Computer file sizes keep getting bigger and bigger, and speed of access is increasingly important. Especially when working with large photo and video projects, or playing the latest games. New to its extensive storage range, Samsung has launched the 990 EVO NVMe SSD, a follow-up to one of the company’s more popular speedy storage drives.
Aimed at both gamers and creative pros, the Samsung 990 EVO is the successor to the 970 EVO Plus model. Samsung claims it boosts sequential read performance by up to 43% compared to its predecessor, with up to 70% better power efficiency.
Available in 1TB and 2TB models, the 990 EVO advertises sequential read speeds of up to 5,000MB/s, and write speeds reaching 4,200MB/s. As for random read and write speeds, it reaches 700K IOPS read speeds, while write speeds top out at 800K IOPS.
It means that it’s not quite fast enough to reach the official recommended specs for use as a PS5 SSD. That’s what the Samsung 990 Pro is for. Although third-party testing has confirmed that slower drives work just fine, as long as it’s the correct form factor.
Which, as it turns out, the Samsung 990 EVO is. It’s an M.2 drive that supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and the very recent PCIe 5.0 2x interfaces. Other than its faster speeds, the SSD’s power efficiency is tipped to help reduce strain on battery life, making it a decent option for use in laptops.
Samsung 990 EVO specifications, release date and price
| Interface | PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 / 5.0 x2 NVMe 2.0 | |
| Form Factor | M.2 (2280) | |
| Storage Memory | Samsung V-NAND 3-TLC | |
| Controller | Samsung In-house Controller | |
| Capacity | 1TB | 2TB |
| Sequential Read/Write Speed | Up to 5,000 MB/s, Up to 4,200 MB/s | |
| Random Read/Write Speed (QD32) | Up to 680K IOPS, 800K IOPS | Up to 700K IOPS, 800K IOPS |
| Management Software | Samsung Magician Software | |
| Data Encryption | AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption, TCG/Opal V2.0, Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667) | |
| Total Bytes Written | 600TB | 1200TB |
| Warranty | Five-year Limited Warranty | |
Out now, the SSD 990 EVO is available from Samsung’s online store and various tech retailers. It starts at $179 for the 1TB model, with the 2TB priced at $299. Its faster speeds are a nice upgrade, while the improved power efficiency will help your laptop last longer.
