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Going DRAM-less is perhaps the most effective cost-saving measure in SSD manufacturing. And as we’ve seen from some recent releases, it is sometimes (but not always) a worthwhile trade-off.
Among the drives I’ve tested in recent years, the DRAM-less Teamgroup MP44 and WD Black SN770 stood out as some of the most impressive.
In 2025, there are even better mid-range M.2 SSDs of this type. WD’s successor to the SN770, the WD Black SN7100, is one great example – as is the Samsung 990 EVO Plus.
Keep reading for a closer look at the latest value champions.
Best Value NVMe SSDs
If you are looking for the best price/performance ratio, a mid-range Gen4 SSD is the way to go. Some of these drives are now more or less on par with the former Gen4 leaders in key areas like gaming. You really can’t go wrong with one of the following:
Last update on 2025-04-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
It’s no coincidence that these particular SSDs are among the top sellers in 2025. All use 4-channel controllers, and two lack onboard DRAM, but all come with highly capable TLC NAND memory chips. The result is stellar performance at around half the cost of a top-tier Gen5 SSD.
Looking at UL’s 3DMark Storage Benchmark, which compares SSDs in gaming scenarios, the generational improvements for the value-oriented drives are noteworthy. The Crucial T500 comes out ahead (not least thanks to a DRAM buffer), but the 990 EVO Plus and SN7100 beat previous-gen leaders like the SN850X in this particular benchmark.
Outstanding Value: Crucial T500
The T500 is Crucial’s fastest Gen4 SSD, and it originally shipped with a higher MSRP than most DRAM-less drives. However, it has recently competed in the same price range, making it very appealing for bargain-hunters. It uses the 4-channel Phison E25 controller and high-speed 232-layer TLC NAND memory chips from Micron to rocket past the mid-range alternatives in the charts. The fact that the Crucial T500 is now significantly more affordable than the Samsung 990 PRO – but even surpasses it in certain benchmarks – makes it an excellent choice for any gaming PC. It’s also available with an optional heatsink for plug-and-play compatibility with the PS5.
Excellent DRAM-less SSD: Samsung 990 EVO Plus
Samsung’s 990 EVO Plus is technically a Gen5 hybrid SSD, but since it can only utilize two (out of the usual four) PCIe 5.0 lanes, it’s effectively capped at Gen4 transfer rates. In any Gen4 system, however, it will use practically all the bandwidth available from the standard four lanes at its maximum sequential read transfer rate of 7,250 MB/s. Random read and write performance is also impressive for a DRAM-less SSD at 1M/1.35M IOPS (read/write) for the 2 TB capacity. Note that the 990 EVO Plus should not be confused with the non-Plus 990 EVO, which is a much slower SSD in all key areas.
Best Laptop SSD: WD Black SN7100
If you are looking for a reasonably affordable SSD upgrade for your laptop, the new WD Black SN7100 should be on your shortlist. This drive is very frugal even under load and tops the efficiency charts relative to performance. Even so, and despite having no onboard DRAM cache, it can compete with the best Gen4 SSDs on the market. It’s an impressive improvement over its (also excellent) SN770 predecessor.
Cheap Entry-Level NVMe SSDs
What mainly separates the cheapest NVMe SSDs from the slightly more expensive (but still DRAM-less) alternatives is the quality of the memory chips (NAND). The cheapest drives often use QLC (quad-level cell) NAND, which is slower on average and less durable compared to TLC (triple-level cell) NAND.
This type of SSD can still be a great choice as secondary storage, for external USB-C enclosures, or for entry-level PCs. On the downside, they are not necessarily that much cheaper than more durable TLC-based drives.
Some of the best choices in this category include, in order of performance:
- Crucial P310
- Kingston NV3
- WD Blue SN5000
Crucial P310 – Top QLC Performance in 2025
Although it was launched last year, Crucial’s P310 is still one of the best budget QLC-based SSDs in the market – and a major improvement over the P3 that it replaces. Its maximum sequential performance comes relatively close to saturating the Gen4 x4 interface at 7,100 MB/s (read) and 6,000 MB/s (write). Random performance is also great at 1M+ IOPS. The P310 even performs better than the 990 EVO Plus in some benchmarks. As with all QLC drives, however, the endurance rating is less than half at 440 TBW versus 1,200 TBW for the 2 TB P310 and 990 EVO Plus, respectively.
