Samsung 980 PRO with Heatsink PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD 1TB Review

A Closer Look

It’s quite an attractive looking drive, with a black aluminium heatsink that comes pre-installed to the drive. It’s designed to not be user-removable, as they’ve used a Torx screw system to keep it locked in place. That’s fine though, as you bought it with the heatsink and it’s designed to just be plug and play and I can appreciate that.

The black aluminium looks stunning, and it’s complimented well by a machined edge on the inner section, giving it two silver strips that run the full length of the drive. It’s a very premium quality look and certainly reflects the high-quality we’ve come to expect from Samsung and their SSDs.

The logos are printed into the aluminium as well, so running my finger over the surface, it feels perfectly smooth with a satin finish. You can see the screws on the side clamping it together too, as it’s a two-part construction that sandwiches the SSD between the two sections of the heatsink. Speaking of it not being something users should remove, there’s even a warranty sticker over the middle screw.

On the back, there’s a plethora of numbers, serials, and more. Nothing particularly interesting though, but at least we can see once again this is the 1TB model; handy if you have more than one and need to identify it though.

It’s not a solid aluminium block either, with multiple channels and vents running through the block, allowing for more airflow around the heatsink, while also increasing the overall surface area.

Of course, if you’re putting it in a motherboard or console that has a built-in heatsink, or you have your own aftermarket solution, or simply lack the space for the heatsink, I’d suggest you buy the non-heatsink version of this SSD.