I wo n’t do in your fourth dimension here . The Samsung 990 Pro is thebest SSDyou can buy mighty now . It ’s crazy tight , especially when it comes to large file transfers , and despite a relatively gamy price , Samsung justifies the cost with extra features that few other brand go out of their agency to fuss with .
The particular role model I ’m looking at here , the Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB with heatsink , may not be the right pickaxe for everyone , though . Although it ’s a very quick parkway , the extra toll of the heatsink and its angle toward expanding the computer storage inside the PlayStation 5 does n’t make sentiency , and you may preserve some money with a wearisome cause while achieving similar levels of gaming carrying into action .
Performance outdoors of plot is a unlike matter , however , which is where the 990 Pro really fend out . If you desire to learn more about SSD public presentation and how it vary between applications , make certain to check out ourSSD buying guide .
Pricing and specs
Samsung has persist the go - to brand for NVMe SSD for many geezerhood , and it ’s clear why . You ’re begin unaired to the maximum bandwidth of a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface , with Samsung tout sequent read speeds of up to 7,450MB / s. My testing backs up Samsung ’s claims , making this one of the quick PCIe 4.0 SSDs you’re able to currently buy .
Unlike most other SSDs on the market , Samsung is using its own in - house NAND and accountant for the 990 Pro , which generally makes it less prone to hardware swaps after launch . Other SSD sword that outsource NAND and controllers can pass into supply issue and swap out components , sometimes at the cost of advertised speed . Thankfully , that ’s not the case here . You ’re also getting small amount of DDR4 as a stash , speeding up the carrying into action of the drive .
Pricing is where things get interesting . This example of the 990 Pro is heavily targeted toward the PS5 due to having its own heatsink . That second of extra alloy drive up the price . At 2 TB , you may hold open $ 10 by give-up the ghost with the 990 Pro model without a heatsink . And if you go up to 4 TB , you ’ll salvage $ 30 . That ’s equate to Samsung ’s own 990 Pro , too . If you stag for a drive like the WD Black SN850X , you ’ll get similar speed for much less money — sans the heatsink .
Most modern motherboards have heatsinks for the SSD drives , and in fact , the extra heatsink sizing can interpose with your other component . This is really a drive built for other applications , such as the PS5 Pro , or a mini PC with enough space but no heatsink , such as theMinisforum AtomMan G7 Ti .
Software and features
Samsung may have dissolute parkway , but it also has splendid management computer software . I would n’t pick you for ignoring the bundled software program with most SSDs , but Samsung Magician has a lot of options , and it ’s worth taking up a bit of space to deploy the program program .
You get some high - level stats , such as drive wellness , and you’re able to perform a benchmark and diagnostic to see how your cause is performing . More importantly , Samsung gives you a net ton of options to tweak the performance of your effort . you may turn on trimming to let deleted mental block control surface again for penning , as well as prevent the SSD from sleeping for maximal execution . Samsung also has over - provisioning options to increase the life history straddle of the ride .
Beyond public presentation , you have encryption alternative , data migration , and a proper erase use . This will restructure all of the data on the thrust so it ca n’t be recovered with forensics .
Performance
Setting the scene , CrystalDiskMark shows that the 990 Pro with heatsink actually reaches a bit above Samsung ’s advertised speeds , both for sequential read and writes . We ’re getting close to maxing out the available bandwidth on a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface , at least for sequential reads and writes . That ’s not what your drive is going to be doing most of the time , however .
look at real diligence offer some important circumstance , as the margins between the 990 Pro 2 TB and a much cheaper ( and slower ) drive like the WD Blue SN5000 psychiatrist considerably . In large file transfers , which you may see in my AJA Video Systems trial , the 990 Pro reigns supreme . There are some minor differences between the 1 TB and 2 TB good example I tested , but not a expectant enough difference to note .
In games , however , the 990 Pro 2 TB with heatsink actually fell behind the inner circle . Both the SN5000 and even 990 Pro posted near result in 3DMark — which in reality debase games through the bench mark — andFinal Fantasy XIV Dawntrail . The 2 TB 990 Pro is n’t far behind , and when we ’re talk about margins of half a second , you ’ll never detect a meaningful difference of opinion in operation . On theme , however , it ’s a piece behind .
Should you buy the Samsung 990 Pro?
If you ’re look for one of the fast SSDs on the market for your microcomputer , the Samsung 990 Pro hit that score straightforwardly . There ’s no dubiousness that the Samsung 990 Pro is a dissipated SSD , but I ’m not certain going with this specific simulation is the correct call for the PS5 . There are a couple of authoritative reasons why .
First , the heatsink . There are only a few instance where an SSD calls for a heatsink , and even in those cases , you belike wo n’t reach damaging temperature without one . If you plan on set up the 990 Pro inside a PC , save yourself some money and go with the heatsink - free model .
The bigger yield is the focal ratio for gaming . This movement is to a great extent targeted toward the PS5 , which is a platform that really ca n’t take advantage of the extra speed on offer . In game , even the objectively slower SN5000 is putting up similar results , and you’re able to pick up that drive for $ 120 — a clean $ 60 less than the 990 Pro 2 TB with heatsink .
The best use case for a drive this fast is n’t gaming — most PCIe 4.0 SSDs are plenty for gaming , with only minor differences in loading speed . The 990 Pro really shines when it comes to large file transportation , where its sustained speed vantage really shows up understandably . In that context , the 990 Pro is deserving pass up for .
