4TB M.2 NVMe Gen 5 SSDs

The 4TB PCIe 5.0 drives here come from two ranges, each offered bare or with a heatsink. The Samsung 9100 PRO 4TB (MZ-VAP4T0BW, and MZ-VAP4T0CW with heatsink) is rated up to 14.8 GB/s read and 13.4 GB/s write. The WD Black SN8100 4TB (WDS400T1X0M-00CMT0, and WDS400T1XHM-00CMT0 with heatsink) is rated up to 14.9 GB/s read and 14.0 GB/s write. All four are M.2 drives, and both Samsung and WD cover them with a 5 year warranty.

The first check is the motherboard: full Gen 5 speed needs an M.2 slot wired for PCIe 5.0, so confirm in the board manual which slot supports it. The second is cooling. Gen 5 drives run warm under sustained load, so pick the heatsink version if the slot has no cover of its own. Choose the bare version if the board already has an M.2 heatsink, or if space is tight around the graphics card. Between the two ranges, the rated speeds are very close, so brand preference and board fit usually decide. Each brand's drives are also on their own page: Samsung and WD.

Frequently asked questions

Will a Gen 5 SSD work in a PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot? Yes, PCIe is backward compatible, so the drive works in a Gen 4 slot but runs at Gen 4 speeds.

Should I buy the heatsink or non-heatsink version? Use the heatsink version when the slot has no cooling. Use the bare drive when the motherboard provides its own M.2 heatsink.

What is the difference between the Samsung 9100 PRO and WD Black SN8100? Both are 4TB PCIe 5.0 drives with a 5 year warranty. The SN8100 is rated slightly higher, at 14.9 GB/s read and 14.0 GB/s write against 14.8 GB/s and 13.4 GB/s.