THE BEST NVME SSD
Which are the best NVMe SSDs? The enterprise-grade SSDs are out of the picture, as they're too expensive and aren't designed for consumer workloads. There are plenty of consumer M.2 NVMe SSDs now, but performance should be a major consideration for anyone looking these drives, and capacity is also something to think about. Early M.2 drives were limited to 512GB, but some of the latest models pack up to 2TB on a single 'gumstick' form factor. The type of NAND and controller are also important, with TLC NAND often putting the brakes on overall performance. We've picked the best overall choice, a budget-friendly option, and a high capacity drive.
Best performance NVMe SSD
Samsung 960 Pro 512GB
- + Excellent performance, not prone to throttling
- +Decent price per GB for NVMe
- + Available in capacities up to 2TB
- - Costs twice as much as SATA
Samsung was first on the scene with M.2 NVMe drives, and they still dominate the market. Its 950 Pro and SM951 NVMe deliver great performance, but the Samsung 960 Pro ups the ante. No longer limited to just two capacities, the 960 Pro comes in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB flavors—and the lack of a 256GB model means all the drives have very similar specs. The 960 Pro has read/write speeds of up to 3,500/2,100 MB/s, and the 1TB and 2TB drives can do 440k/360k read/write IOPS, while the 512GB drive does 330k/330k IOPS. As an added bonus, the 960 Pro now costs a bit less than a 950 Pro.
Best budget M.2 NVMe
- + Lowest price per GB of all NVMe drives
- +Typically faster than 850 Pro in moderate scenarios
- + About half the speed of the 960 Pro
- -TLC 3D NAND is slower in write-heavy scenarios
For the past year, NVMe has been the exclusive domain of expensive offerings. In the past few months, that has changed, with multiple companies offering NVMe drives that use TLC NAND. Intel was the first company to come out with a viable budget NVMe drive at retail, in the form of their 600p series. Available in capacities of 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB, the best value is in the 512GB and 1TB sizes, but you give up some performance compared to the fastest NVMe solutions.
I recommend skipping the 128GB and 256GB options—if you go with one of those, performance will be similar to a good SATA drive, and you're still paying more. Where the 600p becomes interesting is at the 512GB mark, and the 1TB option means you have enough capacity for a large collection of games, applications, and other files.
Best high capacity NVMe SSD
- Nearly as fast as the 960 Pro
- Good price per GB for NVMe
- Up to 1TB in a gumstick
- No 2TB model, and still expensive
We often recommend 480GB-512GB SSDs as the sweet spot these days, since that gives plenty of room for Windows, your usual apps, and a collection of games. But with game sizes ballooning to 50GB and more, and the desire to keep 10-20 percent of your SSD capacity free, there's a growing market for even higher capacity SSDs. SATA still rules the roost, with 4TB drives readily available, but then you're stuck with SATA performance limitations.
We combined performance, capacity, and pricing data into a single metric to determine which drive provided the best overall value, and Samsung ended up with its second win, this time with the new 960 Evo.
Similar to how the 850 Evo offers most of the performance and features of the 850 Pro at a lower price, thanks to the use of TLC V-NAND, the 960 Evo comes very close to matching the 960 Pro on performance but shaves around 25 percent off the price. If you want a 2TB M.2 SSD, 960 Pro is the only option right now, but 1TB should be enough for all but the most demanding users.
Peak performance for the 1TB 960 Evo is 3,200/1,900 MB/s read/write and 380K/360K IOPS. That's screaming fast, though the current $480 / £400 asking price might make you reconsider. On the other hand, if you're already using a top-shelf CPU, motherboard, and graphics card, having a 1TB SSD is the next logical addition. Not everyone needs a high capacity SSD, but for enthusiasts, why not?
Intel's 600p is the only 1TB NVMe SSD that costs less than the 960 Evo, and it's about $100 / £50 less. If you're looking for capacity more than performance, it's a viable alternative.
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How we tested and performance
We have a test suite for SSDs that consists of synthetic trace benchmarks, real world file manipulation, and various trace tests that play back disk accesses as fast as possible. The ten individual test results have been combined into an overall metric that loosely corresponds to MB/s. This is how the NVMe drives we've tested stack up, and we've used 500GB-class SSDs in most cases. We've also included our pick for the best SATA SSD, the 850 Evo, along with one non-NVMe PCIe M.2 drive.
Raw performance isn't the only factor when it comes time to buy an SSD, however, so we've taken current market prices and combined that with the capacity of the drives to yield a final result measured as (performance/(price/capacity)). This is intended to normalize the rankings, as much as possible, though higher capacity drives do tend to do a bit better thanks to a slightly lower price/GB. The prices used were the best we could find at the time of writing, though some of the older drives are no longer readily available except as used (eBay) products.
It's interesting that despite their overall higher prices, the NVMe drives do end up surpassing SATA models. SATA drives might cost less than half as much, but they're also less than half the performance. However, raw storage performance can be a bit confusing, because in practice there aren't that many situations where storage is the primary bottleneck.
