Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD vs Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB

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

all judged against NVMe SSDs at a similar price

The Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB scores 7.8/10 overall, ahead of the Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD at 6.6/10.

The Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB leads on performance, efficiency and thermals and software.

They score the same on endurance and warranty.

The biggest difference is software, where the Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB scores 9/10 to the Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD's 5/10.

Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD

6.6/10verdict: good, not the best

The Lexar EQ790 is a PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 2280 drive for buyers who want a long warranty and high endurance ratings at the 2TB size. It suits desktop builds and homelab machines where airflow is decent or a heatsink is fitted. It is less suited to anyone who needs steady writes over very large transfers or a laptop with tight cooling.

Typically about £134.99 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

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Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB

7.8/10verdict: buy

The Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB is for buyers who want a 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe drive with a five-year warranty and a management tool that covers firmware updates and drive health. It suits desktop and workstation builds that already have a motherboard heatsink for the drive. It is a weaker fit for workloads that write huge volumes continuously or lean on sustained random I/O.

Typically about £279.99 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

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Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD	Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB
Performance	35%	6/10	7/10
Endurance	20%	8/10	8/10
Warranty	15%	9/10	9/10
Efficiency and thermals	15%	5/10	7/10
Software	15%	5/10	9/10
Overall		6.6/10	7.8/10

Specifications

Spec	Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD	Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB
Interface	PCIe Gen4x4	PCIe 4.0 x4 / 5.0 x2, NVMe 2.0
Sequential read	Up to 7000 MB/s (1TB)	Up to 7,250 MB/s
Sequential write	Up to 6000 MB/s (1TB, base page; the heatsink page and a press report give 5000 MB/s)	Up to 6,300 MB/s
Endurance (2TB)	600 TBW (1TB); 1200 TBW (2TB)	1,200 TBW
Form factor	M.2 2280, 80 x 22 x 2.45 mm (base model)	M.2 (2280)
Warranty	Five-year limited warranty	Five years or total bytes written (TBW), whichever comes first

Strengths and weaknesses

Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD

+ 1,200 TBW endurance rating at 2TB
+ Five-year limited warranty
+ Heatsink version available as a separate SKU
− Base model has no heatsink
− Throttling recorded once cache fills at 224 GB

Skip it if:

Buyers who move several hundred gigabytes in single transfers and need steady write speed.
Laptop owners with poor cooling who don't want a heatsink or can't fit one.
Anyone who needs published firmware tooling or an update history.

Read the full Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD review ›

Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB

+ 1,200 TBW rating with a five-year warranty
+ Samsung Magician handles firmware updates and drive health
+ Owners report cool, efficient running under load
− No heatsink included in the box
− DRAM-less design trails DRAM rivals in sustained random I/O
− Writes slow on very large transfers once cache is exhausted

Skip it if:

Buyers who need the best sustained random I/O and want a DRAM-equipped drive.
Anyone who wants a heatsink included and has no motherboard heatsink for the drive.
Users who regularly run very large continuous write jobs.

Read the full Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB review ›

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