Is A Pcie 4 0 Ssd Actually Worth The Upgrade From My Samsung Evo Plus

If you're using a Samsung 970 Evo Plus or another high-performing PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD, you might be wondering whether making the jump to a PCIe 4.0 drive is truly worthwhile. With newer motherboards and CPUs supporting faster storage interfaces, manufacturers are pushing PCIe 4.0 drives as the next big leap in consumer storage. But does that translate into meaningful gains for everyday users? The answer depends on your workload, system configuration, and expectations.

The Samsung 970 Evo Plus, launched in 2019, remains one of the best PCIe 3.0 SSDs ever made. It delivers sequential read speeds up to 3,500 MB/s and write speeds around 3,300 MB/s—performance that still feels snappy in most computing scenarios. In contrast, modern PCIe 4.0 drives like the Samsung 980 Pro or WD Black SN850X can hit 7,000 MB/s or more. On paper, that’s double the bandwidth. But real-world benefits don’t always scale linearly with spec sheets.

Understanding PCIe Generations: What Changed?

PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is the interface that connects your SSD to the motherboard. Each generation doubles the bandwidth per lane. PCIe 4.0 effectively doubles the maximum theoretical throughput of PCIe 3.0—from about 985 MB/s per lane to nearly 2,000 MB/s. For an x4 connection (standard for NVMe SSDs), this means a ceiling of roughly 8 GB/s compared to 4 GB/s.

This increase allows high-end drives to push beyond the limitations of PCIe 3.0, especially under sustained workloads. However, unless your system supports PCIe 4.0 at both the CPU and chipset level (AMD Ryzen 3000 series or Intel 11th Gen and newer), you won't even be able to utilize the full speed of these drives.

Tip: Check your motherboard manual and CPU specs before investing in a PCIe 4.0 SSD—older platforms will bottleneck the drive.

Real-World Performance: Does Speed Matter?

For general computing tasks—booting Windows, launching browsers, opening documents—the difference between a 970 Evo Plus and a PCIe 4.0 drive is negligible. Both feel instantaneous. Even large game load times only see marginal improvements, typically shaving off just a few seconds in most titles.

Where PCIe 4.0 shines is in specialized workflows involving large file transfers, video editing, 3D rendering, or software compilation. If you regularly move multi-gigabyte files between drives or edit 4K/8K footage directly from storage, the extra bandwidth reduces wait times significantly.

“While average users won’t notice a day-to-day difference, creative professionals working with massive media files benefit from reduced I/O bottlenecks.” — Mark Liu, Senior Hardware Analyst at TechInsight Labs

Use Case Comparison

Use Case	Potential Benefit from PCIe 4.0	Notes
General Browsing & Office Work	None	No perceptible improvement
Gaming	Minimal	Slight reduction in level load times; no impact on FPS
Photo Editing (Lightroom, Photoshop)	Low to Moderate	Faster asset loading with large catalogs
4K/8K Video Editing	High	Smooth scrubbing, quicker project saves
Content Creation (Blender, Premiere Pro)	Moderate to High	Better cache and export performance
Data Science / VM Workloads	Moderate	Faster dataset access and virtual disk operations

Cost vs. Value: Is the Price Premium Justified?

Premium PCIe 4.0 drives often carry a 20–40% higher price per gigabyte than their PCIe 3.0 counterparts. While prices have dropped since 2020, high-speed models with DRAM caches and advanced controllers still command a premium.

Consider this: a 1TB PCIe 3.0 drive like the Crucial P5 costs around $60, while a comparable PCIe 4.0 model like the WD Black SN770 sits closer to $80. That $20 difference could buy other upgrades—more RAM, better cooling, or even contribute toward a GPU boost.

Unless you're building a future-proof workstation or consistently hitting storage ceilings in your workflow, the value proposition leans heavily toward waiting or sticking with what you have.

Tip: Look for mid-tier PCIe 4.0 drives without RGB or excessive marketing—they offer better value without sacrificing core performance.

Mini Case Study: A Video Editor’s Upgrade Dilemma

Jessica, a freelance video editor using Adobe Premiere Pro, upgraded her aging 500GB 970 Evo Plus to a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro after struggling with timeline lag when editing multicam 4K projects. Her system uses a Ryzen 5 5600X and an X570 motherboard, fully supporting PCIe 4.0.

After the switch, she noticed immediate improvements: 30-second clips loaded 1.8x faster, timeline scrubbing became smoother, and export pauses due to cache writes decreased by over 40%. While boot times didn’t change, her productivity increased measurably during intensive sessions.

For Jessica, the upgrade was justified—not because of raw speed alone, but because it removed a consistent friction point in her daily workflow. Her experience underscores that PCIe 4.0 isn’t universally beneficial, but it can be transformative in the right context.

Step-by-Step: Should You Upgrade?

Follow this decision-making process before purchasing a new SSD:

1. Confirm System Compatibility: Verify that your CPU and motherboard support PCIe 4.0. Older chipsets (like B450 or Z390) may require a BIOS update—or may not support it at all.
2. Evaluate Your Workload: Are you regularly transferring large files, editing media, or running virtual machines? If not, the upgrade offers little return.
3. Check Current Drive Health: Use tools like CrystalDiskInfo to assess your Evo Plus’s wear level and performance. If it's still fast and healthy, there’s no urgency.
4. Compare Prices Per TB: Calculate cost per gigabyte across both PCIe 3.0 and 4.0 options. Sometimes last-gen flagship drives outperform entry-level PCIe 4.0 models at lower prices.
5. Consider Future Needs: Planning to adopt 8K footage or AI training datasets? Then PCIe 4.0 becomes a strategic investment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a PCIe 4.0 SSD work in a PCIe 3.0 slot?

Yes, PCIe 4.0 SSDs are backward compatible. They’ll function normally in PCIe 3.0 slots but will be limited to ~3,500 MB/s read speeds, negating much of their advantage.

Can I feel the difference in gaming?

In most games, no. Load time reductions are typically under 5 seconds even in large open-world titles. Frame rates and gameplay remain unchanged. Only in rare cases—like direct storage access via Microsoft’s DirectStorage API—might PCIe 4.0 provide smoother asset streaming.

Are PCIe 4.0 SSDs less reliable?

Not inherently. Reliability depends more on NAND quality, controller design, and thermal management than PCIe version. Top-tier PCIe 4.0 drives maintain similar endurance ratings (e.g., 600TBW for 1TB models) as their predecessors.

Final Verdict: Who Should Upgrade?

The short answer: if you're a professional handling large data sets, frequently saturating your current drive’s bandwidth, or building a high-end rig designed to last five years or more, then yes—a PCIe 4.0 SSD is worth the upgrade.

But for the vast majority of users—including gamers, office workers, and casual creators—the Samsung 970 Evo Plus remains more than capable. The performance delta simply doesn’t justify the cost or effort for typical usage patterns.

Instead of chasing specs, focus on what matters: responsiveness, reliability, and longevity. Your Evo Plus likely has years of useful life left. Spend your budget where it counts—on more RAM, a better monitor, or backup solutions that protect your data.

🚀 Ready to make an informed decision? Audit your actual storage demands, benchmark your current drive, and upgrade only when performance gaps align with real needs—not marketing hype.