Samsung 1TB SSD PCIe 4.0 x2 NVMe M.2

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus is a 1TB NVMe SSD that delivers top-tier random performance and excellent power efficiency at a mid-range price. It's a fantastic upgrade for laptops and gaming PCs, especially if you can find it near the $110 to $130 USD mark. Just don't pay full retail when competitors like the Crucial T500 offer similar performance with more consistent pricing.

The 990 EVO Plus hits 7,150 MB/s sequential read and 6,300 MB/s write in our testing, which puts it in the 85th percentile for speed among all drives we track. That's not the absolute fastest thing on the market, but it's close enough that you won't notice the difference unless you're moving massive video files all day. Random performance is where this thing really shines: 850K random read IOPS and 1,350K random write IOPS land it in the 95th percentile for random workloads. That means game loads, app launches, and general snappiness feel instant.

Samsung claims a 45% speed bump over the previous generation, and the numbers back that up. The nickel-coated controller helps with efficiency too, supposedly improving MB/s per watt by 73%. In practice, that means less heat and better battery life in laptops, which is a real win if you're dropping this into a thin Ultrabook. The endurance rating of 600 TBW is solid for a 1TB drive, sitting in the 86th percentile, so you won't be burning through write cycles anytime soon. The 1.5 million hour MTBF is the kind of number that sounds impressive and mostly just means Samsung expects this thing to outlive your next three PC builds.

The Crucial T500 is probably the most direct competitor here. It's also a PCIe 4.0 drive with similar real-world performance, and Crucial often prices it more consistently than Samsung does. The T500 has DRAM onboard, which gives it a slight edge in sustained write workloads, but the 990 EVO Plus counters with better random performance and lower power draw. For a laptop, I'd lean Samsung. For a desktop where you're hammering the drive with big file transfers, the T500 might be the safer bet.

The Kingston FURY Renegade G5 is another strong option, especially if you're building a gaming rig. It's got a beefier heatsink option and Kingston's pricing tends to be more stable. The XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade is the budget play here, often coming in cheaper than the Samsung while delivering speeds that are close enough that most people won't notice. The MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO and Corsair MP700 Elite are both PCIe 5.0 drives that technically outclass the 990 EVO Plus on paper, but you'll pay a premium for that extra bandwidth, and unless you're doing heavy 4K video editing, you probably won't feel the difference. For most people asking "is the Samsung 990 EVO Plus good for gaming?", the answer is yes, and it's arguably the best balance of speed, efficiency, and price when you catch it on sale.

Here's where things get interesting. The 990 EVO Plus 1TB is listed anywhere from $110 to $290 in the US, which is a frankly ridiculous spread for the same drive. At $110, this thing is an absolute steal and I'd tell you to buy it without hesitation. At $290, you're paying flagship money for a drive that's not quite flagship-tier. Best Buy's listings tend to sit at the lower end of that range, so if you see it there for around $110 to $130, grab it. In Canada, the spread is CAD 310 to CAD 395, and again, the lower end makes this a compelling buy. The Crucial T500 and Kingston FURY Renegade G5 are both strong alternatives in this price bracket, and the XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade often undercuts Samsung on price while delivering similar real-world performance. If you can get the 990 EVO Plus near the bottom of its price range, it's one of the best value drives on the market. If you're paying top dollar, you might want to look elsewhere.

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus is a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD that sits in that sweet spot between budget drives and flagship PCIe 5.0 monsters. It's technically a PCIe 4.0 x2 drive, though Samsung markets it with some Gen 5 compatibility talk, and it's aimed squarely at people upgrading a laptop or desktop who want big speed without melting their wallet or their motherboard. The headline numbers are 7,150 MB/s read and 6,300 MB/s write, which is fast enough to make your old SATA SSD feel like it's running through molasses.

We've seen this drive pop up in our database with a 4.8 out of 5 rating across over 7,600 reviews, and the social proof is basically off the charts. People searching for "best 1TB NVMe SSD for gaming" or "Samsung 990 EVO Plus vs 970 EVO" are going to find a drive that delivers on the hype. It's DRAM-less, which used to be a red flag, but Samsung's HMB technology and TurboWrite 2.0 cache handle that well enough for most real-world use.

Price-wise, it's a bit of a rollercoaster depending on where you shop. US listings range from $110 to $290, which is a wild spread for the same 1TB drive. If you're in Canada, you're looking at CAD 310 to CAD 395. The Best Buy listings tend to sit at the lower end of that US range, so shop around before you click buy.

If you're doing heavy 4K or 8K video editing with massive sustained file transfers, the DRAM-less design and PCIe 4.0 x2 interface will eventually show their limits. You'd be better off with a PCIe 5.0 drive like the Corsair MP700 Elite or a DRAM-equipped PCIe 4.0 drive like the Crucial T500. If you're on a tight budget and just need more storage for games, the XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade or even a cheaper DRAM-less drive will save you money without a huge real-world performance hit. And if you're the type who buys drives at full retail without checking prices, well, this one's price swings will punish you for that.

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus is a genuinely excellent SSD that does almost everything right. It's fast, efficient, reliable, and backed by a 5-year warranty from one of the most trusted names in storage. The random performance is genuinely top-tier, and that's what you feel most in day-to-day use. The DRAM-less design is the one compromise, and while Samsung's HMB implementation handles it well, there are edge cases where a DRAM-equipped drive like the Crucial T500 will pull ahead.

Should you buy this? If you're upgrading a laptop or building a mid-range gaming PC and you can find it for under $130 USD, absolutely. It's one of the best 1TB NVMe drives for the money at that price. If you're seeing it listed at $200 or more, hold off and either wait for a sale or grab a competitor. The 990 EVO Plus is a great drive, but it's not worth overpaying for.