Samsung has introduced the Samsung 990 SSD, a new PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive aimed at gamers, content creators and everyday PC users who want more storage without giving up speed. Available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, the Samsung 990 SSD combines high sequential throughput with a notably lower power draw than its predecessor, the 990 PRO.
Speed for Gaming and Content Creation
Built on PCIe 4.0 support and Samsung’s latest NAND technology, the 1TB Samsung 990 SSD reaches sequential read speeds of up to 7,150 megabytes per second (MB/s), while the 2TB model climbs to 7,250 MB/s. Sequential write speeds top out at 6,450 MB/s on both capacities, which Samsung says translates into faster file transfers and shorter load times for large programs and game libraries. Random performance is equally strong: the 2TB model delivers up to 850K IOPS for reads and 1,200K IOPS for writes, while the 1TB model reaches 700K and 1,100K IOPS respectively — figures that Samsung positions as delivering quicker program launches and more responsive in-game performance.
More Room for Big Libraries
“The new Samsung 990 SSD is perfect for users looking for more storage space, whether that’s simply for a large number of files, fully immersing themselves in gaming, creating high-resolution content, or building their own PC,” said Tommy (Hyoungsuk) Kwon, Vice President of the Memory Brand Product Biz Team at Samsung Electronics. With 2TB of capacity, the Samsung 990 SSD can hold roughly 30 large AAA titles averaging 64GB each, according to Samsung, giving both gamers and creators working with increasingly large files and programs meaningfully more headroom than earlier-generation drives.
A Notable Jump in Power Efficiency
Alongside the performance figures, Samsung highlights a significant efficiency gain: the Samsung 990 SSD is rated as up to 38% more power-efficient than the previous-generation 990 PRO. The drive also ships with Samsung Magician software, which handles performance optimization, firmware updates, data migration and ongoing drive-health monitoring from a single dashboard, alongside AES 256-bit full-disk encryption and TCG/Opal V2.0 support for users who need it. Samsung says the combination of the Samsung 990 SSD’s efficiency gains and its NVMe 2.0 controller is intended to keep thermals in check even under sustained transfer loads, without requiring a dedicated heatsink for most desktop builds.
The Samsung 990 SSD lands as PC builders and upgraders continue to chase faster storage to match increasingly demanding games and creative workloads, a trend also visible in Samsung’s broader 2026 lineup, including the 2026 Odyssey and ViewFinity monitors aimed at the same gaming and content-creation audience. Pairing a fast NVMe drive with a high-refresh display remains one of the simplest ways to remove bottlenecks from a gaming PC without a full system rebuild.
Pricing and availability
The Samsung 990 SSD becomes available on July 14, 2026, in 1TB and 2TB capacities, with suggested retail prices of €269.99 and €528.99 respectively; availability may vary by market. Full specifications are available at samsung.com.
Key specifications
- Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0
- Form factor: M.2 (2280)
- Capacities: 1TB, 2TB
- Sequential read/write: up to 7,250/6,450 MB/s (2TB); up to 7,150/6,450 MB/s (1TB)
- Random read/write (QD32): up to 850K/1,200K IOPS (2TB); up to 700K/1,100K IOPS (1TB)
- Endurance (TBW): 400TB (1TB) / 800TB (2TB)
- Warranty: 3 years limited
