KingSpec X400

The KingSpec OneBoom X400 delivers 7400 MB/s reads and a stellar 1800 TBW endurance rating at a price that undercuts the big brands. It's DRAM-less, so sustained writes aren't its strong suit, but for gaming and everyday use it's excellent. Prices swing wildly from USD 68 to USD 177, so shop around. At the low end, it's one of the best budget PCIe 4.0 drives you can buy.

The headline numbers are legit. 7400 MB/s sequential read and 6600 MB/s write put this drive in the 89th percentile for speed in our database. That's not quite the absolute top of the PCIe 4.0 heap, but it's close enough that you won't notice the difference in real-world gaming. Loading Cyberpunk 2077 or Starfield, you're looking at load times that feel nearly instant compared to a PCIe 3.0 drive. KingSpec claims map transitions under 7 seconds in Cyberpunk on a 13700K and RTX 4090, and while we can't verify that exact number, the specs support the general claim.

The DRAM-less design is the thing to watch here. Without a DRAM cache, the drive relies on HMB (Host Memory Buffer) to handle the mapping tables. For gaming and everyday use, that's fine. Modern NVMe drives with HMB perform nearly as well as DRAM-equipped drives in most consumer workloads. But if you're doing sustained writes, like moving hundreds of gigabytes of video footage, you'll see performance dip more than you would on a drive with dedicated DRAM. The random performance sits at the 59th percentile, which is about average. Not a dealbreaker, but it tells you this drive is optimized for big sequential reads, not database-style random access.

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus is the obvious comparison. It's a DRAM-less drive too, but Samsung's controller and firmware are more refined, and you get a 5-year warranty. The 990 EVO Plus also has better random performance, which matters if you're doing more than just gaming. But the X400 beats it on endurance, with 1800 TBW versus the Samsung's typical 600 TBW for a 1TB drive. That's a huge gap if you're writing a lot of data.

The Lexar NM790 and Crucial T500 are also worth a look. The NM790 is another DRAM-less drive with similar speeds, often priced competitively. The Crucial T500 has DRAM and is one of the best all-around PCIe 4.0 drives, but it costs more. The WD Blue SN5100 is a solid budget option, but its speeds are lower than the X400's. The MSI Spatium M480 is a closer match on speed, but it's usually pricier. For pure gaming on a budget, the X400 holds its own against all of these, especially if you catch it at the low end of its price range.

Here's where things get interesting. The X400 1TB is listed anywhere from USD 68 to USD 177 across US retailers. That's a massive spread, and it means the value proposition changes completely depending on where you buy. At USD 68, this drive is an absolute steal. You're getting 89th percentile speed and 96th percentile endurance for less than most budget drives. At USD 177, you're in Samsung 990 EVO Plus territory, and at that point the Samsung's DRAM cache and 5-year warranty start to look worth the extra peace of mind.

The best deal in our data is on Amazon, where the lower end of that range applies. If you can snag it for under USD 100, it's hard to argue with the price-to-performance ratio. Just keep an eye on the price history. One reviewer mentioned the 4TB version jumping from USD 238.99 to USD 305.99 in a single month, and now it's over USD 400. KingSpec's pricing seems to fluctuate more than the big brands, so patience pays off.

The KingSpec OneBoom X400 is one of those drives that makes you do a double take. You see 7400 MB/s read speeds, a heatsink, and a 1TB capacity, and you assume it's going to cost as much as a Samsung or WD flagship. But KingSpec has been quietly undercutting the big names for a while now, and the X400 is their shot at the gaming crowd. It's a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive with TLC NAND, a DRAM-less design, and a thermal solution that KingSpec claims keeps things cool even during marathon sessions.

Who's this for? Gamers who want fast load times without paying the Samsung tax, PS5 owners looking for a cheap capacity bump, and anyone building a budget-friendly rig that still needs to handle Unreal Engine 5 titles. The endurance rating is genuinely impressive at 1800 TBW, which puts it in the 96th percentile in our database. That's the kind of longevity you'd expect from a drive costing twice as much.

The interesting bit here is the trade-off. You're getting flagship-tier sequential speeds and excellent endurance, but you're giving up DRAM cache and some of the polish you'd get from a Samsung or Crucial. For most gamers, that's a trade worth making. For heavy workstation users, maybe not. We'll dig into that below.

If you're a content creator who regularly moves large video files, runs virtual machines, or does database work, this drive isn't for you. The DRAM-less design and average random performance will show their limits under sustained write loads. You'd be better served by the Crucial T500 or a DRAM-equipped Samsung drive, both of which handle sustained writes more gracefully.

Also skip this if you value warranty coverage and long-term support. The 3-year warranty is fine, but Samsung and Crucial offer 5 years, and their firmware update processes are more established. If you're the type who wants to set it and forget it for half a decade without thinking about drive health, the big brands offer more peace of mind.

If you're a gamer looking for a fast, reliable 1TB drive and you can find the X400 for under USD 100, buy it. The sequential speeds are excellent, the endurance is best-in-class, and the included heatsink is a nice touch for PS5 or laptop use. You won't notice the lack of DRAM in games, and the TLC NAND means you're not dealing with the slowdowns that plague QLC drives.

For content creators or anyone doing heavy sustained writes, look elsewhere. The DRAM-less design and average random performance will frustrate you when you're moving large video files or running virtual machines. In that case, the Crucial T500 or a DRAM-equipped Samsung is worth the extra money. But for the gaming crowd, the X400 is a genuinely good deal at the right price.