Samsung PM981a (OEM) 1 TB vs WD Black SN770 2 TB
Short answer: which is best?
Samsung PM981a (OEM) 1 TB is 1.4 % stronger than WD Black SN770 2 TB. Samsung PM981a (OEM) 1 TB ranks #38 of 54 measured system drives at WhatFPS (7,285 Drive score over 1 verified runs). WD Black SN770 2 TB ranks #40 of 54 measured system drives at WhatFPS (7,184 Drive score over 1 verified runs). The numbers are measured in 2 verified WhatFPS runs — not estimated, not self-reported.
Measured comparison
| Metric | Samsung PM981a (OEM) 1 TB | WD Black SN770 2 TB |
|---|---|---|
| Drive score (the drive's own performance: sequential read + 4K IOPS) | 7,285 | 7,184 |
| Best rig (GAMING — whole PC) | 4,752 | 7,545 |
| Sequential read | 2,113 MB/s | 1,525 MB/s |
| 4K IOPS | 8,815 | 11,878 |
| 4K latency, median (lower is better) | 108 µs | 78 µs |
| Type | NVMe SSD | NVMe SSD |
| Size | 1 TB | 2 TB |
What the numbers mean
The drive score is the system drive's measured performance in the rigs it sat in — sequential read and 4K IOPS, unbuffered. PCIe generation, fill level and driver affect it. GAMING is the whole rig's score. We show both and never mix them.
All numbers come from our benchmark suite, the same test on every PC, written in Rust with no middleware. The methodology is open at https://whatfps.com/metodik
All measurements for Samsung PM981a (OEM) 1 TB · All measurements for WD Black SN770 2 TB