TeamGroup Z540 1TB ($290) vs Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB ($244). $/TB analysis, performance, and use-case recommendations.
TeamGroup Z540 1TB and Samsung 990 EVO Plus 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 TeamGroup Z540 1TB runs on Phison's E26 silicon, which kicked off the consumer Gen 5 era and typically requires a heatsink. The Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB pairs Samsung's Piccolo controller — DRAM-less with PCIe 4.0/5.0 dual-mode support.
The cheaper drive — Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB at $244.00/TB — saves you $46.00 per TB versus the TeamGroup Z540 1TB. Worth it if you're capacity-constrained; either works if you just want one fast drive.
On sequential reads the TeamGroup Z540 1TB pulls ahead by 5,150 MB/s (12,400 MB/s versus 7,250 MB/s). That matters for moving large files but rarely shows up in game loads.
Write speeds skew toward the TeamGroup Z540 1TB: 11,800 MB/s sustained against 6,300 MB/s. Content creators feel this; gamers do not.
Cache architecture differs: TeamGroup Z540 1TB has DRAM hardware, Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB uses HMB. For OS, gaming, browsing — indistinguishable. For databases, large file ops, or 4K video editing — DRAM has a small but consistent edge.
If this purchase is for a PS5 storage expansion, the comparison flattens — Sony's PCIe Gen 4 controller normalizes both TeamGroup Z540 1TB and Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB to roughly equal in-game load times. The cheaper drive is the smart pick. Video editors will gravitate toward the TeamGroup Z540 1TB for its write headroom (11,800 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 5 1 TB drives, and by price per terabyte the TeamGroup Z540 1TB currently sits #6 while the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB 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 TeamGroup Z540 1TB and Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB on $/TB:
The TeamGroup Z540 1TB is the right call if meaningfully faster reads (12,400 MB/s), higher sustained writes (11,800 MB/s), and a dedicated DRAM cache chip matter to you. The TeamGroup Z540 1TB captures the value tier well: same NAND class as flagships, paired with a DRAM-less controller that costs less and uses HMB for the address-mapping table.
The Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB is the right call if the lower retail price ($244 vs $290), and better $/TB economics ($244.00/TB) matter to you. 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.