When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works .
The Samsung 990 series was launched earlier this year, right in the midst of the RAMpocalypse. The SSD is essentially a QLC-based version of the 990 EVO Plus. QLC SSDs can be a good choice for gaming, as it mostly involves reading data rather than writing it. QLC drives are slower than TLC, but frequently used data can stay in the faster pSLC cache if the drive has enough free space. The Samsung 990 also features the company’s PiccoloQ controller with V9 QLC Flash memory and is capable of full PCIe Gen 4 throughput.
The Samsung 990 is an M.2 Gen 4 SSD offering up to 7,250/6,450 MB/s sequential read/write speeds.
In our testing , we found the drive to offer similar results to Samsung’s 990 Evo Plus and the 990 Evo in latency testing, while beating the 990 Evo drive in bandwidth and 3DMark overall score. It also managed to stay competitive with the Crucial P310, which is one of the best QLC-based drives on the market. The Samsung 990 is also a solid option for consoles, delivering bandwidth that puts it ahead of the 990 Evo and on par with or better than most budget PCIe 4.0 drives.
(Image credit: Samsung) (Image credit: Samsung) (Image credit: Samsung) Image 1 of 3 View Original
The Samsung 990 at $339.99 is a compelling option for those who are looking for plenty of fast storage without paying more during the current SSD price surge. The 1TB model is also selling at a discount if you do not require this much storage. Do keep in mind that this sale price is available for a very limited time. If you need a high-capacity PCIe 4.0 SSD, it may be worth grabbing before the discount disappears.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/samsung-990-2tb-pcie-4-0-ssd-falls-to-usd339-99-on-amazon-usd190-discount-makes-high-capacity-storage-more-affordable#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
- Stripped-down Windows 11 for AI developers demands 64GB RAM and insane 250 GB/s bandwidth — Project Zenith will debut on AMD's flagship Ryzen AI Halo platform
- Lenovo’s IdeaPad Vibe laptops stand out with seven colors and swappable keycaps – 14,15-inch models with Snapdragon X and AMD AI 400 CPUs to start at $699
- Best of IFA 2026: MacBook Neo competitors, monitors, and wild laptop concepts
- Securing the Infrastructure of Intelligence
- Sales of CD and vinyl music sees strong resurgence amid physical media backlash — US sales of ‘retro media’ were up 59% and 18%, respectively, in H1 2026
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.