Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB ($739) vs Samsung 990 PRO 4TB ($825). $/TB analysis, performance, and use-case recommendations.
When generations cross paths in a comparison like this one, the older-spec drive almost always wins on value while the newer one wins on benchmarks. Whether that benchmark advantage matters depends entirely on what you do with the drive.
Hardware-wise, the Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB runs on an original Phison E26 chip that defined the Gen 5 reference design. The Samsung 990 PRO 4TB pairs Samsung's Pascal controller, fabricated on the company's 8nm process.
The cheaper drive — Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB at $184.75/TB — saves you $21.50 per TB versus the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB. Worth it if you're capacity-constrained; either works if you just want one fast drive.
In the read department, the Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB leads by roughly 6 GB/s. The difference is more academic than practical for typical use, but it does matter for video editors moving multi-GB project files.
Write performance separates them too. The Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB sustains 11,600 MB/s writes versus 6,900 MB/s for the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB — a real advantage for video editors and anyone doing heavy file operations.
PS5 owners get no measurable benefit from either drive's peak speed because Sony's internal NVMe controller throttles to ~5,500 MB/s; treat Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB and Samsung 990 PRO 4TB as interchangeable here and let price decide. The Gen 5 Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB pulls ahead on sequential bandwidth, but Gen 5 advantages rarely surface during everyday tasks — most software hasn't been rewritten to exploit 14,000+ MB/s pipelines. For content creators routinely rendering 4K or 8K video, the Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB's 11,600 MB/s sustained write is the deciding factor — multi-GB project files land noticeably faster than on the alternative. Note for handheld gamers: M.2 2280 is the desktop/laptop standard. Steam Deck and the ROG Ally line need 2230 drives — neither Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB nor Samsung 990 PRO 4TB fits without modification.
Market context: the Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB ranks #4 of 6 Gen 5 4 TB drives we track by $/TB, while the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB ranks #6 of 6 Gen 4 4 TB drives. Neither cracks the top of the value table, so it's worth glancing at the alternatives below before picking either.
As of July 27, 2026, these tracked drives undercut both the Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB and Samsung 990 PRO 4TB on $/TB:
The Sabrent Rocket 5 4TB is the right call if the lower retail price ($739 vs $825), better $/TB economics ($184.75/TB), meaningfully faster reads (14,000 MB/s), and higher sustained writes (11,600 MB/s) matter to you. Sabrent's Rocket line carries a community reputation for transparent firmware support — manual update tools available directly from the manufacturer.
Samsung backs the PRO series with one of the strongest warranty experiences in consumer storage — RMAs typically process within 5 business days globally.