The Team Group MP34Q is a QLC-based M.2 NVMe SSD that uses the PCIe 3.0 interface, Phison's highly popular E12 controller, and 96-layer 3D QLC NAND from Micron. In our testing, we saw good performance results, but price/performance suffers due to the high price.
The MSI Spatium M480 is a flagship SSD based on the Phison E18 controller, featuring support for the fast PCI-Express 4.0 interface. Inside the box, you'll find a heatsink that looks fantastic and very sleek to provide cooling for this 7 GB/s monster.
With the Spatium Series, MSI is entering the highly competitive SSD market. The Spatium M470 uses a Phison E16 controller paired with 96-layer TLC flash from Toshiba, which makes it one of the fastest drives we ever tested, also thanks to support for the PCI-Express 4.0 interface.
With the Cardea Zero Z44Q, Team Group is exploring the possibility of QLC NAND on PCI-Express 4.0 powered by a Phison E16 controller. Included with the drive are two heatsinks: a flat foil for laptops and a full-sized heatsink for desktop. We test thermals of all three cooling configurations to see how much of a difference they can make.
The Sabrent Rocket Q4 is a PCI-Express 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD that uses QLC NAND flash paired with a Phison E16 controller. Performance, especially in synthetic tests, is good, and the super-large SLC cache is able to soak up even the largest bursts of write activity. A very decent heatsink is included, too.
Priced at just $80 for the reviewed 1 TB version, the Neo Forza NFS01 2.5" SATA SSD is one of the most affordable drives on the market. While it won't break any speed records, its performance is good enough for many use cases, and the price point is very convincing.
The Samsung 980 is the company's first attempt at releasing a DRAM-less SSD for the consumer market. While such designs usually are slow and have terrible random write rates, Samsung has found a way around that. Our Samsung 980 review confirms that this is one of the fastest SSDs you can buy.
The SK Hynix Gold P31 M.2 NVMe SSD achieves truly impressive performance thanks to its Hynix "Cepheus" controller, which is paired with 128-layer NAND flash. It is the fastest PCIe Gen 3 drive we ever tested, beating even some Gen 4 drives, at a much better price.
The Addlink S95 is based on the ultra-fast Phison E18 controller paired with Micron 96-layer 3D TLC flash. Support for the PCI-Express 4.0 interface means that this drive is fast. In our testing, we saw transfer rates of up to 7 GB/s, making the S95 one of the fastest SSDs we ever tested.
Phison has improved their E18 controller to work with Micron's new 176-layer 3D TLC NAND. The result is an SSD that's faster than even the Samsung 980 Pro in both real-life and synthetic testing. What's even more impressive is that sustained write rates finally beat the MLC-based Samsung 970 Pro.
The Silicon Power XD80 uses a Phison E12 controller paired with 96-layer TLC flash from Toshiba. In our testing, the drive reached performance levels similar to the best PCIe Gen 3 SSDs. Priced at $240 for the 2 TB version, the Silicon Power XD80 is quite affordable, too.
The Acer FA100 solid-state drive is an entry-level M.2 NVMe SSD. In our extensive testing, we saw decent performance that matches competing SSDs. The SLC cache is also big enough to soak up the largest write bursts, and there's no thermal throttling.
Priced at only $210 for the tested 2 TB version, the Silicon Power UD70 is highly affordable, yet offers good performance thanks to the combination of Micron 96-layer QLC flash and Phison E12 controller. Unlike some competing value-oriented drives, a DRAM cache is included, too.
The Lexar NM620 uses a custom DM620 flash controller from Lexar. In our real-life performance testing, we saw good performance results despite the lack of a DRAM cache chip. With over 200 GB, the pseudo-SLC cache is also large enough to handle all bursts in write activity.
The Team Group T-Create Expert comes with 12 years of warranty and a mind-boggling 12,000 TBW endurance rating. That's 12 Petabytes, probably more than all the data you've consumed in your life up to this point. We take a closer look at the chips they use and run it through our extensive real-life testing suite.
The Corsair MP400 is one of the fastest QLC-based SSDs we've reviewed so far. With its 2 TB capacity, it offers plenty of space for all your apps and games, and achieves real-life performance that's comparable to many TLC-based SSDs.
The Neo Forza eSports NFP075 M.2 NVMe SSD is powered by the combination of a Phison E12 controller and YMTC 3D TLC flash, and a DRAM chip is included, too. Performance results are excellent, matching the fastest PCIe Gen 3 drives in our test group, and pricing is good, too.
The Team Group T-Force Cardea IOPS 1 TB SSD comes with two heatsink options: a super-thin heatspreader foil for laptops and other slim devices and a large metal heatsink that can soak up plenty of heat. We tested both, with surprisingly good results.
The Zadak Spark RGB M.2 SSD comes with a gorgeous RGB implementation that neatly synchronizes with all the big motherboard brands. In the motherboard software, the SSD will show up as an additional, individually controllable RGB element, no additional cable is required.
The ADATA XPG Gammix S70 M.2 NVMe SSD uses a PCI-Express 4.0 controller from Innogrit, for transfer rates of over 7 GB/s. Since this drive targets the enthusiast and gamer market, ADATA preinstalled a large heatsink on the drive, which makes a huge difference for temperatures.
The Samsung 980 Pro achieves transfer rates of up to 7 GB/s thanks to support for the PCI-Express 4.0 interface. Unlike its predecessor, Samsung's new SSD uses TLC flash instead of MLC, which affects speeds during intense bursts of write activity. Is the switch from MLC to TLC worth it?
The WD Black SN850 is the fastest SSD we ever tested thanks to support for the fast PCI-Express 4.0 interface. In our extensive real-life testing it beats the Samsung 980 Pro, the Phison E18-based Corsair MP600 Pro, and even the MLC-based Samsung 970 Pro.
The Corsair MP600 Pro is the fastest SSD we've ever tested. It is based on the brand-new Phison E18 controller, which has support for the PCI-Express 4.0 interface that doubles maximum throughput. At $225 for the 1 TB version, the Corsair MP600 Pro is quite expensive, but could it be worth it?
The ADATA XPG Gammix S50 Lite is one of the most affordable PCIe Gen 4 SSDs on the market, with a price of $260 for the 2 TB version. In our testing, we saw great random IO results for both read and write. Thanks to a preinstalled heatsink, temperatures remain low even when heavily loaded.
The HP EX900 Pro SSD is sold at just 11 cents per GB, which is a highly competitive price. Unlike many competitors, HP does include a DRAM cache at that price point, which helps improve performance, especially in random write situations.
