Samsung 9100 Pro (4TB) review: The SSD king makes its comeback

Samsung Electronics’ ‘Pro’ line of NVMe SSDs remains one of our favourites, with the last two models – the 980 Pro (2020) and 990 Pro (2022) – excelling in our benchmarks. Despite its high price, the 990 Pro was arguably among the best SSDs from the PCIe 4.0 generation, even launched right as PCIe 5.0 was starting to emerge. Since then, competitors have quickly closed the gap, and PCIe 5.0 SSDs are now plentiful. Samsung’s latest 9100 Pro SSD, arriving in April, signals the company's determination to stay ahead.

To get right into it, the Samsung 9100 Pro is a PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 SSD that Samsung says is designed for not only gamers and enthusiasts, but also users who need faster access speeds for parallel data processing workloads – like professional creators who handle artificial intelligence (AI) based content. This SSD packs Samsung’s own controller that is paired with the latest 236-layer 3D TLC NAND, and the inclusion of 1GB DRAM per terabyte ensures efficient caching. Such technical specs may not mean much to the layman, but they do translate into tangible gains when pushing your PC to the limits.

One aspect that immediately stands out is the SSD's reduced power consumption. Samsung claims the 9100 Pro operates at roughly half the power requirements of the last-gen 990 Pro, which is pretty impressive. Although power efficiency might seem trivial in a desktop environment, it’s far from inconsequential. In laptops or small-form factor PC builds, lower power draw translates into cooler operating temperatures and extended battery life for laptops.

Capacity wise, the 9100 Pro will be available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB variants, with a gargantuan 8TB model set for release later this year. Like its predecessors, Samsung is still positioning the 9100 Pro as a premium SSD and the prices reflect as much, with the 1TB model going for S$259 ($268 with Heatsink) up to the 4TB retailing for S$749 ($759 with heatsink). If you’re planning to use this SSD for the PlayStation 5 console, then you’ll definitely have to opt for the models with a heatsink.

The SSD’s TBW (terrabytes that may be written) is par for the course, with the 1TB model rated for 600TB, the 2TB at 1,200TB and the 4TB coming in at 2,400TB. It’s neither particularly impressive nor inadequate – although it’s not uncommon to find 2TB SSDs rated at 1,400TB these days. So, at the price point Samsung is asking, it might have been prudent for them to offer slightly better longevity to better justify the premium. Nevertheless, the standard five-year warranty does provide adequate reassurance for most owners.

But let's talk performance. Samsung sent us the 4TB with heatsink model and as the first true PCIe 5.0 SSD (the hybrid Samsung 990 Evo Plus does not count) to land our in lab, I’m curious if the 9100 Pro lives up to its legacy.

On a synthetic benchmark like CrystalDiskMark, the Samsung 9100 Pro doesn't just perform – it absolutely impresses. Sequential read and write speeds are blisteringly fast at 14,745MB/s and 13,450MB/s respectively, comfortably surpassing its older PCIe 4.0 counterpart, the 990 Pro (2TB version), which scored 7,465MB/s and 6897MB/s in the same tests.

But to find out how it fares in real-world applications, we put the 9100 Pro to the test with 3DMark’s Storage Benchmark. It’s a great tool because it runs gaming simulations that are similar to running the actual game, and without the inconsistencies inherent to application testing (you can read more about it here). The benchmark runs and scores the following tasks:

• Loading Battlefield V from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Call of Duty Black Ops 4 from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Overwatch from launch to the main menu.
• Recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) while playing Overwatch.
• Installing The Outer Worlds from the Epic Games Launcher.
• Saving game progress in The Outer Worlds.
• Copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike Global Offensive from an external SSD to the system drive.

With a score of 6,801 versus the 990 Pro’s 4,789, the 9100 Pro certainly performed as expected against its direct predecessor. I can’t say definitively if the new Samsung SSD’s performance in this benchmark is better than similar-class SSDs from the competition until we test more PCIe 5.0 models, but it does look good.

From a gaming perspective, loading times and asset streaming benefit immensely from the raw sequential speed of the 9100 Pro. Games notorious for lengthy loading screens will noticeably improve, and open-world titles with streaming-intensive mechanics will likely experience fewer stutters or asset pop-ins. Nevertheless, these benefits might only be truly perceptible if you're upgrading from significantly older SSDs or standard HDDs.

Final thoughts

Considering the premium pricing, casual gamers or users not engaging in ultra-demanding tasks (like loading LLM aka large language models) might find equally satisfying alternatives in more affordable PCIe 4.0 or even lower-tier PCIe 5.0 SSDs. And for what it’s worth, the 990 Pro is still a great SSD and now’s probably a good time to start looking out for those price drops.

But credit has to be given where its due, and the 9100 Pro is an undeniable return to form for Samsung. Gamers and enthusiasts who insist on top-tier components will find much to admire, especially those equipped with PCIe 5.0-ready platforms capable of harnessing this performance. It’s a pretty formidable SSD when you take into account its power efficiency too.

The 1TB, 2TB and 4TB models of the 9100 PRO series will be available from 4 April 2025 via the Samsung Online Store, the Samsung Official Store on Lazada and Shopee as well as selected retail stores. The 8TB model will be available from June 2025.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.