Samsung 990 Pro vs Crucial T500: Which One to Choose?

Both the Samsung 990 Pro and Crucial T500 are very popular Gen 4.0 NVMe drives. Crucial T500 is a little cheaper even though it has similar sequential numbers. So, people get really confused between the two. But, in this article, I am going to clear all your confusion with this detailed comparison of the T500 and the 990 Pro.

The 990 Pro comes in three variants: 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, while the T500 offers 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4 TB. The 500GB version of the T500, which is rare in high-speed drives, is a good pick for people with limited storage space. Both come with the same DRAM configuration, i.e., LPDDR4, but clocked at different frequencies. The 990 Pro has faster DRAM.

The Samsung 990 Pro was previously released with the 176-layer TLC V7 V-NAND. But later, the V8 V-NAND version with 236 layers was launched and continues to this day. The T500 comes with Micron’s B58R FortisFlash TLC with 232 layers. The Pascal controller in the 990 Pro has 8 channels and is much more potent than the T500’s Phison E25. All in all, the Samsung 990 Pro is equipped with much better components and this results in a better performance as well.

In terms of brand recognition and product quality, both SSDs are well recognized in the industry. However, there are reasons to go for any of these in different scenarios. Let’s uncover all of them in this detailed comparison.

Theoretical Specifications

The Crucial T500 and Samsung 990 Pro are both high-end PCIe Gen 4 SSDs from 2023, but the T500 delivers slightly higher performance across most metrics. Its sequential reads and writes are somewhat faster, with the 2TB model hitting 7,400 MB/s read and 7,000 MB/s write, compared to the 990 Pro’s 7,250 MB/s read and 6,300 MB/s write.

Random read performance swings depending on capacity: the 990 Pro edges out at 2TB (1,350K vs 1,180K IOPS), but the T500 punches back with stronger random writes, peaking at 1,440K IOPS.

The T500’s Micron B58R FortisFlash gives it a slight edge in sustained workloads, while the 990 Pro’s V8 V-NAND keeps latency and efficiency tight. Overall, the Crucial T500 is the faster choice for users chasing peak Gen 4 performance, while the 990 Pro remains the steadier, more power-efficient all-rounder.

Benchmark Scores Comparison

Let’s compare the benchmark scores of both drives and see which one gives you the best results in different use cases. All the benchmark scores are for the 2TB variants of both drives.

PCMark 10 Storage Benchmark

PCMark 10 Full Storage Benchmark runs the drive through real-world environments and provides curated results for PCMark 10 score, bandwidth, and latency. The benchmark tasks include browsing, video editing, and office work. Let’s compare the performance offered by the 990 Pro and the T500 in this test.

In the PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark, the Crucial T500 edges out the Samsung 990 Pro, but only slightly. Its overall score of 4,781 vs 4,651 gives it about a 3% lead, and latency is marginally better at 35 µs vs 36 µs. Bandwidth is also in favour of T500. Overall, the Crucial T500 has a slight advantage in system-level efficiency, making it a touch better for everyday mixed workloads, but the difference in scores isn’t significant. You would hardly feel any difference in the performance between the two.

3DMark Storage Test for Gamers

This test is all about testing your SSD in gaming environments. This includes game loading, saving, installation, recording, and streaming scenarios. A better score in the 3DMark test means a drive would be able to work effectively in your gaming computer, improving the overall performance. Let’s compare how these drives perform in this test.

In the 3DMark Storage Benchmark, the Crucial T500 pulls ahead of the Samsung 990 Pro by a modest margin. It scores 5,068 vs 4,816, around a 5% improvement, showing slightly better overall gaming and storage performance. Bandwidth is also higher on the T500: 882 MB/s vs. the 990 Pro’s 818 MB/s. The difference isn’t huge, but it’s enough to say the T500 handles demanding, high-speed storage tasks a bit more efficiently. For real-world gaming and file handling, both drives perform very closely, though the T500 edges out the other in sustained performance.

PlayStation 5 Testing

In PS5 testing, the Samsung 990 Pro clearly comes out on top. It transfers games to the SSD at 2,495 MB/s vs 2,378 MB/s for the Crucial T500. The gap widens in the PS5’s internal SSD read test, where the 990 Pro hits 6,558 MB/s, compared to the T500’s 5,538 MB/s. This shows Samsung’s drive is better optimized for the PS5’s storage controller and game streaming behavior.

CDM Sequential Scores

For the peak sequential test, we used a 1 MB block size at queue depths of 1 and 8.

In CrystalDiskMark sequential performance, the Samsung 990 Pro and Crucial T500 are neck and neck. The 990 Pro is a bit faster in QD8 read and write, hitting 7,153 MB/s and 6,820 MB/s versus the T500’s 7,120 MB/s and 6,695 MB/s. However, the T500 pulls ahead in low-queue-depth reads, scoring 5,809 MB/s vs 4,637 MB/s, while QD1 writes are virtually identical at around 5.8 GB/s each. In simple terms, the 990 Pro delivers slightly better peak throughput, but the T500 feels snappier in lighter, everyday workloads where lower queue depths dominate.

