Samsung launches power-efficient 990 SSD for mainstream PCs

Samsung has launched a new mainstream solid-state drive, the 990 SSD, positioning it as a power-efficient option for everyday computing and gaming. The drive became available globally on July 14, 2026, with manufacturer's suggested retail prices of $269.99 for the 1TB model and $529.99 for the 2TB model.

The new drive is a PCIe Gen 4 NVMe model designed to offer a balance of performance and energy efficiency. Samsung states it delivers sequential read speeds of up to 7,250 MB/s and write speeds of up to 6,450 MB/s, with random read and write speeds of up to 850,000 and 1.2 million IOPS. The company emphasizes that the 990 SSD is its most power-efficient drive to date, claiming up to a 38% improvement in performance per watt compared to its flagship 990 Pro model.

This efficiency is achieved in part by the drive's DRAMless controller design, which utilizes host memory buffer technology to leverage a computer's main system memory for caching instead of including dedicated onboard DRAM. This approach helps reduce power consumption and manufacturing costs. The drive is built on an M.2 2280 form factor and includes Samsung's V-NAND flash memory.

The launch occurs during a period of...