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OEM 1TB SSD NVMe Samsung PM981a under label HP 6SK99UT#ABA SSD NVMe @ Staples for $139 AC

$139.99
$159.99
+20 Deal Score
15,028 Views
This was based on my actual recent order with Staples, which still applicable this week with the $20 off $100 coupon 52439, Staples has this week.

I was doing a lot of info digging on what HP 6SK99UT#ABA was, and there was a lot of misleading image posted on Provantage, Newegg Business, and even HP website doesn't have any information on it. And, I was betting on a specification that posted for ZBook G4 without specifying the P/N.

Link on Staples:
HP 6SK99UT#ABA 1TB PCI Express Internal Solid State Drive [staples.com] (listed for $159.99)

When it came in the mail (see attached photo):
P/N: MVZLB1T0HBLR-000H1 , it's the PN for Samsung PM981a (better than PM981).

This drive is essentially better then Samsung SSD 970 PRO (based on specs) at a fraction of the price. You can look up the specs on Samsung.com.

The only drawback is that it's only 1-year warranty due to OEM. If you use credit card, you can take advantage of extended warranty to move it to 2-year.
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$139.99
$159.99

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Joined Mar 2009
L3: Novice
> bubble2 212 Posts
36 Reputation
budjevin
06-13-2020 at 10:32 PM.
06-13-2020 at 10:32 PM.
Good find. Scratch that. Great find. In for one! Little info out there on the 981A. I don't get the downvotes. People have no idea. Somebody alert @NewMaxx
3
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Joined Nov 2015
L6: Expert
> bubble2 1,478 Posts
187 Reputation
YamahaRick
06-13-2020 at 10:42 PM.
06-13-2020 at 10:42 PM.
Used $20 off $100 code, as well as Staples credit card. Use of the card may earn me 25% back in Rewards - hopefully it will apply to this order.
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Joined Sep 2011
L5: Journeyman
> bubble2 527 Posts
190 Reputation
lolrofllol
06-13-2020 at 10:55 PM.
06-13-2020 at 10:55 PM.
Quote :
This drive is essentially better then Samsung SSD 970 PRO (based on specs) at a fraction of the price.
No it's not. I couldn't find a real spec sheet, but NotebookCheck and the PM naming both suggest that this is a 3D TLC based drive. It's likely a updated version of the PM981.

I would describe this as an OEM version of the 970 EVO. SM-prefix/PRO models are MLC and not TLC.


Quote :
The only drawback is that it's only 1-year warranty due to OEM.
I would consider this to not have a warranty at all. You'll have a hell of a time trying to get HP to warranty a drive that (likely) was pulled out of one of their prebuilts. And Samsung certainly isn't going to warranty a drive sold through their OEM channels like this.

Yeah I know, the listing claims a warranty, and SSDs don't fail much... but I'm just pointing it out. Don't expect a warranty, or at least expect a lot of hassle in that case.


Quote from budjevin :
Good find. Scratch that. Great find. In for one! Little info out there on the 981A. I don't get the downvotes. People have no idea. Somebody alert @NewMaxx
At the end of the day, this is a premium-tier SSD at slightly less than premium but still well above $100/TB bargain basement TLC pricing. Add the part where it's OEM-labeled and doesn't have the sexy 970 EVO branding to go with it, and are you surprised people don't jump?
1
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Joined Mar 2017
L3: Novice
> bubble2 3,715 Posts
662 Reputation
AlexS2465
06-13-2020 at 11:08 PM.
06-13-2020 at 11:08 PM.
Quote from lolrofllol :
No it's not. I couldn't find a real spec sheet, but NotebookCheck and the PM naming both suggest that this is a 3D TLC based drive. It's likely a updated version of the PM981.

I would describe this as an OEM version of the 970 EVO. SM-prefix/PRO models are MLC and not TLC.




I would consider this to not have a warranty at all. You'll have a hell of a time trying to get HP to warranty a drive that (likely) was pulled out of one of their prebuilts. And Samsung certainly isn't going to warranty a drive sold through their OEM channels like this.

Yeah I know, the listing claims a warranty, and SSDs don't fail much... but I'm just pointing it out. Don't expect a warranty, or at least expect a lot of hassle in that case.




At the end of the day, this is a premium-tier SSD at slightly less than premium but still well above $100/TB bargain basement TLC pricing. Add the part where it's OEM-labeled and doesn't have the sexy 970 EVO branding to go with it, and are you surprised people don't jump?

