Samsung has officially announced a new PCIe SSD dubbed 990 EVO. The new model offers improved performance, better power efficiency, and, surprisingly, support for both PCIe Gen4 and Gen5 for more flexibility.
The 990 EVO is a long-anticipated successor to the old 970 EVO Plus model. It offers performance uplifts of up to 43%, with sequential read speeds reaching 5,000MB/s and write speeds of up to 4,200MB/s. Random read and write speeds reach up to 700K and 800K IOPS, respectively.
These specs may not look impressive compared to the flagship 990 PRO lineup, but keep in mind that the 990 EVO is more affordable, and it supersedes the 970 EVO Plus, a PCIe 3.0 drive. The SSD is now available in two configurations: 1TB and 2TB. The 1TB variant costs $124.99, and the 2TB configuration has a $209.99 MSRP tag. With that said, you can often find the 990 PRO with huge discounts. For example, right now, Amazon sells the 1TB variant for $117.99 ($51 off) and the 2TB variant for $179.99 ($110 off).
The most interesting thing about the Samsung 990 EVO is its dual PCIe interface that works with PCIe Gen4 x4 and Gen5 x2 motherboards. That ensures solid performance and compatibility with modern PCs while being future-proof for PCIe Gen5 applications.
Finally, those upgrading from the 970 EVO generation can expect a notable uplift in efficiency. According to Samsung, the new 990 EVO is 70% more power efficient than its predecessor, ensuring better battery life and support for Modern Standby in Windows computers.
| Samsung 990 EVO | Samsung 970 EVO Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe Gen4 x4 or PCI Gen5 x2 | PCIe Gen3 x4 |
| Form Factor | M2 2280 | M2 2280 |
| Memory | Samsung V-NAND 3-TLC | Samsung V-NAND 3-MLC |
| Controller | Samsung In-house Controller | Samsung In-house Controller |
| Capacity | 1TB and 2TB | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB |
| Seq Speed | Up to 5,000MB/s read Up to 4,200MB/s write | Up to 3,500MB/s read Up to 3,300MB/s write |
| Rand Speed | Up to 680K (1TB) and 800K (2TB) IOPS read Up to 700K (1TB) and 800K (2TB) IOPS write | Up to 620K IOPS read Up to 560K IOPS write |
| TBW | Up to 600TB (1TB) Up to 1200TB (2TB) | Up to 600TB (1TB) Up to 1200TB (2TB) |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years |
The Samsung 990 EVO is now available worldwide.
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