Side-by-side: Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB ($249) vs Crucial P510 1TB ($172). $/TB winner, specs, real-world picks for July 2026.
Gen 5 at 1 TB is one of the most contested SSD segments in 2026, and Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB versus Crucial P510 1TB captures that competition well. The decision rarely comes down to peak speeds — both drives saturate typical workloads.
Hardware-wise, the Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB runs on Samsung's Presto controller — built in-house to push V-NAND to its Gen 5 ceiling. The Crucial P510 1TB pairs the DRAM-less Phison E31T, built specifically for budget Gen 5 drives that prioritize cost over peak speed.
Money matters here — $172.00/TB on the Crucial P510 1TB versus $249.00/TB on the Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB. That's enough of a spread that for budget-conscious builders, the Crucial P510 1TB becomes the default unless reviews of your specific workload prefer the Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB.
The DRAM-vs-HMB question divides opinion: Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB's on-board DRAM theoretically helps under sustained workloads, while Crucial P510 1TB's HMB approach has matured enough that most users won't see the difference. Pick on price if everything else is similar.
For PS5 expansion, both are PCIe Gen 4 M.2 2280 drives that meet Sony's minimum spec (11,000 MB/s read). The console can't take advantage of speeds beyond that, so save money by choosing the Crucial P510 1TB. Video editors will gravitate toward the Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB for its write headroom (13,400 MB/s sustained). Project saves and proxies move faster, which compounds across a workday. Heads-up — these are full-length 2280 drives. Steam Deck and most current handhelds require shorter 2230 modules, so check capacity-specific 2230 variants if that's your target platform.
Market context: we track 6 Gen 5 1 TB drives, and by price per terabyte the Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB currently sits #4 while the Crucial P510 1TB sits #1. One of them is genuinely among the cheapest options in its class, so this matchup includes a real value pick.
At $172.00/TB, the Crucial P510 1TB is already among the cheapest 1 TB drives we track — nothing in this class undercuts it. See the full $/TB ranking.
Go with the Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB for meaningfully faster reads (14,700 MB/s), higher sustained writes (13,400 MB/s), and a dedicated DRAM cache chip. Samsung backs the PRO series with one of the strongest warranty experiences in consumer storage — RMAs typically process within 5 business days globally.
Go with the Crucial P510 1TB for the lower retail price ($172 vs $249), and better $/TB economics ($172.00/TB).