Since my review of the 9100 PRO series, Samsung’s first 4-lane PCIe Gen 5 SSD and currently one of the fastest on the market, folks have been asking when the Samsung 9100 PRO 8TB version would be available and its cost. I have the answer now.
The electronic giant today announced that this top-capacity version of the flagship NVMe SSD will cost $999.99, with the heatsink variant that goes for $20 more ($1019.99).
Maybe it’s time you decided on that loan.
Samsung 9100 PRO 8TB: The same performance but a bit hotter
Despite the massive amount of storage space, doubling that of the 4TB version, the 9TB Samsung 9100 PRO is designed to deliver the same performance. Its endurance rating also remains the same, meaning it will have double the life expectancy, too. Specifically, you can write up to 4800TB to it before it becomes unreliable.
The table below shows Samsung’s latest hardware specs for the entire 9100 PRO series, including its estimated power usage.
Samsung 9100 PRO series: Hardware specifications
| 8TB | 4TB | 2TB | 1TB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 5.0×4 | |||
| NVMe Version | NVMe 2.x | |||
| Older PCIe Backward-Compatible | Yes | |||
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 M.2 2280 with heatsink |
|||
| Storage Memory | Samsung V NAND TLC (V8) | |||
| Controller | Samsung In-house Controller | |||
| DRAM (LPD DDR4) | 1GB per TB | |||
| Sequential Read Speed (up to) |
14,800 MB/s | 14,700 MB/s | ||
| Sequential Write Speed (up to) |
13,400 MB/s | 13,300 MB/s | ||
| Random Read Speed (QD32) (up to) |
2,200 IOPS | 1,850K IOPS | ||
| Random Write Speed (QD32) (up to) |
2,600K IOPS | |||
| Management Software | Samsung Magician 8 | |||
| Data Encryption | Class 0 (AES 256), TCG/Opal v2.0, MS eDrive (IEEE1667) | |||
| Endurance (terabytes written) |
600 TBW per 1TB | |||
| Power Usage (during operation) |
Read: 10.5W Write: 8.8W |
Read: 9W Write: 8.2W |
Read: 8.1W Write: 7.9W |
Read: 7.6W Write: 7.2W |
| Warranty | 5-year | |||
| US Launch Price (add $20 for the heatsink version — check street prices) |
$999.99 | $549.99 | $299.99 | $199.99 |
Samsung 9100 PRO 8TB: Likely the same experience, but more
In my previous experience with the lower-capacity version, the Samsung 9100 PRO was a formidable PCIe Gen 5×4 drive, being one of the fastest on the market.
What’s more, it produced a comparably reasonable level of heat, making it a good match for mobile applications, such as a laptop. The 8TB version is slated to be slightly hotter, though not by much. Still, the heatsink version is generally a better bet for those with high-demanding tasks, such as gaming.
That said, you can expect this 8TB version to deliver a similar experience. The only difference is that it’ll take much longer to run out of storage space, which is always a good thing.
Pros
Fast and reliable PCIe Gen 5×4 performance
Helpful Samsung Magician software with lots of useful settings and features
Run cool, 5-year warranty, up to 8TB of storage space, heatsink option
Availabilty
The 8TB Samsung 91000 PRO is available for pre-order now. Do that today and you’ll be among the first to have it in your hands later this month.
Overall, the Samsung 91000 PRO is a safe drive to bring home. It’s generally only a question of whether you can afford it. For more NVMe options, check out the current top five drives below.