Samsung latest 970 Evo Plus SSD gets even faster and cheaper

Samsung 970 Evo Plus

NVMe solid-state drives (SSDs) just keep getting faster and cheaper. Last week we had the WD Black SN750 and now Samsung is responding in kind with the 970 Evo Plus.

Although Samsung didn’t grant its latest SSD a whole new model number, it features significantly boosted specs over the last Samsung 970 Evo (and even the 970 Pro) announced last April. For starters, the 970 Evo Plus offers sequential read speeds up to 3,500MB/s and sequential writes up to 3,300MB/s.

Comparatively, the Samsung 970 Evo operated at up to 3,500MB/s sequential reads and 2,500MB/s sequential writes. Now even the Samsung 970 Pro looks a step behind as it boasts the same maximum read speeds with a 200MB/s write speed.

This newfound speed comes thanks to Samsung’s newly introduced 96-layer V-NAND that stacks taller and runs faster than the 64-layer V-NAND found its previous drives.

Of course, Samsung’s latest SSD is here as an answer for its new rivals; the WD Black SN750 (up to 3,470MB/s and 3,000MB/s sequential reads/writes) and Corsair Force Series MP510 (up to 3,480MB/s and 3,000MB/s sequential reads/writes) at bargain prices.

Samsung has even brought down the pricing of its latest drive, and the 970 Evo Plus family will start with 250GB drives that cost $89 – 18% lower than the $109 (£86, AU$155) starting price of the previous Samsung 970 Evo. The 970 Evo Plus will also be available in 500GB for $129 (about £100, AU$180), 1TB for $249 (about £190, AU$350) and a 2TB capacity coming later this year by mid-April at an undecided price.

We’ll soon see how the Samsung 970 Evo Plus stands against the WD Black SN 750 and its other rivals soon enough, so stay tuned for our full review.

Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee was a former computing reporter at TechRadar. Kevin is now the SEO Updates Editor at IGN based in New York. He handles all of the best of tech buying guides while also dipping his hand in the entertainment and games evergreen content. Kevin has over eight years of experience in the tech and games publications with previous bylines at Polygon, PC World, and more. Outside of work, Kevin is major movie buff of cult and bad films. He also regularly plays flight & space sim and racing games. IRL he's a fan of archery, axe throwing, and board games.