Samsung 9100 PRO Gen5 NVMe SSD with Heatsink Review – The Next Generation of High-Speed Storage

Samsung’s latest flagship SSD, the 9100 PRO series, marking a significant leap into the PCIe 5.0 era. As someone who’s tested numerous storage solutions over the years, I was eager to see if this new drive could live up to Samsung’s bold claims of delivering twice the performance of their acclaimed 990 PRO.

Unboxing and First Impressions

The Samsung 9100 PRO (with Heatsink) arrives in minimalist packaging. Inside, you’ll find the SSD with the heatsink glued straight out of the box. The drive feels reassuringly solid despite its lightweight 30g construction, and the build quality conveys premium engineering.

What struck me first was just how compact this drive remains despite packing cutting-edge PCIe 5.0 technology. At maximum dimensions of 80.15 x 22.15 x 8.88mm, it maintains the standard M.2 2280 form factor that fits virtually any modern system including laptops.

System Specs

Here are my system specs that I’m using to test and review the drive:

• Intel i7 14700K Processor
• GIGABYTE Z790 AERO G Motherboard
• 32GB Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5
• iCUE LINK H115i RGB AIO 280mm Radiator & four iCUE LINK QX120 fans

PCIe 5.0 Performance That Actually Matters

On paper, the numbers are pretty impressive – up to 14,700MB/s sequential read and 13,400MB/s sequential write speeds for the 2TB storage capacity that I have here. That’s roughly twice as fast as the 990 PRO but how does that translate to real life?

In real-world testing, large file transfers that used to take minutes can be completed in seconds. I tested moving a 500GB of my whole Games collection (around 17,000 files) and the difference compared to my previous PCIe 4.0 drive was immediately noticeable. This drive just has amazing speed and the CrystalDiskMark performs well on both Sequential and Random data.

Gaming performance is where the random read/write speeds of up to 2,200K/2,600K IOPS really shine. Game loading times are noticeably faster compared to older generation of SSDs, particularly in titles with large open worlds or frequent loading screens.

Note however that in all honesty, gaming performance is not significantly faster compared to a really good Gen4 PCIe SSDs but if you are also working on large files and heavy content editing, you will get everything squeezed out of Gen5 NVMe like the Samsung 9100 PRO.

DirectStorage-enabled games will benefit even more significantly though not all games support this at the moment – but it’s definitely the future.

Again, content creators will appreciate more on how the drive handles demanding workflows. Video editing with 4K and 8K footage becomes smoother, with less stuttering during scrubbing and faster render times.

Power Efficiency and Thermal Management

One area where Samsung has made significant improvements is power efficiency. The advanced 5nm controller delivers up to 49% better power efficiency compared to the 990 PRO. In practice, this means less heat generation and better battery life in laptops.

During intensive workloads, I monitored temperatures closely with HWMonitor. The standard 9100 PRO remained well within acceptable limits, and though it did get warm under sustained loads, the heatsink really performed well in keeping the temperature in a good spot (and I’ve never seen thermal throttling so far). For users planning to do heavy workloads, the heatsink version is a must as it provides extra thermal headroom and maintains peak performance for longer periods. Plus, it’s only A$20 extra to grab.

The drive was basically idling at 45-48 degrees of Celsius. When writing around 500 GB of data consisting of 17,000 files, the drive temperature went up and stayed in around 55-60 degrees. During continuous heavy load such as running the CrystalDiskMark benchmarking app a few times, the driver temperature never got over 70 degrees – and that was actually pretty amazing. The more recent Gen5 NVMe SSD I reviewed from Kingston (the Kingston Renegade G5) went to 80 degrees of Celsius – though it doesn’t have a heatsink like Samsung does.

While playing Stellar Blade for a couple of hours, the temperature never went beyond 52 degrees with all graphics maxed out so I’m super impressed with the thermal management on this drive.

The heatsink model’s slim profile maintains compatibility with most laptops and also the PlayStation 5 while providing meaningful thermal benefits. This attention to form factor shows Samsung understands that high-performance storage isn’t just for hardcore desktop gamers anymore. Those who are on gaming laptops and consoles will benefit from the heatsink as well.

Capacity Options and Future-Proofing

Samsung is offering the 9100 PRO with Heatsink in 1TB (A$279), 2TB (A$439), and 4TB (A$819) capacities at launch, with an 8TB model planned for the second half of 2025. The pricing positions these drives as premium options, but the price-per-gigabyte becomes more reasonable at higher capacities. If you want to save A$20, you can grab the model without the heatsink but I wouldn’t recommend. It’s only A$20 difference and you’ll get cooler drive so it’s a no brainer.

The 4TB model is particularly compelling for content creators and professionals who need substantial local storage. Having 4TB of blazing-fast storage eliminates the constant juggling of files that many creators face with smaller drives.

But the upcoming 8TB model will be groundbreaking – no other NVMe SSD currently offers this capacity as far as I’m aware. For video professionals and data-intensive applications, this could eliminate the need for multiple drives or external storage solutions.

Samsung Magician Software Integration

Samsung Magician software provides comprehensive monitoring of drive health, temperature, and performance metrics. The optimisation tools genuinely help maintain peak performance over time, and the migration utility makes upgrading from older drives straightforward. The software also enables firmware updates and provides early warning of potential issues. Note that you don’t need to install it if you don’t want to.

PlayStation 5 and Gaming Console Compatibility

As I mentioned, Samsung has confirmed that the 9100 PRO series is compatible with PlayStation 5 consoles. The standard models fit within Sony’s height requirements, whilst the heatsink versions provide additional thermal management for sustained gaming sessions.

Minor Considerations

For PC users, the main limitation is that you’ll need a PCIe 5.0-compatible motherboard to realise the full performance benefits. While the drive works perfectly in PCIe 4.0 slots, you’re paying a premium for speeds you can’t fully utilise. So don’t get this unless you have a supported motherboard like my GIGABYTE Z790 AERO G or planning to upgrade to a newer motherboard in the future.

Samsung 9100 PRO (with Heatsink) Review Conclusion

The Samsung 9100 PRO represents a genuine leap forward in SSD technology. The PCIe 5.0 performance isn’t just a numbers game – it delivers real-world benefits that users can feel. Whether you’re a content creator dealing with massive files, a gamer wanting the fastest possible loading times, or a professional running AI workloads, the drive delivers.

The combination of blistering performance, improved power efficiency, excellent thermal management, and Samsung’s proven reliability makes the 9100 PRO a compelling upgrade for anyone with a compatible system.

The upcoming 8TB model could be particularly useful if you need as much storage as you can get in an NVMe form factor. It will be useful for those who like to edit 4K or 8K video files, or gamers who don’t like having to uninstall older games as new games come along.

If you have a PCIe 5.0-compatible system and want the best in storage performance, the Samsung 9100 PRO deserves serious consideration. It is also cheaper than the Kingston Fury Renegade G5 I’ve just reviewed and runs cooler.

Disclosure: Samsung 9100 PRO with Heatsink review sample was supplied for reviewing