XPG Mars 980 Blade vs Samsung 990 Pro: Which SSD Offers Better Value?

Building a new gaming rig in South Africa? You know the drill. Every Rand counts. When it comes to storage, the debate gets heated. Do you splash out on the undisputed king, the Samsung 990 Pro, or grab a high-value challenger like the XPG Mars 980 Blade? It's a classic battle of premium power vs. smart performance. Let’s break down the XPG Mars 980 Blade vs Samsung 990 Pro matchup to see which offers better value for your rig.

ADATA XPG Mars 980 Pro 1TB NVMe 5.0 Internal Solid State Drive / Up to 14,000MB/s Read Speed and Up to 10,000MB/s Write Speed / SMAR-980P-1TCI

R2999.00In Stock

Adata Mars 980 Storm 2TB NVMe SSD / PCIe Gen5 x4 / Up to 14,000MB/s - 13,000MB Sequential Read/Write / SMAR-980S-2TCI

R4499.00In Stock

Kingston Fury Renegade 1TB PCIe Gen 5.0 NVMe M.2 Internal SSD / Maximum Read Speed 14,200 MB/s / Maximum Write Speed 11,000 MB/s / Advanced thermal design / SFYR2S/1T0

R4199.00In Stock

Kingston Fury Renegade 4TB PCIe Gen 4.0 NVMe M.2 Internal Gaming SSD with Heat Sink | PS5 Ready | Up to 7300MB/s | SFYRDK/4000G

R7299.00In Stock

ADATA SD810 2000G USB-C 2TB External Solid State Drive - Black / IP68 Water Resistance / Up to 2000 MB/s Read/Write Speeds / USB 3.2 Gen 2 for iPhone 15/Pro/Max, Android / SD810-2000G-CBK

R3199.00In Stock

Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2TB SSD - High-Performance Storage for Desktop and Laptop PCs -SKC3000D/2048G

R3999.00In Stock

The Raw Speed Showdown

On paper, the Samsung 990 Pro often takes the lead with slightly higher sequential read and write speeds. It's a beast, designed for professionals and enthusiasts who need every last drop of performance. But for gaming, the real-world difference between top-tier Gen4 drives can be surprisingly small. Milliseconds saved on a loading screen might not be noticeable, which makes the choice between the Samsung 990 Pro and the XPG Mars 980 Blade much more interesting. The market for solid-state drives is packed with great options, so let's dig deeper.

Real-World Gaming: What Truly Matters? 🚀

Forget synthetic benchmarks for a moment. What matters is how fast you get into your game of Helldivers 2 or how smoothly your open world streams in Cyberpunk 2077. Both the 990 Pro and the Mars 980 Blade deliver exceptional Gen4 performance that will slash loading times compared to older SATA SSDs or hard drives.

The key takeaway? For the average gamer, the experience on either drive will feel incredibly fast and responsive. The value proposition of drives from brands like ADATA is that they deliver 95% of the noticeable performance for a fraction of the cost.

Adata Mars 980 Storm 2TB NVMe SSD / PCIe Gen5 x4 / Up to 14,000MB/s - 13,000MB Sequential Read/Write / SMAR-980S-2TCI

R4499.00In Stock

Corsair MP600 PRO XT 4TB PCIe Gen 4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD / Maximum Read Speed 7,100 MB/s / Maximum Write Speed 6,800 MB/s / Backward compatible with PCIe Gen3 / Aluminum heatspreader for cooling / High-density 3D TLC NAND memory / CSSD-F4000GBMP600PXT

R8499.00In Stock

Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 512GB SSD - High-Performance Storage for Desktop and Laptop PCs / 7,000MB/s Read, 3,900MB/s Write / Includes Acronis cloning software / SKC3000S/512G

R1399.00In Stock

ADATA XPG 1TB GAMMIX S70 Blade - Works with Playstation 5, PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 Internal Gaming SSD Up to 7,400 MB/s / AGAMMIXS70B-1T-CS

R2599.00In Stock

LG UltraGear 24GS60F 24" FHD IPS Gaming Monitor / FHD (1920x1080) IPS Panel / 180Hz Refresh Rate / 1ms Response Time / AMD FreeSync & NVIDIA G-SYNC / FPS Counter / HDMI & DisplayPort Connectivity / 24GS60F

R3299.00In Stock

KingSpec X500 2TB NVMe Internal Solid State Drive / 3D NAND Flash Memory / PCIe Gen 5.0, M.2 2280, Up to 14 00MB/s/13 000MB/s Read/Write Speeds / X500-2280-2TB

R4499.00In Stock

The Price Factor: Where Value is Decided 💰

This is where the XPG Mars 980 Blade vs Samsung 990 Pro comparison gets really compelling for South African buyers. The Samsung 990 Pro carries a premium price for its brand recognition and top-of-the-line specs. The XPG Mars 980 Blade, however, is aggressively priced to compete, often coming in significantly cheaper for the same capacity.

When you look at popular 2TB SSD models, the price difference can be several hundred, sometimes even over a thousand, Rand. That’s money that could go towards a better graphics card, more RAM, or even a new gaming mouse. This makes the XPG drive an incredibly smart choice for budget-conscious builders who still demand excellent performance.

The Verdict: Which SSD Offers Better Value?

So, which drive should you slot into your motherboard? It all comes down to your budget and priorities.

Choose the Samsung 990 Pro if...

You are a content creator, a professional working with massive files, or a competitive gamer who demands the absolute pinnacle of performance and has the budget to match. It's the undisputed champion for a reason.

DAHUA M.2 PCIe Gen4x4 512GB NVMe SSD / PCIe Gen4.0x4 Supported / Read: Up to 7000 MB/s Write: Up to 4300 MB/s / DHI-SSD-C970VN512G

R1299.00In Stock

ORICO e7400 M.2 NVMe SSD - 2TB / PS5 Compatible / PCIe Gen4.0 x4 / Up to 7,400MB/s Read and 6,600MB/s Write Speeds / ORICO-e7400-2TB-GD-BP

R3699.00In Stock

Kingston Fury Renegade 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0 NVMe M.2 Internal Gaming SSD with Heat Sink | PS5 Ready | Up to 7300MB/s | SFYRDK/2000G

R4199.00In Stock

LG UltraGear 24GS60F 24" FHD IPS Gaming Monitor / FHD (1920x1080) IPS Panel / 180Hz Refresh Rate / 1ms Response Time / AMD FreeSync & NVIDIA G-SYNC / FPS Counter / HDMI & DisplayPort Connectivity / 24GS60F

R3299.00In Stock

Teamgroup T-Force VULCAN Z 1TB SSD / Up to 550MB/s Sequential Read Speed / Up to 500 MB/s Sequential Write Speed / Shock + Vibration-Resistant, and Reduced Noise Interference / T253TZ001T0C101

R1899.00In Stock

Corsair MP600 PRO NH 8TB PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD – High-Density TLC NAND – M.2 2280 – DirectStorage Compatible - Up to 7,000MB/sec - No Heatsink - Black / CSSD-F8000GBMP600PNH

R22999.00In Stock

Choose the XPG Mars 980 Blade if...

You are a savvy PC gamer or builder who wants incredible Gen4 speed without the premium price tag. For the vast majority of users, it delivers a virtually identical gaming experience to the 990 Pro, making it the clear winner in terms of pure value for money.

Of course, the market is full of fantastic drives. It's always worth checking out other strong contenders from brands like Kingston or high-performance options from CORSAIR to find the perfect fit for your build.