Which SSD is right for your PC?

• 

  The Editor's Choice

  Samsung 990 Evo

  $80 150$ Save $70

  The Samsung 990 Evo is a fast and energy-efficient SSD that supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2. It promises read speeds of up to 5,000 MB/s and write speeds of up to 4,200 MB/s while consuming significantly less power than its larger sibling, the 990 Pro.

  Per

  • Supports both PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0 interface
  • Better sequential read and write speeds
  • Relatively affordable

  Disadvantages

  • No heat sink
  • Currently only available in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities

• 

  Second

  Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD

  The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is still a fantastic PCIe 3.0 SSD for those not looking for the latest SSD technology. Its sequential reads and writes are subpar compared to PCIe 4.0 drives, but its random performance is on par with even the 990 Pro.

  Per

  • Available in multiple capacities
  • Similar five-year warranty and TBW rating
  • Uses LPDDR4 DRAM

  Disadvantages

  • No PCIe 5.0 compatibility
  • Relatively slower
  • A bit expensive

Samsung's ever-evolving SSD lineup has a new member in the form of the 990 Evo M.2 SSD. It debuted in January 2024 as Samsung's first drive with PCIe 5.0 support, making it a solid option for anyone who wants the versatility of PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0 compatibility. The added versatility automatically makes it a better option than many other SSDs in 2024, but let's see how it stacks up against the 970 Evo Plus, the only other SSD available as part of Samsung's Evo lineup in 2024.

Samsung 990 Evo vs. 970 Evo Plus: Price, Specs and Availability

The new 990 Evo is cheaper, but only available with 1 TB and 2 TB storage

Samsung's new 990 Evo SSD debuted in January 2024 as the company's first M.2 SSD with PCIe 5.0 compatibility. You can now grab one for your PC from Samsung's official website and some third-party retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Newegg. However, it's currently only available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, priced at $125 and $210, respectively. Surprisingly, there are already some discounts on this particular SSD, so keep an eye out for it.

The Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSD is a PCIe 3.0 SSD that has been on the market since 2019, replacing its predecessor, the 970 Evo. The 970 Evo Plus is available in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities, meaning you get more storage options compared to the newer drive on the market. They are all readily available on Samsung's official website and third-party retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy. The 970 Evo Plus starts at $60 for the smallest option, but the 1TB and 2TB capacities, which compete with the 990 Evo variants, cost $140 and $240, respectively.

Let's look at the specifications of SSDs to find out how they compare on paper:

• 	Samsung 990 Evo	Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD
  Storage capacity	1TB, 2TB	250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
  Hardware interface	PCIe 4.0 (x4), PCIe 5.0 (x2), NVMe 2.0	PCIe Gen 3.0 x4
  TBW	600 (1TB), 1200 (2TB)	150TB (250GB), 600TB (500GB), 600TB (1TB), 1,200TB (2TB)
  MTBF	1.5 million hours	1.5 million hours
  Memory module	None	Samsung LPDDR4: 512 MB (250 GB and 500 GB), 1 GB (1 TB), 2 GB (2 TB)
  guarantee	Five years	Five years
  Controller	Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (SM-G988F)	Samsung Elpis (older version of Phoenix)

Samsung 990 Evo vs. 970 Evo Plus: Hardware differences

Different controllers, updated TLC NAND and more

Both SSDs in this comparison are single-sided M.2 2280 drives with a shared five-year warranty and identical Terabytes Written (TBW) ratings (for the 1TB and 2TB variants). Neither of these SSDs comes with an optional heatsink, but that's about where the similarities between the two models end. They both use different controllers based on different interfaces, and you'll also see different NAND flash, different performance metrics, and more. Samsung's 990 Evo is the newer SSD in this comparison, using the new 5nm Piccolo controller. The 970 Evo Plus—the revamped version that's been available since 2021—uses the 8nm Elpis controller.

