Lexar NM790

The Lexar NM790 is a 2TB PCIe 4.0 drive with 7400 MB/s reads and excellent random performance that punches above its price class. It's DRAM-less, which keeps it cool and efficient for laptops, and it's PS5 compatible. Prices vary wildly from $330 to $476 USD, so shop around before you buy. If you find it at the low end, it's one of the best value Gen4 drives on the market.

Let's talk numbers. Sequential reads hit 7400 MB/s and writes land at 6500 MB/s. In our database, that puts the NM790 in the 84th percentile for speed, which translates to 'well above average' but not quite the absolute top of the Gen4 heap. For real-world use, that means game loads, large file transfers, and video scrubbing will all feel snappy. You're not leaving much on the table compared to drives that cost significantly more.

Random performance is where this drive really shines. 1000K random read IOPS and 900K random write IOPS put it in the 92nd percentile for random operations. That's 'one of the best on the market' territory, and it's the kind of performance you feel when opening lots of small files, booting your OS, or running applications that hammer the drive with scattered reads and writes. The DRAM-less design doesn't seem to hurt here at all, which is a testament to how far HMB implementations have come. Endurance is also strong at 1500 TBW, landing in the 91st percentile. For a 2TB drive, that's a lot of write headroom before the NAND starts to wear out.

The NM790's most direct competition comes from the WD_BLACK SN850X and the Samsung 9100 Pro. The SN850X is a DRAM-equipped drive with similar sequential speeds and a much longer reputation for reliability. It typically costs more, but you're paying for that DRAM cache and WD's software ecosystem. The Samsung 9100 Pro is a newer Gen4 flagship that pushes sequential reads even higher, but it commands a premium price that's hard to justify unless you're doing heavy sustained writes. Against both, the NM790 holds its own on random performance and endurance, while undercutting them on price when you find a good deal.

The Kingston Fury Renegade and Seagate FireCuda 530R are also in the mix. The Fury Renegade is another DRAM-less design that competes directly on price, but its random performance doesn't quite match the NM790 in our data. The FireCuda 530R is a solid all-rounder with a strong warranty, but it tends to run hotter and costs more. If you're building a desktop with good airflow, the FireCuda's heat isn't a dealbreaker, but in a laptop, the NM790's cooler operation is a real advantage.

Here's where things get interesting. The NM790 doesn't have a single list price in our data, but the spread across vendors tells a story. In the US, prices range from $330 to $476 across four listings. That's a $146 gap for the exact same drive, which is frankly ridiculous. If you're in Canada, the spread is even wider: CAD 450 to CAD 726 across three listings, a CAD 276 difference. The takeaway is simple: do not buy this drive without checking multiple stores first. The best US deal in our data comes in at $330, and the best Canadian price is CAD 450.

At the low end of that range, the NM790 is an absolute steal. You're getting near-flagship Gen4 performance for what many competitors charge for mid-tier drives. At the high end, it's a lot less compelling, because you're suddenly in Samsung 990 Pro or WD SN850X territory where you get more brand recognition and a longer track record. The value proposition here is entirely dependent on finding a good price, so treat the high-end listings as a trap and hunt for the low ones.

The Lexar NM790 is one of those drives that makes you wonder why you'd pay more for a Samsung or WD badge. On paper, it's a 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive with 7400 MB/s reads and 6500 MB/s writes, which puts it right up against the fastest Gen4 drives on the market. But the interesting part is how it gets there: it's DRAM-less, relying on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) tech instead of an onboard DRAM cache. That's a design choice that usually saves money and power, and Lexar has clearly tuned it well.

Who's this for? Laptop owners, mostly. The laptop score of 84.5 out of 100 is the strongest of the three use-case ratings, and that makes sense. A DRAM-less drive runs cooler and sips less power than a DRAM-equipped one, which matters when you're on battery. It's also PS5-compatible, so console gamers looking to expand storage without breaking the bank should pay attention. The budget score of 80 is solid too, though the total score of 79 suggests this isn't a no-compromise flagship.

The weak spot is portability, scoring just 20.5 out of 100. That's a bit odd for a drive that seems laptop-friendly, but it likely reflects the lack of a bundled enclosure or any portable-focused accessories. If you're planning to toss this in an external USB enclosure and carry it around, the drive itself will be fine, but Lexar isn't positioning it as a portable solution out of the box.

If you're doing heavy sustained write workloads, like professional 4K or 8K video editing, database management, or running virtual machines with lots of disk activity, the DRAM-less design might start to show its limits. In those scenarios, a DRAM-equipped drive like the WD_BLACK SN850X or Samsung 9100 Pro will maintain more consistent write speeds over long sessions. The NM790's excellent random performance doesn't fully compensate for the lack of onboard DRAM when you're hammering it with continuous writes for hours.

You should also skip this if you're looking for a portable drive solution. The portability score of 20.5 out of 100 is the weakest area by far, and while the drive itself works fine in an external enclosure, Lexar isn't offering any portable-focused features or accessories. If you want a drive to carry around and plug into different machines, look at something like a Samsung T7 or a dedicated portable SSD instead. And if you're the type who values brand reputation and a long track record over raw specs, the limited social proof here (just 12 reviews in our database) might give you pause.

For laptop users, this is an easy recommendation. The NM790's combination of strong random performance, low power draw, and competitive pricing makes it one of the best laptop SSD options in our database right now. The 84.5 laptop score backs that up. If you're upgrading a thin-and-light or a gaming laptop, this drive will feel like a genuine upgrade without turning your machine into a space heater.

For desktop users, it's a bit more nuanced. If you're doing heavy sustained writes, like 4K video editing or large database work, a DRAM-equipped drive like the SN850X might be worth the extra money. But for gaming, general productivity, and everyday use, the NM790 is more than enough. Just make sure you're paying the low end of that price range. At $330 USD or CAD 450, it's a no-brainer. At $476 USD or CAD 726, you're overpaying for what you get.