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[PS5] Samsung 980 Pro... barely faster than 5,500mb/sec?

I bought the 980 Pro 2TB version for my PS5 since I've always had really good experiences with Samsung SSDs in the past. All of my SSDs have always come from Samsung, so when I saw the 980 Pro advertised as 7000mb/sec read, I figured it would be perfect inside my PS5. I bought a compatible heatsink (same one Sony even uses in their installation video) and yet when I booted my system up, I got just slightly over 5,500mb/sec. This is disappointing to me since it's advertised as a 7000mb/sec drive. Was I expecting a full 7000 right out of the gate, no not really, but I was expecting at least better than 6000ms/sec.

I don't know about you, but I feel a little ripped off since so many other drives are hitting close to their advertised speed like the Western Digital hitting around 6,800mb/sec.

Yes, I know that it's fast enough to meet Sony's specification, but I bought a 7000mb/sec drive and I feel like I'm not getting what I paid for.

Also, who knows what some games will tap into in the future. Yeah, Rift Apart works perfectly on this drive, but one can argue that it's not really even maxing out the internal drive anyway since even slower drives are working fine with R&C.

I bought the drive a month ago to avoid stock issues so I can't even return it now. I'm kinda bummed out and disappointed in Samsung. I'm also aware that it's not their fault, as the drive wasn't "made for PS5", but my purchase decision was based on an Digital Foundry video where they showed the drive hitting some impressive speeds in their test



where they got about 6,500mb/sec.

Am I overthinking all of this? Absolutely, but I still feel like I paid a premium for mediocre speeds.

Update: The issue is now resolved with the latest firmware update from Samsung. Only downside is that I had to buy an NVMe PCIe adapter and you need to find a PC to update it.
 
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Velius

Banned
I can't speak for how it works in the PS5

I can tell you I have one of those in my new rig and it is the best performing SSD I've ever used
 

Md Ray

Member
I bought the 980 Pro 2TB version for my PS5 since I've always had really good experiences with Samsung SSDs in the past. All of my SSDs have always come from Samsung, so when I saw the 980 Pro advertised as 7000mb/sec read, I figured it would be perfect inside my PS5. I bought a compatible heatsink (same one Sony even uses in their installation video) and yet when I booted my system up, I got just slightly over 5,500mb/sec. This is disappointing to me since it's advertised as a 7000mb/sec drive. Was I expecting a full 7000 right out of the gate, no not really, but I was expecting at least better than 6000ms/sec.

I don't know about you, but I feel a little ripped off since so many other drives are hitting close to their advertised speed like the Western Digital hitting around 6,800mb/sec.

Yes, I know that it's fast enough to meet Sony's specification, but I bought a 7000mb/sec drive and I feel like I'm not getting what I paid for.

Also, who knows what some games will tap into in the future. Yeah, Rift Apart works perfectly on this drive, but one can argue that it's not really even maxing out the internal drive anyway since even slower drives are working fine with R&C.

I bought the drive a month ago to avoid stock issues so I can't even return it now. I'm kinda bummed out and disappointed in Samsung. I'm also aware that it's not their fault, as the drive wasn't "made for PS5", but my purchase decision was based on an Digital Foundry video where they showed the drive hitting some impressive speeds in their test where they got about 6,500mb/sec.

Am I overthinking all of this? Absolutely, but I still feel like I paid a premium for mediocre speeds.

Claim warranty and get it replaced?
 

SantaC

Member
Mine does 7000mb/sec in my PC

Samsung 980 pro had a performance glitch that was patched with new firmware. Did you update to latest firmware?
 
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keraj37

Member
It is still great speed, I wouldn't return it.
I feel jealous for you all, I I have no clue how could I fill entire internal SSD of my PS5, that is why I am not interested in extension. Same on XSX.
But I guess some like to install dozens of games simultaneously. But sooner or later I am going to extend myself, because I imagine it must feel good hehe.
 
So did Samsung get new management or something? I've been using their SSD's for years but lately literally no one recommends them anymore
 

truth411

Member
I bought the 980 Pro 2TB version for my PS5 since I've always had really good experiences with Samsung SSDs in the past. All of my SSDs have always come from Samsung, so when I saw the 980 Pro advertised as 7000mb/sec read, I figured it would be perfect inside my PS5. I bought a compatible heatsink (same one Sony even uses in their installation video) and yet when I booted my system up, I got just slightly over 5,500mb/sec. This is disappointing to me since it's advertised as a 7000mb/sec drive. Was I expecting a full 7000 right out of the gate, no not really, but I was expecting at least better than 6000ms/sec.

