The Samsung 9100 PRO is Samsung's answer to the new PCIe 5.0 generation, and in our storage comparison it's the only SSD that takes full advantage of this interface, with read speeds up to 14,700 MB/s — double the best PCIe 4.0 drives.

Full PCIe 5.0 (x4): the difference over hybrid solutions

Unlike other drives on the market that only partially exploit the PCIe 5.0 standard (with x2 interfaces), the 9100 PRO uses the full x4 bus, resulting in the highest speeds you can currently find in consumer storage. For local AI tasks, 8K video editing, or massive file transfers, the difference over PCIe 4.0 is noticeable.

1,482 reviews: unusual solidity for such a recent launch

Despite being one of the most recent products in our comparison, it already has a track record of nearly 1,500 reviews at 4.7 stars — a figure showing that PCIe 5.0 adoption is happening faster than expected among gamers and content creators.

The main caveat isn't quality but compatibility: you need a PCIe 5.0-capable motherboard to get the most out of it (it works on PCIe 4.0 boards too, but capped at that speed). It also shares the highest price in our comparison with the WD_BLACK SN850X. For anyone who already has or is building a latest-generation platform, it's the option with the most future headroom of everything we've reviewed.