Samsung 990 EVO Plus vs Crucial T500: Which One Should You Choose?

If you are confused between the Samsung 990 EVO Plus and the Crucial T500, I’ll clear everything up for you. Let’s start with Samsung first. Samsung’s 990 EVO Plus positions itself as a highly optimized, DRAM-less Gen4 NVMe drive that relies on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) to substitute for onboard DRAM. It can utilize two PCIe interfaces, i.e., Gen 5.0 (two lanes) and Gen 4.0 (4 lanes). So, we can call it a half-Gen 5.0 NVMe, but a full Gen 4.0 SSD.

Samsung advertises sequential reads of up to ~7,250 MB/s and writes of up to ~6,300 MB/s, utilizing Samsung’s in-house Piccolo-class controller paired with Samsung’s V8 V-NAND. The DRAM-less architecture improves BOM cost and peak energy efficiency. But it negatively impacts latency and throughput behavior compared with DRAM-equipped designs. The impacts can be observed more significantly under high queue-depth random workloads and long, sustained writes, where the SLC cache is fully utilized.

Crucial’s T500, on the other hand, is a DRAM-equipped PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD designed to deliver consistently high sustained performance and stronger queue-depth/random IOPS behavior. The brand advertises sequential read speeds of up to ~7,300 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to ~6,800 MB/s (depending on capacity). We will compare the random numbers below. The T500’s design and development center around a purpose-built controller and on-device DRAM with an aggressive SLC caching algorithm. In comparison to the Samsung, it delivers lower latency at low queue depths and steadier sustained write throughput.

There are various other topics to discuss and compare, which we will cover in this article. So, let’s get started.

Theoretical Specifications

The performance difference is undoubtedly there, and the T500 is definitely on the winning side. The B58R NAND flash in the T500 is thoroughly tested and proven. However, the V8 V-NAND is known for its superior raw throughput. It is the DRAM that makes the difference both in performance and price. So, if you are ready to compromise, the 990 EVO Plus will save you a significant amount of money.

Benchmark Scores Comparison

All the benchmark scores are for the 2TB variants of the SSDs.

PCMark 10 Full Drive Benchmark

In PCMark 10 real-world tests, the Crucial T500 slightly outperforms the Samsung 990 EVO Plus, scoring 4781 versus 4514. This calculates to a difference of about 6%. The same applies to bandwidth, with 763 MB/s compared to 719 MB/s, representing a ~6% increase. The latency in the Crucial T500 is slightly higher (37 µs vs 35 µs, ~5.7% slower). This indicates that for everyday tasks such as app launches, file transfers, and multitasking, the T500’s DRAM-assisted design provides it with a slight edge in responsiveness, even though the 990 EVO Plus has lower latency.

3DMark Storage Test for Gamers

The Crucial T500 again edges out the Samsung 990 EVO Plus, scoring 5,068 vs 4,753, roughly a 6.6% advantage, with ~7.8% higher bandwidth but slightly higher latency (~5.6% slower). In real-world terms, this means the T500 handles large, game-like file workloads a bit more efficiently, such as game installations, level streaming, or asset-heavy applications. The Samsung 990 EVO Plus’s lower latency offers marginally faster access for small, random file operations, but the difference is minor.

CrystalDiskMark Sequential Read/Write Performance

The Crucial T500 clearly leads in QD1 sequential read (+36.8%) and write (+9%), demonstrating a substantial advantage in single-queue, large-block transfers, which simulate tasks such as loading huge files or installing games. At QD8, the read speeds are almost identical, but the T500 still maintains a ~13% lead in write throughput, making it slightly better for heavy sequential writes, like copying large media libraries. In real-world usage, this means the T500 will generally feel snappier for big-file operations, while the 990 EVO Plus still performs very well for high-queue workloads. Still, the T500’s DRAM and controller optimizations give it an edge in these large sequential tasks.

