Samsung 990 EVO is the best choice.

I've been down this road, unfortunately. I paired a Samsung 990 Pro (PCIe 4.0) with my previous-gen Ryzen, expecting miracles for gaming. Paid around $170 for the 2TB. Honestly? Not as good as expected. Load times were only marginally faster than my older Sabrent Rocket Q (also PCIe 4.0).

While I don't have the 9950X3D *yet*, my takeaway is this: for gaming and general use, save your cash. The PCIe 5.0 premium isn't worth it, *especially* if you're cost-conscious. I'd stick with a reliable, high-capacity PCIe 4.0 like the Sabrent, or even consider a WD Black SN850X. You'll likely get better real-world value. I had issues with early firmware on the 990 Pro too. I think you'll find the 4.0 is plenty fast. What resolution are you gaming at?

For optimal value, a Phison E18-based PCIe 4.0 drive like the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus (7000 MB/s) offers diminishing returns vs. Gen5 at ~$150/TB. Does your workload *really* need >7GB/s sequential?