Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB NVMe M.2 Review

Conclusion

There are a few different models in the Samsung 970 range currently. There is the 970 Pro, the 970 Evo, and today’s review model the 970 EVO Plus.

This utilises their latest 96 layer V-NAND and some firmware tweaks to improve both performance and also reduce the price point when compared to the other types in their range. Indeed when we reviewed the 1TB model in February this more affordable pricing was the key selling point of the EVO Plus and a large part of the reason we gave it our OC3D Performance award.

If you’ve been following the Solid State Drive market you’ll be aware that the larger the capacity of your drive, the greater the performance will be. It’s a curious side effect of the way that solid state drives work when compared to their mechanical forebears. Naturally there are diminishing returns on this, but a good rule of thumb is to always go for the biggest you can afford and, if your budget is just a touch shy of the larger model, save up the extra necessary. The rewards will be worth it, especially given how long our drives last and how rarely we change them.

The 1TB model of the EVO Plus had good performance but the 2TB model we have tested today really flies. In fact it regularly topped our graphs, ahead of many highly regarded drives including the flagship models of Samsung’s own 970 product line. There is no doubt at all that if you’re desiring a new M.2 drive and want to make the very most of the performance it unleashes then the 2TB EVO Plus is a fantastic choice. The benefits of the larger capacity is not spending ages agonising over which installed product to uninstall to make room for your next installation. Something with which anyone who owns a smaller SSD can readily identify. As games become ever larger the need for enormous storage is no longer an option, but instead a necessity. Three or four AAA games can easily eat up 400 GB of space, so the idea of a 2TB M.2 drive becomes tremendously attractive, and at this price point almost impossible to resist. If you’ve spent any of the recent days watching E3 and dreaming of the many games coming to the Microsoft store then having enough space to utilise is a key element of your future fun.

With the best performance in its class combined to the legendary reliability of Samsung products and all wrapped up in a relatively – considering it’s £300 cheaper than 12 months ago – affordable price point the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB shoots its way to the top of any SSD wishlist and wins our OC3D Enthusiast Award.

  

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