Which is faster for gaming?

The Crucial P3 Plus. Its 5,000 MB/s read is about nine times the SATA ceiling of the 870 EVO. Game load times improve less than the numbers suggest, but large installs and updates finish faster.

The Samsung 870 EVO, on paper. It is rated at 600 TBW with a DRAM cache; the P3 Plus is listed with low TBW endurance. For heavy write workloads, the EVO is the safer pick.

Is the P3 Plus worth it over the EVO?

Yes if you have an M.2 slot. It is faster and $35 cheaper at eBay as of November 6, 2026. The EVO only wins on endurance, DRAM and encryption.

Will the P3 Plus fit my laptop?

Only if the laptop has an M.2 2280 NVMe slot. Many older laptops have only a 2.5-inch SATA bay, where the 870 EVO fits and the P3 Plus does not.

Can I use either as an external drive?

Yes, both work in a USB enclosure. The 870 EVO drops into a 2.5-inch SATA enclosure; the P3 Plus needs an NVMe enclosure, and you will be limited by USB speed.

The 870 EVO. SATA drives run cooler and draw less peak power. The P3 Plus is efficient for NVMe but can throttle under long sustained writes without a heatsink.

Samsung 870 EVO SATA 2.5" SSD 1TB vs Crucial P3 Plus 1TB NVMe M.2 Internal SSD

Buy the Crucial P3 Plus if your PC or laptop has an M.2 NVMe slot and you want the fastest drive for the money: it is $149.95 at eBay as of November 6, 2026 versus $185.00 for the Samsung 870 EVO at eBay the same day. Buy the Samsung 870 EVO if you only have a 2.5-inch SATA bay, or you want a drive with a DRAM cache and a long track record. The P3 Plus is roughly three times faster on paper, but it is a budget drive with no DRAM and lower endurance.

Today the Crucial P3 Plus 1TB NVMe M.2 Internal SSD costs $15.53 less at its best price.

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