Are these NVMe SSD deals worth it right now?
High-speed NVMe SSD deals are limited-time discounts on PCIe-based solid-state drives that offer much faster read and write performance than SATA SSDs, giving budget-conscious users a rare chance to upgrade storage capacity and system responsiveness without overpaying during a period of elevated component prices.
If you need a fast, large NVMe drive today, both the Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB and Lexar NM790 2TB are worth serious consideration. NVMe SSDs have stayed expensive, with few budget storage upgrade options in what one source calls an “inflated SSD market” and a broader component crunch that has made high-capacity drives hard to justify. Against that backdrop, these price cuts are meaningful relief rather than token discounts. The Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB sits at USD 302.99 (approx. RM1,460), about USD 100 (approx. RM480) below its usual price, while the Lexar 2TB NM790 has dropped to USD 300 (approx. RM1,450) after being over USD 400 (approx. RM1,930) as recently as June.
In one sense, both drives are still premium purchases, not clearance-bin bargains. But compared to the inflated baseline, each now lands around or a bit under USD 40 (approx. RM190) per TB, which is rare for high-end PCIe Gen 4 and Gen 5 NVMe SSDs in the current market. Given how few genuinely fast 2TB options drop this far, these deals are worth acting on if your rig or console is starved for space.
Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB: PCIe Gen 5 speed finally at a sane price
Amazon has the heatsink-less Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB SSD for USD 302.99 (approx. RM1,460), which is about USD 100 (approx. RM480) less than its usual going rate. While this isn’t its all-time low (it once hit USD 169.99 (approx. RM820) back in October 2025), it is the cheapest this drive has been since February 2026. That makes it a significantly more rational purchase than the 1TB version, which currently sells for USD 250 (approx. RM1,210).
The 9100 Pro is Samsung’s first PCIe Gen 5 SSD, so if your motherboard and CPU support PCIe 5.0, this is one of the fastest consumer drives you can buy, with theoretical maximum random read and write speeds at least twice as fast as the 990 Pro it replaces. It still performs well in PCIe Gen 4 slots, even if it cannot hit its advertised peak in that configuration. That flexibility makes it a solid choice for gaming, heavy content creation, and professional workloads that lean on blistering storage throughput.
One important detail: this specific model from Amazon ships without a heatsink, and while it can work fine in many PCs and laptops, you must add a heatsink if you want to install it in a PlayStation 5 to avoid potential heat issues that could damage the SSD over time. Fortunately, third-party M.2 heatsinks are cheap and widely available, and adding one is a straightforward step when building or upgrading a system.
Lexar 2TB NM790: Efficient PCIe Gen 4 performance at its best price in months
Lexar’s 2TB NM790 has returned to its lowest price in nearly four months, with Amazon listing the drive at USD 300 (approx. RM1,450). According to one price tracker, “this is well below the more than USD 400 it saw as recently as June”. Given how stubborn NVMe pricing has been, a USD 100-plus (approx. RM480-plus) swing is notable and moves the NM790 into far more reasonable territory for a high-performance PCIe Gen 4 drive.
On paper, the Lexar NM790 2TB is rated for up to 7,400MB/s reads and 6,500MB/s writes, delivered over a PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 2280 interface, and is described as compatible with PS5, gamers, and creators. Its reputation centers on sustained transfer speeds rather than short-lived burst numbers, making it well suited for long file copies, large project loads, and extended play sessions. Third-party testing cited in the source notes its strong power efficiency, with Lexar claiming “up to 40% less power consumption than DRAM cache-enabled PCIe Gen 4 SSDs”.
In practical terms, that efficiency makes the NM790 an appealing budget storage upgrade for both desktops and laptops, especially when thermals and battery life matter. As a PCIe Gen 4 drive, it fits more builds than PCIe Gen 5 options, and it covers a wide range of use cases: day-to-day productivity, gaming-focused setups, and content creation alike. The main trade-off is that it cannot reach the same peak speeds as something like the Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB, especially in workstation or high-end desktop contexts, but for most users the performance headroom is more than enough.
Which NVMe SSD deal should you choose?
Choosing between these two NVMe SSD deals depends on your platform, performance needs, and willingness to pay for bleeding-edge speed. NVMe SSDs have rarely been cheap during what one source bluntly calls “RAMageddon,” where finding a fast, high-capacity NVMe SSD at a reasonable price has been a challenge. Another source points out they are still hunting for “silver linings in the inflated SSD market,” underscoring how unusual these discounts are.
If you own or plan to build a PCIe Gen 5 system and want the fastest possible storage, the Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB has a clear edge in raw performance, offering random read and write speeds at least double those of Samsung’s previous flagship. It remains a sensible purchase in PCIe Gen 4 slots too, though you lose some of its ceiling. By contrast, the Lexar NM790 aims at broad compatibility, topping out at PCIe Gen 4 but combining strong sustained throughput with excellent efficiency.
Both drives serve gaming, content creation, and professional workloads well, but in slightly different ways. The 9100 Pro is suited to heavy-duty workstations, AI computing, and other tasks that can exploit PCIe 5.0 bandwidth, while the NM790 balances cost, thermals, and speed for more typical enthusiast systems. In a market where many 2TB NVMe SSDs still command steep premiums, these two stand out as rare, credible options for expanding fast storage without overpaying.
Buy if / Skip if
- Buy the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD if you have or are building a PCIe Gen 5 system and want one of the fastest available consumer NVMe SSDs.
- Skip the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD if you run only PCIe Gen 3 hardware or do not have workloads that benefit from extreme NVMe speeds.
- Buy the Lexar NM790 SSD if you want a power-efficient PCIe Gen 4 NVMe drive with strong sustained performance for gaming and content creation.
- Skip the Lexar NM790 SSD if you already own a high-end PCIe Gen 4 drive and are waiting specifically for lower-cost PCIe Gen 5 options.
- Buy the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD if you need a high-speed drive for a PS5 and are comfortable adding an affordable third-party heatsink.
- Skip the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD if you are on a tight budget and prefer to prioritize capacity over cutting-edge performance.
- Buy the Lexar NM790 SSD if you want a flexible budget storage upgrade that works well in both laptops and desktops.
- Skip the Lexar NM790 SSD if you are building a top-end workstation where only the absolute fastest PCIe Gen 5 performance will do.
