Heads-Up for Builders: Samsung 990 PRO NVMe M.2 + Intel Z790 Chipset = Trouble Under Load
Over the past few weeks, I ran into a frustrating and time-consuming issue while building a high-performance system. After a lot of trial and error, research, and reading other people’s experiences, I want to share what happened—because it might save you hours of headaches.
The Setup
- Motherboard: ASUS Z790-PLUS
- CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K
- Storage: Samsung 990 PRO NVMe M.2 SSDs (tested both versions with and without heatsink)
- Operating Systems Tested: Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows PE boot environment
The Issue
Under high disk load—like large file transfers, installs, or other intensive disk activity—the Samsung 990 PRO SSD suddenly disconnects. Sometimes it vanishes from the system entirely, sometimes it triggers a BSOD (without generating a minidump), or the system just freezes. A full power cycle is needed to recover from this situation
This happened regardless of:
- Different models: Heatsink or No heatsink
- M.2 slot used
- Windows version
- BIOS tweaks
- Even in a clean WinPE environment (minimal drivers, no OS overhead)
I ruled out overheating, power issues, faulty drives, or motherboard slot problems. The issue remained consistent.
The Deeper Dive
After reading countless blog posts and forum threads, I discovered I wasn’t alone. It turns out that the Samsung 990 PRO NVMe SSD has compatibility issues with the Intel Z790 chipset, especially under load.
And it’s not just ASUS boards—people using MSI and other Z790 motherboards have reported similar issues.
Because the drive crashes even in a barebones WinPE environment, it points strongly to a firmware- or hardware-level incompatibility, not a software issue.
The Fix
After exhausting all other options, I finally replaced the Samsung 990 PRO with a Samsung 9100 PRO NVMe SSD, and that resolved the issue completely.
But there was a catch:
I couldn’t clone the drive directly while the 990 PRO was in an M.2 slot—it would crash before the job could finish. So I placed the 990 PRO into an external USB-C NVMe enclosure and cloned the disk that way.
Once the data was copied to the 9100 PRO, I installed it internally—and everything has worked perfectly since.
Final Thoughts
If you’re planning to use a Samsung 990 PRO NVMe SSD with a motherboard that uses the Intel Z790 chipset, proceed with caution. Some people get lucky—but if you hit this issue, you’re in for a world of frustration.
My recommendations:
- Use a different SSD model (Samsung 9100 PRO, WD SN850X, Crucial T700, etc.)
- Or avoid the Z790 chipset if you’re committed to the 990 PRO
Happy building!