Which is better, Samsung 990 PRO 1TB or WD Blue SN5100 1TB? July 2026 side-by-side with prices, specs, and verdict.
A like-for-like comparison: both drives target the same buyer segment at the same Gen 4 1 TB class. The interesting question becomes which manufacturer's implementation aged better.
Hardware-wise, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB runs on Samsung's 8nm Pascal controller, the silicon powering the 990 PRO line. The WD Blue SN5100 1TB pairs the SanDisk controller.
WD Blue SN5100 1TB's $182.00/TB pricing edges out Samsung 990 PRO 1TB's $239.00/TB by about 24%. Not transformative, but a real difference at 2-4 TB capacities where it adds up.
Samsung 990 PRO 1TB bundles a DRAM cache chip; WD Blue SN5100 1TB is DRAM-less. This sounds like a big deal but reviewers have been arguing for years about whether it actually matters in consumer use. For most workloads, no.
If this purchase is for a PS5 storage expansion, the comparison flattens — Sony's PCIe Gen 4 controller normalizes both Samsung 990 PRO 1TB and WD Blue SN5100 1TB to roughly equal in-game load times. The cheaper drive is the smart pick. Heavy write workloads — video editing, RAW photo libraries, backup operations — favor the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB's 6,900 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.
How do these two fit the wider Gen 4 1 TB field? Out of 4 tracked drives, the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB is #3 on $/TB and the WD Blue SN5100 1TB is #1. That puts at least one of them near the top of the value table — a reasonable head-to-head to be choosing from.
As of July 27, 2026, these tracked drives undercut both the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB and WD Blue SN5100 1TB on $/TB:
Lean toward the Samsung 990 PRO 1TB when higher sustained writes (6,900 MB/s), and a dedicated DRAM cache chip top your priority list. Samsung's PRO line has the longest track record for firmware reliability — over a decade of consumer SSDs with global RMA support.
Lean toward the WD Blue SN5100 1TB when the lower retail price ($182 vs $239), and better $/TB economics ($182.00/TB) top your priority list.