Samsung 990 Pro 2TB Review

1. Introduction2. Samsung 990 Pro 2TB3. Testing Methodology4. CrystalDiskMark 8.05. ATTO Disk Benchmark6. AS SSD7. 128KB Sequential Performance8. 4K Random Read v QD Performance9. 4K Random Write v QD Performance10. 4K 70/30 Mixed Performance11. 4K Random Performance QD1-QD812. Throughput13. PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark14. 3DMark Storage Benchmark 15. Performance Stability16. Drive Tempretures17. Real Life File Testing18. Closing Thoughts19. View All Pages

Samsung’s 990 Pro comes in a black box with a good clear image of the drive on the front. On the top left-hand side of the box, we find a sticker displaying the drive’s 2TB capacity. Also displayed is the drive's 7,450MB/s Sequential read speed. The rear of the box has a multilingual information panel giving the web address for more detailed warranty information. Under this is a reminder that the drive has a 5-year limited warranty.

The 2TB 990 Pro is built on a single-sided M.2 2280 format. The Product sticker on the rear of the drive has a built-in copper layer to help get rid of some of the heat generated by the drive when working.

Under the long Product label on the front of the drive sits Samsung's new Pascal controller along with two packages of Samsung’s 7th generation 176-layer 3-bit MLC (TLC) V-NAND (coded K9DVGY8JRD-DCK0) which uses 512Gb dies and a 2GB LPDDR4 cache IC.

Built on an 8nm Process, the Pascal controller takes over from the Elpis controller that powered the previous generation SSD 980 Pro. The controller has a nickel coating which together with the heat spreader label on the back of the drive and Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard Technology help with heat dissipation, keeping the 990 Pro at optimal temperatures during heavy usage.

Samsung’s SSD management utility goes by the name of Magician and can be downloaded from Samsung’s website. The latest v7.2 version brings support for the 990 Pro. Magician allows you to do most maintenance jobs you may need to do with an SSD and lists them under two headings; Drive Management and Data Management.

Drive Management Provides drive information, a performance benchmark, diagnostic scans, performance optimisation, Over Provisioning and Provides a page for the LED settings for the heatsink version of the drive

Data Management Provides tools for secure erase, PSID revert, data encryption (the drive supports AES 256-bit full-disk encryption, TCG/Opal V2.0, and Encrypted Drive -IEEE1667 (MS eDrive ) and data migration.

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