CDM Random Scores

In 4KB random performance, the Samsung 990 Pro takes a slight edge in most areas, but the Crucial T500 puts up a strong fight. At QD1, the 990 Pro’s read speed of 25,133 IOPS is about 3% higher than the T500’s 24,314, though the T500 flips the table in writes, delivering 93,085 IOPS vs 74,645, roughly a 25% advantage. When queue depth ramps up to QD256, the 990 Pro regains control with 1,400,151 read IOPS (about 18% faster) and a small 1% lead in writes (1,519,858 vs 1,503,314).

So, if we conclude these results, in sequential performance, the T500 performed a little better, but in random peak performance, the 990 Pro wins the game.

Transfer Rate Benchmark test

In real-world transfer tests, the Crucial T500 takes a comfortable lead. It copies a 50GB file at 2,283 MB/s, about 24% faster than the Samsung 990 Pro’s 1,842 MB/s, and also writes faster at 2,298 MB/s vs 1,905 MB/s. The only area where it falls slightly behind is the read test of a 6.5GB zip file, coming in 3% slower (3,881 vs 4,019 MB/s). Overall, the T500 moves large files more efficiently and feels quicker in real transfer scenarios, while the 990 Pro remains steady and consistent but a bit slower under heavy file copy loads.

Power Consumption

The Crucial T500 is a bit more performance-per-watt efficient, delivering 517 MB/s per watt vs. 457 MB/s for the Samsung 990 Pro with about a 13% edge. Both drives draw an average of 4W, but the T500 peaks higher at 6W vs 5W, and its idle power is also a bit higher (936 mW vs 839 mW).

I would say Crucial has done a great job managing the power consumption so efficiently, thanks to its Phison PS5025-E25 controller as well. Although the controller is based on a 12nm process compared to the 990 Pro’s 8nm controller, the overall power efficiency is excellent from the T500. The maximum and average power consumption numbers are similar in both, so there isn’t much to discuss there.

Sustained Workload performance

In the sustained workload environment, when the SLC write cache expires, the T500 2TB averaged at 4066MB/s write speed at 1 MiB QD32. However, at the same parameters, the 990 Pro averaged at just 1400 MB/s. Although the brand didn’t mention the T500’s cache size, it was way ahead of the 990 Pro’s. In this test by TomsHardware, we can see that the T500 dropped to around 460MB/s after the write cache was exhausted, then it continued for some time and then came back at around 4GB/s after recovery. The 990 Pro performed a little better during the drop at around 1800 MB/s, but the recovery after that wasn’t that good, and the average was just around 1400 MB/s.

Technical Specifications Comparison

Both drives use LPDDR4 DRAM, though Samsung’s implementation is in-house and tightly integrated. The SLC cache setup is also very different. Samsung splits it between dynamic and static portions (up to 442 GB total on 4TB), while Crucial goes all-in on huge dynamic-only caches, reaching nearly 2TB on the 4TB model, ideal for sustained write bursts.

The NAND side slightly favors Samsung, with its 236-layer V8 V-NAND versus Micron’s 232-layer B58R FortisFlash, and faster read/program timings (40 µs/390 µs vs 61 µs/600 µs). Samsung also includes AES-256 encryption, while Crucial only supports TCG Opal. Overall, the 990 Pro’s architecture is faster and more refined for latency-sensitive workloads. At the same time, the T500 is tuned for capacity efficiency and aggressive caching, making it a better fit for users pushing long, sustained write sessions.

TBW, DWPD, MTBF, and Warranty

Both the SSDs have the same amount of TBW for the matching variants, i.e., 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. So, the DWPD will automatically be the same. The MTBF is higher in the T500, i.e., 2.0 million hours, compared to the 990 Pro’s 1.5 million hours. The warranty is the standard 5-Year limited.

Price

Impressively, the T500, a faster drive, is also available at a lower price than the 990 Pro. By the time I write this article, the 1TB T500 will be available for $91.99 on Amazon. The 1TB 990 Pro, on the other hand, is priced at 109.99$. The same goes for the 2TB variants. The 2TB T500 can be purchased for $132.99, while the 2TB 990 Pro is priced at $173.99.

So, you’ll always save a good amount of money with the T500. But the prices keep changing, and it is important to check them before you make your final purchase in different marketplaces.

Conclusion: Crucial T500 vs Samsung 990 Pro: Which one should you buy?

The Crucial T500 is better in terms of performance, price, and most other aspects when compared to the 990 Pro. So, it is surely a smart pick for most users. It is much more power-efficient, cooler, and backed by Micron.

But Samsung has its own brand value and a separate fan following. In fact, Samsung is known for its better customer support, product life, and quality. The benchmarks aren’t that far away, and in some benchmarks, like the peak sequential, raw file copying, and PS5 read/write tests, the Samsung 990 Pro performed better. If you are looking for an SSD specifically for the PS5, the Samsung 990 Pro is a better option.

However, as a budget-conscious buyer, I would pick the T500 over the 990 Pro. But, if I can spend more money and the brand is the main priority, I would go for Samsung anytime.

I hope this will help you make your decision!