Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 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 Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD scores 7.9/10 overall, ahead of the Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB at 7.8/10.

The Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD leads on performance, endurance and efficiency and thermals.

The Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB leads on software.

They score the same on warranty.

The biggest difference is software, where the Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB scores 9/10 to the Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD's 5/10.

Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD

7.9/10verdict: buy

The Lexar NM790 suits people who want a fast PCIe Gen 4 2TB drive for a desktop, laptop or small homelab machine. It is aimed at buyers who value long rated endurance, a five-year warranty and low power draw. It is less well matched to anyone who regularly moves very large files and wants perfectly even speeds.

Typically about £129.99 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 NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD	Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB
Performance	35%	8/10	7/10
Endurance	20%	9/10	8/10
Warranty	15%	9/10	9/10
Efficiency and thermals	15%	8/10	7/10
Software	15%	5/10	9/10
Overall		7.9/10	7.8/10

Specifications

Spec	Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD	Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB
Interface	PCIe Gen4 x4, NVMe	PCIe 4.0 x4 / 5.0 x2, NVMe 2.0
Sequential read	up to 7400 MB/s	Up to 7,250 MB/s
Sequential write	up to 6500 MB/s	Up to 6,300 MB/s
Endurance (2TB)	1500 TBW (2TB)	1,200 TBW
Form factor	M.2 2280	M.2 (2280)
Warranty	five-year limited warranty	Five years or total bytes written (TBW), whichever comes first

Strengths and weaknesses

Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD

+ 1500 TBW rating at 2TB
+ Five-year limited warranty
+ Owners report low power draw and cool running
− HMB gives uneven large-file copy speeds, owners say
− Some owners report stutter in games

Skip it if:

Buyers who regularly copy very large files and need perfectly even speeds
Gamers sensitive to the stutter some owners report
Anyone who needs a published power draw figure in watts

Read the full Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 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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