Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
The 256 GB Samsung PM961 also known as MZVLW256HEHP is an M.2 22x80 size NVMe SSD. We first tested the drive in 2017. In October 2019, MZVLW256HEHP was marked as EOL on Samsung's website. The product page is down as of November 2020.
A rebrand of Samsung 960 EVO series, the PM961 was designed to be sold to OEMs, mostly.
Performance
Four PCIe 3.0 lanes allow for a theoretical transfer rate of up to 3938 MB/s. The drive's real-world sequential read rate was supposed to be near 2800 MB/s with writes approaching 1100 MB/s according to Samsung. While the numbers were not achieved in our independent testing with CrystalDiskMark 3, the PM961 is still a very good SSD capable of handling the vast majority of tasks including gaming & content creation.
Here is our opinion on the product:
.... performs about the same as the 512 GB version - Samsung Notebook 9 Review from 2017
.... transfer speeds are significantly faster than they would be with a SATA interface - Lenovo Legion Y720 Laptop Review from 2017
Type SSD Size M.2 Capacity 256 GB Interface NVMe
Benchmarks
min: 225.1 avg: 537 median: 451.9 (8%) max: 1115 MB/s
...
SK hynix Gold S31 1TB
Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW512G7
SK Hynix SC313 HFS256G39TNF
2x Sandisk X100 SD5SF2128G1014E RAID 0
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Kingston RBUSNS8154P3512GJ1
Toshiba KSG60ZMV512G
Kimtigo KTB900SM28/512GB
Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU256HCGL
SanDisk SD9SN8W256G1027
...
min: 75 avg: 343.2 median: 291 (11%) max: 780 MB/s
...
SK hynix PC300 HFS512GD9MND
SK hynix SSD Canvas SC300 HFS256GD9MNE-6200A
Samsung PM971 KUS040202M
Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU256HCGL
Intel Optane 120 GB SSDPEK1W120GA
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung MZFLW1T0HMLH
Future Path FPE220M8SSD512G
SK hynix PC400 512 GB
Toshiba BG4 KBG40ZPZ256G
Apple SSD AP0256
...
min: 420.5 avg: 1004 median: 800 (7%) max: 1912 MB/s
...
WDC PC SN520 SDAPMUW-512
OM3PDP3-AD NVMe KDI 512GB
Kingston OM8SEP4512N-A0
Kingston OM8PCP3512F-AB
Toshiba KBG30ZPZ512G
SK hynix BC501 HFM512GDHTNG-8310A
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G
Samsung MZFLW1T0HMLH
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
WDC PC SN520 SDAPMUW-128G
Intel SSDPEMKF512G8 NVMe SSD
Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
Kingston OM8PGP4512Q-A0
Toshiba KXG5AZNV256G
...
min: 35 avg: 2565 median: 2575 (24%) max: 4653 Points
Seagate Momentus 5400.6 ST9250315AS
...
Toshiba KXG5AZNV256G
Crucial P1 SSD CT1000P1SSD8
Intel SSD 660p 2TB SSDPEKNW020T8
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
2x Micron M600 MTFDDAV128MBF NVMe (RAID 0)
Samsung SSD SM951a 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVKV512)
Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ
Samsung PM991a MZ9LQ1T0HBLB-00BKN
Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
SK Hynix PC601 NVMe 512 GB
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256HDGL m.2 PCI-e
...
min: 48 avg: 587 median: 620 (11%) max: 1029 Points
Samsung SpinPoint M8 HN-M101MBB
...
2x Toshiba HG6 THNSNJ128G8NU (RAID 0)
Samsung SM951 MZHPV256HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Crucial P2 1TB CT1000P2SSD8
4x Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3256GD1 (RAID 0)
Samsung SSD SM951 256GB MZHPV256HDGL
Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
Lenovo UMIS AM610 RPFTJ256PDD2MWX
Toshiba NVMe THNSF5512GPUK
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe
Samsung SSD SM951 512 GB MZHPV512HDGL
2x Transcend SSD370 mSATA 256GB (RAID 0)
Toshiba NVMe THNSN5128GP
Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Samsung SM951 MZVPV512 m.2 PCI-e
...
min: 363 avg: 1378 median: 1363 (34%) max: 2545 Points
...
Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
2x SK Hynix Canvas SC300 512GB M.2 (HFS512G39MND) (RAID 0)
SK Hynix HFS512 GDE9X081N
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Toshiba BG4 KBG40ZPZ512G
Samsung SSD 950 Pro 512GB m.2 NVMe
ADATA XPG Gammix S11 480GB
...
AS SSD - Access Time Write *
min: 0.023 avg: 0.5 median: 0 (0%) max: 4.15 ms
...
Toshiba THNSNW128GMCP
Samsung SSD PM961 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVLW1T0)
128 GB NVMe
2x Samsung MZRPC512HAFU-000SO (RAID 0)
Micron RealSSD C400-MTFDDAC256MAM
Renice X5 RCM60-PX5M
Kimtigo KT256GM28S3
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
SanDisk U100 256 GB SDSA5GK-256G-1002
Lite-On CA3-8D256-Q11
128 GB eMMC Flash
Crucial M4-CT256M4SSD2
2x SanDisk U100 (RAID 0)
Micron RealSSD C400 (MTFDDAK256MAM-1K12)
Crucial M4-CT256M4SSD3
...
Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-9WS142 + 32 GB LiteOn LMT-32L3M SSD Cache
AS SSD - Access Time Read *
min: 0.04 avg: 0.1 median: 0.1 (0%) max: 0.49 ms
...
Kingston KC3000 2048G SKC3000D2048G
2x Lite-On LMT-128L9M (RAID 0)
PSEIB512GABBMC0
Future Path FPE220M8SSD512G
Liteon IT LCS-256L9S-11
Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HCJH
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
LiteOn CV1-8B512
Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW010T8
Toshiba KBG30ZPZ256G
SanDisk SD8SNAT256G1122
...
Toshiba MK7575GSX
min: 15.3 avg: 419 median: 391.3 (8%) max: 1652 MB/s
ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 USB 3.0
...
Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe
2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
Toshiba NVMe THNSN5256GPU7
2x ADATA SP900NS38 (RAID 0)
Toshiba NVMe THNSF5512GPUK
Kingston RBUSNS8180S3128GI1
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
Transcend M.2 SSD 2200S TS512GMTE220S
Toshiba NVMe THNSN5128GP
2x Lite-On LMT-128M6M (RAID 0)
Lenovo UMIS AM610 RPFTJ256PDD2MWX
2x ADATA XM11 256 GByte
Toshiba KBG40ZNS512G NVMe
...
min: 199.4 avg: 1112 median: 1085 (32%) max: 2280 MB/s
...
Silicon Motion PCIe-8 SSD
SK Hynix HFM512GD3JX013N
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
2x Samsung SSD PM951 MZVLV256HCHP (RAID 0)
Samsung SSD 950 Pro 512GB m.2 NVMe
CUK Cyclone 500GB M.2 NVMe
...
min: 1.16 avg: 91.6 median: 107.9 (29%) max: 161.4 MB/s
ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 USB 3.0
...
Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB
Intel SSD Pro 1500 Series SSDSCKHF240A4
Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
Micron M600 MTFDDAV128MBF
Crucial M550 CT128M550SSD3
Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN256HCHP
Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
2x SK Hynix PC400 512GB (RAID 0)
Samsung SSD PM851 mSATA 128 GB
Toshiba KBG20ZMS256G
Toshiba HG5d THNSNH128GMCT
Mushkin Atlas mSATA MKNSSDAT240GB
Toshiba KBG30ZMT512G
Intel SSD 525 Series SSDMCEAC180B3
2x SK Hynix Canvas SC300 512GB M.2 (HFS512G39MND) (RAID 0)
...
min: 20.72 avg: 45.1 median: 46.9 (15%) max: 54.1 MB/s
...
Toshiba BG4 KBG40ZPZ512G
BiWin CE480Y2D100-512G
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Kingston RBUSNS8154P3512GJ1
SK Hynix PC601 NVMe 512 GB
Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
SK Hynix BC711 HFM128GD3HX015N
Samsung SM951 MZHPV128 m.2 PCI-e
...
Intel Optane 32 GB MEMPEK1W032GA
AS SSD - Sequential Write
min: 223.1 avg: 960 median: 1139 (13%) max: 1395 MB/s
...
3x Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD (RAID 0)
Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
Toshiba BG4 KBG40ZPZ512G
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G
SK Hynix PC601 NVMe 512 GB
Toshiba KXG5AZNV256G
4x Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3256GD1 (RAID 0)
...
min: 768 avg: 2019 median: 2062 (21%) max: 2834 MB/s
...