I don't know about you, but I feel a little ripped off since so many other drives are hitting close to their advertised speed like the Western Digital hitting around 6,800mb/sec.

Yes, I know that it's fast enough to meet Sony's specification, but I bought a 7000mb/sec drive and I feel like I'm not getting what I paid for.

Also, who knows what some games will tap into in the future. Yeah, Rift Apart works perfectly on this drive, but one can argue that it's not really even maxing out the internal drive anyway since even slower drives are working fine with R&C.

I bought the drive a month ago to avoid stock issues so I can't even return it now. I'm kinda bummed out and disappointed in Samsung. I'm also aware that it's not their fault, as the drive wasn't "made for PS5", but my purchase decision was based on an Digital Foundry video where they showed the drive hitting some impressive speeds in their test where they got about 6,500mb/sec.

Am I overthinking all of this? Absolutely, but I still feel like I paid a premium for mediocre speeds.

The 980 Pro has to be updated in your PC to unlock some type of game mode, then its read speeds will be 7000mb. If you just stick it in the PS5 without that update, its just 5500mb read speed.
 
The 980 Pro has to be updated in your PC to unlock some type of game mode, then its read speeds will be 7000mb. If you just stick it in the PS5 without that update, its just 5500mb read speed.
It has a manufactured date of July, 2021 and the latest firmware was made in April. Do you think they would ship a brand new drive with an old firmware?

Edit: also, I don't have a PC. Only a Mac and a PS5. Also, the PCs at work don't have NVMe slots.
 
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RoadHazard

Gold Member
The 980 Pro has to be updated in your PC to unlock some type of game mode, then its read speeds will be 7000mb. If you just stick it in the PS5 without that update, its just 5500mb read speed.

So if you don't have a PC to do that with you're stuck with an SSD performing far below its advertised speed? That seems like false advertising.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
It has a manufactured date of July, 2021 and the latest firmware was made in April. Do you think they would ship a brand new drive with an old firmware?

Edit: also, I don't have a PC. Only a Mac and a PS5. Also, the PCs at work don't have NVMe slots.
You can still update firmwares through USB NVMe enclosures I think.

iu


Edit: turns out you CAN'T update through USB, needs to be in the SATA or M.2 slot. :lollipop_confounded:
 
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Elios83

Member
You could try upgrading the firmware of the SSD. I've read that for some people it has fixed the issue.
Just for info I've installed a 2TB Gigabyte Aorus 7000 and read speed is slightly over 6.5GB/s
 
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I have one in one of my PC's and it performs as promised. It absolutely flies

I saw some sites saying it was really good in the PS5 as well, but as always mileage may vary so I hear you OP, messed up if you aren't getting the expected performance.
 

RockOn

Member
If you new how the PS5 custom 12 channel Controller & custom IO works you would know that the PS5 has to take control of the 3rd party SSD(thats why Cerny said they require an overhead, a faster drive). All data is routed thru the custom IO(so that all the PS5 features work eg hardware decompression etc)
 

AGRacing

Gold Member
I heard to get that speed you must have the Samsung utility installed in Windows and the "game mode" activated. That utility reported the latest firmware on my 1TB 980 and it also reported barely over the minimum requirements by PS5.

I think Sony was quite deliberate in their requirements though. It should work perfectly at the reported speed - and why stress it beyond that point for an imperceptible advantage?
 

Cyborg

Member
At OP, you should try install newest firmware. Maybe it has older version of the firmware (your ssd I mean)
 
If you new how the PS5 custom 12 channel Controller & custom IO works you would know that the PS5 has to take control of the 3rd party SSD(thats why Cerny said they require an overhead, a faster drive). All data is routed thru the custom IO(so that all the PS5 features work eg hardware decompression etc)
So are you saying that other 3rd party SSDs reaching 6800mb/sec are actually even faster than their rated 7000mb/sec ceiling?
 
How do you already know the future? What if some games push the system too hard? It would be nice to be prepared. Just feel a bit ripped off from buying a 7000mb/sec drive and only getting ~5500mb/sec.
I doubt that Sony would target speeds faster than the internal SSD at any point during the PS5's lifetime - it just wouldn't make sense. Still, I understand why you would want to get max throughput from your purchase. I'd definitely check the firmware version. My WD SN850 got right at 6.5 in my PS5 (I did update the firmware in my PC first, so not sure if that made a difference or not).
 
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phil_t98

#SonyToo
How do you already know the future? What if some games push the system too hard? It would be nice to be prepared. Just feel a bit ripped off from buying a 7000mb/sec drive and only getting ~5500mb/sec.

you can't push the system that hard if every other ssd hit 5.5gb per second.
 

saintjules

Member
I heard to get that speed you must have the Samsung utility installed in Windows and the "game mode" activated. That utility reported the latest firmware on my 1TB 980 and it also reported barely over the minimum requirements by PS5.

