Samsung 990 PRO 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
What Buyers Say
Samsung 990 PRO 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
The Samsung 990 Pro SSD is widely praised for its exceptional speed, cool operation, and reliability, making it a top choice for gaming and heavy workloads. However, several reviewers warn that the drive may ship with outdated firmware that can cause rapid health degradation, urging immediate updates via Samsung Magician. Despite this caveat, most users recommend it for home use and high-performance builds, noting its value on sale and compatibility with various motherboards.
Pros
- Exceptional speed
- Cool operation
- Reliable performance
- Easy installation
- Good value on sale
Cons
- Outdated firmware on arrival
- Potential rapid health degradation
- Not ideal for mission-critical use
Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
Most users are happy with this SSD, praising its easy installation, fast speeds, and great value for money. However, one reviewer reported the drive dying after six months of light use, and another noted that performance drops significantly when the cache is full due to cheaper NAND. Overall, it's seen as a solid budget option, though not the fastest on the market.
Pros
- Easy installation
- Fast speeds
- Great value for money
- Good price/performance ratio
- Reliable for boot drive
Cons
- Drive died after six months
- Performance drops when cache full
- Cheaper NAND used
Scores
Specifications
| Samsung 990 PRO | Western Digital WD Blue | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | ||
| Capacity | ||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 4★ | 3 |
| External | ✗ | ✗ |
| Performance | ||
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | ||
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | ||
| Random Read (IOPS) | ||
| Random Write (IOPS) | ||
| Hardware | ||
| NAND | TLC | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | ✓★ | ✗ |
| Controller | Samsung | — |
| Reliability | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | ||
| MTBF (hours) | ||
| Warranty (years) | 5★ | — |
| Features | ||
| Heatsink | ✓★ | — |
| Hardware Encryption | ✓★ | — |
Pros & Cons
Samsung 990 PRO 1TB 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 (94th percentile)94th %ile
Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280
- Strong social proof (87th percentile)87th %ile
- Strong random (78th percentile)
- Strong affordability (71st percentile)
- Strong endurance (71st percentile)
- Below average capacity (13th percentile)13th %ile
- Below average user sentiment (28th percentile)
Verdict
Scores 90 overall, wins 6 of 6 usage categories and 11 of 18 specs.