Samsung 990 EVO Plus 4TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

Samsung's first 4TB DRAM-less SSD is a speed demon that makes DRAM look optional. Buy it at the right price and you'll forget the SN850X even exists.

The sequential numbers are legit. 7,250 MB/s read and 6,300 MB/s write put this drive in the top tier of PCIe 4.0 drives, and the random performance is even more impressive. 1,050K random read IOPS and 1,400K random write IOPS are best-in-class territory. The Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0 cache is doing serious work here. We saw sustained transfers hold up better than expected for a DRAM-less design. The 2400 TBW endurance rating is also well above average for a 4TB drive, so you can hammer this thing with writes and not worry.

The WD Black SN850X is the most direct competitor here, and it's a genuine toss-up. The SN850X has DRAM and slightly better sustained write performance, but the 990 EVO Plus counters with better random IOPS and lower power draw. The Crucial T500 is another strong option, often priced lower, but its endurance rating doesn't match Samsung's 2400 TBW. The Kingston Fury Renegade is a solid budget alternative if you don't need the absolute top speeds. For most people, the 990 EVO Plus wins on the combination of capacity, speed, and efficiency, but the SN850X is the pick if you're doing heavy sustained writes.

The value story here is complicated by the price spread. We're seeing this drive listed anywhere from $345 to $1,050 in the US, which is a massive gap. At the low end, this is an absolute steal for 4TB of top-tier PCIe 4.0 performance. At the high end, you're paying Samsung tax for no good reason. Shop around. If you can snag it near the $345 mark, it's one of the best value drives on the market. If you're looking at the $1,050 listing, close that tab and go find the cheaper one.

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus is Samsung's first 4TB DRAM-less SSD, and honestly, it's a bit of a flex. You get 7,250 MB/s reads and 6,300 MB/s writes without the DRAM cache most people assume you need for those numbers. HMB technology picks up the slack, and in real-world use, most people won't notice the difference. The headline here is capacity plus speed at a price that undercuts Samsung's own PRO line.

If you're looking for a portable drive to toss in an external enclosure, this isn't it. The portable score is rough, and you'd be better off with a dedicated portable SSD. Also, if you're doing heavy sustained writes all day, every day, the WD Black SN850X with its DRAM cache is the safer bet. Go grab that instead.

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus is the 4TB drive to beat right now. It delivers near-PRO performance without the PRO price tag, and the DRAM-less design is a non-issue thanks to HMB. If you're building a high-end gaming rig or a content creation workstation and want 4TB of fast storage, this is the drive to get. Just make sure you're not overpaying, and pair it with a motherboard heatsink.