The Samsung 9100 Pro has rendered your existing SSD outdated.

      Samsung has introduced its quickest consumer SSD to date, the 9100 Pro. This drive features some of the fastest PCIe Gen 5.0 transfer speeds, making it ideal for power users, gamers, and professionals requiring high-speed storage for intensive tasks. The company claims that the 9100 Pro achieves sequential read speeds of up to 14,800MB/s and sequential write speeds of 13,400MB/s, nearly doubling the performance of its predecessor, the 990 Pro. This positions it as the fastest PCIe Gen 5 consumer SSD currently available, with the only competitor being the Crucial T705, which provides read and write speeds of up to 14,500MB/s and 12,700MB/s, respectively.

      **Samsung 9100 Pro / 9100 Pro with heatsink**

      **Interface:**

      PCIe 5.0 x4, NVMe 2.0

      **Form Factor:**

      M.2 (2280) / M.2 (2280 with heatsink)

      **Hardware:**

      **NAND:**

      Samsung V NAND TLC (V8)

      **Controller:**

      In-house controller

      **Cache Memory:**

      1GB LPDDR4X

      2GB LPDDR4X

      4GB LPDDR4X

      8GB LPDDR4X

      **Performance:**

      **Seq. Read/Write (MB/s):**

      14,700 / 13,300

      14,700 / 13,400

      14,800 / 13,400

      14,800 / 13,400

      **Ran. Read/Write (IOPS, QD32):**

      1,850K / 2,600K

      1,850K / 2,600K

      2,200K / 2,600K

      2,200K / 2,600K

      **Power:**

      **Active (Read/Write):**

      7.6W / 7.2W

      8.1W / 7.9W

      9.0W / 8.2W

      TBD

      **Device Sleep (L1.2):**

      4.0mW / 3.3mW

      4.8mW / 4.0mW

      6.5mW / 5.7mW

      TBD

      **Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0:**

      114GB

      226GB

      442GB

      TBD

      **Data Encryption:**

      Class 0 (AES 256), TCG/Opal v2.0, MS eDrive (IEEE1667)

      **Total Bytes Written (TBW):**

      600

      1,200

      2,400

      4,800

      **Warranty:**

      Five years

      The 9100 PRO SSD is set to launch next month, starting at $200 for the base 1TB model. Samsung will also provide larger capacities, including 2TB ($300) and 4TB ($550), with an 8TB model expected to arrive in the second half of 2025. Beyond just raw speed, Samsung emphasizes that the 9100 Pro incorporates an "advanced heat management system," essentially a heatsink, as PCIe 5.0 SSDs tend to generate considerable heat. The 1TB to 4TB models are equipped with an 8.8mm-thick heatsink, while the 8TB version boasts a larger 11.25mm heatsink. Including the optional heatsink adds $20 to the price of the 9100 Pro, which is reasonable.

      Despite the remarkable speeds, the adoption of PCIe Gen 5 SSDs remains limited. PCIe Gen 4 and even Gen 3 drives provide adequate and reliable performance for most everyday applications, including high-resolution gaming. Moreover, not all motherboards support PCIe Gen 5 M.2 SSDs; compatibility is primarily restricted to newer Intel and AMD platforms.

      Kunal Khullar is a computing writer for Digital Trends, contributing to various areas such as CPUs, GPUs, monitors, and more.

      **Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra vs. MacBook Pro 16-inch**

      Apple's MacBook Pro 16 has emerged as one of the top laptops available in the 16-inch category. It boasts exceptional build quality, sleek design, impressive speed and efficiency, along with the best keyboard and touchpad on any laptop today. It's a challenging device to rival, especially considering its high price.

      Nevertheless, Samsung has released the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, which is equipped with swift Intel and Nvidia components, aiming to provide a competitive yet lighter 16-inch option. While the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra looks promising on paper, can it stand up against the MacBook Pro 16?

      **The Samsung 990 Pro SSD is tailored for PS5 and DirectStorage**

      Much of the current discussion regarding SSDs centers around the