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Samsung PM981a 1 TB

1 TB
Capacity
Samsung Phoenix
Controller
TLC
Flash
PCIe 3.0 x4
Interface
M.2 2280
Form Factor

Multiple hardware versions found.

Performance could vary due to unannounced flash/controller changes.

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SSD Controller
Controller
The Samsung PM981a is a solid-state drive in the M.2 2280 form factor, launched in 2020. It is available in capacities ranging from 256 GB to 1 TB. This page reports specifications for the 1 TB variant. With the rest of the system, the Samsung PM981a interfaces using a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 connection. The SSD controller is the Phoenix (S4LR020) from Samsung, a DRAM cache chip is available. Samsung has installed 92-layer TLC NAND flash on the PM981a, the flash chips are made by Samsung. Please note that this SSD is sold in multiple variants with different NAND flash or controller, which could affect performance, the "Notes" section at the end of this page has more info. To improve write speeds, a pseudo-SLC cache is used, so bursts of incoming writes are handled more quickly. The cache is sized at 42 GB, once it is full, writes complete at 1700 MB/s. The PM981a is rated for sequential read speeds of up to 3,500 MB/s and 3,000 MB/s write; random IO reaches 580K IOPS for read and 550K for writes.
The SSD's price at launch is unknown. The warranty length is set to five years, which is an excellent warranty period. Samsung guarantees an endurance rating of 600 TBW, a typical value for consumer SSDs.

Solid-State-Drive

Capacity: 1 TB (1024 GB)
Variants: 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Overprovisioning: 70.3 GB / 7.4 %
Production: Unknown
Released: 2020
Part Number: MZVLB1T0HBLR-00000
Market: Consumer

Physical

Form Factor: M.2 2280 (Single-Sided)
Interface: PCIe 3.0 x4
Protocol: NVMe 1.3
Power Draw: Unknown

Controller

Manufacturer: Samsung
Name: Phoenix (S4LR020)
Architecture: ARM 32-bit Cortex-R7
Core Count: 5-Core
Foundry: Samsung FinFET
Process: 14 nm
Flash Channels: 8 @ 800 MT/s
Chip Enables: 4
Controller Features: DRAM (enabled)

NAND Flash

Manufacturer: Samsung
Name: V-NAND V5
Type: TLC
Technology: 92-layer
Speed: 533 MT/s .. 1400 MT/s
Capacity: 2 chips @ 4 Tbit
Toggle: 4.0
Topology: Charge Trap
Dies per Chip: 8 dies @ 512 Gbit
Planes per Die: 2
Decks per Die: 1
Word Lines: 100 per NAND String
92.0% Vertical Efficiency
Read Time (tR): 73 µs
Program Time (tProg): 500 µs
Block Erase Time (tBERS): 3.5 ms
Die Read Speed: 438 MB/s
Die Write Speed: 64 MB/s
Page Size: 16 KB

DRAM Cache

Type: LPDDR4
Capacity: 1024 MB
(1x 1024 MB)

Performance

Sequential Read: 3,500 MB/s
Sequential Write: 3,000 MB/s
Random Read: 580,000 IOPS
Random Write: 550,000 IOPS
Endurance: 600 TBW
Warranty: 5 Years
MTBF: 1.5 Million Hours
Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD): 0.3
SLC Write Cache: approx. 42 GB
(36 GB Dynamic
+ 6 GB Static)
Speed when Cache Exhausted: approx. 1700 MB/s

Features

TRIM: Yes
SMART: Yes
Power Loss Protection: No
Encryption:
  • AES-256
  • TCG Opal
RGB Lighting: No
PS5 Compatible: No

Notes

Drive:

This SSD's design is based on the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, but with a custom firmware designed for better effeciency in OEM machines and laptops.

NAND Die:

tR: ~ 73µs (Avg)

Oct 5th, 2024 05:34 EDT change timezone

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