Kingston OM8PDP3256B
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
Samsung SSD 950 Pro 256GB m.2 NVMe
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung SSD SM951a 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVKV512)
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
Toshiba KBG40ZNV512G
Lenovo LENSE20256GMSP34MEAT2TA
...
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 - 4K QD32 Write
min: 94.9 avg: 384.3 median: 404.5 (40%) max: 621 MB/s
WDC Scorpio Blue WD5000BPVT-80HXZT1
...
Toshiba XG5-P KXG50PNV2T04
Samsung PM971 KUS030202M
Samsung SSD SM951a 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVKV512)
Samsung SSD 980 1TB MZ-V8V1T0BW
Samsung MZFLW1T0HMLH
2x Lite-On LMT-128L9M (RAID 0)
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Toshiba KXG5AZNV256G
Toshiba NVMe THNSN5256GPU7
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
Lexar NM610 500GB
Toshiba KXG50ZNV1T02
Future Path FPE220M8SSD512G
Transcend M.2 SSD 2200S TS512GMTE220S
2x Lite-On IT L8T-256L9G (RAID 0)
...
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 - 4K QD32 Read
min: 131.5 avg: 418.9 median: 426.2 (33%) max: 650 MB/s
WD Blue UltraSlim WD5000MPCK-22AWHT0
...
Samsung MZPR128HACD-000SO
Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
Kingston OM8SEP4512N-A0
WDC PC SN520 SDAPMUW-512
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
Liteon CA1-8D512
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
3x Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD (RAID 0)
Samsung PM971 KUS030202M
2x SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SD8SN8U1T001122 (RAID 0)
Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW128HEGR
SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
2x Transcend SSD370 mSATA 256GB (RAID 0)
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
Toshiba XG5-P KXG50PNV2T04
...
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 - 4K Write
min: 46.63 avg: 126.7 median: 138.9 (16%) max: 176.9 MB/s
Seagate Mobile HDD 1TB ST1000LX015-1U7172
...
Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW128G7
Samsung PM971 KUS030202M
SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 256 GB
Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB mSATA
2x Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL (RAID 0)
Toshiba THNSF5256GPUK
Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB
Toshiba KXG5AZNV1T02
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G
Toshiba KBG40ZNS512G NVMe
Toshiba NVMe THNSF5512GPUK
Toshiba KBG30ZMV512G
Crucial M500 240 GB CT240M500SSD3 mSATA
Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8
SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
...
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 - 4K Read
min: 29.75 avg: 53 median: 55.9 (1%) max: 62.6 MB/s
...
Samsung SM951 MZVPV512 m.2 PCI-e
Samsung SSD SM951a 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVKV512)
Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Toshiba KBG40ZNV512G
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung PM971 KUS040202M
2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR (RAID 0)
Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW512G8L
Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Crucial P1 SSD CT1000P1SSD8
Samsung SSD PM961 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVLW1T0)
Samsung SSD 960 Evo 250GB m.2 NVMe
...
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 - 512K Write
min: 337.9 avg: 781 median: 821 (19%) max: 890 MB/s
...
Transcend M.2 SSD 2200S TS512GMTE220S
2x Samsung MZRPC512HAFU-000SO (RAID 0)
Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU256HCGL
LiteOn CX2-8B256
2x Plextor PX512M6GV-2280 (RAID 0)
Samsung MZFLW1T0HMLH
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung PM971 KUS040202M
2x Plextor PX-256M6M (RAID 0)
2x Lite-On LMT-256L9M (RAID 0)
2x Toshiba HG6 THNSNJ256G8NU (RAID 0)
Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU512HCGL
Samsung SSD 950 Pro 256GB m.2 NVMe
3x Lite-On LMT-128M6M (RAID 0)
WDC PC SN520 SDAPMUW-512
...
Corsair MP600 GS
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 - 512K Read
min: 406 avg: 887 median: 856 (28%) max: 1295 MB/s
...
SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDGTNG
Liteon CA1-8D512
Samsung SM951 MZVPV128 NVMe
Toshiba NVMe THNSN5256GPUK
Samsung SSD 960 Evo 250GB m.2 NVMe
Toshiba THNSF5256GPUK
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Toshiba KXG5AZNV1T02
Kingston OM8PCP3512F-AB
SK Hynix PC300 NVMe 512 GB
Apple SSD SM0512G
Apple SSD SM0256L
Kingston RBUSNS8154P3512GJ1
Apple SSD SM1024L
SK hynix BC501 HFM256GDHTNG
3x Lite-On LMT-128M6M (RAID 0)
...