Other Budget QLC (or Unspecified) Gen4 SSDs
Depending on the daily prices, the Kingston NV3 is another budget option to consider. It offers major improvements over the predecessor NV2 and other previous-gen counterparts like the Crucial P3 Plus.
| Budget QLC Gen4 SSDs | Product (1TB capacity) | Max. sequential read/write (MB/s) | 4K random read/write performance (IOPS) | DRAM | NAND Type | Endurance/ Warranty | Latest Price* | Check Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Kingston NV3 | 6000/4000 | N/A | N/A | QLC | 320 TBW/ 5-Year | $64.95 | Amazon |
 | Corsair MP600 Core XT | 5000/3500 | 700K/900K | N/A | QLC | 250 TBW/ 5-Year | $69.95 | Amazon Newegg |
 | MSI Spatium M461 | 5000/3200 | 630K/750K | N/A | QLC | 250 TBW/ 5-Year | Price not available | Amazon Newegg |
 | Crucial P3 Plus | 5000/3600 | N/A | N/A | QLC | 220 TBW/ 5-Year | $60.99 | Amazon Newegg |
 | Solidigm P41 Plus | 4125/2950 | 225K/520K | N/A | QLC | 400 TBW/ 5-Year | N/A | |
 | PNY CS2140 | 3600/3200 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 400 TBW/ 5-Year | $121.43 | Amazon Newegg |
 | Kingston NV2 | 3500/2100 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 320 TBW/ 3-Year | $69.64 | Amazon Newegg |
Among the slightly older alternatives, the Corsair MP600 Core XT and MSI’s Spatium M461 are an interesting pair based on QLC NAND. Both use the Phison E21T controller, which I recently tested in the Corsair MP600 Mini, and it performed well in the Steam Deck.
Budget M.2 SSD FAQs
What’s ‘DRAM-less’ and HMB?
The term “DRAM-less” itself is self-explanatory enough, denoting an SSD “less the DRAM”. This is in contrast to how SSDs have usually operated, with onboard DRAM that acts as a buffer to improve read and (especially) write speeds and reduce latency. Any type of DRAM is far faster than the NAND storage medium. Unfortunately, it also adds to the cost of manufacturing and, thus, the price.
To compensate for the lack of DRAM, DRAM-less SSDs may employ a host memory buffer, or HMB for short. This simply means that, instead of onboard DRAM, the SSD uses a small portion of the host PC’s main memory.
What’s the Difference Between TLC and QLC NAND?
Although the incredibly high densities in today’s SSDs are a feat of engineering, the ability to write additional bits of data to each memory cell is not without downsides. The exponential increase in density from MLC (multi-level cell) via TLC (triple-level cell) to QLC (quad-level cell) NAND (Not-AND; a type of transistor logic gate) has introduced endurance and performance-related challenges.
- Firstly, all else being equal, QLC NAND by itself performs significantly worse compared to TLC. The higher density makes QLC slower and more error-prone, which must be corrected for by the manufacturers. This is partly accomplished by using an SLC (single-level cell) cache. Once this significantly faster cache is temporarily used up, the SSD will write directly to the QLC memory, which reduces performance to a fraction of the maximum sequential rates. This is an issue with TLC-based SSDs as well, but there it is much less pronounced.
- Secondly, the endurance ratings of affordable M.2 SSDs – QLC-based ones in particular – tend to be much lower compared to more expensive drives. This means that you can write less data to it as measured in TBW (terabytes written) before it runs out of warranty, which is mutually exclusive with the warranty in years. For the average gamer or office user, this is rarely an issue. But do keep the TBW ratings in mind if you work with e.g. video editing and other storage-intensive workloads.
However, the main problem with QLC SSDs so far is not that they are unreliable or slow (they’re not), but that they are still too expensive compared to their more durable and (usually) slightly faster TLC counterparts. As long as the price difference is small or non-existent – and it still is among the entry-level NVMe drives – there are few reasons to choose a QLC-based SSD over a TLC-based model.
Summary: Get TLC NAND and DRAM if Possible
Some compromises have to be made to get the best possible value in the budget M.2 NVMe SSD space, but it’s important to make the right ones. Besides the small QLC/TLC price differences, it is also interesting to note that the difference between entry-level and mid-range drives is also relatively small. Adding around $20 to your storage budget might get you a DRAM-equipped SSD with a much higher TBW rating.
To wrap this up:
- PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSDs now offer the best value overall – Thanks to the introduction of affordable yet very capable DRAM-less SSDs like the WD Black SN7100 and Addlink S90 Lite, there is better value than ever in the Gen4 space. In terms of real-world loading times and user experience, you are not missing out on much at all by opting for a more affordable drive. The price difference between Gen3 and Gen4 has also become largely insignificant.
- TLC NAND still trumps QLC in the price/performance race – Although it is technically impressive, the main selling point of QLC NAND is that the compromise between improved density and reduced endurance should result in lower prices. Unfortunately, the average price difference is still too small compared to the better-performing TLC counterparts.
- There is no need to compromise on endurance ratings or warranty terms – On that same note, you don’t have to settle for mediocre endurance ratings or reduced warrant periods. At this time, the price difference between drives with or without an industry-standard warranty (five years) and good endurance is often non-existent.
Do you have a different opinion of what makes the best affordable M.2 NVMe SSDs at this time? Don’t hesitate to share it in the comments.
*Prices are updated automatically at regular intervals but are subject to change between updates.
Great article with very useful comparisons and analyses. Essential shopping guide.
Thanks!