sub-scores above.
Is Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare worth the price? +
At $90, Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare delivers a Specdex score of 86 — strongest in read.
Is XPG MARS 980 BLADE worth the price? +
At $300, XPG MARS 980 BLADE delivers a Specdex score of 83 — strongest in passmark_disk.
Does Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare or XPG MARS 980 BLADE last longer? +
Based on our long-term update and support ratings, both ship with multi-year support. Battery and reliability scores are visible in the breakdown above.
Which is the better value, Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare or XPG MARS 980 BLADE? +
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB · bare — more score per dollar ($90 vs $300). Specdex score per dollar at MSRP.