If you're copying a game from one drive to another, or validating game files in Steam, faster drives definitely make a difference. They can also shave off a second or two when it comes time to load a game level, but the bigger difference is against hard drives where even a slower SATA SSD is typically much faster. Go beyond a certain point and all SSDs start to feel similar.
In other words, while the speed freak in me loves what NVMe brings to the table, I recognize that in practice it's usually not that noticeable. If you're looking to get the most from your money when it comes time to build a gaming PC, I recommend a 2:1 ratio for money spent on the GPU versus money spent on the CPU. I can't stand using PCs that don't have an SSD these days, but I recommend spending about twice as much on your CPU as you do on your OS drive, meaning most people should stick with SATA SSDs, perhaps going for the budget NVMe option.
The competition
The number of NVMe drives isn't quite as large as SATA offerings, but it's increasing rapidly. Not all NVMe drives are created equal, however, and our three primary choices represent the best overall pick, a budget option that doesn't cost much more than SATA, and finally a drive that aims for the sweet spot between performance, capacity, and price.
2016 saw a number of new contenders in the NVMe realm, and 2017 has doubled the count. Most of the new drives still fail to match the performance of the Intel SSD 750 and Samsung 950 Pro, the first consumer NVMe drives we tested, but pricing at least has come down a bit... and then started to head back up due to the NAND shortage. More NVMe drives are coming, and we'll have to see if any of those can displace Samsung and Intel in the future.
The NAND chips make up a substantial portion of the total SSD price, and fundamentally there usually isn’t much of a difference between a SATA drive with 512GB V-NAND and an M.2 NVMe drive with the same 512GB V-NAND. NVMe requires a new controller and firmware, and there are associated R&D costs, but long-term NVMe prices should get a lot closer to SATA SSD prices, with a moderate premium. Economies of scale are still a factor, however, so until more systems use NVMe SSDs, prices will stay higher.
Besides the drives we've recommended, we've also looked at several other NVMe drives. Many of these are very close to replacing some of our primary choices, particularly in the budget sector where a minor price change could make all the difference. Here's the complete list of NVMe SSDs that we've tested, in alphabetical order, along with a brief summary of results, with notes on the form factor: AIC (add-in card), M.2, or U.2.
Corsair Force MP500 (M.2): A recent addition to our NVMe benchmarks, Corsair's MP500 uses a Phison PS50007-E7 controller with MLC NAND. The result is some impressive performance, including very high synthetic results, and overall the MP500 is surpassed only by the Samsung drives and Intel's SSD 750. Unfortunately, the 960 Evo has slightly more storage along with better performance, representing a better value at this time.
Intel 600p (M.2): Our budget pick is actually one of the slowest NVMe drives we've tested, but it also costs substantially less than many of the other drives. We've even seen the 512GB model on sale for as little as $130, putting it squarely in the realm of budget SATA offerings. Maximum performance is rated at 1,775/560 MB/s and 128.5K/128K IOPS, again lower than most other NVMe drives. The 600p works best in lighter workloads, with strong sequential throughput but only moderate random IO, and the TLC 3D NAND can slow things down in write-heavy workloads.
Intel SSD 750 (AIC or U.2): The first consumer NVMe drive to hit the retail market, Intel's SSD 750 series is still a contender. Performance is excellent and in some areas it's the fastest drive—it's rated at 2,500/1,200 MB/s and 460K/290K IOPS. The main problem is that it's only available in two formats, as a PCIe x4 AIC, or as a 2.5-inch U.2 drive. Neither is suitable for laptop use, and U.2 support on motherboards is seriously lacking. There are M.2 to U.2 adapters, which are a bit awkward as routing the U.2 cable can be a bit difficult depending on what you have around the M.2 slot, but if you have a U.2 port or want a PCIe AIC drive, Intel's SSD 750 has excellent sustained IO performance. It also uses up to 20W, compared to 5W for most M.2 drives, which definitely helps keep performance high.
Patriot Hellfire (M.2): Powered by the Phison 5007 controller, there was a time when anything using a Phison controller would cause a sad shake of the head. Not so these days, as the Patriot Hellfire proves to be a capable NVMe drive. Its performance rates well above the Intel 600p at least, and if you need an alternative budget option, this is the one to get. Available in capacities of 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB, the Hellfire's biggest weakness is sustained random writes, where it's only marginally better than many SATA drives, but for normal workloads it does very well. It's rated at up to 3,000/2,200 MB/s and 116K/210K IOPS—the lower read IOPS score clearly being the biggest concern.
Plextor M8Pe (M.2 or AIC): Another potentially great option for a less expensive NVMe drive, depending on sales. The M8Pe uses a Marvell 88SS1093 controller and MLC NAND to deliver very respectable performance. It's basically equal to the Toshiba OCZ RD400 and is available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities. You can also get it with an add-in card adapter, at a higher price. Rated at up to 2,500/1,400 MB/s with 280K/240K IOPS, the M8Pe is potentially a better value than the 1TB 960 Evo, if you're willing to sacrifice a bit of performance for a lower price.
