Samsung 960 EVO 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2
No current retailer price
Snapshot
The 30-Second Version
A former speed king that's now just a decent budget option. Buy it only if the price drops hard.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Blazing fast random read performance for the price 87th
- Samsung reliability and Magician software are genuinely useful 84th
- Compact M.2 form factor fits in almost anything 78th
- Hardware encryption included
Cons
- 250GB fills up fast, and capacity is near the bottom of our rankings
- Endurance rating is mediocre compared to newer drives
- Real-world speeds often fall short of the advertised numbers
- No mounting screw in the box
What owners think
The Word on the Street
How owner sentiment changed over time
ExclusiveBased on when customers actually wrote their reviews - so you can see whether early praise held up.
Based on 5 dated customer reviews, grouped by calendar quarter. Period analysis is in English.
The proof
Performance
The 3200 MB/s sequential read and 1900 MB/s write are solid numbers, but here's what surprised us: the random performance is where this drive really shines. 330K random read IOPS puts it in the 84th percentile of everything we've tested, which means it feels snappy in everyday use even if the sequential numbers look dated next to newer PCIe 4.0 drives. The endurance rating is a weak spot though, landing in the bottom third of our database. For a 250GB drive that's expected, but worth knowing.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Drive
| Capacity | 250 |
| Form Factor | M.2 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 3 |
| External | No |
Performance
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | 3200 |
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | 1900 |
| Random Read (IOPS) | 330000 |
| Random Write (IOPS) | 300000 |
Hardware
| NAND | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | No |
Reliability
| MTBF (hours) | 1500000 |
Features
| Hardware Encryption | Yes |
vs Competition
Against something like the Western Digital Black SN850X or Crucial T500, the 960 EVO gets absolutely smoked on sequential speeds and capacity per dollar. Those drives are PCIe 4.0 and offer way more storage for similar money. The Kingston Fury Renegade also beats it handily. The 960 EVO only makes sense if you're on a strict budget and find it cheap, or if you have an older system that can't take advantage of newer drives anyway.
| Spec | Samsung 960 EVO | Western Digital Black SN850X | Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 | Crucial T710 | Seagate FireCuda 530R ZP4000GM3A073 | SanDisk WD_BLACK WDS800T1X0M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 250GB | 4TB | 4TB | 4TB | 4TB | 8TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 |
| Seq Read | 3,200 MB/s | 7,300 MB/s | 14,800 MB/s | 14,500 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s | 14,900 MB/s |
| Nand Type | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC |
| Dram Cache | false | true | true | false | false | true |
| Endurance | - | 2400 TBW | 4000 TBW | 2400 TBW | 5050 TBW | 4800 TBW |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | Speed | Random | Feature | Capacity | Endurance | Social Proof | Affordability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung 960 EVO | 57.7 | 83.5 | 78.4 | 12.7 | 30.6 | 87.1 | 43.1 |
| Western Digital Black SN850X Compare | 89 | 95.7 | 89.3 | 92.5 | 88 | 95.3 | 9.5 |
| Kingston FURY Renegade G5 SFYR2S/4T0 Compare | 99.5 | 99 | 90.9 | 92.5 | 93.5 | 87.1 | 6.5 |
| Crucial T710 Compare | 99.1 | 99.1 | 85.5 | 92.5 | 85.8 | 77.4 | 10.6 |
| Seagate FireCuda 530R ZP4000GM3A073 Compare | 92.8 | 96.8 | 78.4 | 92.5 | 95.6 | 77.4 | 6.9 |
| SanDisk WD_BLACK WDS800T1X0M Compare | 99.1 | 99.3 | 97.5 | 98 | 80.6 | 45.1 | 3.1 |
Price
Value & Pricing
At $232 USD for 250GB, this is a tough sell in today's market. That's premium pricing for a drive that's several generations old. But if you find it used or on clearance for significantly less, it's still a capable boot drive. Don't pay full price for this in 2024.
Read more
Overview
The Samsung 960 EVO was a big deal when it launched, and honestly, it still holds up for what it is. This is the drive that convinced a lot of people to ditch SATA for NVMe, and the 250GB model is the entry point to that experience. The one thing to know: it's fast, it's reliable, and it's old enough now that you should only buy it if the price is right.
Common Questions
Q: Is the 960 EVO still worth buying in 2024?
Only if you find it really cheap. At $232 for 250GB, you're paying way too much for old tech. A newer PCIe 4.0 drive will give you more capacity and speed for the same money.
Q: Will this work in my older motherboard?
It needs an M.2 slot with PCIe support. Some older boards only support SATA M.2 drives, so check your manual. If your board is from before 2016 or so, you might have compatibility issues.
Q: Do I need a heatsink for this drive?
For the 250GB model, probably not. It doesn't get as hot as the larger capacity versions. But if you're doing sustained heavy writes, a cheap heatsink won't hurt.
Who Should Skip This
If you're building a new system or upgrading from a SATA SSD, skip this and get a PCIe 4.0 drive like the Crucial T500 or WD Black SN850X. You'll get way more capacity and speed for your money. The 960 EVO is for people who already own one or find it at a garage sale price.
Verdict
The 960 EVO was a legend in its day, and it's still a perfectly fine drive for basic use. But the value proposition has completely evaporated. Unless you're getting it for a steep discount or already have one lying around, buy something newer. The technology has moved on, and so should you.
Usage Scores
- Overall48.7
- Budget57.5
- Gaming41.7
- Laptop48.8
- Console20.4
- Portable11.5
- Workstation44.7
