Samsung has introduced a new mass-market line of high-speed NVMe drives for everyday tasks – Samsung SSD 990 EVO. The series includes 1TB and 2TB models that offer maximum read/write speeds of 5000/4200MB/s and peak performance of up to 700K/800K IOPS. These numbers are significantly higher than those of the popular previous generation Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus (PCI-E 3.0 x4), which can provide 3500/3300 MB/s transfers and 620K/650K IOPS.

Samsung introduces Samsung SSD 990 EVO series: first SSDs with hybrid PCI-E 4.0 x4 / PCI-E 5.0 x2 connectivity

The Samsung SSD 990 EVO uses a new 5-nm controller of Samsung’s own design, as well as 133-layer V6P TLC NAND flash memory chips. The Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology is used to cache the data table without an additional DRAM buffer chip. The drives have a single-sided layout and a metallized sticker for heat distribution.

Samsung SSD 990 EVO specs

An interesting feature of the Samsung SSD 990 EVO is its hybrid connection model. The SSD can use both four PCI-E 4.0 (x4) and two PCI-E 5.0 (x2) lines to connect to the system. At the same time, the performance and data transfer rate will remain unchanged.

The developers also claim significant improvements in energy efficiency – up to 70% compared to the Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus – which should improve the overall battery life of mobile systems. The new drives also support the Modern Standby mechanism for quick switching between operating and power-saving states.

Samsung introduces Samsung SSD 990 EVO series: first SSDs with hybrid PCI-E 4.0 x4 / PCI-E 5.0 x2 connectivity

The Samsung SSD 990 EVO supports AES-256, TCG/Opal V2.0 and Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667) hardware encryption. The Samsung Magician utility is available to manage and monitor the parameters. The drives are available now. The 1TB model has a recommended price of $125, while the 2TB version is priced at $210.