This is certainly an interesting approach to take with the blazing-fast architecture of PCIe 5.0, and it seriously bucks the trends we’ve seen so far.
For reference, an everyday Gen 4 NVMe drive, like one of the best PS5 SSDs for example, is capable of read speeds of up to 7,400MB/s. Gen 5’s heavily boasted speeds are over the 1GB/s mark, so fairly ridiculous. The new 990 EVO is much more subdued, however, with quoted read speeds of 5,000MB/s regardless of whether you grab it in 1TB or 2TB shape.
Before that sparks a fit of gamer rage at Samsung, I’ll add that this isn’t a drive that’s trying to target the uppermost echelon of gaming PCs. This is Samsung’s EVO range, which offers slightly more reserved speeds, authentic homecooked architecture, but more reasonable prices. Indeed, if you compare speeds directly, the 980 PRO and 990 Pro drives are both faster than this new EVO option, but if you try to get hold of either, you’re still looking at upwards of $80 for 1TB worth of 2-year-old architecture. I haven’t been given US prices for the new 990 EVO, but in the UK, it’ll set you back £100.99 for 1TB and £169.99 for the 2TB model.
For a drive that’s somewhere in between a Gen 4 and Gen 5 SSD, its price does reflect that somewhat. To be completely honest with you though, this could offer up some serious value when it comes to futureproofing.
