Samsung 990 SSD Review | Tick All The Boxes

One of The Fastest Consumer NVMe SSDs on the market today is the Samsung 990 SSD. It is designed for Gamers, Content Creators, and PROS with fast and Reliable storage. Both Samsung 990 series are PCIe 4.0 interfaces that support higher read/write speeds compared to traditional SATA SSDs. This is going to load apps, launch games, and transfer large files in seconds.

To add to the capabilities of this SSD, Samsung has also fitted one of its own controllers with high-end V-NAND flash and smart thermal management. These features help improve stability during heavy workloads. Whether or not you should buy it, we analyze the design, benchmarks, cooler, and power efficiency.

Here are the main specs before we move on to further details.

• PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 interface
• M.2 2280 form factor
• Up to 7,450 MB/s sequential read speed
• Up to 6,900 MB/s sequential write speed
• Samsung V-NAND TLC flash memory
• Samsung in-house Pascal controller
• Available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities
• Supports Intelligent TurboWrite technology
• Supports TRIM, S.M.A.R.T., and AES 256-bit hardware encryption
• Dynamic thermal control for stable performance
• Compatible with desktops, laptops, and PlayStation 5
• Samsung Magician software support
• 5-year limited warranty
  
  

Samsung 990 SSD, Standard M.2 2280 design, so it literally fits into any contemporary desktop, laptop, or gaming console that supports PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives. Its tiny footprint allows for easy integration in highly space-constrained systems.

Samsung PCB is designed for peak efficiency and low ambient heat generation. Plus, the controller and fast NAND chips are neatly spaced for airflow. It also has an optional version with (or without) an integrated heatsink which resides within the drive itself, providing another flexibility for users based on their console/motherboard.

The build quality itself feels pretty premium. Because Samsung makes all of these components, the parts that touch the controller — DRAM and NAND memory — can work together as one cohesive unit for better performance.

Turns out, the Samsung 990 SSD actually does better. It can hit sequential read speeds of 7,450 MB/s and write speeds of up to 6,900 MB/s, making Windows boot basically instantly, games load faster, and even heavy apps open without delay.

From lively video workloads to high-res images to even enormous game files, everything moves at blazing speeds. And, with excellent random read and write speeds, the drive is responsive enough for normal day-to-day usage.

You also get Samsung's Intelligent TurboWrite tech. This employs a lightning-fast cache to accelerate writes in standard workloads. Not only very fast, but the SSD remains ultra-fast all the time, no matter how heavy a task you throw at it.

In fact, the bump to the Samsung 990 SSD brings huge, massive gains for gamers. Games are faster to install, loading screens load quicker than a flash of light, and (in open-world games) textures stream more efficiently.

The drive also fully supports Microsoft's DirectStorage tech. Loading times will only get faster as this becomes a common feature in newer games. THERE'S GOOD NEWS for anyone looking to upgrade their console storage: now you can also use the Samsung 990 SSD with the PlayStation 5.

The higher the speed of the SSDs we run, the more non-volatile data they will dump onto themselves, and consequently generate heat when fully loaded. Luckily, Samsung has added technologies that help control temperatures.

The new Pascal controller consumes much less power than the previous generation while emitting less heat. Dynamic Thermal Guard continuously monitors temperature and adjusts performance accordingly to prevent thermal issues.

And if you get the heatsink version, it actually cools even better. That means you're not going to have the temperatures working overtime during a marathon gaming session or long file transfers, allowing that SSD to maintain such high performance longer.

Samsung has a well-deserved reputation for solid SSDs, especially the 990. It uses premium TLC NAND flash, which generally offers higher endurance than QLC alternatives. The endurance ratings are impressive:

·         1TB model: 600 TBW

·         2TB model: 1,200 TBW

·         4TB model: 2,400 TBW

Those are well-suited for gaming, media creation, software development, and even professional workloads. Samsung backs up the drive with a modest 5-year warranty for added reassurance.

Power efficiency is also decent with the Samsung 990 SSD. It involved several minor iterations, with Samsung redesigning the controller to optimize efficiency without sacrificing peak performance.

This allows laptop users to achieve longer battery life during storage-intensive workloads. Similarly, laptop users can enjoy power savings during operation without compromising performance. The SSD competes favorably against many of its rivals using PCIe 4.0 hardware (particularly under heavy workloads) and is lower-power than most, as well.

Bundled with Samsung's free Magician software. It handles drives simply and quickly. Using Samsung Magician, users can:

·         Monitor SSD health

·         Install firmware updates

·         Benchmark performance

·         Enable performance optimization

·         Securely erase the drive

·         Monitor drive temperature

·         Manage over-provisioning settings

These tools make it much easier to maintain your SSD over the years.

Here is what it offers:

Pros

• Outstanding PCIe 4.0 performance
• Up to 7,450 MB/s read speed
• Excellent gaming and productivity performance
• Premium Samsung TLC NAND
• Low power consumption
• Strong thermal management
• Compatible with PlayStation 5
• Easy-to-use Samsung Magician software
• Reliable endurance ratings
• 5-year warranty

Cons

• More expensive than many competing PCIe 4.0 SSDs
• Full performance requires a PCIe 4.0-compatible system
• Heavy sustained writes may eventually reduce speed after the TurboWrite cache fills
• Heatsink version costs slightly more
  
  

The Samsung 990 SSD is one of the finest PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs available on the market today. It is built on board as a small M.2 drive (Its form factor), combined with stellar reliability, blistering speed, low power consumption,  and excellent thermal management performance. Whether for a top-tier Gaming PC, a Laptop upgrade, extra storage for a PS5, or even as a pro-grade workhorse for professional creative workloads, this SSD excels at everything.

It's not the lowest-priced SSD on the market. Still, if you want to take advantage of s-or-bust performance while also reaping level-setting long-term reliability--not to mention software support and industry-leading speeds--you're going to pay for it with hundreds of dollars in premiums. If you need a fast, reliable, and future-proof NVMe SSD at the ready, we recommend the Samsung 990 SSD.