Samsung is releasing their first PCI Express 4.0 SSD with the 980 PRO, the latest iteration of the venerable high-end storage line last updated with 2018’s 970 PRO NVMe SSD, which launched alongside the 970 EVO.

We expect high performance from Samsung NVMe drives, with the 970 PRO and EVO drives offering “class-leading overall performance,” according to a certain former storage editor. And with the 980 PRO there is a significant difference in overall makeup – other than the new PCIe Gen4 Samsung-designed controller (Elpis). What is it? The NAND itself, which is described as “3-bit MLC” (TLC).