WD_BLACK SN850X vs Samsung 990 PRO
The short answer
Buy the WD_BLACK SN850X: the two score the same among NVMe SSDs (100/100) and it costs about 17% less, up to 21% at 4TB. Paying more for the Samsung 990 PRO buys nothing you can measure.
- WD_BLACK SN850X is cheaper at 3 of the 3 shared sizes: 11% at 1TB ($210.99 against $235.99), 19% at 2TB ($312.42 against $386.00) and 21% at 4TB ($665.95 against $839.95).
- On the specs that decide a drive they are near twins: both carry their own DRAM cache, both use TLC memory, both are PCIe 4.0 drives, both are rated for 1,200 TBW at 2TB and both carry a 5-year warranty.
- Their rated reads are within 2% of each other, 7,300 MB/s against 7,450, which is a gap no game will show you.
- Buy the WD_BLACK SN850X, best value at 4TB where it saves $174.00. Choose the Samsung 990 PRO only if it is cheaper on the day you buy.
Capacity by capacity
The sizes both lines are sold in, with today’s lowest price we can show for each.
Specifications
At 2TB, the most comparable size, unless the row is line-wide.
Keep going
Every capacity, offer and price history is on the WD_BLACK SN850X and Samsung 990 PRO pages. Compare either with any other drive on the storage comparison hub, or browse NVMe SSDs.
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