Samsung has just announced the 980 NVMe M.2 SSD. This will be Samsung's first SSD drive that lacks onboard DRAM. Instead, the 980 SSD relies on the CPU's DRAM via the PCIe. The approach of utilizing a DRAMless controller still provides NVMe speeds via PCIe 3.0 x4 while reducing overall costs. With rated sequential read and write speeds of 3500 MB/s and 3000 MB/s, the 980 will be no slouch. While these drives will not be at the forefront of speed, they will be some of the most affordable based on the performance you receive. The 980 is available in three capacities, 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1 TB, and can be purchased directly from Samsung or any vendor that normally carries Samsung products. Pricing will start at $50 for the 250 GB model, $70 for the 500 GB, and $130 for the 1 TB. Here is the press release from Samsung.
