Lexar NM790 4TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

The Lexar NM790 4TB is a fast, DRAM-less Gen4 SSD with excellent endurance and a huge capacity. Sequential speeds are top-tier, random performance is solid, and it's perfect for laptops and PS5s. Worth buying if you need 4TB of reliable speed without Gen5 pricing.

Sequential speeds hit 7400 MB/s read and 6500 MB/s write, which puts this drive in the top tier for Gen4. Random read IOPS land at 1000K, well above average but not chart-topping. The DRAM-less design with HMB 3.0 does the heavy lifting here, and in real-world use you'd be hard pressed to notice the missing cache. Large file transfers and game loads feel snappy. The endurance rating of 3000 TBW is a standout for a 4TB drive, so you can hammer it with writes for years without sweating it.

Against the Samsung 9100 PRO, the NM790 trades blows on sequential reads but gives up some random performance and brand trust. The WD Black SN850X and its SanDisk twin offer similar speeds with a DRAM cache and a much bigger reputation, though they often cost more per gigabyte. The Seagate FireCuda 530R and Kingston Fury Renegade are also solid Gen4 options, but the Lexar's 4TB capacity and endurance rating make it a compelling pick if you want max storage without jumping to Gen5 prices.

At $850 USD, this is not a budget drive, but you're paying for 4TB of fast Gen4 storage. The endurance rating alone makes it a better long-term value than cheaper 4TB options that burn out sooner. If you can find it on sale, it's a strong buy. At full price, it's fair but not a steal.

The Lexar NM790 4TB is a big, fast Gen4 drive that skips the DRAM cache and leans on Host Memory Buffer instead. That keeps power draw down and the price reasonable for a 4TB stick. You get 7400 MB/s reads and 6500 MB/s writes, which is right up there with drives that cost more.

It's single-sided, so it drops into thin laptops without drama, and it's PS5-ready if you need a console storage bump. The 3000 TBW endurance rating is solid for a drive this size. Just don't expect much in the way of community buzz yet, this one flies under the radar.

Skip this if you need the absolute best random read/write performance for heavy workstation use, like 8K video editing or database work. A DRAM-equipped drive like the WD Black SN850X will handle sustained random workloads better. Also skip it if you're on a tight budget and don't actually need 4TB, a 2TB drive will save you a lot of cash.

Buy this if you need a big, fast Gen4 drive for a laptop, PS5, or desktop and you don't want to pay Gen5 money. The 4TB capacity and 3000 TBW endurance are the real selling points. It's a practical workhorse, not a benchmark queen.