Crucial P310 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

The Crucial P310 1TB delivers 7,100 MB/s Gen4 reads at a budget-friendly price. It's DRAM-less, so random performance is just average, but for gaming and everyday use it's plenty fast. Shop around, prices vary by $62, and at the low end this drive is a steal.

The headline numbers are solid: 7,100 MB/s sequential read and 6,000 MB/s write put this drive in the top tier of Gen4 drives. Our database ranks its speed in the 82nd percentile, which means it's faster than most drives out there but not quite at the absolute top. The DRAM-less design shows up in random performance, where it lands at a middling 61st percentile. For gaming and everyday tasks, you won't feel the difference. For heavy sustained writes or database work, you might. The 1TB capacity is fine for a boot drive plus a decent game library, though it's nothing special compared to 2TB options.

Against the Samsung 990 PRO, the P310 gives up some speed and all of the DRAM cache, but it costs significantly less. The Kingston Fury Renegade and WD_BLACK SN7100 both offer better sustained performance, but again, you'll pay for it. The Lexar NM1090 PRO is a closer match on price but doesn't have Crucial's brand reliability behind it. If you're building a high-end gaming rig and want the absolute best, the 990 PRO is still the king. But if you're upgrading a laptop or a handheld like the ROG Ally X, the P310's power efficiency and price make it a smarter buy.

The P310 1TB is listed between $168 and $230 across US retailers, a $62 spread. That's a big enough gap that you should shop around before clicking buy. At the lower end of that range, this drive is a steal. At the upper end, you're getting into territory where faster drives with DRAM start looking tempting. The budget score of 89.9 out of 100 in our database reflects how well this drive delivers for the money, but only if you find it at a good price.

The Crucial P310 1TB is a Gen4 NVMe drive that punches above its price class. You get 7,100 MB/s reads and 6,000 MB/s writes in a standard M.2 2280 form factor, which means it drops into just about anything with an open slot. It's DRAM-less, but Crucial's G8 NAND and firmware tuning keep it feeling snappy for everyday use.

This is the drive you buy when you want Gen4 speed without paying Samsung 990 PRO money. It's not the fastest thing on the market, but it's fast enough that most people won't notice the difference. And with a 5-year warranty from one of the biggest flash manufacturers around, it's a low-risk upgrade.

Skip this drive if you're doing heavy video editing, running databases, or doing anything that involves sustained large file transfers. The DRAM-less design and average endurance mean it'll slow down under those workloads. Also skip it if you need more than 1TB and don't want to manage your storage, modern games are huge and this fills up quick. And if you're building a top-tier gaming rig where every dollar is already maxed out, spend the extra on a 990 PRO or SN7100 instead.

The Crucial P310 1TB is for people who want a fast, reliable Gen4 SSD without spending premium money. It's perfect for laptop upgrades, handheld gaming consoles, and budget gaming builds. The 5-year warranty and Crucial's reputation mean you can install it and forget about it. If you're a power user who needs sustained write performance or you're building a high-end desktop where every frame matters, you might want to step up to something with DRAM. But for everyone else, this drive is an easy recommendation.