Best M.2 SSD with Heatsink

The Lexar NM790 is a high-performance M.2 2280 solid-state drive with a PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe interface, delivering reading speeds up to 7400 MB/s and writing speeds up to 6500 MB/s. Thanks to Host Memory Buffer (HMB) 3.0 technology, it uses the system's RAM for accelerated data access, making it almost as fast as an SSD with DRAM cache, yet cheaper and more energy-efficient.

HMB 3.0 reduces latency and speeds up handling of small files, while dynamic SLC caching helps maintain stable performance even under heavy loads. However, after filling the cache (about 200 GB for 1 TB), the write speed drops to 1800 MB/s—not critical for games but noticeable when writing huge archives. Among other popular HMB models like WD SN770 (5150/4900 MB/s), the Lexar NM790 stands out due to higher linear speeds (7400/6500 MB/s), higher IOPS (900–1000 thousand), and increased data rewrite resource (1000 TB). This combination of speed and durability will appeal to video editors and other professionals who frequently write large files.

At the same time, the Lexar NM790 surpasses many DRAM-analogues by reducing power consumption by 40%. While this may not be critical for stationary PCs, for ultrabooks, where every watt counts, it's a significant advantage. Furthermore, the drive is fully compatible with PlayStation 5, as its speed exceeds the 5500 MB/s recommended by Sony. Considering its low cost and use of durable 232-layer flash memory, the Lexar NM790 is an extremely interesting and versatile drive, suitable for both gaming and professional work.

The gradual implementation of PCI-E 4.0 and the development of the Phison platform have led to Samsung gradually losing its former leadership, and literally every second manufacturer has learned to make fast, reliable, and practically problem-free SSD-drives for reasonable money. One such example is the ultra-fast and not too expensive Crucial T500, which in its technical characteristics, surpasses the professional models from the family Samsung Pro.

The T500 is powered by the Phison E25 controller with DRAM buffer (1 GB LPDDR4-4266) and 232-layer Micron flash memory. For the 1 TB version, speeds of up to 7300 MB/s for reading and 6800 MB/s for writing are claimed, and performance reaches 1.15 million / 1.44 million IOPS (read/write). These aren't just numbers: in a 450 GB write test, the T500 even outperformed some PCI-E 5.0 models. Basically, the T500 can be called a modification of the popular SSD P5 Plus with slightly more durable memory and a faster controller.

The drive is ideal for PS5, supports the TCG Opal standard, and comes with backup software—a little thing, but nice. For gamers or content work, it's almost ideal: games load lightning fast, and files up to 450 GB are recorded without delays. But there is a nuance: when the secondary cache is filled (after 450–500 GB of recording), the speed drops to a turtle's 150 MB/s. For everyday tasks like installing games, this is imperceptible, but when copying a terabyte archive, you will need patience. However, for most users, this is unlikely to be a problem.

The ADATA Legend 960 MAX is a high-performance SSD with a PCIe 4.0 interface, oriented for use in desktops and gaming consoles. Unlike the original Legend 960 model, which heated up like an oven, the MAX version received a neat, and at the same time, stylish radiator with a black matte finish and gold trim. The heatsink is removable, and its removal does not deprive the user of a 5-year warranty, which is rare among competitors.

The drive’s brain is the Silicon Motion SM2264 controller with a built-in DDR4 buffer, using 176-layer 3D NAND memory from Micron as its base. This combination provides sequential speeds up to 7400 MB/s for reading and 6000 MB/s for writing, as well as up to 750,000 IOPS for random reading and 630,000 IOPS for writing. Although the SMI controller is inferior to the Phison E18 in some respects, it demonstrates consistently high performance, especially when recording large amounts of data.

One of the main advantages of the ADATA Legend 960 MAX was its effective SLC caching mechanism. In synthetic tests, the drive recorded 115 GB of data in the cache effectively at the claimed speed of about 6000 MB/s, after which the speed reduced to a moderate 1800 MB/s. However, this is synthetic; in real scenarios, such sharp drops occur only in specific cases like a full data transfer to another SSD. Besides high speed and flexibility, the drive offers a write resource of 780 TB per 1 TB capacity and a 5-year warranty. Also, ADATA provides proprietary SSD Toolbox software, including state monitoring, diagnostics, firmware updates, and other useful features.

The Kingston FURY Renegade is one of the fastest solid-state drives of recent years, efficiently squeezing all the juice out of the PCI-E 4.0 interface for relatively little money. As a base, the manufacturer used the well-proven Kingston KC3000 drive's innards, refining the caching system, improving speed performance by using more reliable 176-layer flash memory, and increasing the write resource to 1000 TB. In the latter case, it can be a pleasant bonus for those who work a lot with content.

The Phison E18 managing controller provides sequential reading and writing speeds up to 7300 and 6000 MB/s, and its maximum performance is stated at the level of one million IOPS. As mentioned above, it is actually one of the fastest NVMe SSD of recent years; only models with PCI-E 5.0 are faster, which so far remain a product for enthusiasts. An ideal option for owners of powerful gaming PCs who would not want to limit the performance of the processor and video card with a slow drive. It is also great for the PS5, fully meeting its requirements.

Additionally, the Fury Renegade SFYRSK is equipped with a low-profile graphene and aluminum heatsink, which not only gives the device a stylish appearance but also provides effective cooling. In real use scenarios, heating remains within the norm, and in stress tests, the temperature may briefly reach 85°C, but without critical overheating and performance drops.

Although Samsung is no longer a leader in SSD market innovations, its products are still respected and find their place in top sales and recommendations. At the end of 2023, the 990 PRO drive was released, claiming to be one of the fastest PCI-E 4.0 SSDs. Its maximum read speed reaches 7450 MB/s, and write speed—6900 MB/s. This is a 40% boost in write speed compared to its predecessor, the Samsung 980 PRO.

The 990 PRO significantly improved input/output operations per second when working with 4K blocks: up to 1550 thousand IOPS for writing and 1200 thousand for reading. This speed increase is beneficial for working with databases, media files, data virtualization, etc. In games, such an increase speeds up loading; for example, the Forspoken world loads in just one second.

Key improvements include Samsung’s 176-layer flash memory and the new Samsung Pascal controller, manufactured using an 8-nanometer process. Instead of switching to PCI-E 5.0, engineers focused on optimizing the Pascal controller, improving TurboWrite hybrid cache memory, and increasing efficiency per watt by 50% compared to the 980 PRO. The controller does not heat above 72°C under intensive loads. Overall, the Samsung 990 PRO is a serious SSD, outpacing most competitors.