Samsung 990 EVO vs 990 EVO Plus: What is the Difference?

Samsung’s EVO and EVO Plus SSD series are focused on finding the best balance between price and performance. Some of the popular SSDs from these categories are the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, 870 EVO, and 970 EVO. The 990 EVO was launched in January 2024, while the 990 EVO Plus launched in September 2024. Now, in this series, Samsung has removed the DRAM cache from both drives.

Another new feature is that these drives come with two interfaces: PCIe Gen 5.0 x2 and PCIe Gen 4.0 x4. The bandwidth is the same, but this dual interface allows for wider compatibility with different motherboard ports.

The 990 EVO is available in just two capacities i.e. 1TB and 2TB while the 990 EVO Plus also has the 4TB variant. Regarding the NAND flash, the 990 EVO has the updated version of the V6 V-NAND called V6 Prime. However, the 990 EVO Plus has the very popular V8 V-NAND.

The same controller (Piccolo S4LY022) with the same configurations is utilized in both with the HMB (Host Memory Buffer) support. Most other features are the same except the performance. Also, there are some price differences as well. So, let’s compare both and see which one suits you the best.

Theoretical Specifications

As we discussed above, most of the features and specifications in both these SSDs are the same except for the NAND flash and the performance. Now, the difference in the random performance numbers is huge while the sequential numbers are also pretty good in the 990 EVO Plus.

Benchmark Scores Comparison

It is best to jump right into the benchmarks to clearly understand what we can expect from these SSDs. I would like to mention that I have collected and curated these benchmark scores from third-party websites like Toms Hardware, PCWorld, and TechPowerUp. However, I am fully responsible for the accuracy of the data. The links to the review pages are given at the end. All the benchmarks are of the 2TB variants of both drives.

PCMark 10 Full Storage Benchmark

PCMark 10 is a very popular trace-based performance benchmarking tool for storage devices. It simulates real-world scenarios to check a drive’s performance in the day-to-day tasks. There are two types of tests i.e. quick and full storage benchmark. We are comparing the full drive benchmark results which run a wide range of tasks and tests on the drive as the primary OS drive.

As expected, the 990 EVO Plus gave a PCMark 10 score higher than the 990 EVO by around 500 points. The bandwidth is higher as well along with the lower latency. So, you can say that the 990 EVO Plus is going to offer good day-to-day performance as well as in some specific tasks like content creation, file copying, OS loading, etc. Is this difference too significant? I would say no. The 990 EVO Plus still managed to give pretty competitive PCMark 10 scores if we look at its DRAM-Less design and price.

3DMark Storage Test for Gamers

This test is focused on checking the drive’s performance in different gaming scenarios. This includes loading, installing, saving, streaming, and recording games.

I am really impressed with the gaming performance that the 990 EVO is capable of offering. The difference is around 300 points in the actual score. The bandwidth is lower but still isn’t very low. I can say the 990 EVO Plus competes with some of the leading drives but the 990 EVO isn’t far behind in some specific tasks like gaming.

Transfer Rate – DiskBench

In the transfer rate test, the 990 EVO Plus is beating the 990 EVO by a pretty good margin. This could be due to the better raw sequential read/write performance. However, this type of big file movement isn’t very common and depicts a specific type of workload by a specific set of users like the content creators.

CrystalDiskMark Peak Sequential Scores

CrystalDiskMark Peak Random Scores

These are just the peak numbers and there isn’t much to talk about them. However, one thing you would notice is that the 990 EVO has higher sequential and random write scores. The V8 NAND flash in the 990 EVO Plus is surely faster but requires higher I/O to give its best. The flash inside the 990 EVO Plus has performance benefits in concurrency and overall bandwidth (good for higher queue depths), but it can be slower at small or single-queue-depth writes. This is the main reason why you get lesser performance in the writing tests. However, this isn’t something that you should be worried about because these are the peak numbers, and in real-world applications, you would see any performance drops in the 990 EVO Plus.

Sustained Write Performance

Both the drives showed us the same pseudo-SLC write cache performance. Also, the sustained write performance after the cache was exhausted was almost similar. The Samsung 990 EVO Plus averaged at around 1777 MB/s after cache exhaustion while the 990 EVO set at around 1776 MB/s.

Power Consumption

The Samsung 990 EVO offers a better MB/s per watt number. However, the average and maximum power consumption numbers are almost similar.

Technical Specifications

TBW, MTBF, DWPD, and Warranty

Know more about TBW, MTBF, and DWPD.

Price Difference

By the time, I am writing this article, the Samsung 990 EVO Plus is running on a discount which it generally does. So, the price for the 1TB variant of both drives is 74.99$. The 2TB variant of both is available for 129.99$. The 4TB 990 EVO Plus is available for 268$.

However, the 990 EVO Plus is expensive when not on discounts. The 1TB variant is sold for 109.99$ while the 2TB is sold for 184.99$. The 4TB 990 EVO Plus, without sale, can be purchased for 344.99. So, if you are lucky, you can get both at the same price. Otherwise, the 990 EVO Plus would be expensive.

Which one to choose: Samsung 990 EVO or 990 EVO Plus?

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus clearly has better performance and will serve you well for almost everything ranging from normal tasks to gaming to content creation. The NAND flash is faster, however, the endurance is same in the both. Now, if you get the 990 EVO Plus at a discount, you should go for it.

The 990 EVO, on the other hand, didn’t disappoint us with its performance. In fact, I would not mind saving 35$ on a 1TB variant and 20 bucks on the 2TB variants going for the 990 EVO and ditching the 990 EVO Plus.

So, it all comes down to the price because the performance difference isn’t very significant, as we say in the benchmark comparisons. So, if you can get your hands on the 990 EVO Plus for a similar price as the 990 EVO, you should definitely go for it. Otherwise, the 990 EVO Plus can give you competitive performance while saving a good amount of money, especially in the 1TB variant.

Also, I would recommend looking at other DRAM options like the Samsung 990 Pro or WD Black SN850X if you can spend a little more. I hope this helps!

Resources and Links:

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/samsung-990-evo-plus-ssd-review/2

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/samsung-990-evo-2tb-ssd-review

https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/samsung-ssd-990-evo