Samsung 990 EVO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

Samsung 990 EVO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

Samsung
87 Overall Score
vs
Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

Western Digital
53 Overall Score

What Buyers Say

Samsung 990 EVO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

88 out of 100 medium confidence 11 reviews

Users are generally very satisfied with this Samsung SSD, praising its fast read/write speeds, easy installation, and good value for budget builds. Some note that a DRAM-equipped alternative like the 990 EVO PLUS is close in price and might be a better choice, and a few mention minor setup quirks like needing extra screws or firmware updates. Overall, it's seen as a solid, reliable drive for gaming and general storage expansion.

Pros
  • Fast read/write speeds
  • Easy installation
  • Good value for budget
  • Reliable Samsung quality
  • Great for gaming storage
Cons
  • DRAM-less design
  • Requires firmware update
  • Extra screws needed
  • Heatsink installation tricky
👍 Performance 6
👍 Ease of installation 4
👍 Value for money 4
🤔 Dram less design 2
👎 Firmware update 2
👍 Gaming use 2

Western Digital WD Blue 250GB PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

72 out of 100 low confidence 9 reviews

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
👍 Performance 5
👍 Value for money 4
👍 Ease of installation 3
👎 Reliability 1
👎 Cache performance 1
👎 Nand quality 1

Scores

Budget
Samsung
100
Western Digital
80
Laptop
Samsung
89
Western Digital
56
Gaming
Samsung
81
Western Digital
43
Workstation
Samsung
77
Western Digital
50
Console
Samsung
63
Western Digital
20
Portable
Samsung
22
Western Digital
12

Specifications

Samsung 990 EVOWestern Digital WD Blue
Drive
Capacity
2,000
250
Form FactorM.2 2280M.2 2280
InterfacePCIe 4.0 x4PCIe 3.0 x4
ProtocolNVMeNVMe
PCIe Generation4★3
External✗✗
Performance
Sequential Read (MB/s)
5,000
2,400
Sequential Write (MB/s)
4,200
950
Random Read (IOPS)
700,000
170,000
Random Write (IOPS)
800,000
135,000
Hardware
NANDTLCTLC
DRAM Cache✗✗
ControllerSamsung in-house Controller—
Reliability
Endurance (TBW)
1,200
150
MTBF (hours)No data
1,700,000
Warranty (years)5★—
Features
Heatsink✗—
Hardware Encryption✓★—

Pros & Cons

Samsung 990 EVO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

  • Strong social proof (95th percentile)95th %ile
  • Strong random (91st percentile)91st %ile
  • Strong endurance (83rd percentile)83rd %ile
  • Strong feature (79th percentile)

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 (29th percentile)

Verdict

★ Winner: Samsung 990 EVO

Scores 87 overall, wins 6 of 6 usage categories and 9 of 18 specs.

Samsung 990 EVO Better at:

BudgetGamingLaptopConsolePortableWorkstation