Samsung SSD 990 leaks via official website

Samsung seems to be finalising the SSD 990, a new upcoming value-oriented M.2 NVMe Gen 4 SSD that recently surfaced briefly on the company’s Canadian website. Screenshots reveal details of the new drive, which slots underneath the existing 990 Evo Plus in Samsung's storage lineup.

The new entry-level drive spotted by VideoCardz uses a PCIe Gen 4 x4 interface, distinguishing it from the 990 Evo Plus, which features a hybrid Gen 4 x4 or Gen 5 x2 interface. According to the leaked specifications, the SSD 990 is a DRAMless design that relies on an updated in-house Samsung controller. The leak also indicates lower write endurance than the TLC-based 990 Evo Plus, suggesting the plain 990 uses QLC NAND flash.

Image credit: VideoCardz

Performance data from the product listings shows sequential transfer speeds reaching the upper limits of the PCIe Gen 4 era. The 2TB variant delivers sequential read speeds up to 7250MB/s, while the 1TB model scales back slightly to 7150MB/s. Both capacities are rated for sequential write speeds up to 6450MB/s. Endurance metrics are listed at 400TBW for the 1TB model and 800TBW for the 2TB model.

Unfortunately, availability is still unknown, but Canadian listings suggest the 1TB version would be around £180 (excluding VAT) and the 2TB model would be close to £350 (also excluding VAT).

KitGuru says: SSD prices are a mess at the moment, so we will have to wait and see how competitive this drive really ends up being. 

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