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In early 2026, the best affordable M.2 SSDs continue to be strong Gen4 performers like the WD Black SN7100 and Samsung’s 990 EVO Plus. Both delivering top-tier performance without DRAM. There’s also a small number of reasonably priced Gen5 drives worth considering if you have a compatible motherboard, but the value proposition there has become murkier.
The major and unfortunate change since 2025 is that all high-end memory products, SSDs included, are quickly becoming less affordable due to AI-induced shortages. On top of that, Micron abandoned its Crucial consumer brand entirely in February 2026 redirecting all supply to enterprise customers. As a result, Crucial SSDs are available only as long as current stock lasts.
Keep reading for a closer look at today’s value champions and buying advice given current market conditions.
Best Value NVMe SSDs
Despite market challenges, you can still find excellent price-to-performance ratios in the PCIe 4.0 space. If you’re looking for that extra sequential throughput from a PCIe 5.0 x4 slot, Crucial’s P510 offers one of the most reasonable entry points into Gen5 territory.
Last update on 2026-04-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Our go-to benchmark for comparing SSDs is UL’s 3DMark Storage Benchmark, which focuses on a number of specific, real-world gaming scenarios including installing, loading, and recording games (which is also indicative of many use cases besides gaming). There is a clear distance between current and previous-gen DRAM-less drives, but also to the top-tier Gen5 SSD.
It is readily apparent that entry-level Gen5 SSDs are not dramatically faster than their best Gen4 counterparts for typical gaming and productivity workloads. What’s more striking is that the latest DRAM-less drives perform remarkably well – on par with older flagships like the 990 PRO. This is great news, as the DRAM factor was a major cost-driver even before the current shortage situation.
Today’s DRAM-less SSDs with 4-channel controllers have taken a huge leap forward from just a few years ago. Some standout options include:
Samsung 990 EVO Plus – Excellent DRAM-less SSD
Samsung’s 990 EVO Plus technically qualifies as a Gen5 hybrid SSD, but since it can only utilize two PCIe 5.0 lanes (rather than the standard four), it maxes out at Gen4 transfer rates. However, in any Gen4 system, it will use practically all available bandwidth from four lanes at its maximum sequential read speed of 7,250 MB/s. Random performance is also impressive for a DRAM-less SSD: 1,050K read and 1,400K write IOPS for the 2TB model, from a 5nm Samsung Piccolo controller paired with Samsung’s 8th-generation V8 236-layer TLC.
Important note: Don’t confuse the 990 EVO Plus with the non-Plus 990 EVO, which is significantly slower across all metrics.
Budget Gen5 SSDs: The E31T Lineup
Until mid-2025, the Gen5 space was largely limited to flagship M.2 SSDs, but this changed with DRAM-less drives using the Phison PS5031-E31T controller. Built on TSMC’s 7nm process with four channels and modern high-density NAND, these drives bring Gen5 sequential speeds without the heat and power draw of first-generation Gen5 hardware. SSDs currently using this configuration include:
- Crucial P510 (Amazon) – Micron G9 276-layer TLC; 11,000/9,500 MB/s (1TB), 10,000/8,700 MB/s (2TB)
- PNY CS2150 (Amazon) – Kioxia BiCS8 TLC; up to 10,300/8,600 MB/s
- Corsair MP700 Elite/Micro (Amazon) – Kioxia BiCS8 TLC; up to 10,000/8,500 MB/s (2TB)
- Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 (Amazon) – Kioxia BiCS8 TLC; up to 10,000/8,200 MB/s (2TB)
Note that Crucial stopped selling the P510 as part of Micron’s exit from the consumer market in February 2026. The other SSDs are functionally very similar drives, using the same Phison E31T controller, same Kioxia NAND. If you can find either at a better price point, it’s the more sensible pick.
These drives launched with premium pricing versus Gen4 SSDs, but by early 2026 prices are more competitive (though rising overall NAND costs mean they’re not necessarily cheaper in absolute terms). The Crucial P510 offers good all-around performance with excellent sustained write speeds and power efficiency that’s notably better than early Gen5 drives. One curiosity worth flagging: the 2TB P510 is rated slightly slower than the 1TB variant (10,000 vs. 11,000 MB/s sequential read), an unusual inversion that reviewers noted but couldn’t fully explain.
If you have a recent system with a Gen5 x4 M.2 slot, these drives warrant consideration when priced competitively.
Best Laptop SSD: WD Black SN7100
If you need an affordable SSD upgrade for your laptop or handheld gaming device (this drive now has a corresponding 2230 variant), the WD Black SN7100 deserves a spot on your list of candidates. This drive stands out for its exceptional power efficiency topping efficiency charts relative to performance. Despite having no onboard DRAM cache, it competes with the best Gen4 SSDs available.
The SN7100 offers significant improvement over its already-excellent SN770 predecessor. Its sequential throughput uses most of the available bandwidth, with the 2TB model reaching 7,250 MB/s reads and 6,900 MB/s writes. Its single-sided design makes it compatible with most laptops, consoles, and small form factor systems. Needless to say, it’s also a solid pick for a full-size desktop system, even if power efficiently matters less in that context. .
Cheap Entry-Level NVMe SSDs
What separates the cheapest NVMe SSDs from slightly more expensive DRAM-less options is primarily the NAND quality tier. The cheapest drives often use QLC (quad-level cell) NAND, which is generally slower and less durable than TLC (triple-level cell) NAND.
