Samsung 9100 Pro Review

Specs

• Single-sided design for better thermals
• Some components borrowed from older drives for better stability
• Good capacity options

The 9100 Pro carries a similar look to its predecessor, with a black frame, complete with red lettering for the model designation on the sticker that sits over the NAND chips, which shows capacity and model information.

This is technically Samsung’s first ‘true’ PCIe 5.0 SSD, in the sense that its previous 990 Evo had the option to run at PCIe 5.0 x2, as opposed to the full x4 needed for the immense speeds this drive can provide.

Otherwise, the 9100 Pro is a standard-issue M.2 drive with the usual 2280 length to fit into full-size slots, with a compatible PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 motherboard slot getting the best out of it. It is also technically compatible with PS5, as long as you’re willing to sacrifice its speed and purchase an additional heatsink. Luckily, it is something that Samsung offers officially if you don’t want a third-party choice.

This drive does have a DRAM cache, and features 2GB of fast LPDDR4X memory for the 2TB capacity on offer here; the models scale with 1GB of cache per terabyte. Samsung also look to have borrowed some components from the older 990 Pro here with the same 236-layer TLC flash as on the 4TB 990 Pro model to allow for solid performance on higher capacity drives.

Samsung is also using its new Presto controller with the 9100 Pro, although that too has roots in their older models, being made on the same process as the Piccolo model controls in the 990 Evo and Evo Plus models.

This drive is also single-sided for better thermals under a heatsink in PCs and compatible handhelds. In terms of storage, the sample I have is a 2TB option, although it is also possible to get the SN8100 in either 1TB and 4TB models if you don’t need as much, or even more storage. Samsung also says there is an 8TB variant coming, if you’re a data hoarder with money to burn.

As for durability, it scales with capacity, with the base 1TB model coming wth a 600 TBW endurance rating, the 2TB with a 1200 TBW rating, and the larger 4TB with a 2400 TBW rating. That’s largely in line with other Gen 5 drives, including being identical to the WD Black SN8100.

Full Specs

Test Setup

Of course, for testing any quantity of PC components, SSDs included, I needed to make sure I had a solid PC to do so. Hence, I took the decision back in early 2024 to upgrade my ailing HP pre-built to a fully custom rig with a system that benefits from brisk gaming performance and excellent compatibility with modern and future hardware.

The full system specs can be found below:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
• Motherboard: NZXT N7 B650E
• GPU: Nvidia RTX 4080 Super Founder’s Edition
• RAM: 32GB (2x16GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL36
• Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
• PSU: 1200W NZXT C1200 80+ Gold ATX 3.0
• Case: NZXT H9 Flow

The long and short of the setup is that the WD SN8100 was placed in the top PCIe 5.0 x4 slot on my B650E motherboard, and then a range of real-world and synthetic tests were run. These included the classic CrystalDiskMark 8 with its Sequential speeds at a queue depth of 8 and 1, as well as its Random 4K performance at depths of Q32 and Q1. The Sequential tests are handy in proving the actual raw speed of the drive for fast file copies and access, while the Random 4K tests are more indicative of loading a game up.

For the usefulness of a quantifiable ranking, I’ve also included the Quick System Drive and Data Drive benchmarks from the PCMark 10 suite.

Performance

• Excellent sequential and random performance
• Fast file transfer and game load times
• PCMark10 results are off against some rivals

The 9100 Pro impressed across our suite of benchmarks, with some high-flying results that put it in contention as one of the fastest drives tested, especially in the CrystalDiskMark 8 test with its read and write speeds.

The top-line sequential speeds were impressive, and virtually matched or exceeded Samsung’s claimed figures. The 9100 Pro managed 14583.98 MB/s reads and 13482.92 MB/s writes, which sits well alongside Samsung’s claimed 14800MB/s reads and 13400MB/s writes. It also makes this drive nearly as quick as the WD Black SN8100, and faster than the Gigabyte Aorus Gen 5 12000 in this test.

The 9100 Pro also posted some competitive results in the Q1 tests, although its 4K performance is bettered by those rivals from SanDisk, Gigabyte, and the Seagate FireCuda 540.

Samsung’s option also provided a good performance in the Final Fantasy load time test with a result in the margin of error against options from SanDisk and Gigabyte that’s still brisk. With this in mind, its PCMark10 numbers are in the ballpark against the SN8100, although far behind Gigabyte and Seagate’s options.

The 120GB file copy test took just 34.41 seconds, putting it fractionally just behind the WD Black SN8100, although much quicker than both the FireCuda 540 and the Aorus Gen 5 12000. It works out to an average transfer rate of 3.5GB/s, which is not to be sniffed at.

Should you buy it?