CrystalDiskMark Random Read/Write Performance

The Crucial T500 outperforms the Samsung 990 EVO Plus across the board. It is about 4.7% faster in low-queue read, 10% faster in low-queue write, 16.4% faster in high-queue read, and 18.3% faster in high-queue write. That’s not a subtle difference—it shows the T500 handles random I/O more efficiently, especially when heavily loaded or multitasking.

The T500 will feel slightly quicker booting Windows, opening apps, or swapping between heavy workloads. The 990 EVO Plus still performs great, but the T500’s combination of DRAM and a more optimized controller clearly gives it an advantage in real-world responsiveness.

Transfer Rate Benchmark

The Crucial T500 outperforms the Samsung 990 EVO Plus in the copy test, moving a 50GB folder approximately 48% faster at 2283 MB/s compared to 1541 MB/s. Copying or moving massive project folders, game installs, or extensive media archives will simply feel snappier. Write speeds are effectively identical, so sustained writes won’t differ in practice. The 990 EVO Plus slightly edges out the T500 in the read test (by about 2.6%), meaning it’s a hair quicker when unpacking or loading a big compressed file, though you’d never notice the difference outside of benchmarks.

Power Consumption and Efficiency

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus outperforms its competitors in terms of power efficiency, boasting approximately 1.3% more efficiency per watt during large transfers and drawing 25% less power on average under load. Its maximum power consumption is also notably lower (4.5 W vs 6.0 W), which helps it run cooler and more consistently under sustained stress. The Crucial T500, however, has a slight edge at idle, consuming about 14% less power when sitting still, which is beneficial for laptops that spend a lot of time idle or in light use.

In the real world, this means the 990 EVO Plus is the more power-efficient and thermally stable drive during heavy workloads.

TBW, DWPD, MTBF, and Warranty

TBW, Warranty period, and DWPD are the same in both drives. However, the T500 offers you a higher Mean Time Between Failure, which is a good sign indicating better reliability under loads.

Tech Specs

Samsung’s 5 nm chip is more power-efficient and thermally stable, while Phison’s E25 is older but extremely mature and well-tuned for performance. The T500 consumes more power but achieves higher throughput, especially under sustained load. DRAM in the Crucial T500 is undoubtedly a significant advantage, helping it in random write operations, multitasking, and latency under heavy workloads.

The big architectural difference is DRAM. The 990 EVO Plus is DRAM-less, relying on Host Memory Buffer (HMB), while the T500 uses dedicated LPDDR4 DRAM, which helps it maintain stronger consistency under heavy workloads. The T500 also boasts a larger dynamic SLC cache and Micron’s B58R FortisFlash, enabling longer sustained write bursts than Samsung’s V8 NAND setup. In short, the T500 is built for sustained throughput and workstation use, whereas the 990 EVO Plus focuses on efficiency, lower thermals, and lighter everyday workloads

Price

Which One to Pick: Samsung 990 EVO Plus or Crucial T500?

In terms of performance, the Crucial T500 is definitely a better pick. In fact, it is mostly at the top when we look at the entire Gen 4.0 catalog. It will surely optimize your Gen 4.0-based system’s performance to its peak. The DRAM, along with a bigger write cache, will help in most tasks, including gaming and content creation. Although it will consume more power and get hot, it has a heatsink variant to compensate as well. However, you will have to pay a slightly higher price for it. By the time I am writing this article, the 1TB T500 is selling for $99.99. However, the 1TB 990 EVO Plus is available for $69.99, which is around 20 bucks cheaper.

With that said, let’s come to the first advantage of the 990 EVO Plus. It is that it offers a better price-per-GB. The performance is acceptable and can be a good upgrade for your laptop or desktop. Most users will hardly see any difference in the performance under normal usage. Samsung has focused on the low-end and mid-range systems and users seeking decent performance at a lower price tag. However, there are many cheaper drives than these with similar or even better specifications. All in all, the Samsung 990 EVO Plus will save you some money compared to the T500. There are no other serious advantages besides a lower power consumption and cooler operation.