Samsung SSD 9100 Pro Review: Speed Demon for the Right Crowd

When Samsung finally dropped their first real PCIe 5.0 SSD — the 9100 Pro — I was honestly excited. It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen a proper leap in SSD tech from them, and given their track record with drives like the 970 and 990 Pro, expectations were high. I got my hands on the 4TB version with the heatsink, slotted it into my desktop rig, and put it through its paces. Here’s the good, the not-so-great, and why it might (or might not) deserve a spot in your build.

TL;DR

Pros	Cons
Insanely fast sequential speeds	Expensive compared to competitors
Excellent for content creation & heavy workloads	Disappointing 4K random performance
Available up to 4TB (8TB coming soon in June)	Heatsink isn’t the most effective
Great software support with Samsung Magician
Who it’s for	Who should skip it
Creative professionals, workstation users, and tech enthusiasts who want bleeding-edge storage.	Casual users, gamers, and anyone on a tight budget.

Setup & First Impressions

Installation was straightforward, and the optional heatsink fits snugly in my M.2 slot without obstructing any components. It's a clean design — nothing flashy — but it feels premium. The heatsink is supposed to help keep things cool under intense load, but as I’ll touch on later, its performance could be better.

Once installed, I started up Samsung Magician to get everything updated and optimised. Props to Samsung here — their software is still top of the game for SSD management. Clean intuitive UI, good diagnostics, and easy firmware updates. It’s a small thing that makes a big difference when you’re setting up a high-performance system. The hardware encryption support and 5-year warranty further round out a solid package.

Performance in the Real World

Let’s talk speed first — because that’s what PCIe 5.0 is all about. Samsung claims up to 14,800MB/s read and 13,400MB/s write, and while I didn’t quite hit those numbers on every test, I was hovering close enough (around 14,650MB/s read and 13,300MB/s write in CrystalDiskMark) to be seriously impressed.

In day-to-day usage, this thing just flies. Opening massive files, launching heavyweight games like Starfield or Cyberpunk 2077, and scrubbing through 4K Premiere Pro projects — no stutter, no lag. In fact, file transfers that used to take 20–30 seconds with my Gen 4 drive now barely take 10. When I rendered a 10-minute 4K video, the preview caching felt nearly instant.

Where the 9100 Pro really shines is in handling big workloads — think AI model training, video editing, or handling massive game assets. For creative professionals, content creators, and developers, this drive is an absolute beast.

But It’s Not Perfect...

Let’s be clear — while the sequential speeds are ridiculous, the random 4K read/write performance is... well, underwhelming. If you're a gamer hoping this SSD will shave precious seconds off game loads, you might be disappointed. Games rely heavily on random access, and in that area, the 9100 Pro actually slightly lags behind.

Also, when it comes to thermal efficiency, the heatsink version does look nice and does its job okay, but I found it ran hotter than expected. That doesn't quite live up to the premium feel and perhaps you are better off with your own if your motherboard has its own SSD heatsink. Unless you favour the plug-and-play solution or your current motherboard doesn't come with one, you might want to skip the heatsink version and use your own cooling solution instead.

Price in Malaysia

As of now, Samsung Malaysia has priced the 9100 Pro at:

Model	Capacity	Price
9100 PRO	1TB	RM 679
	2TB	RM 1,068
	4TB	RM 1,989
9100 PRO (with Heatsink)	1TB	RM 745
	2TB	RM 1,149
	4TB	RM 2,009

The 8TB is expected to arrive in June so we don't have much information on the price yet. Still honestly, it's not the cheapest out there, especially when you stack it up against the likes of other competitors which offer similar performance at slightly lower prices. You’re paying a bit of a "Samsung tax" here, but if you absolutely need top-tier sequential speeds and Samsung’s software ecosystem, it’s a justified purchase given the solid software support and reliability. Other than that, there are better bang-for-buck options available out there.

Verdict: Should You Get It?

If you’re a creative pro, power user, or someone who routinely moves huge files and needs every ounce of speed — yes, the Samsung 9100 Pro is worth considering. The 4TB and upcoming 8TB options are especially juicy for large-scale projects, and the drive’s consistency and endurance (600TBW per TB, 5-year warranty) give you peace of mind.

But if you’re a gamer, or just need fast boot and load times without breaking the bank — there are better value options. Samsung might’ve been a bit late to the PCIe 5.0 party, and while they brought a solid performer, it’s not the revolution some of us were hoping for. It's fast, reliable, and efficient, but not quite the king of the hill.