Side-by-side: Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB ($244) vs WD Blue SN5100 1TB ($182). $/TB winner, specs, real-world picks for July 2026.
This is a generational matchup at 1 TB: the older-gen drive offers proven reliability and better $/TB, while the newer-gen sibling brings raw bandwidth that most users never tap.
Hardware-wise, the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB runs on Samsung's Piccolo controller — DRAM-less with PCIe 4.0/5.0 dual-mode support. The WD Blue SN5100 1TB pairs the SanDisk controller.
Money matters here — $182.00/TB on the WD Blue SN5100 1TB versus $244.00/TB on the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB. That's enough of a spread that for budget-conscious builders, the WD Blue SN5100 1TB becomes the default unless reviews of your specific workload prefer the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB.
For PlayStation 5 builds, the console's internal M.2 slot tops out around 5,500 MB/s sustained, so both Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB and WD Blue SN5100 1TB hit the same wall — pick whichever is cheaper at the moment you buy. Comparing across generations always invites the same question: does the bandwidth gap convert into user-visible improvements? Honest answer for the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB vs WD Blue SN5100 1TB pairing: only for sustained sequential reads of multi-GB files. Heavy write workloads — video editing, RAW photo libraries, backup operations — favor the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB's 6,300 MB/s sustained write speed. Both drives use the 2280 form factor, which is too long for Steam Deck or ROG Ally — you'd need a 2230 variant if either manufacturer offers one, or a dedicated handheld-format drive instead.
Market context: the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB ranks #3 of 6 Gen 5 1 TB drives we track by $/TB, while the WD Blue SN5100 1TB ranks #1 of 4 Gen 4 1 TB drives. One of them is genuinely among the cheapest options in its class, so this matchup includes a real value pick.
As of July 27, 2026, these tracked drives undercut both the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB and WD Blue SN5100 1TB on $/TB:
The 990 EVO Plus uniquely supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 5.0 x2 modes — useful flexibility if you might upgrade motherboard generations.
Go with the WD Blue SN5100 1TB for the lower retail price ($182 vs $244), and better $/TB economics ($182.00/TB).