Getting slow NVME write speeds

[lexarflash8g]

I have a Samsung 980 Pro PCI 4 drive and I did a benchmark, and Im getting good read speeds, but very slow write speeds at 1,100 mb.
The drive is only 1/3 full, and its running on the PCI x4 mode as listed in the bios. I tested other NVMEs and they are working fine.
SATA mode is in the BIOS, only thing I can think of is might be throttling since the temps are a bit high.

Its unusual what could be causing this? Is this a defect with the drive... just got it so its a bit frustrating..

 

[Deleted member 193596]

some info would be nice...

 

[Ahhzz]

I have a Samsung 980 Pro PCI 4 drive and I did a benchmark, and Im getting good read speeds, but very slow write speeds at 1,100 mb.
The drive is only 1/3 full, and its running on the PCI x4 mode as listed in the bios. I tested other NVMEs and they are working fine.
SATA mode is in the BIOS, only thing I can think of is might be throttling since the temps are a bit high.

Its unusual what could be causing this? Is this a defect with the drive... just got it so its a bit frustrating..

Throw CrystalMark at it, and let's see the data.

Download

[2025/04/05] CrystalMark Retro 2.0.2 – Manual / History Installer: Standard Edition Aoi Edition ZIP： Standard Edition for 9x for NT Aoi Edition Aoi for 9x Aoi for NT Source Code Standard Edition Aoi Edition [2025/03/11] CrystalDiskInfo 9.6.3 – Manual / History Aoi Edition 4 themes / 43M...

crystalmark.info

 

[lexarflash8g]

Same thing with CrystalDiskMark... 6700 reads... 1100 mb writes.. I can send a screenshot

Im using an x570 system of course with PCI 4 support and running on the top NVME slot.. I tried with other NVME slots but get same slow speeds... my other NVME drives bench fine..

 

[Zach_01]

What is the drive's temp? idle/load

Try Samsung Magician software. From it you can see if the drive needs a firmware update and also what NVMe driver you are using.
You can run benchmark too...



This is HWiNFO sensors mode

 

[ratirt]

Same thing with CrystalDiskMark... 6700 reads... 1100 mb writes.. I can send a screenshot

Im using an x570 system of course with PCI 4 support and running on the top NVME slot.. I tried with other NVME slots but get same slow speeds... my other NVME drives bench fine..

You need to be more specific with your hardware spec. Bord, CPU, PSU etc.

 

[oobymach]

Your write speed should definitely be higher, something is wrong with the drive, are you using newest driver? Only other thing I can think of is incorrect bios setting (if using msi board in settings/advanced/pci sub system should be auto or gen4).

Get driver here, scroll down to driver and hit plus, download and install, reboot and test.

Tool & Software Download | Samsung Semiconductor Global

Download various software related to your product, including Samsung Magician, designed for use with Samsung's memory products, and find related information.

www.samsung.com

 

[Vya Domus]

I can send a screenshot

Oh good to know ...

Please post one ?

 

[Shou Miko]

I have a Samsung 980 Pro PCI 4 drive and I did a benchmark, and Im getting good read speeds, but very slow write speeds at 1,100 mb.
The drive is only 1/3 full, and its running on the PCI x4 mode as listed in the bios. I tested other NVMEs and they are working fine.
SATA mode is in the BIOS, only thing I can think of is might be throttling since the temps are a bit high.

Its unusual what could be causing this? Is this a defect with the drive... just got it so its a bit frustrating..

Please fill out System Specs it's easier to help you out.

Because what motherboard and have you installed Samsung's own NVME driver for your drive? I noticed installing Windows 10 on my own 970 EVO a while back before version 1909 it was a bit weird without it.

 

[lexarflash8g]

There is no driver for the Samsung 980, only the 970. The temp is about 51.. and sometimes in Samsung Magician it says too high. I can't open it now its crashing for some reason.
And In my gigabyte BIOS settings It shows the setting as PCI 4x and shows up under NVME. And I put in the top most slot. Not sure whats going on.

 

[Zach_01]

Yes it's not right


Open HWiNFO "sensors mode only" and leave it open for as long as you use your system. After few hours check the temps. And you can see them during benchmarks also.

Know that every time you run benchmarks on your SSD drives you're loading/increasing the "Total Host Writes" by a lot. I know 980Pro 500GB should have a high TBW limit (300TB total), but just saying.

 

[Vya Domus]

Install the latest chipset driver from AMD. Usually these things are related to that.

 

[Zach_01]

Install the latest chipset driver from AMD. Usually these things are related to that.

Could be... but only from AMD website and not vendor site.

https://www.amd.com/en/support

 

[plat]

I just installed the 980 Pro last weekend and never had to install any Samsung firmware, driver, controller etc. or update any chipset or BIOS. No settings needed to be adjusted in the BIOS. It's running in a Z390 board so the speeds are not as high as if it was the latest 4.0.

I mean, if one can rule out dirty or broken slots or contacts one might start thinking about contacting Samsung customer service and/or returning it for a replacement. It's not worth the aggravation, imo.

Spoiler

Spoiler

/

 

[theonek]

hmm that's what i wanted to see and the conclusion is 980pro works just like 970 evo plus on the older boards with no pci-e 4.0, so it's not worth it to change ssd's without the whole system...

 

[plat]

Exactly. In fact, that's what the 980 Pro replaced on here: the 970 EVO plus. Things went from "decently fast" to virtually instant in many cases. The temperatures dropped from high 30s/low 40s to what you see here, depending on use of course. It was an actual, appreciable upgrade you could see and sense. It was worth it, even though it's running in PCI-e 3.0 and will not fully see the read/write potential.

 

[magnomickey]

Im having a very similar problem... the drive had good speeds at first (4,500 mbps aprox) and suddenly it dropped a lot... I use win10 with the latest updates. I attach crystalmark. Anyone has solved this problem?

 

[Selaya]

sounds a lot like a drive not properly TRIMming ...

 

[magnomickey]

I did optimize the drive with windows tool; is there any tool that can help diagnose if drive not properly TRIMing ?

 

[theonek]

use the latest version of Samsung magician software to see if any problems will report for your drive or it could have a new firmware for it for fixing this issue....

 

[magnomickey]

no errors or new firmware

 

[plat]

Just retested w/CDM and there's no write degradation like that with mine. Might it be related to the PCI-e 4.0 interface? I wonder if Samsung has other reports like that. In that case, I spoke too soon re: returning it. But maybe watch out for further reports.

I found a post on the Samsung community thread. It's not helpful so far....

Samsung account

us.community.samsung.com

 

[magnomickey]

i also ran a health chcekc and looks like drive is ok.

found this too... guess we will have to wait for driver to see if it fixes it..

 

[lexarflash8g]

I also have the latest AMD driver for the chipset.
Is it a defect with the drive, or something else with my system? If other users are reporting issues.. it might be a bad batch of drives.

Doubt my system because my ADATA xpg NVME drive gets 3300 write speeds.. even my 970 is faster. Ill try the HWinfo sensors while its benchmarking to see if its throttling.

Please let me know what Samsung says Im trying to RMA but dont want to get the same drive if it continues to happen.

 

[Shou Miko]

@lexarflash8g Have you enabled write caching in Windows 10?

After watching Nada from Techtesters she actually says Samsung dropped the driver for the 980 Pro that really does everything for you to make your drive just works.

The part you are seeking is starting around 3:30 mins in.