Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD vs Samsung 990 PRO 2TB

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against NVMe SSDs at a similar price

The Samsung 990 PRO 2TB scores 7.4/10 overall, ahead of the Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD at 5.9/10.

The Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD leads on efficiency and thermals.

The Samsung 990 PRO 2TB leads on performance and endurance.

They score the same on warranty and software.

The biggest difference is endurance, where the Samsung 990 PRO 2TB scores 8/10 to the Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD's 4/10.

Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

5.9/10verdict: good, not the best

The Kingston NV3 suits buyers who want a cool, low-power PCIe 4.0 M.2 drive for everyday use and light server or homelab duty. It is a budget-minded option with a five-year warranty and Kingston's SSD Manager tool. It is a weaker fit for anyone who writes large amounts of data or needs confirmed hardware details.

Typically about £130 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB

7.4/10verdict: buy

The Samsung 990 PRO 2TB is for people who want a fast PCIe 4.0 M.2 drive for a workstation, development machine or homelab host. It suits those who value responsiveness and a five-year warranty and who will pay a premium for them. Buyers should plan for cooling, because owners report it runs warm under sustained load.

Typically about £329 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD	Samsung 990 PRO 2TB
Performance	35%	5/10	8/10
Endurance	20%	4/10	8/10
Warranty	15%	9/10	9/10
Efficiency and thermals	15%	7/10	5/10
Software	15%	6/10	6/10
Overall		5.9/10	7.4/10

Specifications

Spec	Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD	Samsung 990 PRO 2TB
Interface	PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe	PCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0
Sequential read	6,000 MB/s (1TB model)	7,450 MB/s
Sequential write	4,000 MB/s (1TB model)	6,900 MB/s
Endurance (2TB)	320 TBW (1TB model)	1,200 TBW
Form factor	M.2 2280 (22x80mm, single-sided)	M.2 (2280)
Warranty	5 years limited warranty with free technical support	5 years limited

Strengths and weaknesses

Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

+ Owners praise low power draw and low heat
+ Five-year warranty with free technical support
+ Owners report good value for money
− 640 TBW at 2TB is modest for heavy writing
− No heatsink included

Skip it if:

Anyone running sustained heavy writes, such as build servers, logging or scratch disks.
Buyers who need confirmed NAND type and a DRAM cache.
Buyers who want a heatsink included with the drive.

Read the full Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD review ›

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB

+ Rated 7,450 MB/s sequential read and 1,550K random write IOPS
+ 1,200 TBW endurance at 2TB
+ Five-year limited warranty
− Runs warm under sustained load, per owner reports
− Heatsink version is a separate SKU that costs extra
− Owners report a price premium over competing drives

Skip it if:

Buyers choosing mainly on lowest price
Anyone with a poorly cooled slot who doesn't want to buy the heatsink version
Buyers who need published sustained-write or power-draw figures before committing

Read the full Samsung 990 PRO 2TB review ›

More comparisons

Compare all NVMe SSDs · Best NVMe SSDs