Samsung has just unveiled its latest solid state drive (SSD) for mainstream consumers, the 990 EVO. This is the first new mid-range SSD from the company since 2019, when it released the 970 EVO Plus. The 990 EVO boasts impressive speeds, power efficiency, and compatibility with the upcoming PCIe 5.0 standard.

What are the specs of the 990 EVO?

The 990 EVO is a PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD that comes in two capacities: 1TB and 2TB. It uses Samsung’s own V-NAND 3-bit MLC flash memory and a new Elpis controller that supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 modes.

The 990 EVO delivers up to 5,000MB/s of sequential read speed and 4,200MB/s of sequential write speed, which is up to 43 percent faster than the 970 EVO Plus. It also offers up to 700,000 IOPS of random read performance and up to 800,000 IOPS of random write performance, which is comparable to the 970 EVO Plus.

The 990 EVO also features Samsung’s Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0 technology, which dynamically allocates a variable buffer size to optimize the write performance. Additionally, it supports AES 256-bit hardware encryption, TCG Opal 2.0, and IEEE 1667 standards for data security.

How does the 990 EVO compare to other SSDs?

The 990 EVO is not the fastest SSD in the market, nor is it the fastest SSD from Samsung. The company’s flagship SSD, the 990 Pro, which was launched last year, offers up to 7,450MB/s of sequential read speed and 6,900MB/s of sequential write speed, as well as up to 1,000,000 IOPS of random read and write performance.

However, the 990 EVO is still a very competitive SSD for its price range, as it outperforms most of the other PCIe 4.0 SSDs in the market, such as the WD Black SN850, the Corsair MP600, and the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus.

The main advantage of the 990 EVO over its rivals is its support for PCIe 5.0, which is expected to be the next generation of PCIe interface for high-performance devices. PCIe 5.0 will offer double the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0, which means that SSDs that support PCIe 5.0 will be able to achieve even higher speeds and lower latency.

The 990 EVO is the first consumer SSD to support PCIe 5.0, albeit only with two lanes. This means that it can operate at PCIe 5.0 x2 mode, which offers the same bandwidth as PCIe 4.0 x4 mode. However, this also means that it will not be able to take full advantage of the PCIe 5.0 x4 slot, which will offer twice the bandwidth of PCIe 5.0 x2 mode.

Nonetheless, the 990 EVO’s PCIe 5.0 support makes it more future-proof than other PCIe 4.0 SSDs, as it will be compatible with the upcoming motherboards and CPUs that will support PCIe 5.0. This will give users more flexibility and options when upgrading their systems in the future.

Who should buy the 990 EVO?

The 990 EVO is a great choice for anyone who is looking for a fast, reliable, and power-efficient SSD for their desktop or laptop. It is especially suitable for gamers, content creators, and professionals who need fast loading speeds for games and large files.

The 990 EVO is also a good option for those who want to upgrade from older SSDs, such as SATA or PCIe 3.0 SSDs, as it will offer a significant boost in performance and responsiveness. Moreover, the 990 EVO’s PCIe 5.0 support will make it ready for the next generation of PCIe devices, which will offer even higher speeds and performance.

The 990 EVO is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, priced at $124.99 and $209.99, respectively. The 1TB model comes with a limited warranty of five years or 600TB of TBW, whichever comes first, while the 2TB model offers a five-year warranty or 1200TB of TBW. They are currently available for purchase globally from Samsung’s official website and authorized retailers.

Western Digital launches new SSDs for Steam Deck and ROG Ally users