The world's favorite SSD is $100 off before Black Friday, giving me 2TB of space for the monstrous installations of AAA games

News
By
published

Samsung's 990 PRO hits up to 7,450MB/s sequential read speeds for ultra-fast boot times in Windows or even faster game loading.

Samsung 990 PRO solid-state drive held in front of Windows Central deals page
Samsung's 990 PRO is the best PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD you can buy and is part of my own custom PC test bench. (Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)

If you're tight on storage in your desktop PC, chances are you could upgrade to the world's most popular solid-state drive, Samsung's 990 PRO, down to only $149.99 at Newegg.com with price-matching offers at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Buy through Newegg, and you'll enjoy an extended return period of January 31, 2025, or a 30-day standard affair with Amazon. Either way, check your motherboard documentation first to ensure PCI 4.0 (Gen 4) storage compatibility with M.2-2280 drives or install it into a PlayStation 5 for an extended games library.

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB Was: $249.99 Now: $149.99 at Newegg.com
Best PCI 4.0 SSD

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB
Was: $249.99
Now: $149.99 at Newegg.com

"With the release of the 990 Pro, Samsung took the best features from its 980 Pro SSD, beloved by scores of gamers, and made them better. The result is the world's fastest PCIe Gen 4 drive with solid thermal management and plenty of storage configurations that will satiate the demand of hard-core gamers, data scientists, video and 3D artists, and creative professionals." — Chuong Nguyen

Windows Central review ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

✅Perfect for: Upgrading a primary drive for ultra-fast Windows 11 boot times or as a secondary games library.

❌Avoid if: Your motherboard doesn't support PCIe 4.0 storage — check the manual/documentation first.

Form factor: M.2-2280. Speed: Up to 7,450MB/s sequential read speeds and 6,00MB/s write speeds. Interface: PCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0 Warranty: Limited 5 year or 1200 TBW (TeraBytes Written) Launch date: October, 2022

👉See at: Newegg.com

Return period: Extended to January 2025. Price match? ❌ Free shipping: ☑️ Membership: Not required for discount.

💰Price check: $149.99 at Amazon | $149.99 at Best Buy | $149.99 at Walmart

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB comes in an oversized box, but at least it's well-protected. (Image credit: Chuong Nguyen)

I've used plenty of M.2-2280 variants when building custom PCs with solid-state drives, and it's still the best option with faster speeds than more traditional 2.5-inch variants connected via SATA cables. Sure, you need to be positive that your motherboard supports PCI 4.0 (Gen 4) to use Samsung's world-class 990 PRO and access the 2TB of space, but it's relatively commonplace these days since PCI 5.0 (Gen 5) is steadily rolling out.

Why you should trust me
Ben Wilson
Why you should trust me
Ben Wilson

I've used every form of storage in custom-built desktop PCs since the days of mechanical IDE hard drives that clicked and whirred until eventually replaced by modern solid-state luxuries like this M.2-2280 from Samsung.

It's also a versatile drive, compatible with Sony's PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro (via Android Central), with no extra effort than it takes to upgrade a PC. All you need for either is a screwdriver and, sometimes, extra attention to remove pre-applied heatsink stickers that can help cool the SSD under constant operation. Upgrading an M.2 drive is honestly one of the most straightforward DIY jobs you'll encounter with desktop PCs, alongside installing or replacing memory modules (RAM.)

Don't be intimidated — it's a super simple process and no more complicated than plugging an old-school game cartridge into a retro console, except you do it at a slight angle and then screw the thing down. Not sure about the drive itself? Check out our full Samsung 990 Pro review from when this SSD launched back in October 2022, and rest assured that I still rely on a 1TB variant to this day while I'm custom-building gaming desktop and testing parts.

🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃

Ben Wilson
Ben Wilson
Senior Editor

Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.