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 - Sequential Write
min: 341.2 avg: 1136 median: 1205 (28%) max: 1423 MB/s
...
Kingston RBUSNS8154P3512GJ1
Toshiba NVMe THNSN5256GPU7
Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW256G8
Toshiba XG5-P KXG50PNV2T04
4x Toshiba HG6 THNSNJ256G8NU (RAID 0)
SK Hynix PC401 512GB M.2 (HFS512GD9TNG)
4x Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3256GD1 (RAID 0)
WDC PC SN520 SDAPMUW-512
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
4x Micron M600 MTFDDAV512MBF M.2 (RAID 0)
Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe
Toshiba KBG40ZNS512G NVMe
...
Corsair MP600 GS
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 - Sequential Read
min: 800 avg: 1627 median: 1631.5 (36%) max: 2196 MB/s
...
Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
4x Toshiba HG6 THNSNJ256G8NU (RAID 0)
ESO512GYLCT
Crucial P1 SSD CT1000P1SSD8
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 m.2
Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
Samsung SSD 960 Evo 250GB m.2 NVMe
Toshiba KXG5AZNV1T02
Samsung SM951 MZVPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
Samsung SSD SM951a 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVKV512)
LiteOn CX2-8B256
...
Kingston KC3000 2048G SKC3000D2048G
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 - CDM 5/6 Write 4K
min: 72.2 avg: 127.7 median: 132.4 (12%) max: 195.1 MB/s
Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPCX-24C6HT0
...
Toshiba KBG40ZNS512G NVMe
PSEIB512GABBMC0
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW512G7
2x Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8 (RAID 0)
Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HBLU
Patriot P300 P300P512GM28US
Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
...
Corsair MP600 GS
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 - CDM 5/6 Read 4K
min: 22.23 avg: 42.4 median: 42.7 (1%) max: 53.4 MB/s
Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPCX-24C6HT0
...
2x WDC PC SN720 SDAPNTW-512G-1014 (RAID 0)
Samsung PM971 KUS030202M
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HBLU
2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ (RAID 0)
Toshiba KBG30ZMT512G
Lenovo LENSE20256GMSP34MEAT2TA
SK Hynix PC601 NVMe 512 GB
Samsung PM971 KUS040202M
...
Intel Optane 32 GB MEMPEK1W032GA
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 - CDM 5 Write Seq
min: 343.3 avg: 1099 median: 1167 (6%) max: 1412 MB/s
Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPCX-24C6HT0
...
Transcend TS1TMTE850
Toshiba NVMe THNSF5512GPUK
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Patriot P300 P300P512GM28US
Apple SSD AP0256
SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G
...
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 - CDM 5 Read Seq
min: 746 avg: 1373 median: 1371 (17%) max: 2000 MB/s
...
Toshiba XG5-P KXG50PNV2T04
Apple SSD SM0512L
SK hynix PC300 HFS512GD9MND
SK Hynix BC711 HFM128GD3HX015N
Intel Optane 32 GB MEMPEK1W032GA
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Toshiba KXG5AZNV256G
Intel Optane 120 GB SSDPEK1W120GA
Samsung SSD 960 Evo 250GB m.2 NVMe
Apple SSD SM0256L
Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8
...
1x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ + 2x Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW512G8 (RAID 0)
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 - CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1
min: 101 avg: 398.3 median: 399.2 (15%) max: 747 MB/s
Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPCX-24C6HT0
...
SK Hynix PC601 NVMe 512 GB
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
Kingston Fury Renegade SFYRS500G
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
Kingston OM8PDP3256B
Samsung PM971 KUS040202M
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
...
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 - CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1
min: 133.9 avg: 403 median: 413.9 (7%) max: 633 MB/s
WDC Blue WD10SPZX-24Z10T0
...
SK Hynix PC601 NVMe 512 GB
Toshiba KBG30ZMV256G
Kingston RBUSNS8154P3512GJ
Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN512HMJP
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
Toshiba KXG5AZNV256G
SK Hynix HFS512 GDE9X081N
Kingston OM8SEP4512N-A0
2x Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR (RAID 0)
...
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 - CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1
min: 344.3 avg: 1210 median: 1226 (12%) max: 1429 MB/s