Samsung 990 PRO 1TB ($239) vs Crucial T500 1TB ($275). $/TB analysis, performance, and use-case recommendations.
Samsung 990 PRO 1TB and Crucial T500 1TB are direct competitors — same generation, same capacity. Choose by controller behavior under sustained load, DRAM/HMB cache strategy, and $/TB economics.
Hardware-wise, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB runs on Samsung's Pascal controller, fabricated on the company's 8nm process. The Crucial T500 1TB pairs the Phison E25 — a refined Gen 4 controller widely used in mid-range NVMe drives.
The cheaper drive — Samsung 990 PRO 1TB at $239.00/TB — saves you $36.00 per TB versus the Crucial T500 1TB. Worth it if you're capacity-constrained; either works if you just want one fast drive.
For PlayStation 5 builds, the console's internal M.2 slot tops out around 5,500 MB/s sustained, so both Samsung 990 PRO 1TB and Crucial T500 1TB hit the same wall — pick whichever is cheaper at the moment you buy. 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 4 Gen 4 1 TB drives, and by price per terabyte the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB currently sits #3 while the Crucial T500 1TB sits #4. 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 Samsung 990 PRO 1TB and Crucial T500 1TB on $/TB:
The Samsung 990 PRO 1TB is the right call if the lower retail price ($239 vs $275), and better $/TB economics ($239.00/TB) matter to you. Samsung backs the PRO series with one of the strongest warranty experiences in consumer storage — RMAs typically process within 5 business days globally.
Crucial drives benefit from being a direct Micron product — the same NAND that powers competitors' drives, but at lower margins.