Side-by-side: Samsung 990 PRO 4TB ($825) vs Crucial P310 4TB ($519). $/TB winner, specs, real-world picks for July 2026.
Gen 4 at 4 TB is one of the most contested SSD segments in 2026, and Samsung 990 PRO 4TB versus Crucial P310 4TB captures that competition well. The decision rarely comes down to peak speeds — both drives saturate typical workloads.
Hardware-wise, the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB runs on Samsung's Pascal controller, fabricated on the company's 8nm process. The Crucial P310 4TB pairs the DRAM-less Phison E27T, common in value-tier 2TB and 4TB Gen 4 drives.
Money matters here — $129.75/TB on the Crucial P310 4TB versus $206.25/TB on the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB. That's enough of a spread that for budget-conscious builders, the Crucial P310 4TB becomes the default unless reviews of your specific workload prefer the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB.
The DRAM-vs-HMB question divides opinion: Samsung 990 PRO 4TB's on-board DRAM theoretically helps under sustained workloads, while Crucial P310 4TB's HMB approach has matured enough that most users won't see the difference. Pick on price if everything else is similar.
Endurance leans toward the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB at 2,400 TBW (versus 1,760 TBW for the Crucial P310 4TB). For most consumers this never becomes a real concern — 600 TBW lasts a decade of normal writes — but heavy daily writers should weight it.
For PS5 expansion, both are PCIe Gen 4 M.2 2280 drives that meet Sony's minimum spec (7,100 MB/s read). The console can't take advantage of speeds beyond that, so save money by choosing the Crucial P310 4TB. Video editors will gravitate toward the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB for its write headroom (6,900 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 4 4 TB drives, and by price per terabyte the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB currently sits #6 while the Crucial P310 4TB sits #3. 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 4TB and Crucial P310 4TB on $/TB:
Go with the Samsung 990 PRO 4TB for a higher TBW endurance rating (2,400 TBW), 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 P310 4TB for the lower retail price ($519 vs $825), and better $/TB economics ($129.75/TB).