Head-to-head · Best SSDs for PS5 Upgrade

Lexar NM790 with Heatsink vs Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink comes out ahead by a clear margin (4.0 vs 4.5). The gap is mostly about PS5 owners who want the fastest, most power-efficient drive and don't mind paying a premium or slightly higher temperatures. — read the strengths below before deciding.

Ranked #4 in Best SSDs for PS5 Upgrade

Lexar NM790 with Heatsink

4.0

4 sources1 derived$209.99as of Aug 1

The Lexar NM790 with Heatsink is the value pick. It is often the cheapest high-end Gen4 drive, reads up to 7,400 MB/s (enough to fully saturate the PS5), and ships with a heatsink so it drops straight into a console. Tom's Hardware was pleasantly surprised that it rivals high-end PCIe 4.0 drives, and TechRadar calls it the best value PS5 SSD. The DRAM-less design trails DRAM drives under heavy sustained load. For the lowest price that still gives you full PS5 speed, this is the one.

Strengths

— Outstanding value, often the cheapest high-end Gen4 drive available
— Up to 7,400 MB/s reads, fully saturating the PS5's interface
— Bundled chunky heatsink adds PS5 compatibility out of the box

Watch-outs

— DRAM-less (HMB) design trails DRAM drives under heavy sustained load
— Lacks the brand support and extras of WD, Samsung, or Seagate
— Heatsink is bulky compared to low-profile designs

$209.99 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Higher ratedRanked #1 in Best SSDs for PS5 Upgrade

Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink

4.5

3 sourcesall derived$259.99as of Aug 1

The Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink is the fastest drive here on paper, with 7,450 MB/s reads and excellent power efficiency, and it has matured into an excellent all-around pick after early firmware issues were fixed. Tom's Hardware praises its low power draw and consistency. It runs hotter in the PS5 than the WD SN850X and costs a premium for similar real-world console results, which is why it lands second, but it is a superb, refined PS5 upgrade.

Strengths

— Class-leading 7,450 MB/s sequential reads, the fastest here on paper
— Excellent power efficiency, drawing under 6 watts under full load
— Mature, refined drive after firmware fixes and newer flash

Watch-outs

— Runs hotter in the PS5 than the WD SN850X (65-70C)
— Commands a 10-15 percent price premium for similar real PS5 results
— Early 990 Pro units had firmware issues (since resolved)

$259.99 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

Lexar NM790 with Heatsink

The Lexar NM790 is the budget value leader, undercutting the WD SN850X, Samsung 990 Pro, Crucial T500, and Seagate FireCuda 530R while still hitting the read speeds the PS5 needs. Its DRAM-less design is the trade-off versus the DRAM-backed Crucial T500 and the premium WD and Samsung drives, but it saturates the console's interface for less money than any of them.

Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink

The 990 Pro is the fastest drive here on paper and the most power-efficient, but it runs hotter in the PS5 than the cooler WD SN850X, which is the main reason it ranks second. It commands a premium over the value-focused Crucial T500 and budget Lexar NM790, and competes with the Seagate FireCuda 530R at the high end.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Lexar NM790 with Heatsink	Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink
Interface	PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe	PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe
Form Factor	M.2 2280	M.2 2280
Sequential Read	Up to 7,400 MB/s	Up to 7,450 MB/s
Sequential Write	Up to 6,500 MB/s	Up to 6,900 MB/s
DRAM	DRAM-less (HMB)	—
Heatsink	Yes (bundled)	Yes (PS5-compliant)
Capacities	1TB / 2TB / 4TB	1TB / 2TB / 4TB
Warranty	5 years	5 years
Power Draw	—	Under 6W full load

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