Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD Review

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System Storage Benchmarks

3DMark

We are using 3DMark’s Storage Benchmark which tests common gaming workload traces. The benchmark tests loading Battlefield V, Call of Duty Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. It tests moving games by copying a Steam folder for CS:GO, and installing Outer Worlds from the Epic Games Launcher, and saving game progress in The Outer Worlds. It tests recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60FPS with OBS while playing Overwatch. We will graph the Overall Benchmark Score, higher is better.

Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD 3DMark Storage Benchmark

In the 3DMark Storage Benchmark, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is performing at the top of the charts, with a score of 2954. This puts it 9% ahead of the next fastest SSD in our comparisons, the Teamgroup MP44. Compared to the Lexar NM790, another top-performing SSD the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 10% ahead. Compared to the slowest SSD on the graph, the Lexar Professional NM800 PRO and the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 27% ahead, quite a difference between these two “Pro” SSDs.  

PCMark 10

We are using PCMark 10’s Full System Drive Storage Benchmark. It outputs an overall score (higher is better) that is derived from the Bandwidth (higher is better) as well as access time (lower is better) results.

Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD PCMark 10 Storage Full System Drive Benchmark

In PCMark 10’s full system drive storage benchmark, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD performs extremely fast, and a lot of that is due to access times as you will see below. In PCMark 10 full system drive benchmark the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 13% ahead of the next fastest drive, the Lexar NM790. When compared to the Teamgroup MP44 the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 14% ahead. Compared to the slowest drive, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 34% ahead of the Lexar Professional NM800 PRO, which is pretty large when compared to the other Pro drive on the graphs.

Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD PCMark 10 Storage Full System Drive Benchmark Access Time

The average access time test in PCMark 10’s Storage Benchmark shows you a closer look at where things line up. The Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD has incredible access times at just 45 microseconds, which beats every other drive on this graph in access time. This means the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 12% faster in access time than the next fastest SSD, the Lexar NM790. When compared to the slowest SSD, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 27% faster in access time compared to the NM800 PRO.  

Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD PCMark 10 Storage Quick System Drive Benchmark

The Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD just skyrockets past all the other SSDs in the Quick System Drive benchmark, thanks to Samsung’s efficient use of the DRAM-cache on board. Its ability to access the look-up tables is just super quick here for small workloads. The Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 42% faster than the next fastest drive, the Lexar NM800 PRO. Compared to the slowest storage drive the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 82% faster, wow.

PassMark PerformanceTEST

We are using PassMark’s PerformanceTEST Disk Mark benchmark only. This test benchmarks Disk Sequential Read, Disk Sequential Write, IOPS 32KQD20, IOPS 4KQD1 tests and outputs an overall score (higher is better.)

Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD PassMark Performance Test Disk Mark

In PassMark PerformanceTest Disk Mark the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is also a strong performer at 7% faster than the next faster drive, the Lexar NM800 PRO. Compared to the slowest drive the Lexar 710, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB SSD is 54% faster.

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REVIEW OVERVIEW

Performance
10
Features
10
Cooling
8
Price Value
8

SUMMARY

The Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink 1TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD is a very high performing Gen4 SSD, with incredible write performance whether sequential or random, it holds some of the highest Gen4 generation SSD performance among the competition. It also works well for gamers, content creators and has excellent workstation application performance for professionals. The temperatures can run warm under constant use, so use good cooling, otherwise you do pay a premium for this Samsung SSD among others, it is loaded with features and the best SSD toolkit software in the business.
Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

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