Side-by-side: Samsung 990 PRO 1TB ($239) vs Crucial T500 2TB ($369). $/TB winner, specs, real-world picks for July 2026.
Both run on Gen 4 hardware but at different capacities: 1 TB for the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB versus 2 TB for the Crucial T500 2TB. Whether the larger drive's $/TB advantage justifies the higher upfront cost depends on how much you actually need.
Hardware-wise, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB runs on Samsung's 8nm Pascal controller, the silicon powering the 990 PRO line. The Crucial T500 2TB pairs Phison's E25 silicon, found in many DRAM-equipped Gen 4 SSDs.
Prices favor the Crucial T500 2TB by $54.50/TB ($184.50/TB versus $239.00/TB). Not a huge gap, but enough to be the tiebreaker if performance is similar.
On warranty endurance the Crucial T500 2TB carries 1,200 TBW against Samsung 990 PRO 1TB's 600 TBW. Both will outlast typical use, but the gap matters if you're doing professional content work.
Heading to a PlayStation 5? Both drives drop into the console's M.2 bay and report identical real-world benchmarks since the PS5 caps storage at PCIe 4.0 speeds. The Crucial T500 2TB wins this matchup on $/TB. 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 PRO 1TB ranks #3 of 4 Gen 4 1 TB drives we track by $/TB, while the Crucial T500 2TB ranks #9 of 11 Gen 4 2 TB drives. Neither cracks the top of the value table, so it's worth glancing at the alternatives below before picking either.
Go with the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB for the lower retail price ($239 vs $369). Samsung's PRO line has the longest track record for firmware reliability — over a decade of consumer SSDs with global RMA support.
Go with the Crucial T500 2TB for better $/TB economics ($184.50/TB), and a higher TBW endurance rating (1,200 TBW). Crucial typically delivers the best $/TB among DRAM-equipped NVMes because Micron sells direct rather than going through brand licensing.