Specs can be found here: https://www.samsung.com/semicondu...-00000-07/, yes it's OEM and as such pretty much no support or warranty. These are basically 970 EVO's. I was able to get few of 256GB versions on eBay and they're fast BUT not supported by Samsung magician software either so firmware updates can only be done with machine that's branded for same manufacturer system that drive came out from. I got them at good price though and considering it's samsung don't expect too many issues. If the price was at or below $100 it would be a good deal for sure
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Joined Jul 2007
L4: Apprentice
> bubble2 328 Posts
182 Reputation
racker15
06-13-2020 at 11:14 PM.
06-13-2020 at 11:14 PM.
This is some serious sleuthing here. Would be all over it if I had any need at all for another NVME drive
1
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Joined Sep 2011
L5: Journeyman
> bubble2 527 Posts
190 Reputation
lolrofllol
06-13-2020 at 11:21 PM.
06-13-2020 at 11:21 PM.
Quote from AlexS2465 :
Specs can be found here: https://www.samsung.com/semicondu...-00000-07/, yes it's OEM and as such pretty much no support or warranty. These are basically 970 EVO's. I was able to get few of 256GB versions on eBay and they're fast BUT not supported by Samsung magician software either so firmware updates can only be done with machine that's branded for same manufacturer system that drive came out from. I got them at good price though and considering it's samsung don't expect too many issues. If the price was at or below $100 it would be a good deal for sure
Yeah I saw that too and was hoping for something a little less sparse on the details..
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Joined Jul 2014
L3: Novice
> bubble2 166 Posts
544 Reputation
4GeekIT
06-13-2020 at 11:38 PM.
06-13-2020 at 11:38 PM.
One thing I ran into with HP OEM rebadged Intel Pro 6000p drives is that they have HP customized firmware and not Intel's... not sure if that is the case here or not, but Intel made numerous updates to the firmware but only HP's firmware can be flashed. Check the firmware version of your SSD vs Samsung's. I'm really curious what you find.
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Last edited by 4GeekIT June 14, 2020 at 12:00 AM.

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Joined Apr 2004
Dealish Guy
> bubble2 591 Posts
124 Reputation
edavid
06-14-2020 at 07:37 AM.
06-14-2020 at 07:37 AM.
Nice detective work, but is this better than the PNY CS3030 for $10 less?

https://www.staples.com/pny-xlr8-...t_24412652
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Joined Dec 2011
L999999999: Game Genie
> bubble2 9,441 Posts
5,245 Reputation
Pro
Jaggsta
06-14-2020 at 07:42 AM.
06-14-2020 at 07:42 AM.
1 year warranty oof
1
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Joined Nov 2011
L5: Journeyman
> bubble2 669 Posts
80 Reputation
lmj7373
06-14-2020 at 08:02 AM.
06-14-2020 at 08:02 AM.
A WD 1TB SN750 has been in recent weeks as low as $121 with a full warranty backed by the reseller and WD. What circumstance would this be considered a good deal getting a 1TB Oem drive with a dubious warranty and firmware..

Honest question, maybe I missed something..
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Joined Mar 2018
L4: Apprentice
> bubble2 317 Posts
55 Reputation
Abomlols
06-14-2020 at 08:03 AM.
06-14-2020 at 08:03 AM.
Quote from Ectso :
Great if you don't have PCie 4 but you can get a stick that runs at literally twice the speed for 60 dollars extra right now.

Using sequential writes that the everyday consumer doesn't utilize. During normal random read/writes these are within parity of SATA SSDs.

Ive had a PM961 OEM in my laptop for 18 months and it's healthy. very uncommon for these to have hardware issues.
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Joined Apr 2018
L6: Expert
> bubble2 1,686 Posts
167 Reputation
krnprogamer
06-14-2020 at 08:10 AM.
06-14-2020 at 08:10 AM.
Quote from lmj7373 :
A WD 1TB SN750 has been in recent weeks as low as $121 with a full warranty backed by the reseller and WD. What circumstance would this be considered a good deal getting a 1TB Oem drive with a dubious warranty and firmware..

Honest question, maybe I missed something..

It's not. You are better off with SN750 for less.
Reply
Joined Dec 2007
L9: Master
> bubble2 5,982 Posts
1,721 Reputation
famewolf
06-14-2020 at 08:12 AM.
06-14-2020 at 08:12 AM.
I do want to upgrade the ssd from 512gb to 1TB but I'm not a gamer. The laptop I just purchased came with a Samsung PM991 in it. Realistically how much of a difference am I going to notice? The laptop has a slot for a hard drive that would be in addiition to the ssd for backup etc and for that price I can easily find a 2TB HD. Also if I do upgrade how much/what do I look for to mount the old nvme in a desktop that does not have a nvme slot?
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