Executive Summary: Samsung’s 990 EVO Plus 1TB SSD doesn’t win every benchmark, but it nails what matters: fast PCIe 4.0 speeds, proven reliability, and now, real affordability. For $75, it’s almost the default answer for anyone building or upgrading a gaming PC who doesn’t want to risk their Steam library on a sketchy, off-brand drive.
Worth noting: that PCIe 5.0 sticker is mostly marketing flex (more on that in a second). What you’re really getting is a top-tier PCIe 4.0 drive-which is still absolutely overkill for most gaming workflows. I care more about reliability and firmware support than squeezing a theoretical extra 0.2 seconds off load times, and Samsung consistently delivers there.
The moment I saw the 990 EVO Plus drop under $80, I sat up. Here’s why: We’re drowning in PCIe 5.0 “value” SSDs right now that cost a fortune and require you to run an M.2 drive without a heatsink… assuming you want to use it in a real world rig that doesn’t sound like a jet engine. Samsung isn’t playing that game. Instead, you get flagship PCIe 4.0-class performance-over 7GB/s reads, over 6GB/s writes—without running hot or requiring a ridiculous power budget. And for what most gamers actually need, that’s the sweet spot.
I’ve run WD Black SN850X, Crucial P5 Plus, and a stack of cheap Silicon Power SSDs in my battle station over the last few years. Benchmarks are fun, but in practice? The 990 EVO Plus is within ~100MB/s of the absolute fastest PCIe 4.0 drives (the SN850X tops chart at 7,300MB/s reads, for reference). That’s maybe a rounding error when you’re actually loading Cyberpunk 2077 or transferring game backups. Unless you’re editing 8K raw video, you’ll never see the difference. Trust me: put your money where it actually matters—quality storage, not hollow speed claims.
Sure, the 990 EVO Plus will “work” in a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, but don’t let that label fool you. It only uses two lanes at PCIe 5.0, capping out at the same bandwidth as four lanes of PCIe 4.0—so you’re not getting next-gen throughput. Marketing loves that trick, but it’s not fooling anyone who’s built more than a couple rigs.
If you’re building a gaming PC (AM5, LGA1700 or older, doesn’t matter) and want a storage boost that won’t bottleneck load times, this is it. If you’re running a PlayStation 5, technically this model will fit and run, but double-check compatibility—Samsung’s “EVO Plus” lineup doesn’t always hit the marked SSD whitelist for consoles. For laptops? As long as you have an M.2 slot and don’t need integrated heatsinks, the 990 EVO Plus runs surprisingly cool for such fast speeds. I’ve slotted these into thin laptops with zero thermal issues in basic stress testing.
Speed numbers are impressive, but the difference between a 5,000MB/s and 7,200MB/s SSD is academic for most stuff: loading modern games, launching big apps, Windows updates, or even moving a ton of small files. Where I’ve seen garbage-tier SSDs fail is in reliability—corrupted installs, early write death, or inconsistent firmware updates. Samsung’s reputation matters for this reason. I’ve had older EVOs still kicking after five years, with firmware updates rolling out quietly and no fuss. That’s the boring, real-world stuff that online charts don’t capture… but which actually matters if you care about your data staying your data.
Another tiny detail: Samsung’s Magician SSD software is actually good. It’s not shovelware—firmware can be updated in two clicks, you can see SMART health info at a glance. Compare that to no-name NVMe drives where you’re left sweating over gray-market firmware packages, and you see the appeal.
I initially worried if the “EVO Plus” would run hot given the rising density of NAND and controller speeds. In practice, it’s steady—no thermal throttling in open-air or typical M.2 slots with mild airflow. Add a $5 M.2 heatsink if you live in a hot climate, but for most gaming builds, this isn’t a drive that’ll nuke your case temperatures. The real frustration is that PCIe 5.0 SSDs (the “real” next gen) run hotter, demand more from your board, and still cost two or three times as much for a real-world difference you’d need a stopwatch and a fake test scenario to see.
If you truly need PCIe 5.0 speeds—think workstation-grade video work, or synthetic benchmarks as your job—yes, you’ll want something bleeding edge (and will pay for it). But for everyone else who’s gaming, streaming, and maybe editing the occasional family video, the 990 EVO Plus gets you 99% of the experience for a third of the price. Also, if you need a drive with an integrated heatsink for vertical SSD slots (some mini-ITX boards and PS5, for instance), this drive might need an after-market solution or a different pick entirely.
For gaming rigs and daily PC use, the 990 EVO Plus 1TB nails the price/performance/reliability trifecta. You don’t need more SSD than this—unless you’re chasing numbers, not real-world speed.
Q: Will this SSD make my games load faster compared to my old SATA or older PCIe 3.0 drive?
Absolutely. Going from a SATA SSD (500MB/s) or any hard drive is night and day; moving from PCIe 3.0 is a decent bump, especially for titles that actually stream large assets (think open-world AAA games).
Q: Is there any reason to buy a PCIe 5.0 NVMe if I’m not a content creator or pro user?
Not really. Even class-leading 5.0 drives only shave off fractions of a second in load times for regular software and games. Save your cash for RAM, GPU, or a bigger game library instead.
Q: Can I run this in a laptop?
Yes, as long as you have an M.2 slot and don’t need an integrated heatsink, you’re good. The drive doesn’t suck up much power and runs cool in most chassis I’ve tried.
Q: What about warranty and support?
Samsung usually covers its EVO SSDs with a 5-year warranty or TBW limit (whichever comes first). Firmware tools and diagnostics are best-in-class for consumer SSDs.
If I needed a terabyte of fast storage for a desktop or a gaming laptop today, there’s nothing I’d recommend over the Samsung 990 EVO Plus in this price bracket. Ignore the PCIe 5.0 distraction—unless you truly need those speeds (and the headaches and heat). At $75, with Samsung’s reliability, this drive is hard to beat. Stock will come and go, but these deals are when it really makes sense to buy.
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