Best M.2 Drive
The Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 is probably the best, at least in terms of speed ( more on this one below ).
Personally, I have these two drives. The 970 is NVMe and is faster.
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus - 1TB - NVMe M.2
- Samsung 860 EVO - 1TB - SATA M.2
I have a short write up on them here:
You can find them on Amazon here:
Here is a list of top drives that we’re going to go over in more detail:
- Adata XPG SX8200 Pro (1TB)
- Intel Optane SSD 905P (1TB)
- Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 (2TB)
- Samsung 970 PRO (1TB)
- Silicon Power P34A80 (1TB)
- Sabrent Rocket Q (8TB)
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus (1TB)
- WD Blue SN550 (250GB)
- Patriot Viper VPR100
- Samsung 860 EVO (250GB)
Also I have a write up on Ultra M.2 HERE.
Best M.2 Drive Table
Here is a table comparing the drives. You can find more details on them ( including where to buy them ) if you keep scrolling down.
| Drive | Capacities | Form Factor | Transfer Interface/Protocol | Sequential Reads/Writes | Warranty/Endurance |
| Adata XPG SX8200 Pro (1TB) | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB | M.2 2280 Double-sided | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 3,500 MBps / 3,000 MBps | 5 Years / 640 TBW |
| Intel Optane SSD 905P | 380GB, 480GB, 960TB, 1.5TB | Half-Height, Half Length / U.2 15mm / M.2 22110 | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 2,600 MBps / 2,200 MBps | 5 Years / Up to 27.37 TBW |
| Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 (2TB) | 512GB, 1TB | M.2 2280 Double-sided | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 5,000 MBps / 4,400 MBps | 5 Years / 3,600 TBW (with registration) |
| Samsung 970 PRO (1TB) | 512GB, 1TB | M.2 2280 Single-sided | PCIe 3.1 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 3,500 MBps / 2,700 MBps | 5 Years / 1,200 TBW |
| Silicon Power P34A80 (1TB) | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB | M.2 2280 Double-sided | PCIe 3.1 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 3,400 MBps / 3,000 MBps | 5 Years / 500 TBW |
| Sabrent Rocket Q (8TB) | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | M.2 2280 Double-sided | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 3,300 MBps / 2,900 MBps | 5 Years (with registration) / 1800 TBW |
| Samsung 970 EVO Plus (1TB) | 20GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | M.2 2280 Single-sided | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 3,500 MBps / 3,200 MBps | 5 Years / 300 TBW |
| WD Blue SN550 (250GB) | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | M.2 2280 Single-sided | PCIe 3.1 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 2.400 MBps / 950 MBps | 5 Years / 150 TBW |
| Patriot Viper VPR100 | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB | M.2 2280 Double-sided w/heatsink | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | 3,300 MBps / 2,900 MBps | 5 Years / 1600 TBW |
| Samsung 860 EVO (1TB) | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | 2.5” 7mm / M.2 2280 Double-sided | SATA 3 / AHCI | Up to 550 MBps / 520 MBps | 5 Years / Up to 2,400 TBW |
Adata XPG SX8200 Pro (1TB)
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Class-leading performance
- Class-leading power efficiency
- Black PCB w/ stylish DIY heat spreader
- SSD Toolbox and cloning software included
Cons:
- Same endurance as the non-Pro model
Intel Optane SSD 905P
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Exceptional mixed workload performance
- Leading random read performance
- Endurance up to 27.37 PBW
- LEDs to light up your PC
- AES 256bit encryption support
- SSD Toolbox included
Cons:
- Extremely high cost per GB
- Won’t work in laptops
- High power consumption
- Lower sequential performance than NAND based SSDs
- No GUI LED control
Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 (2TB)
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- High performance and efficiency
- Class-leading endurance
- Aesthetics
- Up to 5 years warranty
- Software suite
Cons:
- Slow write speed after write cache fills
- 1 year warranty without registration
Samsung 970 PRO (1TB)
I think this is supposed to be a higher end version of the Samsung 970 EVO Plus. It’s definitely not a bad choice.
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Class-leading performance
- Excellent endurance
- Full Disk Encryption
- SSD Toolbox and cloning software included
Cons:
- Limited capacity range (512GB, 1TB)
- Expensive
Silicon Power P34A80 (1TB)
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Speedy performance
- Competitive prices
Cons:
- Lower endurance than the competition
- No software toolbox support at the time of writing
Sabrent Rocket Q (8TB)
This has the highest capacity of any of the drives on the list. I would want to double check that though.
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Highest-capacity M.2 SSD available
- Competitive performance and efficiency
- Up to five-year warranty
- Software support
Cons:
- Slow write speed after write cache fills
- May throttle without cooling
- Expensive
- Low endurance-per-GB compared to TLC
Samsung 970 EVO Plus (1TB)
I just recently purchased this drive ( August 2020 ). It is a replacement for my Samsung 860 EVO. This is a solid drive. It has been working great for me so far. I’m using it with my ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard.
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Solid overall performance
- Black PCB
- Excellent software package
Cons:
- Could use further efficiency optimization
WD Blue SN550 (250GB)
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Affordable and efficient
- Competitive Performance
- 5-year warranty
Cons:
- Small SLC cache
- 1TB maximum capacity
- Power optimization on desktops could be better
Patriot Viper VPR100
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Solid performance
- Class-leading endurance
- Available in capacities up to 2TB
- Attractive RGB lighting and heatsink
Cons:
- Small write cache
- Some lighting settings may affect performance
- No SSD toolbox or cloning software
Samsung 860 EVO (1TB)
This is a SATA drive ( not NVMe ) so it doesn’t use PCIe lanes. It comes in both M.2 and 2.5 inch form factors. I have this drive but recently replaced it with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus. Both are still connected to my PC. It has worked pretty well for me over the past year.
Find it on Amazon HERE.
Pros:
- Strong Performance
- Class-Leading Endurance
- TCG Opal, eDrive encryption support
- SSD Toolbox and cloning software included
Cons:
- Write performance after TurboWrite exhausts
- At the SATA performance ceiling
Small Print
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