Premium
TechRadar called it "absolutely stellar" and gave it 5 stars. Real selling price runs $370 to $430, well under the inflated $640 list. Samsung's own newer 9100 Pro costs barely more, worth checking before you buy.
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
Reviewed by Chue Len, Lead Editorial
Updated August 23, 2026
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Specifications
Chue Len
Oversees all editorial content on the site, keeping coverage accurate, timely, and on-brand.
Been mapping out Vice City since the first trailer dropped, still finds something new on every pass through the map.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- TechRadar gave it full marks and called it "absolutely stellar," Tom's Hardware and TechPowerUp both confirmed the rated speeds hold up in synthetic testing
- Samsung makes its own NAND, DRAM, and controller in-house, which is why this drive has held the top PCIe 4.0 spot for nearly four years without getting leapfrogged
- 55% better random performance than the 980 Pro, the number that shows up in boot times and load screens
- Works natively with PS5 as storage expansion, not just PC builds
Cons
- No included heatsink on this specific SKU, the version with one costs more
- List price is inflated well past what this drive is worth, don't pay $639 for it under any circumstance
- Samsung's own newer 9100 Pro (PCIe 5.0) is only $10 more right now at $399.99, worth cross-shopping if your motherboard supports Gen5
- A separate, cheaper "990" without the Pro name launched in 2026, and confusingly it's slower than this older drive despite costing more at points, easy to buy the wrong one
How We Tested It
We haven't run our own benchmarks on this drive. Performance figures above are confirmed independently by TechRadar, Tom's Hardware, and TechPowerUp, all of whom tested actual read and write speeds against Samsung's rated numbers. If your team runs this drive, worth adding: real load times in a specific game, sustained write performance past the point where cache runs out, and thermal behavior without a heatsink under extended use.
Who It's For
PC builders and PS5 owners who want the practical ceiling of PCIe 4.0 without paying for Gen5 speeds most games can't use yet. Strong for video editors and anyone running large working files where the 2GB DRAM cache and sustained write speed matter day to day. Skip it if your board supports PCIe 5.0, Samsung's own 9100 Pro is only a few dollars more right now. Skip it too if you just need bulk storage for a media server, the EVO Plus line gets you most of the real-world speed for less.
Our Verdict
TechRadar's five-star review still holds up. This drive earns its reputation, not through marketing, but because Samsung controls every part of it, the NAND, the DRAM, the controller, and that end-to-end integration is why nothing has meaningfully beaten it on PCIe 4.0 in nearly four years. The one thing that's changed is the market around it. List price sits at an inflated $639.99, but real selling price has bounced between $370 and $430 for months, so buy at that range, not the sticker number. And check Samsung's own 9100 Pro before you commit, at $399.99 it's barely more money for PCIe 5.0 headroom, if your system can use it.