Samsung 970 M.2 vs Plus vs 960

[EddyMac]

This is the Samsung 970 EVO M.2 SSD drive and is currently priced at $59.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BN4NJ2J/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

This is the Plus version of the same drive, currently priced at $89.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BN4NJ2J/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Is there any real advantage to the Plus version? Do both of these drives work in Customacs?

Also, this is the one that the TonyMac buyer's guide lists:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M20VBU7/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

It is currently priced at $249.99. Why the huge price difference? Is it really that much better?

TIA for the help.

 

[Anazlu]

I have both a 500GB 970 and 970 Plus as boot drives for two of my Windows PCs. The Plus is faster but both are fast. I don't think I could tell the difference between the two in normal use. Both PCs boot up in a matter of seconds. If you're going to be writing tons of data to the drive then you might see a big enough difference that the time saved was worth the extra price of the plus. They have the same warranty (5-year limited warranty or 600 TBW). I paid around $90 & $120 respectively for mine last year.

I can't say for sure that they will be compatible in your hack but I do know many people are now using the 970 NVME in their hacks and that I plan to do the same in the near future. I'm sure there are others that can give you more info and help if you have any problems.

That the 960 is no longer being produced would be my guess as to why the price is so exceptionally high. At the same price I would buy a 960 over a 970 but I wouldn't pay a premium for one. I have half a dozen 960 SSDs, but $250 is ridiculous IMO. My advice would be to buy the $60 NVME 970 at that bargain price. I personally don't think the $30 difference for the Plus is a good value.

 

[EddyMac]

I went ahead and got the Samsung 970 EVO M.2 SSD drive for $59.99. It's been in my build for well over a week and seems to be doing just fine. The switchover was smooth as butter. I cloned the original M.2 drive to an external SSD, swapped out the hardware, then cloned everything back to the new M.2 drive with the help of Carbon Copy Cloner (which I highly recommend). Easy peasy.