Samsung offers a new option for users looking for an alternative to the premium Pro series in storage solutions. The standard Samsung 990 SSD model, which supports the PCIe 4.0 interface and works with the NVMe 2.0 protocol, has been officially announced.

This new hardware, which draws attention especially with its budget-friendly structure and high read-write speeds, comes to the user with two different storage capacities: 1 TB and 2 TB.

Offering reading speeds of up to 7,250 MB per second, the model seems to be a candidate to become the new hardware favorite of gamers and content creators with its advanced power efficiency and hardware security features.

Competitive Price with QLC NAND and DRAM-free Design

The South Korean technology giant is making some hardware changes in the Samsung 990 model in order to keep prices at a more competitive level in the current memory market crisis.

Instead of TLC (Tri-Level Cell) used in the higher segment 990 Pro model, QLC (Quad-Level Cell) V-NAND technology, which stores 4 bits per information cell, is preferred in this device.

At the same time, the driver, which uses a DRAM-less structure without a physical DRAM cache, benefits from hardware HMB (Host Memory Buffer) technology, which uses a small portion of the computer’s system memory to speed up data matching processes.

Although these hardware changes create some performance concerns on paper, the in-house Piccolo-Q controller, which Samsung has optimized and developed specifically for this model, largely compensates for the possible losses in performance, creating a very sufficient experience for mainstream users.

Boundary-Pushing Read and Write Speeds

Coming in the M.2 2280 form factor, the Samsung 990 effectively uses all the bandwidth offered by the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. The 2 TB capacity version of the hardware reaches sequential reading speeds of up to 7,250 MB and sequential writing speeds of up to 6,450 MB per second.

When we look at random process performance (IOPS), the 2 TB model easily sees 850 thousand reads and 1.2 million writes. In the 1 TB version, the speeds are at very similar levels; While the device offers a sequential reading speed of 7,150 MB/s, the writing speed remains constant at 6,450 MB/s.

Samsung states that the new 990 SSD is especially suitable for gaming, producing high-resolution content and managing daily computer workloads.

According to the details shared by the company, the 2 TB capacity model can easily store approximately 30 modern AAA quality games with an average document size of 64 GB.

Advanced Power Efficiency and Security Features

One of the most prominent aspects of the new model is its successful optimization of power consumption. According to the company’s test reports, the Samsung 990 SSD provides a better power efficiency of up to 38 percent compared to the previous 990 Pro model.

This creates a very valuable advantage that extends the battery life of the device, especially for laptop users looking for high performance.

On the security side, professional level data protection standards such as AES 256-bit full disk encryption, TCG/Opal V2.0 and IEEE1667 Encrypted Drive support are fully included in the device.

Thanks to the renewed Samsung Magician software, users can also transfer data between their computers, instantly monitor the driver’s health, optimize performance with a single click, and manage firmware updates from an extremely easy interface.

Samsung 990 SSD Price and Warranty Period

On the durability side, the device promises 400 TBW write life for the 1 TB version and 800 TBW write life for the 2 TB model. The global retail prices of the hardware, which is planned to go on sale in international markets in the last week of July, are determined as 270 dollars for the 1 TB model and 530 dollars for the 2 TB model.

It is possible to say that this device constitutes a very attractive storage unit alternative, especially for mainstream PC users and those who are building budget-friendly new systems, with the features it provides and its three-year limited warranty.