Samsung 990 PRO 4TB SSD Review - Fastest High Capacity Gen4 SSD

TweakTown's Rating: 98%

The Bottom Line

High capacity and otherworldly performance make Samsung's 4TB 990 PRO SSD a must have.

Pros

• + Gaming
• + Sequential throughput
• + Capacity
• + Consumer workloads

Cons

• - None

Should you buy it?

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Introduction & Drive Details

Samsung's first 4TB M.2 SSD is an absolute masterpiece of engineering. The 4TB 990 PRO, like all those of its namesake that have come before it, is an elegant single-sided work of art. It is, in fact, the world's only 4TB single-sided M.2 2280 SSD with onboard DRAM. The drive is configured in the same way as its lower-capacity siblings in that it is arrayed with only two flash packages. Two 2TB flash packages. Amazing.

Achieving 4TB with only 2-flash packages verifies our suspicion that the 4TB 990 PRO could likely be the introduction platform for Samsung's 8th generation 1024Gbit V-NAND, simply because 7th generation V-NAND being 512Gbit would require 4-flash packages to reach 4TB. At 236-Layers, Samsung's 8th Generation V-NAND is the highest-layer count flash to make its way onto a retail SSD to date. In terms of density and bandwidth, it is tied with Micron's 2,400MT 232-Layer B58R flash.

Okay, so in terms of bandwidth, 8th generation V-NAND at 2,400MT is indeed capable of more throughput than 7th generation V-NAND at 2,000MT. However, density plays a role here as it relates to overall performance. Higher density equates to higher latency, all things being equal. So whenever density increases, speed needs to increase as well to offset increased latency if the higher density flash is to perform better.

Samsung does indeed spec the 4TB 990 PRO as being the highest performing model in the series, capable of up to 1.6 million random read IOPS vs. 1.4 Million for the 2TB model. All other specs are the same, so it will be interesting to see if the 4TB model can outperform the 2TB model in real-world use-case scenarios.

One final note before we dive into the review. The 4TB 990 PRO is one of two SSDs at this capacity point that we find ideal for use as laptop storage expansion. Why? Because it is single-sided, runs cool, and is super power efficient. Users may have difficulty installing double-sided M.2 SSDs in some ultra-slim laptops due to the thickness of the drive. The 990 PRO 4TB allows any ultra-slim laptop to be upgraded with high-performance and high-capacity storage without such worries.

Drive Details

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All we have at this point is for the 4TB is MSRP. Naturally, we expect, especially in this current climate, to see street pricing significantly lower than the MSRP of $345.

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As always, when you buy a Samsung SSD, you get free supporting software that makes maintenance and system migration simple and free. Click HERE to download it.

Jon's Test System Specifications

Intel Test System

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Tachyon
• CPU: Intel Core i9-13900KS - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: Sabrent Rocket DDR5 32GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3080 12GB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: PrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit - Buy from Amazon

AMD Test System

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X670E AORUS Master
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: Sabrent Rocket DDR5 32GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3080 12GB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: PrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit - Buy from Amazon

Because we at TweakTown like to be first at everything whenever we can, we will present our storage performance results for the test subject on both 13th Gen Intel and 7000 Series AMD platforms going forward for the foreseeable future. Because Intel still delivers the best real-world storage performance, (Look Here), our running chart will continue to be Intel-based until AMD can deliver better real-world storage performance than its rival.

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$182.99	$184.00	$189.45	$179.99	Buy
	-	-	-	$189.99	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 5/8/2024 at 3:31 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Sony PlayStation 5 - M.2 Storage Expansion

PS5 Read Performance

With Sony's wildly popular PlayStation 5 console now enabled for M.2 NVMe SSDs to be used as fast storage expansion, we include results for PS5 compatible SSDs we test as a part of our reviews going forward.

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We only chart SSDs that can deliver a minimum of 5,500 MB/s read, which is Sony's original recommendation.

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At 6,556 MB/s, the 4TB model is right in there with the other 990 PRO models that sit atop our chart.

Synthetic Benchmarks: CDM, Anvil, ATTO

CrystalDiskMark

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We employ CDM as our standard measurement for both sequential throughput and Q1T1 random read. In terms of sequential throughput, we find our test subject fully capable of meeting and exceeding quoted up to specifications (which are given for AMD). 7,529 MB/s ties with the 2TB model for the highest sequential throughput we've ever seen from any PCIe Gen4 SSD. Sequential write speeds are the highest we've ever attained with a Samsung SSD. We were hoping to see higher 4K QD1 random read, as in a new record for flash, but this is where density has offset the increased bandwidth.

