The 4TB version of Samsung’s 990 Pro NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSDs with an optional heatsink is aimed at gamers and content creators. Samsung claims that the new model has the “fastest random read performance among PCIe 4.0 interface consumer SSDs on the market,” as well as higher read/write speeds, improved power efficiency, and a longer life.
According to Samsung, the 4TB SSD 990 Pro is available with and without a heat sink and has a small design that can fit inside an ultra-thin laptop or gaming console. With the company’s V-NAND chips, a PCIe 4.0 interface, and an upgraded controller, it can achieve best-in-class read rates of up to 7,450 MB/s and write speeds of 6,900 MB/s — the same as its 1TB and 2TB models.
Random read/write rates are likewise identical to the smaller variants, with 1,600K and 1,550K IOPS, respectively. However, because of the larger capacity, endurance doubles from 1,200 TBW to 2,400 TBW over the 2TB version. It also has double the cache size (4GB).
Though not as fast as the latest PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs (which can reach 11,700 MB/s read and 9,500 MB/s write speeds), the 990 Pro is one of the fastest PCIe 4.0 models available. According to Samsung, it is also 50% more energy efficient than the previous 980 Pro. That makes it excellent not only for PC expansion but also for consoles like Sony’s PlayStation 5 — and 4TB in a PS5 would be pretty nice, given the increasing size of AAA games.
The 990 Pro 4TB will be available in October for $345/$355 for the standard and heatsink models at Samsung.com and “select retailers.” That’s more than double the price of the 2TB model, which is ordinarily $190 but is presently discounted to $135 on Amazon. However, as it becomes widely available, we anticipate seeing discounts on the 4TB model as well.
