Samsung 990 PCIe 4.0 SSD spotted, and it's neither an EVO nor a PRO

Samsung appears to be prepping a new SSD under the plain 990 name, and it does not appear to be another EVO or PRO model. As spotted by VideoCardz, listings for the drive briefly showed up on Samsung Canada's website in 1TB and 2TB capacities before getting pulled. Nothing is official yet, so treat the specs as close to final but not set in stone.

The listing points to a PCIe 4.0 x4 drive, not PCIe 5.0, which puts it a step behind Samsung's own 990 EVO Plus that can run on either interface. Samsung lists the 1TB model at up to 7,150 MB/s read and 6,450 MB/s write, with the 2TB variant reaching 7,250 MB/s read at the same write speed. Random IOPS reportedly top out around 850K read and 1,200K write on the 2TB model. On paper, those numbers look close to what the 990 EVO Plus already offers.

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The bigger story here is what is missing rather than what is listed. Samsung does not list a dedicated DRAM cache for this drive, relying instead on Host Memory Buffer (HMB), which borrows a slice of the host system's RAM to handle caching duties. We have seen many good HMB implementations in the past.

DRAMless designs are nothing new for Samsung; the 990 EVO Plus uses the same approach, but the endurance ratings here look noticeably lower. Samsung reportedly lists the 2TB model with a 3-year warranty or 800 TBW, and the 1TB model with a 3-year warranty or 400 TBW, both well under the 990 PRO's territory.

We speculate that this could point to QLC NAND rather than the TLC flash used in the 990 EVO Plus, which would help explain the reduced endurance and the drive's positioning as a value option. Samsung has not confirmed the NAND type, so this remains an educated guess for now.

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Early reseller listings have already tagged it as an "entry-level NVMe" product, and some early B2B pricing floating around looks too high to be reliable, so it is probably safer to ignore those numbers for now. We also recently saw a 970 EVO sold as a 990 PRO directly from Amazon, so caution is the word here.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Question #1

Will the Samsung 990 be compatible with PCIe 5.0 motherboards or limited to PCIe 4.0 performance?

The article states the Samsung 990 is a PCIe 4.0 x4 drive, not PCIe 5.0, so it will be limited to PCIe 4.0 performance.

Answered

Question #2

How will HMB (Host Memory Buffer) impact real-world performance compared to a DRAM-equipped Samsung 990 EVO Plus?

The article says the new Samsung 990 will be DRAMless and use Host Memory Buffer (HMB) like the 990 EVO Plus, and on-paper sequential and random performance numbers look close to the 990 EVO Plus. However, lower endurance and speculation about QLC NAND suggest it may be a lower-tier, value-oriented drive, so real-world performance may be similar in basic throughput but could be worse under sustained or heavy write workloads due to lower endurance and possible QLC behavior.

Answered

Question #3

If the 990 uses QLC NAND, how will its TBW and warranty compare to existing Samsung EVO and PRO drives?

The article says Samsung reportedly lists the 2TB 990 at 800 TBW with a 3-year warranty and the 1TB at 400 TBW with a 3-year warranty. Those endurance and warranty figures are "well under" the 990 PRO's territory, and the article speculates that if the 990 uses QLC NAND this lower TBW and 3-year warranty would position it below existing EVO and PRO drives as a budget, lower-endurance option.

Answered

Question #4

Are there reported differences in random IOPS between the 990 and the 990 EVO Plus for workloads like gaming and content creation?

Yes. The primary article reports the 990's random IOPS top out around 850K read and 1,200K write on the 2TB model and says those numbers "look close to what the 990 EVO Plus already offers," implying no substantial difference for workloads like gaming and content creation.

Answered

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Samsung has not confirmed pricing or a release date. If this does land as a QLC, DRAMless drive, it would give Samsung a proper budget tier below the EVO Plus and PRO lines, something the company has arguably been missing while SSD prices climb across the board.