The WD Blue NVMe is WD's new entry-level SSD using the M.2 PCIe x2 interface and 3D TLC flash. With a price of only $73 for the reviewed 500 GB version, it's one of the most affordable drives on the market that still delivers very decent performance. We saw no thermal-throttling, even when fully loaded and completely uncooled.
Team Group's MP34 M.2 NVMe SSD comes at exceptional pricing of only $80 for the tested 512 GB version, which is less than 16 cents per GB. This puts it really close to SATA drives and QLC M.2 SSDs, with better performance at the same time.
WD Black NVMe is Western Digital's premium M.2 SSD for demanding gamers and enthusiasts. It uses an 8-channel SSD controller paired with SanDisk 3D TLC flash. Priced at $105 for the reviewed 500 GB version, it comes at reasonable pricing, and offers outstanding performance.
The Apacer AS2280P2 is an M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x2 SSD built using Toshiba 15 nm 3D TLC flash and a Phison PS5008-E8 controller. Priced at around $100 for the 480 GB version, this solid-state drive is one of the more affordable ways to join the NVMe crowd.
Team Group's MP32 SSD comes in the compact M.2 2280 form factor and uses NVMe over a PCI-Express x2 interface. Another important change is that for cost-optimizations, a DRAM cache chip is not used, which definitely helps with pricing.
The ADATA SX8200 Pro comes with a faster controller, which improves the performance of TLC significantly. Especially heavy writes see big improvements with results that almost make this drive look like MLC. Pricing is extremely reasonable, too: only 21 cents per GB. The SX8200 Pro is both faster and cheaper than the Samsung 970 EVO.
The HyperX Fury RGB SSD features full RGB control using 75 bright LEDs, which, once connected to the RGB header of your motherboard, can be adjusted to the exact color and brightness you want to match other components in your system perfectly.
Crucial has finally released their first M.2 NVMe solid-state drive. The Crucial P1 SSD is built using QLC NAND flash, which is the next generation in flash memory, promising lower cost per GB than previous technologies. In our testing, we see good results that are competitive with popular TLC drives like the Samsung 970 EVO and Intel 760p.
The Samsung 970 EVO is the company's offering for users who want the blazing speeds of NVMe, but aren't willing to pay premium for the 970 Pro. Read speeds of the 970 EVO match the 970 Pro; writes are lower, but still very good at 1.7 GB/s.
Samsung's 970 Pro flagship SSD offers incredible performance, especially when it comes to writes, where it tops the charts with up to 2.4 GB/s because of MLC flash. Reads are even faster at 3.5 GB/s. If only the SSD was more affordable: $200 for 512 GB is not exactly cheap.
Seagate's new BarraCuda SSD lineup marks the company's return to the SSD world. The drive comes with a 5-year warranty and is available at a highly competitive price of $79 for the reviewed 500 GB version. Seagate uses 64-layer 3D TLC flash from Toshiba, and a DRAM chip is included, too.
Crucial's new BX500 SSD comes at a great price point of just $80 for the reviewed 480 GB version, making it one of the most affordable drives on the market. It is a DRAM-less design that's built around a Silicon Motion controller with Micron-made 3D TLC NAND.
The Intel SSD 760p uses 3D TLC NAND paired with a Silicon Motion SM2262 controller to deliver great performance at reasonable pricing. Our reviewed 512 GB version currently costs $153, which is cheaper than many competitors.
With just 16 cents per GB, or $81 for the tested 500 GB version, the Mushkin Source is among the most affordable SSDs on the market. It is a DRAM-less design, which means some compromises have to be expected in terms of performance. Our review of the Mushkin Source 500 GB looks exactly into that.
The Toshiba OCZ RC100 is one of the most affordable M.2 NVMe drives on the market. It comes in a super compact form factor barely half as long as normal M.2 drives. The RC100 is also highly integrated, using a single IC that combines SSD controller and NAND flash, but lacks DRAM.
Team Group's Delta RGB SSD is a unique solid-state drive due to its amazing RGB support. It connects to your motherboard's RGB header, which then gives you full control over the LEDs for mixed colors, patterns, and custom lighting effects. Performance is good too, so is pricing, with just $80 for the 250 GB version.
The ADATA SX8200 SSD ushers in new performance records for our SSD reviews. Despite the use of TLC, speeds are incredible. The SX8200 has a generous 128 GB SLC write cache, which ensures even large write batches get completed at the drive's full speed. Pricing is awesome too, with only $170 for the tested 480 GB version.
The Kingston A1000 is a cost-effective NVMe x2 drive priced at just $150 for the 480 GB variant. Using two PCI-Express lanes keeps cost down due to a cheaper controller and simpler PCB design. This makes the A1000 barely more expensive than a SATA SSD and has it offer higher performance.
Crucial's MX500 is one of the most successful SSDs on the market due to its great performance at an amazing price point. At launch, only 2.5" SATA models were available, but now, the M.2 form factor drives are shipping, too - with no price increase.
In our initial review of the Crucial MX500, we were impressed by how well the new TLC chips work on these drives. There's barely any write-hole and warranty has been increased to a reassuring five years. Now, we test the 500 GB version, which sits right at the sweet spot of capacities currently in demand by consumers today.
Kingston's KC1000 is the company's premier NVMe M.2 SSD solution. It it built using a Phison controller, paired with Toshiba MLC flash, which is great for all those TLC haters out there. We take the 240 GB version for a spin through synthetic and real-life benchmarks.
With just $140 for the 525 GB version, the Crucial MX300 is one of the most affordable M.2 drives out there. Instead of NVMe, it uses the slower SATA interface, though. Our review will take a closer look at how much of a difference that really makes and whether the MX300 M.2 is a good alternative to 2.5" SATA drives.
The Intel 600p SSD is one of the more affordable M.2 PCIe x4 based NVMe drives on the market. It uses an SMI controller paired with Intel's own 3D TLC flash. Despite the relatively low synthetic results, our real-life testing shows that the drive is a decent choice for typical consumer workloads.
ADATA's Gammix S10 SSD is built using a Silicon Motion controller paired with 3D TLC flash. The SSD is cooled by a sexy red heatsink that not only looks pretty but also keeps the drive cooler than other NVMe SSDs we tested before. Priced at $210, it's one of the most affordable PCIe x4 drives on the market.
The Team Group Cardea Zero is a high-performance M.2 2280 SSD using the PCI-Express x4 3.0 interface. Sequential reads reach almost 3000 MB/s, which is amazing. Writes are good, too, with nearly 1200 MB/s consistently thanks to the use of MLC flash chips, which don't suffer from TLC's write hole.