However, these drives can still be excellent choices for secondary storage, external USB-C enclosures, or entry-level PCs. The gap between QLC and TLC has narrowed in recent generations, though it has not closed.
Top choices in this category include, in order of performance:
- Crucial P310
- Kingston NV3
- WD Blue SN5000
Crucial P310 – Top QLC Performance in 2026
Although launched in mid-2024, Crucial’s P310 is still one of the best budget QLC-based SSD on the market, and a major improvement over the P3 that it replaced. Its maximum sequential performance approaches the Gen4 x4 interface limits at 7,100 MB/s (read) and 6,000 MB/s (write). Random performance is also excellent at 1M+ IOPS.
The P310 even outperforms the 990 EVO Plus in some benchmarks, which is remarkable for a QLC drive. However, the endurance rating reflects its QLC nature: 440 TBW for the 2TB model versus 1,200 TBW for comparable TLC drives.
Other Budget QLC Gen4 SSDs
Depending on daily prices and availability, the Kingston NV3 and WD Blue SN5000 are worth considering as budget alternatives. Kingston’s NV3 offer major improvements over its predecessor (the NV2). The WD Blue SN5000 comes with TLC on the 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities, and QLC on the 4TB. For a primary system drive, the SN5000’s TLC variants are the better long-term choice, with PCWorld noting it as one of the faster HMB SSDs in real-world workloads.
| Budget QLC Gen4 SSDs | Product (1TB capacity) | Sequential read/write (MB/s) | 4K random read/write (IOPS) | DRAM | NAND Type | Endurance/ Warranty | Latest Price* | Check Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Kingston NV3 | 6000/4000 | N/A | N/A | QLC | 320 TBW/ 5-Year | Price not available | Amazon |
 | Corsair MP600 Core XT | 5000/3500 | 700K/900K | N/A | QLC | 250 TBW/ 5-Year | Price not available | 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 | Price not available | Amazon Newegg |
Among slightly older alternatives, the Corsair MP600 Core XT and MSI’s Spatium M461 both use the Phison E21T controller with QLC NAND – the same combination tested in our Corsair MP600 Mini review, where 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, denoting an SSD without the DRAM. This contrasts with traditional SSD design, where onboard DRAM acts as a buffer to improve read and (especially) write speeds while reducing latency. DRAM operates orders of magnitude faster than NAND storage media. Unfortunately, it also increases manufacturing costs and retail prices.
To compensate for the lack of DRAM, DRAM-less SSDs employ a host memory buffer, or HMB. Instead of onboard DRAM, the SSD uses an insignificant portion of the host PC’s main memory (usually 64MB) as a mapping cache. Modern implementations of HMB have become so effective that current DRAM-less drives often match or exceed the performance of older drives with dedicated DRAM – a major part of why the DRAM-less category now dominates the budget and midrange market.
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) through TLC (triple-level cell) to QLC (quad-level cell) NAND has introduced endurance and performance-related challenges.
First, all else being equal, QLC NAND performs significantly worse than TLC. The higher density makes QLC slower and more error-prone, requiring manufacturers to implement correction measures. They accomplish this partly by using an SLC (single-level cell) cache. Once this faster cache fills, the SSD writes directly to QLC memory, reducing performance to a fraction of maximum sequential rates. This affects TLC-based SSDs as well, but less dramatically.
Second, endurance ratings for QLC-based SSDs tend to be much lower than TLC equivalents. The 2TB Crucial P310 carries a 440 TBW rating versus 1,200 TBW for the 2TB SN7100 or 990 EVO Plus – a 2.7x difference. For average gaming and office use this is rarely a meaningful constraint, but it matters if you do video editing or other write-heavy work. You can clone your existing OS to an M.2 SSD using free methods if you’re upgrading rather than building fresh, which slightly reduces the write burden during setup.
The main issue with QLC SSDs historically hasn’t been reliability or speed (they’re actually quite good at both), but rather that they haven’t been cheap enough compared to their more durable TLC counterparts. The P310 remains good value within the QLC category, but the price gap between it and TLC drives like the SN7100 is narrow enough that for a primary drive, TLC is still the better long-term choice for most users.
Summary: Get TLC NAND and Check TBW Ratings
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.
To wrap this up:
- PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSDs now offer the best value overall – The WD Black SN7100 and Samsung 990 EVO Plus remain the top picks. In real-world loading times and everyday use, you’re not missing much by choosing Gen4 over Gen5 for typical gaming and productivity workloads.
- TLC NAND remains preferable to QLC for most users – Although QLC technology has improved dramatically (the P310 is genuinely impressive), TLC still offers better endurance and more consistent performance.
- Don’t compromise on endurance or warranty – On that same note, you don’t have to settle for mediocre endurance ratings or reduced warranty 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.
- Consider Gen5 if you have compatible hardware – The Phison E31T-based drives (PNY CS2150, Corsair MP700 Elite) are a reasonable entry into Gen5 without the heat issues of early Gen5 drives. The practical advantage over the best Gen4 DRAM-less drives is however small for gaming and productivity, and prices have risen along with the rest of the NAND market.
There’s also the increasingly obvious matter of market dynamics. AI data center operators are gobbling up all the DRAM and NAND they can get their hands on, which is driving up prices for us mere mortals. Waiting for a sale or for price per GB to keep dropping is a very long-term approach, as manufacturers have sold out their entire year’s production and exit the consumer market entirely. If you’re building or upgrading a PC in 2026, it is likely a good idea to secure your storage capacity early in the process.
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.
Great article with very useful comparisons and analyses. Essential shopping guide.
Thanks!