Samsung 950 Pro (M.2): Samsung's first retail NVMe drive, the 950 Pro is still a contender, though the 960 Pro is obviously intended to replace it. Combining 3D V-NAND with their in-house UBX controller, the 950 Pro has fast transfer speeds, great performance consistency, and it's supported by Samsung's Magician software. It's rated at 2,500/1,500 MB/s and 300K/110K IOPS for the 512GB model, with the random write speeds being the main deficiency. Slight throttling under heavy sustained loads is a minor concern, and one we've seen with other M.2 drives, but a small fan in the vicinity of the M.2 slot takes care of things.
Samsung 960 Pro (M.2): The current king of SSDs, the 960 Pro boasts speeds of up to 3,500/2,100 MB/s and 440K/360K IOPS (with a slightly lower 330K/330K IOPS on the 512GB model). Combined with the new Polaris controller, excellent performance, and support in the way of Samsung's Magician software and a custom NVMe driver, the 960 Pro is our top recommendation for an NVMe drive. It's also relatively expensive, and high demand means it's sometimes out of stock.
Samsung 960 Evo (M.2): The 960 Evo is the slightly slower TLC V-NAND alternative to the 960 Pro. This is the first retail TLC NVMe drive from Samsung, and pricing is quite a bit lower than the 950/960 Pro, with capacities of 250GB/500GB/1TB. Performance is also somewhat lower, with the drive rated at up to 3,200/1,900 MB/s and 380K/360K IOPS, though raw specs don't tell the whole story. Sustained random IO is about 30 percent lower than the 960 Pro, but the drive does hit the sequential read/write targets. For a combination of performance, capacity, and price, the 960 Evo is one of the best SSDs around.
Samsung PM951 (M.2): Is there such thing as an affordable NVMe drive? Samsung's PM951 used to be the least expensive option prior to Intel's 600p, often by a rather large margin. Unfortunately, it's an OEM-only drive, so while you can find it online you won't receive any official support. Also, the drives use TLC NAND, and particularly on the lower capacity models performance ends up being no better than the faster SATA drives. It's rated at 1,050/560 MB/s and 250K/144K IOPS for the 512GB model, which is the slowest sequential read speed of any NVMe drive.
Samsung PM961 (M.2): The precursor to the retail 960 Evo, the PM961 is also a TLC V-NAND drive, with the 512GB model rated at 2,800/1,600 MB/s and 260K/260K IOPS. It uses the same Polaris controller as the 960 Evo, but apparently firmware and other aspects aren't quite as tuned. Still a reasonable budget option, though the lack of direct Samsung support is a concern.
Samsung SM951 NVMe (M.2): Samsung's first M.2 NVMe drive is still around, but it's mostly for OEMs meaning there's no direct Samsung support. Performance is actually pretty similar to the newer 950 Pro, and better in a few cases, but unless you get one of these with a laptop there's no particular reason to pick one up.
Samsung SM961 (M.2): Like the PM961, this is the OEM version of the 960 Pro, with similar performance ratings but no official Samsung support. It's rated at up to 3,200/1,800 MB/s and 450K/400K IOPS, so if you're anxious to get a 960 Pro and can't find one in stock, this might be worth a look. I'd stick with the official retail drives, however.
Toshiba OCZ RD400 (M.2 or AIC): Toshiba was the first to get a 1TB M.2 SSD to market, and initial demand was very high. Prices on the 1TB drive remain high, pitting them directly against the Samsung 950 Pro / 960 Pro. The RD400 models aren't quite as fast as Samsung's equivalents, with the 1TB drive rated at 2,600/1,550 MB/s and 210K/130K IOPS, but despite the relatively tame specs the drive does better than most of the non-Samsung competition in actual performance.
Toshiba XG3 (M.2): All indications are that the XG3 is the same hardware as the RD400, only it's a drive sold solely to OEMs. That means no direct warranty support and it's difficult to find for purchase. We did find one 512GB drive at Newegg, at a relatively low price, though other drives are a safer bet.
WD Black 512GB (M.2): WD has been a player in the storage arena for decades, but the company is a newcomer to the SSD scene. The WD Black uses a Marvell 88SS1093 controller paired with SanDisk 15nm TLC planar NAND. The result is performance that's near the bottom of the NVMe charts in most of our tests. However, like the Intel 600p, this is also one of the least expensive drives. Rated at 2050/800MB/s and 170k/134k IOPS read/write, the specs don't look too bad, but real-world testing puts the WD Black just barely ahead of the faster SATA drives. Unless you only do a lot of sequential writes, in which case it's several times faster.
Zotac Sonix 480GB (AIC): Zotac uses the same Phison PS5007-E7 controller as Corsair's MP500. Phison used to be the whipping boy of SSD controllers, but since their S10 line came out in 2015, they've improved dramatically. The Zotac Sonix boasts high sustained transfer rates of 2,800/1,500 MB/s; unfortunately, random IO doesn't fare as well, despite the 300K/200K IOPS rating. Combined with the limited options (the NVMe Sonix is only available as a 480GB AIC) and high price, it's difficult to recommend at present.
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