Is This Used Samsung 980 PRO Safe to Keep Using?
Asked by
MellowQuartz47
I received a used Samsung 980 PRO 2TB with heatsink from a friend who had it installed in a PS5. CrystalDiskInfo reports 1,741 power-on hours, 840 power cycles, 95,086 GB read, 25,870 GB written, and a temperature of 35°C. It shows 100% health, 94% available spare, 0% percentage used, no critical warnings, and no thermal events. However, it also reports 54 unsafe shutdowns and—after correcting an earlier transcription—the Media and Data Integrity Errors and Error Information Log Entries counters both show 17,747. The firmware is 3B2QGXA7. Should I update the firmware, and is this drive safe to use for storing games?
Answers
The low power-on hours and 0% used reading look reassuring, but they don't cancel out a large integrity-error count. I would update the firmware, test the entire drive, and keep a backup. If the diagnostic reports problems or the counters change, return or retire the SSD.
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For a games-only drive, the risk is relatively manageable because installed games can usually be downloaded again. Still, don't treat it as reliable storage for saves, photos, or anything irreplaceable. If the error counters rise, the drive reports new warnings, files become corrupted, or diagnostics fail, replace it rather than trusting it.
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Unsafe shutdowns mainly indicate that power was removed while the drive was active, so they can cause corrupted data but are not automatically evidence of failing NAND. The integrity-error counter is more concerning, especially at 17,747. These are lifetime counters, so the important thing is whether they continue increasing. I would run Samsung Magician's full diagnostic and monitor the values after several days of normal use.
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The firmware is worth updating through Samsung Magician. 3B2QGXA7 is associated with the older 980 PRO firmware issue, where some drives could degrade unusually quickly. Updating can prevent the known problem, but it cannot undo wear or errors that have already occurred. Back up anything important before doing it and make sure the update is performed from a stable system.
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