Samsung
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe Gen4
Who this is for: anyone who needs 2TB of NVMe storage for a boot drive or fast secondary drive in a modern build — it is aimed at builders who tune their systems and expect the kit to hold a manual profile.
The Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe Gen4 is a 2TB NVMe drive rated at up to 7450MB/s sequential read, built on 3D TLC flash.
3D TLC determines how it behaves once the SLC write cache is exhausted: sustained writes stay far more consistent, which matters for video ingest and large game installs. Samsung builds its own silicon end to end, which shows up in consistency rather than headline numbers. Check that your M.2 slot runs at the drive’s interface generation, and give it airflow or a heatsink under long writes.
Our take
Buy it if: you want one of the fastest Gen4 drives for your boot drive and games, with a DRAM cache that keeps it quick under heavy use. It's also a strong PS5 upgrade in the heatsink version.
Skip it if: you're on a tight budget. Most of its advantage over cheaper Gen4 drives only shows in benchmarks and large file transfers.
Consider instead: WD Black SN7100 2TB for similar everyday speed at a lower price.
Technical Specs
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Frequently Asked Questions
What speeds should I expect from the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe Gen4?
The rated 7450MB/s figure is sequential read on an uncontested PCIe link. Random 4K performance, which is what actually determines how snappy a system feels, is a separate figure and is far less dependent on the headline number.
What is 3D TLC flash and why does it matter?
3D TLC describes how many bits each memory cell stores and how the layers are stacked. TLC stores three bits per cell, which keeps sustained write speed and endurance in a healthy place for daily use.
Does the 2TB Samsung drive need a heatsink?
For long sustained writes, yes. High-speed NVMe drives throttle when they get hot, so either use the motherboard M.2 heatsink or a drive that ships with one.
Is it a good fit for a console or laptop?
Check physical clearance first: the expansion bay in consoles and the M.2 slot in thin laptops both have height limits, so a tall heatsink can be a problem.
Want the background behind these specs? Read our memory guides.