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0 As technology begins to embrace the PCIe 5.0 platform, Samsung has unveiled its newest addition to the company’s lineup of consumer SSD products; the 9100 PRO PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD. Available in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB & 8TB versions, the promise is that it will deliver double the read and write speed of PCIe 4.0, in line with the generation leap. Whether you are into using AI for content creation, multitasking, or gaming, next-gen performance is here.
The first three of the bunch are being launched in April this year, while the whopping 8TB monster is set to be released in the second half of 2025.
Solid State Storage
Here at TC HQ, I was lucky enough to have hands-on experience with the 2TB version of the 9100 PRO PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2, including an integrated heatsink. For this review, I am using a PC with an Asus Tuf B650-e Gaming motherboard and an AMD Ryzen 7800X3D CPU. Just how does this next-generation stick of cleverness perform?
Design
As with all M.2 SSDs, the unit presents itself in the rectangular 2280 form factor shape that you have come to expect. The 1TB, 2TB & 4TB models each come with an integrated 8.8mmT heatsink in a subtle black colour while the 8TB version has an 11.25mmT heatsink. On first look, the SSD certainly has some chonk to it. Thankfully the 8.8mm height does not appear to be a cause of concern when it comes to clearances of other pieces of hardware that may sit over the top as it conforms to the PCI-SIG D8 industry standard. As for the 11.25mm version, I could not verify a standard it adheres to at the time of writing. However a typical PCIe socket on a motherboard, for a GPU for example, is around that height, so there shouldn’t really be any clashes.
Heat dissipation is needed to help prevent overheating and aid the high efficiency of the drive by keeping it cool. Electronics do not last long when they are hot and you can’t get the best results from them! While there is a big onus on the heatsink, Samsung will have variants with and without integrated heatsinks, allowing you to install the drive with your own one if required.
Brief science lesson
The data transfer for each PCIe generation always doubles the previous. Across the 4 lanes provided for an M.2 connection, it is noticeable. PCIe 3.0 delivers up to 4 GigaBytes per second, PCIe 4.0: 8 GB/s & PCIe 5.0 16GB/s. Would I see some seriously high read and write speeds?
Testing, testing, one, two
You may remember back in November last year that I wrote a review of Samsung’s 990 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 SSD. Although PCIe 4.0, it was one of the quickest SSDs out there. The maximum read/write speed that I managed at the time was 7090MB/s and 5825MB/s respectively. With the 9100 PRO secured in its PCIe 5.0 slot, I recorded a blistering 14613MB/s read speed and 13504MB/s write speed. The marketed values are up to 14800MB/s read and 13400MB/s write.
The speed of file transfer, game and app loading times was wildly noticeable. Instantly I had a huge grin across my face. I love technology. I love watching it evolve. Here I was with a device that did just that.
Interestingly the 9100 PRO has better power efficiency compared to the 990 PRO, with up to 49% of energy savings when the read and write speed is calculated against the power consumed that is needed to perform it. With energy usage being somewhat high on consumer’s lists due to the price of energy going up and down, it’s good to know where your 8.1 Watts of power is going 😉
Monies
With great power does come a great price. The 1TB, 2TB & 4TB Non-heatsink versions have a RRP of £150.09, £223.79 and £406.79 respectively. I would imagine the heatsink version is at least another £20-£30. It will be interesting to see how the prices compare in a year if/when more people move over to the newer generation.
Conclusion
The truth is out there. PCIe 5.0 is amazing and so is the Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD. The read and write speeds are phenomenal as are the energy efficiency characteristics.
While Samsung is correctly marketing the drive for professional photo and video editing, generating AI content and gaming. I am a little confused at why they have also mentioned using this drive in gaming consoles as they only currently have an M.2 PCIe 4.0 slot. Even the newer PlayStation Pro 5 has PCIe 4.0 when it comes to M.2 SSDs. It feels a bit strange to have paid for the latest tech, only to not be able to use it to its fullest potential? Maybe they know something we don’t know…
Marketing aside, the Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD is a seriously fast drive that unlocks the speeds you have always dreamed of on your PC. While the price is fairly high, hopefully, this will fall as PCIe 5.0 becomes more popular. I just wonder what else needs to come out for users of PCIe 4.0 to make that jump as it can be an expensive transition for some faster speed and performance.
I give the Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD the Thumb Culture Platinum Award!
Disclaimer: A sample was received in order to write this review.
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