The Piccolo controller, in case you were wondering, is designed for the PCIe 5.0 x2 interface and is backwards compatible with the PCIe 4.0 x4 standard, while the Elpis controller is designed for PCIe 4.0 x4 and is backwards compatible with PCIe 3.0 x4. The new 990 Evo also uses the updated V6 Prime 133-layer 3D TLC NAND flash compared to the older 92-layer 3D TLC NAND flash of the 970 Evo Plus. Another key difference between the two is that the 990 Evo has a DRAM-less controller and uses the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) for primary caching. The 970 Evo Plus uses LPDDR4 DRAM with varying capacities ranging from 512MB to 2GB depending on the variant you choose.

Neither of them, as I mentioned, are available with a heatsink, meaning you'll either have to resort to other Samsung SSDs like the 980 Pro if your motherboard doesn't have an SSD heatsink. Keep in mind that the revamped version of the 970 Evo Plus that Samsung quietly released in 2021 with the updated controller is known to run a bit warm. So far, there have been no such reports of the 990 Evo overheating, so the lack of a heatsink isn't necessarily a deal-breaker.

Samsung 990 Evo vs. 970 Evo Plus: Performance

The 990 Evo is significantly faster and more energy efficient

We haven't had a chance to thoroughly test either of these SSDs in our testing lab, but Samsung's own performance comparisons of the new 990 Evo SSD with the 970 Evo Plus make it easier to understand what improvements to expect. The 990 Evo SSD is said to offer up to 43% better performance compared to the 970 Evo Plus. In addition to touting improved sequential read and write speeds, Samsung also claims that random read and write speeds have been improved.

As for performance specs, you can expect up to 5,000MB/s sequential read speeds and up to 4,200MB/s sequential write speeds for the 990 Evo, while the 970 Evo Plus drive clocks in at 3,500MB/s and 3,300MB/s sequential read and write speeds, respectively. The 990 Evo's random read and write speeds are also boosted, up to 700,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS) and 800,000 IOPS, respectively, up from 620,000 and 560,000 read and write IOPS, respectively. It's impressive to see this performance boost with a DRAM-less design, and you'll definitely get better results with the newer drive in real-world applications.

The improvements in the new 990 Evo SSD also extend to power efficiency, where Samsung promises improved power efficiency of up to 70% compared to the 970 Evo Plus. The 990 Evo consumes 5.5W, while the 970 Evo Plus consumes an average of 6W when running. This automatically makes the newer drive a more affordable SSD for laptops where battery life is a big issue. The relatively low power consumption also means that the new SSD generates less heat in comparison, which in turn makes it much more usable without a heatsink.

Before we get to the conclusion, it's also worth noting that the Samsung 990 Evo is more versatile and future-proof, supporting both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 interfaces. With the added versatility that the 970 Evo Plus lacks, you can reserve PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 lanes for other hardware, depending on which components may need additional PCIe lanes.

Samsung 990 Evo vs. 970 Evo Plus: Which SSD is better to buy?

Samsung is launching the 990 Evo SSD as an upgrade to the 970 Evo Plus that came out a few years ago, and it's easy to see why. Not only does the new drive offer better performance, but it's also more power efficient, making it a better fit for those looking to replace the SSD in their laptops with something newer. Its compatibility with PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0 also makes it more versatile and better suited to newer systems. Not to mention, the 990 Evo is also cheaper than the previous model, making it a much better fit for those building a new system.

The 970 Evo Plus was one of the best SSDs when it was released, but it's now showing its age, so it wouldn't be my first choice for those building a new system in 2024. Yes, Samsung has quietly released revised models of the 970 Evo Plus that include the new Elpis controller with support for the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, but speeds and overall performance remain largely unchanged from the original release candidate, making it a bit slower than the new 990 Evo. Existing 970 Evo Plus SSD users will also benefit from the new drive's improvements, but keep in mind that the 990 Evo isn't the best or fastest PCIe 5.0 SSD on the market, so don't upgrade from a 970 Evo Plus to the newer drive expecting a massive jump in performance.