Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB
Score: 91/100
Kingston NV3 1TB
Score: 92/100Rankings
The Kingston NV3 1TB M.2 2230 NVMe SSD delivers flagship-class PCIe 4.0 speeds in an ultra-compact package, ideal for handheld gaming consoles and small-form-factor PCs, though reliability concerns have been noted.
The Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB is a top-tier PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD offering blazing sequential speeds, strong endurance, and robust security, ideal for high-performance desktops and laptops.
| Attribute | | |
|---|---|---|
2,000 GBbest | 1,024 GB | |
3,500 MB/s | 6,000 MB/sbest | |
3,300 MB/s | 4,000 MB/sbest | |
600,000 IOPSbest | — | |
550,000 IOPSbest | — | |
1,200 TBWbest | 320 TBW | |
5 yearsbest | 5 yearsbest | |
| ↓ lower better | 6 Wbest | — |
Click an attribute name to sort · Green = best, red = worst (relative to this comparison)
| Attribute | | |
|---|---|---|
Performance(3) | ||
Sequential Read Speed (MB/s) | 3500 MB/s | 6000 MB/s |
Sequential Write Speed (MB/s) | 3300 MB/s | 4000 MB/s |
Interface | PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe | PCIe 4.0 NVMe |
Storage(5) | ||
Capacity (GB) | 2000 GB | 1024 GB |
Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2230 |
NAND Type | V-NAND 3-bit MLC | 3D NAND |
Endurance (TBW) (TBW) | 1200 TBW | 320 TBW |
MTBF (hours) | 1500000 hours | 2000000 hours |
Design & Build(2) | ||
Weight (g) | 9.07 g | 2.8 g |
Thickness (mm) | 2.38 mm | 2.3 mm |
Reviewers consider it the best overall PCIe 3.0 SSD, praising its speed boost over the 970 EVO and reliable thermal management despite lacking a heatsink.
Users consistently rate it 5-stars for speed and reliability, noting occasional warmth and the missing heatsink as minor drawbacks.
Professional reviewers praise the NV3 as a high-performance, future-ready upgrade for handheld consoles and SFF PCs, noting its near-rated Gen 4 speeds and solid reliability, but caution that current handheld hardware caps achievable bandwidth and that the drive performs poorly in external enclosures.
Everyday users largely appreciate the speed boost, compact fit, and responsive support, though a minority report early failures, data loss, and disappointing external-drive performance.
“Windows boots in seconds-faster than I've ever experienced.”
“Installed games load dramatically quicker; feels like a new system.”
“Cloning my old drive was seamless; no driver issues.”
