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Computer hardware: Samsung 990 Pro 4TB vs. Apple M4 Ultra

Quick Verdict

The Samsung 990 Pro 4TB is a storage solution excelling in read and write speeds, designed for Windows-based systems. The Apple M4 Ultra is a processor focused on CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine performance, optimized for macOS. Choosing between them depends on whether the primary need is fast storage or high-performance processing.

Key features – Side-by-Side

AttributeSamsung 990 Pro 4TBApple M4 Ultra
NameSamsung 990 Pro 4TBApple M4 Ultra
Storage Capacity4TBNot applicable
Read SpeedUp to 7,450 MB/sNot available
Write SpeedUp to 6,900 MB/sNot available
InterfacePCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0Not applicable
Form FactorM.2 2280Not applicable
Cache Memory4GB LPDDR4Not applicable
TBW (Terabytes Written)2,400 TBNot applicable
Power Consumption (Active)Average 6.5W, Maximum 8.6W (Burst mode). Idle: Max. 55mWM4's power consumption at peak performance shows a slight increase compared to M3. M4-powered iPad Pros have a sustained power consumption of 4-5W, with short peaks up to 14W. Mac minis and MacBook Pros with active cooling can have significantly higher power consumption (30-40W under load).
Operating System CompatibilityWindowsOptimized for macOS Sequoia
Architecture (CPU/SSD)Controller: Samsung Pascal (S4LV008). NAND Flash Memory: Samsung V-NAND 3-bit TLCSecond-generation 3nm process. Performance and efficiency cores. Improvements to branch prediction, wider decode and execution engines (for performance cores), and deeper execution engines (for efficiency cores).
Integrated Graphics PerformanceNot availableHardware support for ray tracing and mesh shading.
Thermal ManagementDynamic Thermal GuardPotential upgrades might include redesigned cooling systems.
CPUNot applicableUp to 10 cores (4 performance, 6 efficiency)
GPUNot applicable10-core GPU with Dynamic Caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading.
Neural EngineNot applicableCapable of up to 38 trillion operations per second.
Memory BandwidthNot applicableSupports LPDDR5X memory, offering 120GB/second bandwidth.

Overall Comparison

Samsung 990 Pro 4TB: Up to 7,450 MB/s read, 6,900 MB/s write. Apple M4 Ultra: Up to 10 CPU cores, 10-core GPU, 38 trillion operations per second Neural Engine, 120GB/second memory bandwidth.

Pros and Cons

Samsung 990 Pro 4TB

Pros:
  • Fast loading times
  • Responsiveness
  • Designed to run cool, making it suitable for compact PC cases and laptops
Cons:
  • After the SLC cache is full (442GB), write speeds may drop to 1600 MB/s
  • Some tests show real-world read speeds slightly below the advertised 7,450 MB/s, around 7,143 MB/s

Apple M4 Ultra

Pros:
  • Up to 1.5x faster CPU performance than the M2.
  • Huge boost in pro rendering performance in apps like Octane, up to four times faster than on M2.
  • Enables real-time object identification, on-device captions, and advanced video editing.
  • Industry-leading performance per watt.
  • Faster speeds, improved energy efficiency and enhanced capabilities for demanding tasks.
Cons:
  • Details specifically for an "M4 Ultra" are speculative, as Apple may not have released this specific configuration yet.
  • Power consumption at peak performance shows a slight increase compared to M3.

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