Inland QN460

The Inland QN460 is a solid budget PCIe 4.0 drive with surprisingly good random performance and a 6-year warranty. But the online pricing is too high for a DRAM-less drive. Wait for a sale or buy it in-store at Micro Center.

The QN460 hits its advertised numbers in our testing, which is more than we can say for some budget drives. Sequential reads land right around 6,000 MB/s and writes around 5,300 MB/s, putting it in the strong range for PCIe 4.0 drives. Random performance is the real surprise here, sitting in the 83rd percentile, which means it handles everyday tasks and game loads better than its price tag suggests. The DRAM-less design doesn't hurt as much as it used to thanks to HMB, but sustained writes will dip once the SLC cache fills up. That's just how these budget drives work.

Stacked against the Samsung 9100 PRO or the WD_BLACK SN7100, the QN460 is clearly a step down. Those drives have DRAM, higher endurance ratings, and faster sustained performance. The Crucial T710 and Lexar NM1090 PRO also outpace it in most metrics. But the QN460 isn't trying to compete with those. It's a budget drive that does the basics well. The random performance is the one area where it punches above its weight, landing in the 83rd percentile. For a secondary drive or a budget build, that's enough. For a primary drive in a high-end rig, you'll want one of the competitors.

Pricing is all over the place depending on where you shop. The US listing shows $195, which is steep for a 1TB DRAM-less drive when you can get faster options for less. The CAD listing at $410 is even harder to justify. But here's the thing, Inland drives are often cheaper in-store at Micro Center than they are online. If you can grab this on sale or as part of a bundle, it makes way more sense. At full online price, you're paying a premium for the convenience of walking out of the store with a drive in hand.

The Inland QN460 is a 1TB PCIe 4.0 drive that promises 6,000 MB/s reads and 5,300 MB/s writes. It's DRAM-less, which is normal for budget drives, and leans on HMB and SLC caching to keep things moving. The 6-year warranty is a nice touch for a drive in this class.

Inland is Micro Center's house brand, so this is the drive you grab when you're already in the store and need something decent without overthinking it. It's not trying to win any speed records, but it's not pretending to be a flagship either.

Skip this if you're doing heavy video editing, running a database, or constantly moving large files. The DRAM-less design and middle-of-the-pack endurance mean sustained writes will slow down and the drive won't last as long under heavy write loads. If you need a workhorse drive, spend a bit more on something with DRAM like the WD_BLACK SN7100 or Crucial T710.

The Inland QN460 is a fine budget NVMe drive for everyday use. It's fast enough for gaming, general productivity, and as a PS5 storage upgrade. The 6-year warranty is a genuine selling point. But the online pricing is hard to swallow when faster drives with DRAM cost less. If you're already at Micro Center and this is on sale, grab it without hesitation. If you're shopping online, there are better deals to be had.