I think Sony was quite deliberate in their requirements though. It should work perfectly at the reported speed - and why stress it beyond that point for an imperceptible advantage?

I posted the below from another thread, but since that youtuber posted it, she was not able to replicate the read speeds, even after the update. For me I'm quite fine with it overall.




Timestamp


 
I posted the below from another thread, but since that youtuber posted it, she was not able to replicate the read speeds, even after the update. For me I'm quite fine with it overall.




Timestamp



My drive was made in July, 2021

Edit: Also, running the test more than once yields different results.
 
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kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
So who has updated the firmware of the 980 Pro and checked in read speeds improved on the PS5?
 

RockOn

Member
What's the point of the drive hitting 7 GB/s if the application in question doesn't require it?
Not all drives are equal, Some have different controllers, which the PS5 has to take over controll of. Most drives have 2 data levels, PS5 requires 6 data levels. All 3rd party drives have to play nice with th PS5 12 channel controller & Custom IO block(for all the PS5s hardware features to work)
 

Bojanglez

The Amiga Brotherhood
A few of us had this issue, it was discussed in the firmware thread.

My Samsung 980 Pro gave a reading of 5500Mbps in the benchmark. I tested a few times.

I then bought a WD SN850 and when I tried that I got 6550Mbps.

I sent the 980 back to Amazon, especially because the WD was actually cheaper too.

I'm sure the 980 will be fine, but to get the full speeds I think you may need to upgrade the firmware of the SSD.
 

fersnake

Member
easy fix, update the firmware, you already have a ps5 and bought an expensive ssd. one of the things you can do if you dont want to buy a pc just for that is using a friends pc or go to a computer repair shop or something and let them do it for you.
 

Apeopleman

Member
I think you guys are getting too worked up over the read speed. 5000 mbps is the absolute minimum the PS5 demands. That’s probably the most you’ll ever need, assuming how high tech late Gen games from great Devs like Guerilla games and naughty dog will need.

I have the 980 pro. Speed showed 5700~ mbps on PS5, with nonupdated firmware. I paid 400~ for it with some China Amazon heat sink and I’m a pig in shit. No more deleting games just to redownload others. I can finally have multiple call of dutys on my console lmao
 

modiz

Member
You can still update firmwares through USB NVMe enclosures I think.

iu


Edit: turns out you CAN'T update through USB, needs to be in the SATA or M.2 slot. :lollipop_confounded:
If you have thunderbolt you can use that, too, as that is plain pcie. The enclosures are a bit expensive, though.
 
A few of us had this issue, it was discussed in the firmware thread.

My Samsung 980 Pro gave a reading of 5500Mbps in the benchmark. I tested a few times.

I then bought a WD SN850 and when I tried that I got 6550Mbps.

I sent the 980 back to Amazon, especially because the WD was actually cheaper too.

I'm sure the 980 will be fine, but to get the full speeds I think you may need to upgrade the firmware of the SSD.
Can't return mine, I bought it when the beta came out, but never got invited to the beta, but wanted to beat the out-of-stock issues.

easy fix, update the firmware, you already have a ps5 and bought an expensive ssd. one of the things you can do if you dont want to buy a pc just for that is using a friends pc or go to a computer repair shop or something and let them do it for you.
I don't understand your logic. Nobody I know has a PC with an NVMe slot. Also, my drive has a factory manufactured date of July and the latest firmware came out in April.

I think you guys are getting too worked up over the read speed. 5000 mbps is the absolute minimum the PS5 demands. That’s probably the most you’ll ever need, assuming how high tech late Gen games from great Devs like Guerilla games and naughty dog will need.

I have the 980 pro. Speed showed 5700~ mbps on PS5, with nonupdated firmware. I paid 400~ for it with some China Amazon heat sink and I’m a pig in shit. No more deleting games just to redownload others. I can finally have multiple call of dutys on my console lmao
Sony said the minimum is 5,500mb/sec and the 980 Pro barely gets that. I should've gotten what I paid for.
 
I've updated both of my Western Digital SN850's on my PC.

Installed the 2TB in my PS5.
Don't know If your NVME keeps the latest firmware after formating it in the PS5.

I just know that the readspeed for the SN850 is identical on the PS5 with or without the newest firmware.

About the Samsung I don't know.
Maybe the controller on the Samsung Drive does not work very well with the PS5.

In comparison videos with drives that have 7000mb read speed the Samsung is the worst contender. Why? Don't ask me.
 
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