XPG MARS 980 BLADE
PCIe 5.0 NVMe · 14,000 MB/s read · PassMark #17
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare
PCIe 3.0 · 3500/3300 MB/s · 4TB
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare takes it — here’s why.
In our weighted Specdex score, XPG MARS 980 BLADE lands at 83 and Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare at 86. That puts Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare ahead by 3 points — a narrow margin driven mostly by its strengths in the categories below.
Pick XPG MARS 980 BLADE if…
- ✓PassMark Disk Score top-20 (88,359) — sustained-write class-leading
- ✓Current street price around $721
Pick Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare if…
- ✓M.2 NVMe
- ✓Competitive per-GB cost
- ✓TBW scales with capacity
Winner by scenario
Derived from the sub-score breakdown · not a separate testValue for money
TieSpecdex score per dollar at MSRP
Effectively tied — similar score-per-dollar at MSRP.
Score breakdown
Specs side-by-side
| Spec | XPG MARS 980 BLADE | Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | M.2 2280 (passive, heat-spreader label) | — |
| Interface | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 | PCIe 3.0 |
| 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 | — |
| Capacity | — | 4TB |
| Read/Write | — | 3500/3300 MB/s |
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
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · 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
FAQ: XPG MARS 980 BLADE vs Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare
Which is better, XPG MARS 980 BLADE or Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare? +
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare scores 86 on our weighted rubric — ahead by 3. Your best pick depends on the sub-scores above.
Is XPG MARS 980 BLADE worth the price? +
At $300, XPG MARS 980 BLADE delivers a Specdex score of 83 — strongest in passmark_disk.
Is Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare worth the price? +
At $280, Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare delivers a Specdex score of 86 — strongest in read.
Does XPG MARS 980 BLADE or Samsung 970 EVO Plus 4TB · bare 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.