Having reliable storage in your system is a must, regardless of whether you’re after a speedy gaming drive or an SSD that will keep your precious files safe and sound. Attractive as flagship PCIe Gen 5 options are, there’s still plenty of value to extract from the speediest Gen 4 options like 990 Evo Plus. In fact, examples like this have only become more affordable with the passage of time, making them something of a steal.
Samsung 990 Evo Plus
“Upgrade everyday performance.” – Samsung
On Amazon US, 990 Evo Plus 1TB is now just $64.99. That nets you a 38% ($40) discount relative to list pricing, and marks the lowest ever price this SSD has ever been on the storefront. 2TB and 4TB capacities are also available, at $119.99 and $239.99, respectively, each only $3-5 away from their best-ever price.
While 990 Evo Plus 1TB remains the best option from a total cost standpoint, greater value lies with the 2TB and 4TB models. Rather than pay $65 per TB, the larger capacities shrink that cost down to $60 per TB. Whichever model you choose, you can expect great performance in every respect.
Each capacity of 990 Evo Plus boasts the same sequential write speed of 6,300MB/s. The 1TB model sets the sequential read floor at 7,150MB/s, but 2TB and 4TB variants enjoy a small boost to 7,250MB/s. These speeds are more than enough to keep up with the demands of modern applications and games, and give the SSDs enough grunt to provide a zippy file transfer experience too.
In terms of endurance, expect 600TBW per TB of capacity. You’d have to hit 990 Evo Plus especially hard to hit such a target, so this is largely an academic metric. Instead, be confident in the knowledge that the SSD comes with a five-year warranty as standard.
Samsung rates 990 Evo Plus average power consumption under load at 4.2-5.5W, with larger capacities naturally sipping slightly more watts. As you might expect, this doesn’t lead to especially hot operating temperatures, hence the lack of heatsink. However, like all storage, I recommend popping it under some passive cooling if you have any available to maintain peak performance.
990 Evo Plus can operate in two modes: PCIe 4.0 x4 or PCIe 5.0 x2. You’ll get the same speed from the SSD regardless, but this interface allows you to manage your available PCIe bandwidth with more nuance. It’s time to make the most out of that PCIe Gen 5 slot that’s likely on your motherboard.
Finally, like all other Samsung SSDs, 990 Evo Plus is compatible with Magician Software. This application helps you monitor the health of your drive, as well as engage features like ‘Overprovisioning’ to improve storage longevity. While other manufacturers have done well to provide alternatives, this one remains my favourite on the market.
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