Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Kingston KC3000 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
What Buyers Say
Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Users are highly satisfied with this SSD, praising its exceptional speed and reliable performance for gaming and photo editing. One user noted thermal concerns during heavy gaming, reaching 62°C without a heatsink, but overall sentiment remains very positive. The drive is easy to install and has proven durable over a year of use.
Pros
- Blazing fast speeds
- Easy installation
- Reliable performance
- Good value for refurbished price
Cons
- Thermal concerns under heavy load
- No heatsink included
Kingston KC3000 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Users are overwhelmingly positive about this Kingston KC3000 SSD, praising its blazing-fast speeds, especially for gaming and as a boot drive. Many note it outperforms or matches competitors like the Samsung 990 Pro and WD SN850X, often at a better price. A few mention minor setup quirks, like needing to download drivers on new Windows builds or dealing with sector size differences, but these are easily resolved and don't detract from overall satisfaction.
Pros
- Blazing fast speeds
- Great value for money
- Outperforms competitors
- Excellent for gaming
- Reliable performance
Cons
- Driver download needed on new Windows
- Sector size mismatch for cloning
- 4TB version pricey
Scores
Specifications
| Samsung 990 PRO | Kingston KC3000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | ||
| Capacity | ||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 4 | 4 |
| External | ✗ | ✗ |
| Performance | ||
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | ||
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | ||
| Random Read (IOPS) | ||
| Random Write (IOPS) | ||
| Hardware | ||
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | ✓ | ✓ |
| Controller | Samsung | Phison E18 |
| Reliability | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | ||
| MTBF (hours) | ||
| Warranty (years) | 5 | 5 |
| Features | ||
| Heatsink | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hardware Encryption | ✓★ | — |
Pros & Cons
Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong feature (99th percentile)99th %ile
- Strong random (97th percentile)97th %ile
- Strong social proof (95th percentile)95th %ile
- Strong speed (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
- Below average affordability (21st percentile)
Kingston KC3000 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong user sentiment (95th percentile)95th %ile
- Strong random (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong feature (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong endurance (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
- Below average affordability (25th percentile)
Pricing
Verdict
Both products are closely matched - Samsung 990 PRO wins 4 specs while Kingston KC3000 wins 3.
