Crucial 1TB SSD PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 2280

The Crucial P510 delivers top-tier Gen5 sequential speed at a budget-friendly price. It's DRAM-less, so random performance is just average, but for most people the 11,000 MB/s reads are the whole story. Find it under $250 and it's a no-brainer.

Sequential speeds are the headline here, and they're legit. 11,000 MB/s read and 9,500 MB/s write put this drive at the top of the charts. Real-world stuff like boot times and game loads feel instant. Random performance is more middle of the pack at the 62nd percentile, which is where the DRAM-less design shows up. It's not a dealbreaker for most people, but heavy multitaskers or folks hammering the drive with small file operations might notice it. Endurance sits at the 83rd percentile with 600 TBW, which is above average for a 1TB drive.

Against the Samsung 990 PRO, the P510 wins on raw sequential speed but loses on random performance and overall polish. The Micron T710 is basically a sibling with similar DNA, but it tends to cost more. The Kingston Fury Renegade and Lexar NM1090 PRO are both strong Gen4 and Gen5 options respectively, but the P510 undercuts most of them on price when you find a good deal. The Team Group MP44 is a budget Gen4 drive that can't touch these speeds, but it's also cheaper. If you want the fastest sequential reads for the least money, the P510 is hard to beat.

Here's where it gets interesting. USD prices swing from $210 to $394 across four listings, which is a huge spread. If you can snag it near the low end, this is one of the best Gen5 deals out there. At the high end, you're paying Samsung 990 PRO money for a DRAM-less drive, and that's a tougher sell. Shop around. The EUR spread is also wide, from €262 to €355. Don't pay top dollar for this thing when the same drive is sitting cheaper at another store.

The Crucial P510 is a Gen5 NVMe drive that brings serious speed to the 1TB price bracket. We're talking 11,000 MB/s reads and 9,500 MB/s writes, which puts it in the 96th percentile for speed in our database. That's the absolute best right now for this class of drive.

It's DRAM-less, which usually makes us nervous, but the TLC NAND and Micron's controller work keep things surprisingly smooth. The 600 TBW endurance rating and 5-year warranty are solid too. For a budget-focused Gen5 drive, this thing punches way above its weight.

Skip this if you're building a portable rig or need top-tier random performance. The portable score of 20.6 out of 100 is one of the worst we've seen for that use case, and the DRAM-less design will frustrate anyone doing heavy database work or running lots of VMs. If you need consistent performance under sustained random workloads, look at the Samsung 990 PRO or a drive with DRAM instead.

Buy this if you want Gen5 speed without the Gen5 price tag. It's perfect for gamers and creators who mostly deal with large file transfers and want fast boot times. The DRAM-less design means it's not the best choice for heavy random workloads, but for everyday use and gaming, you'll never notice. Just make sure you shop around for the best price.