Prices for high-speed SSDs remain elevated amid ongoing instability in the memory market, but a notable discount is currently available on the Samsung 990 PCIe Gen 4. The 2 TB model is listed on Amazon for $339.99, down from its typical $529.99 price.
Released earlier this year during the memory market crisis, the Samsung 990 is essentially a QLC-based variant of the 990 EVO Plus. QLC flash is generally slower than TLC, but for read-heavy workloads common in gaming, it can be a good fit because frequently accessed data can remain in the drive’s faster pSLC cache when there is sufficient free space.
Key technical details and performance highlights:
- Form factor / interface: M.2 PCIe Gen 4
- Controller: Samsung PiccoloQ
- Flash: V9 QLC
- Sequential read: up to 7250 MB/s
- Sequential write: up to 6450 MB/s
Independent tests reported the Samsung 990 delivering latency results close to those of the 990 EVO Plus and 990 EVO, while surpassing the 990 EVO in bandwidth and overall 3DMark score. The drive also held its own against the Crucial P310, a leading QLC-based SSD. Its bandwidth and performance characteristics make the 990 suitable for gaming consoles as well, where it can outperform the 990 EVO and match or exceed many budget PCIe 4.0 SSDs.
The current price represents a 36% discount - $190 off the usual $529.99 MSRP - bringing the 2 TB Samsung 990 to $339.99 on Amazon. A 1 TB version is also available at a reduced price for users who need less capacity.