WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB ($459) vs Samsung 990 PRO 2TB ($219). $/TB analysis, performance, and use-case recommendations.
When generations cross paths in a comparison like this one, the older-spec drive almost always wins on value while the newer one wins on benchmarks. Whether that benchmark advantage matters depends entirely on what you do with the drive.
Hardware-wise, the WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB runs on the SMI SM2508 — a 6nm Gen 5 controller running notably cooler than first-gen Phison E26 designs. The Samsung 990 PRO 2TB pairs the in-house Samsung Pascal — engineered specifically for the 990 PRO at 8nm.
The cost difference is hard to ignore: 52% per TB (Samsung 990 PRO 2TB at $109.50/TB versus WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB at $229.50/TB). Unless you specifically need the WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB's peak performance, the Samsung 990 PRO 2TB delivers more storage for the money.
Read speeds favor the WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB: 14,900 MB/s versus 7,450 MB/s for the Samsung 990 PRO 2TB, a 50% advantage. Sequential-heavy workloads notice; transactional workloads don't.
The WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB writes about 37% faster (11,000 MB/s vs 6,900 MB/s). Whether that matters depends entirely on what you write to the drive — gameplay capture and large project saves benefit, browsing and gaming do not.
If this purchase is for a PS5 storage expansion, the comparison flattens — Sony's PCIe Gen 4 controller normalizes both WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB and Samsung 990 PRO 2TB to roughly equal in-game load times. The cheaper drive is the smart pick. The Gen 5 WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB pulls ahead on sequential bandwidth, but Gen 5 advantages rarely surface during everyday tasks — most software hasn't been rewritten to exploit 14,000+ MB/s pipelines. Heavy write workloads — video editing, RAW photo libraries, backup operations — favor the WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB's 11,000 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.
The WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB is the right call if meaningfully faster reads (14,900 MB/s), and higher sustained writes (11,000 MB/s) matter to you.
The Samsung 990 PRO 2TB is the right call if the lower retail price ($219 vs $459), and better $/TB economics ($109.50/TB) matter to you. Among consumer SSD makers, Samsung's PRO series consistently scores highest on long-term reliability surveys (Backblaze, Puget Systems Q1 2026 data).