Anvil's Storage Utilities

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At second best ever for a flash-based PCIe Gen4 SSD, our 4TB contender is again just a tad behind the 2TB model.

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We employ Anvil's random read test as our standard for measuring max random read IOPS. This test is very accurate as it at its core is Iometer skinned over. We test at QD128. Okay, here we go. While not the quoted 1.6 million IOPS, it is a new lab record for any flash-based SSD. Impressive.

ATTO

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ATTO gives us a clear picture of what transfer sizes a particular SSD favors in terms of sequential throughput. We chart 128K transfers. As expected, our test subject favors sequential transfers of 512K or larger when serving data to the host (reading) and 64K or larger when programming (writing) data.

Real-World Testing: Transfers, 3DMark SSD Gaming Test, PCM10 Storage

Transfer Rates

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Our 100GB data transfer test is not your ordinary 100GB of data. Ours is a crushing mix composed of more than 62K files. Write performance random or sequential, is an infrequent operation, and as such, we do not consider it to be an important performance metric in the consumer space. An example being how many times is a game installed vs. how many times it's played. The 4TB model edges out its smaller sibling for the best ever done by a PCIe Gen4 SSD.

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Unlike programming (writing) data, serving data to the host (reading) is always an important performance metric as it relates to the consumer space. Again, the 4TB model edges out its smaller sibling for the best ever delivered by a PCIe Gen4 SSD. Impressive.

3DMark SSD Gaming Test

UL's newest 3DMark SSD Gaming Test is the most comprehensive SSD gaming test ever devised. We consider it superior to testing against games themselves because, as a trace, it is much more consistent than variations that will occur between runs on the actual game itself. This test is in fact the same as running the actual game, just without the inconsistencies inherent to application testing. In short, we believe that this is the world's best way to test an SSDs gaming prowess and accurately compare it against competing SSDs. The 3DMark SSD Gaming Test measures and scores the following:

• Loading Battlefield V from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Call of Duty Black Ops 4 from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Overwatch from launch to the main menu.
• Recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) while playing Overwatch.
• Installing The Outer Worlds from the Epic Games Launcher.
• Saving game progress in The Outer Worlds.
• Copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike Global Offensive from an external SSD to the system drive.

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Gaming is a performance metric that matters to the majority of DIY consumers, especially to the enthusiast crowd that TweakTown caters to. Now we've reached the point where results start to matter as they are a direct reflection of user experience. A score of 5,200 here has only ever been attained by three flash-based PCIe Gen4 SSDs in history, the 990 PRO 4TB being one of those three. Here, we would have to give the nod to our test subject due to capacity as overall the best-performing game storage device when PS5 is factored into the equation.

PCM10 Storage Tests

PCMark 10 Storage Test is the most advanced and most accurate real-world consumer storage test ever made. There are four different tests you can choose from; we run two of them. The Full System Drive Benchmark and the Quick System Drive Benchmark. The Full System Drive Benchmark writes 204 GB of data over the duration of the test. These tests directly correlate with mainstream user experience.

PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark

This particular test writes 204GB data and covers a broad range of common consumer tasks, including booting Windows 10, file transfers, Adobe and Office applications, and startup times for games, including Battlefield V, COD Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. Unlike synthetic numbers, this is comprehensive real-world data, which is why we use it to rank SSDs in terms of user experience.

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Results here again remind us that Samsung's 990 PRO is undoubtedly the highest-performing SSD of its kind ever made. As it was at 1TB and 2TB, the 4TB 990 PRO is by far the best-performing PCIe Gen4 SSD at its respective capacity point.

PCMark 10 Quick System Drive Benchmark

The Quick System Drive Benchmark writes 23 GB of data over the duration of the test.

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Again, and like its smaller capacity siblings, the 4TB 990 PRO is 20% more performant here than any competing flash-based PCIe Gen4 SSD. This is performance that matters.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we are of the opinion that if you want the very best gaming SSD that can serve dual roles as a PlayStation 5 storage expansion drive or a PC gaming drive, the 4TB 990 PRO is it. It turns out to be just as fast and agile as the 2TB model, but it can hold twice the number of games. Again, it is single-sided, so it is easier to cool and can fit in more places than the double-sided competition.

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We rank SSDs in terms of overall user experience (performance where it matters most) as expressed by PCMark 10 storage and 3DMark gaming storage tests. We consider a user experience score of 14K or more to verify an SSD as a TweakTown Elite performer. 4TB of this makes our test subject the most desirable PCIe Gen4 SSD when cost is a secondary consideration.

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It's a marvel of engineering, a gaming juggernaut, and worthy of our highest award. Editor's Choice.