Samsung has just introduced the new Samsung 990 Pro SSD. It is a high-performance NVMe 2.0 drive that, like its predecessor, arrives based on the PCIe 4.0 standard. With it, it also shares the M.2 design and the type of flash memory, 3-bit TLC.
Samsung claims that this drive arrives “focused for graphics-demanding games and other intensive tasks, such as 3D rendering, 4K video editing, and data analysis”. To that end, it will market three versions. Previously, 1 TB was the maximum size of the family. Now it starts from there and there are also 2 and 4 TB models, forgetting sizes such as 250 or 500 GB.
Samsung 990 Pro SSD datasheet
| Samsung 990 Pro SSD | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1, 2, and 4TB |
| Interface | PCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0 |
| Format | M.2 (2280) |
| Theoretical Maximum Reading | Up to 7,450MB/s |
| Theoretical Maximum Writing | Up to 6,900MB/s |
| Cache | 1, 2, and 4 GB depending on the model |
| Deed Total | 600 TB, 1,200 TB and 2,400 TB depending on the model |
| Encryption | 256-bit I/O |
| Price | From $179 |
More speed, and more durability in larger models
In this generation, there is no leap as in the previous one, since the interface used remains the same, but there is a slight increase that leaves the 990 Pro with a maximum of 7,450 megabytes per second (MB/s) in sequential reading. In sequential writing, there is a good increase in speed, from a theoretical maximum of 5,000 MB/s to 6,900 MB/s.
In addition, in random read and write (QD32), Samsung promises an improvement of up to 55%, leaving the user with theoretical figures of up to 1,400,000 IOPS in read and up to 1,550,000 IOPS in write.
On issues such as integrated DRAM or durability, it all depends on the size you choose. The 1TB base model has 1GB LPDDR4, the 2TB model has 2GB and the 4TB model has 4GB. The 1TB model guarantees to be able to write the same as the 1TB model in the previous generation, 600TB, while the 2TB model goes up to 1,200TB and the 4TB model goes up to 2,400TB.
On other issues such as power efficiency, Samsung claims a 50% improvement over the 980 Pro, and says it has improved thermal management with “a nickel coating on the controller and a heat diffusion label.” There is also a heatsink version for more heat control, which also arrives with RGB lights.
Pricing and Availability of the Samsung 990 Pro SSD
The South Korean company has reported that it will market the Samsung 990 Pro from October except for the 4TB model, which will arrive next year. All three come with a 5-year warranty. These will be the selling prices:
- 1 TB: $179
- 2 TB: $309
- 4 TB: unknown.
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