Announced in February 2025, the Samsung 9100 PRO is a high-end NVMe M.2 solid-state drive (SSD) manufactured by Samsung Electronics.
It is Samsung’s first consumer SSD to make full use of the PCIe 5.0 interface, offering sequential read speeds up to 14,800 MB/s and write speeds up to 13,400 MB/s, making it one of the fastest consumer SSDs available at launch.
Samsung positions the 9100 PRO as a premium storage solution for demanding applications including AI computing, 8K video editing, gaming, and data analysis.
The drive comes in capacities ranging from 1TB to 8TB, with the latter being among the highest capacity consumer M.2 2280 SSDs available at the time of release.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | 1TB | 2TB | 4TB | 8TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model Number | MZ-VAP1T0 | MZ-VAP2T0 | MZ-VAP4T0 | MZ-VAP8T0 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 | PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 |
| Controller | Samsung Presto (S4LY027) 5-core ARM Cortex-R8 | |||
| DRAM Cache | 1GB LPDDR4X | 2GB LPDDR4X | 4GB LPDDR4X | 8GB LPDDR4X |
| NAND Flash | Samsung V-NAND V8, 236-layer TLC | |||
| Sequential Read | 14,700 MB/s | 14,700 MB/s | 14,800 MB/s | 14,800 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 13,300 MB/s | 13,400 MB/s | 13,400 MB/s | 13,400 MB/s |
| Random Read (4KB) | 1,850K IOPS | 1,850K IOPS | 2,200K IOPS | 2,200K IOPS |
| Random Write (4KB) | 2,600K IOPS | 2,600K IOPS | 2,600K IOPS | 2,600K IOPS |
| pSLC Cache | ~114GB | ~226GB | ~442GB | TBD |
| Endurance (TBW) | 600 | 1,200 | 2,400 | 4,800 |
| Power Consumption (Peak) | 7.6 W | 8.1 W | 9 W | TBD |
| Power Consumption (Idle L1.2) | 3.3 mW | 4 mW | 6.5 mW | TBD |
| Operating Temperature | 0°C to 70°C | |||
| Encryption | AES 256-bit (Hardware) TCG/Opal V2.0 Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667) | |||
| Warranty | 5 Years | |||
| MSRP (Launch) | $199.99 | $299.99 | $549.99 | TBD |
Controller
The 9100 PRO is equipped with Samsung’s proprietary Presto controller (model S4LY027), built on a 5nm Samsung FinFET process. This chip features a 5-core ARM Cortex-R8 32-bit architecture operating at high frequencies to manage the PCIe 5.0 interface effectively. The controller supports 8 flash channels running at 2,400 MT/s with 4 chip enables, providing the bandwidth necessary for the drive’s high-end characteristics.
NAND Flash Memory
Samsung’s V-NAND V8 technology, which is also used for the mainstream 990 EVO PLUS, features 236-layer Triple-Level Cell (TLC) NAND flash memory. Each NAND die operates at 2,400 MT/s with Toggle 5.0 interface, and utilizes charge trap topology. The NAND features improved program and erase times compared to previous generations, with a page size of 16KB and organized in a 4-plane configuration per die with 2 decks per die.
Cache and Over-Provisioning
The 9100 PRO’s caching system includes both DRAM cache and pseudo-SLC (pSLC) cache. The 1TB model features 1GB of LPDDR4X DRAM cache and approximately 114GB of pSLC cache (108GB dynamic + 6GB static). These numbers scale with the drive capacity to ensure consistent performance during burst write operations and sustained workloads.
Power Consumption
Despite its high performance, the 9100 PRO maintains relatively efficient power consumption compared to earlier Phison E26-based PCIe 5.0 SSDs. Peak power consumption is approximately 9W, which is significantly lower than competing PCIe 5.0 drives that may consume 12W or more.
This efficiency is attributed to Samsung’s controller design and optimized NAND flash technology. It eliminates the need for active cooling solutions, but a heatsink is still necessary (included as an option).
Write Endurance
There are no changes in the write endurance ratings compared to other high-end Samsung SSDs, with the 1TB model rated at 600 TBW (Terabytes Written) over its 5-year warranty period. This translates to approximately 0.3 Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD), suitable for consumer and light professional workloads. Higher capacity models feature proportionally increased endurance ratings.
Performance
Unlike the earlier 990 EVO and 990 EVO PLUS – both of which used a hybrid interface and up to two lanes of PCIe 5.0 bandwidth – the 9100 PRO uses all four of the available M.2 PCI-Express Gen 5 lanes.
With sequential read speeds reaching up to 14,800 MB/s and sequential write speeds up to 13,400 MB/s, The 9100 PRO delivers very strong performance metrics. Random performance is equally impressive, with up to 2.2 million IOPS for 4KB random reads and 2.6 million IOPS for 4KB random writes.
These performance figures represent approximately double the theoretical sequential performance of Samsung’s previous flagship, the 990 PRO.
Market Reception and Reviews
The Samsung 9100 PRO has received positive reception from technology reviewers and industry analysts, particularly for its exceptional performance and competitive power efficiency compared to other PCIe 5.0 drives. Its ability to achieve top-tier performance while consuming less power than competing solutions has been highlighted as a significant advantage.
In our real-life tests the Samsung 9100 Pro is a winner, too. It is faster than any other SSD we ever tested and delivers excellent performance in virtually all workloads.
Samsung’s first PCIe Gen5 SSD with onboard DRAM is, in our opinion, the best retail-ready enthusiast-grade SSD of its kind ever to cross our test benches
It’s a good drive with high performance and power efficiency but falls short of being truly impressive.
For high-end prosumers, AI researchers, content creators, and serious gamers, the 9100 PRO represents one of the most capable SSDs on the market today.
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