Samsung 990 SSD

Samsung's SSD 990 M.2 drive delivers on-point PCI Express 4.0 performance, solid management software, and robust security, but its lofty launch pricing leaves us pining for a markdown.

The 990 is a step up from the 990 EVO, though the write rate plummets when secondary cache runs out. But it’s slower than the older 990 EVO Plus and not a bargain, even given the current NAND crunch.

The Samsung 990 is a budget Gen 4 QLC SSD with acceptable performance but mediocre power efficiency.

Factor in how little separates it from the Pro on price, or from the Gen 5 9100 Pro for that matter, though, and recommending it becomes a tough sell. If you're running a Gen 4 board, or you want something cool and frugal for a laptop or a small form factor build, perhaps this is worth a look. But if you've got a Gen 5 slot sitting empty and the budget will stretch, I'd stretch, every day of the week. It's a good SSD that's been priced into a corner, and that's a shame, because there's plenty to like here.

The Samsung 990 is a Gen4 SSD capable of speeds above 7GB/s and 1.2 million IOPS and is available in one and two terabyte capacities. This SSD includes a 3-year limited warranty and what might be considered expected pricing for the current SSD outlook.

El principal punto que nos impide dar una recomendación más rotunda es el precio. Sobre el papel, el Samsung SSD 990 de 2 TB ofrece un rendimiento muy competitivo, una resistencia de 800 TBW y la confianza habitual de la marca en este mercado. Pero en una categoría donde hay muchos SSD PCIe 4.0 rápidos y donde las ofertas cambian constantemente, su relación calidad-precio dependerá directamente del precio al que le podamos comprar.

It seems the new Samsung SSD 990 is there to fulfill Samsung’s biannual SSD release schedule more than to be a “new” drive. As such, it doesn’t offer anything beyond what was available on previous drives and even falls short in certain respects. Still, it’s a solid option for anyone needing a PCIe Gen 4 NVMe drive.