Amazon has cut the Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB to $799.90 as of October 21, down from a $1,099.99 list price. That is $300.09 off, or 27%.
The cheaper capacities are discounted too. The 1TB model fell from $319.99 to $259.84, and the 2TB from $639.99 to $409.99. Samsung rates the drive at read speeds up to 7,450 MB/s and write speeds up to 6,900 MB/s. The company also claims more than 55% better random performance than the older 980 PRO, and up to 50% better performance per watt. Those are Samsung's own numbers.
The headline discount is not the most interesting part. Divide by capacity and the 4TB works out to about $200 per terabyte. The 2TB comes to about $205, and the 1TB to roughly $260. The 2TB model also has the deepest cut of the three, at about 36% off list, compared with 27% for the 4TB and about 19% for the 1TB.
So the biggest drive is the best value per terabyte, but only by a few dollars over the 2TB. Most buyers will not need to spend the extra $390 for the larger drive unless they actually fill it. A gaming library that has outgrown 2TB is the clearest case. Video editors working with large files are another.
One caution applies to every percentage here. They measure the price against a list price, which is a reference point rather than proof of what the drive usually sells for. The per-terabyte comparison holds up either way, and it is the better test for anyone deciding between sizes.