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Head-to-head · Best PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSDs

Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD vs WD Black SN8100

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

WD Black SN8100 comes out ahead by a clear margin (4.1 vs 4.5). The gap is mostly about Buyers who want the fastest, coolest-running Gen5 drive without a bulky heatsink — read the strengths below before deciding.

Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
Ranked #5 in Best PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSDs
Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
8 sources$399.99as of Aug 1

With the 9100 Pro, Samsung is back on top of the NVMe SSD leaderboard, delivering PCIe 5.0 performance PCWorld called the fastest they have tested. TechRadar praised it as a fantastic option for professional use while noting it is a poor match for gamers. It carries 1GB of DRAM per terabyte and 236-layer TLC NAND, and reviewers noted the premium pricing makes it excessive for typical users. Professionals who need maximum performance are the fit rather than casual consumers.

Strengths
  • — Fastest benchmarking NVMe SSD tested according to PCWorld
  • — 1GB DRAM per terabyte for fast random operations
  • — PCIe 5.0 x4 interface with 236-layer TLC NAND
Watch-outs
  • — Expensive overkill for most users according to PCWorld
  • — A hair off the pace in Windows file transfers
$399.99 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →
WD Black SN8100
Higher ratedRanked #2 in Best PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSDs
WD Black SN8100
3 sources1 derived$399.99as of Aug 1

Consumer PCIe 5.0 has a new performance benchmark in the WD Black SN8100, made by SanDisk. Tom's Hardware called it 'the fastest overall consumer SSD ever made,' and StorageReview measured it topping sequential charts at up to 15 GB/s reads and 14.1 GB/s writes, 'edging out even the Crucial T705 and Samsung 9100 Pro.' Efficiency is what sets it apart: the Silicon Motion SM2508 controller on a 6nm process draws far less power than the Phison E26 silicon in most rivals, so DongKnows (8.5/10) found it 'never became hotter than 85C, much less hot than the heatsink version of the Crucial T705.' Add record PCMark 10 scores and a 5-year, 1,200 TBW warranty and it is the most complete drive in this group. The catches are premium pricing and the need to supply your own cooling.

Strengths
  • — Fastest consumer SSD tested: up to 14,900 MB/s sequential reads and ~2.3M random read IOPS edge out the Crucial T705 and Samsung 9100 PRO
  • — Best-in-class power efficiency, drawing only 6.5W on reads, so it runs cooler than rival Phison E26 drives
  • — Silicon Motion SM2508 controller on a TSMC 6nm process avoids the heat problems that plague E26-based Gen5 SSDs
Watch-outs
  • — Premium flagship pricing, the only drawback Tom's Hardware listed against it
  • — Sold as a bare drive, so you still need motherboard or aftermarket M.2 cooling for sustained loads
  • — Gen5 speeds are overkill for gaming, where the gap over a good Gen4 drive is negligible
$399.99 · Check Price on AmazonFull 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

Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD

The Samsung 9100 PRO is the only drive in this group with a full 1GB of DRAM per terabyte, giving it superior random I/O versus the WD Black SN8100, Crucial T705, Corsair MP700 Pro SE, and Seagate FireCuda 540, and it backs that with Samsung's mature Magician software. It trails the WD Black SN8100 in peak sequential speed and efficiency, and it is more expensive than the Crucial T705. Choose it over the WD Black SN8100 if you want Samsung's ecosystem and DRAM-heavy random performance; choose the WD Black SN8100 instead for the fastest, coolest-running option overall.

WD Black SN8100

The WD Black SN8100 is the fastest drive in this group, beating the Crucial T705 and Samsung 9100 PRO in sequential throughput while drawing dramatically less power, so it runs cooler than the Corsair MP700 Pro SE and Crucial T705 without a fan. It uses a newer Silicon Motion controller, where the Corsair MP700 Pro SE, Crucial T705, and Seagate FireCuda 540 all share the same hotter Phison controller. It trades the Samsung 9100 PRO's 1GB-per-TB DRAM and Samsung's Magician ecosystem for higher peak speed and efficiency. Choose it over the Seagate FireCuda 540 if outright speed and thermals matter more than the FireCuda's data-recovery warranty.

Specs side-by-side

SpecSamsung 9100 PRO 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDWD Black SN8100
InterfacePCIe 5.0 x4PCIe 5.0 x4 (NVMe 2.0)
Form Factor2280 M.2M.2 2280
NAND Type236-layer TLCSanDisk BiCS8 TLC 3D
DRAM Cache1GB per TB—
Capacity2TB—
ControllerSamsung Presto (S4LY027, 5nm)Silicon Motion SM2508 (6nm)
Warranty5 years5 years / 1,200 TBW (2TB)
Sequential Read—Up to 14,900 MB/s
Sequential Write—Up to 14,000 MB/s
Capacities—1TB, 2TB, 4TB
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