Crucial P3 Plus 4TB vs Samsung 990 Pro 2TB

The Crucial P3 Plus 4TB is a budget-friendly SSD that offers excellent value for money. It has a DRAM-less design and respectable Gen 4.0 sequential performance. While it may not be the fastest or most exciting storage drive, it is considered one of the best SSDs for gaming. However, it falls short of being one of the best PS5 SSDs due to not meeting Sony's hardware requirements. The drive has a competitive price of $399 for the 4TB model. It is also available in smaller capacities. The design is simple and the build quality is sturdy. The performance is respectable, with read and write speeds meeting or exceeding the advertised figures. Real-world file transfer times are also impressive. In-game performance is fast and there are no noticeable slowdowns. The drive also works well with the PS5, although the Crucial P5 Plus is recommended for better compatibility. Overall, the Crucial P3 Plus is a decent performing drive at a budget price, offering excellent value for money.

The power efficiency of the Crucial P3 Plus 4TB on PCI 3.0 compared to the P3 is a concern for the OP. However, the impact of a 1W difference in power consumption on battery life depends on the overall power usage of the device. In low power devices, milliwatts matter, but in higher power devices, they matter less. The average power consumption of an NVMe SSD and the duration of its operation also play a role. In the case of portable PCs, which can consume 10-20W, a 0.02WHr difference in power consumption is relatively small.

The Samsung 990 Pro is a premium NVMe SSD designed for gaming, professional applications, and content creation. It features Samsung's 7th-generation TLC V-NAND technology and a new Pascal controller for improved power efficiency and faster data processing. The 990 Pro offers sequential read and write speeds of up to 7,450 MB/s and 6,900 MB/s, respectively, and up to 55% improvement in random performance compared to its predecessor. It has a nickel-coated controller for heat management and comes with a heat spreader label and Dynamic Thermal Guard Technology. The SSD has an endurance of up to 1,200TB written and an MTBF of 1.5 million hours. The Samsung Magician SSD tool can be used to manage the drive. The 990 Pro is available in capacities of 1TB and 2TB, with a 4TB model planned for release in 2023. It is priced at around $170 for the 1TB model and $290 for the 2TB model.