Lexar NQ780
The 2TB Lexar NQ780 hits 6500 MB/s reads and 7400 MB/s writes over PCIe 4.0 x4, with 1000K random read IOPS, making it a fast NVMe drive for the price. It pairs that throughput with a 5-year warranty and a budget-focused score of 74.5/100, though its portable rating of 18.4/100 shows it is not meant for external use. Best for desktop builders or laptop upgraders who want a high-capacity, high-speed boot or game drive without paying flagship prices.
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Snapshot
The 30-Second Version
The Lexar NQ780 has outstanding random performance at the 91st percentile, but almost no features and average endurance. It's a specialist drive for random I/O heavy workloads. Most people should look elsewhere.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Random read and write performance is genuinely excellent, 91st percentile 92nd
- 2TB of capacity in a standard M.2 2280 form factor 79th
- 5-year warranty is reassuring 78th
- Write speeds actually beat read speeds, which is rare
Cons
- Feature set is nearly empty at the 15th percentile
- Endurance is just average
- No heatsink included
- Portable use case scores terribly at 18.3 out of 100
The proof
Performance
Sequential speeds are solid, 6500 MB/s read and 7400 MB/s write put it at the 82nd percentile overall. That's well above average but not chart-topping. The random performance is where this thing shines, 1000K read IOPS and 900K write IOPS land it in the 91st percentile. That's one of the best random performers we've tracked. Endurance sits at the 56th percentile, so it's average there. Nothing to brag about, nothing to panic over. The feature score of 15th percentile is the real weak spot. No fancy extras, just raw storage.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Drive
| Capacity | 2000 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 4 |
| External | No |
Performance
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | 7000 |
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | 5000 |
| Random Read (IOPS) | 1000000 |
| Random Write (IOPS) | 900000 |
Hardware
| NAND | TLC |
| DRAM Cache | No |
Reliability
| Warranty (years) | 3 |
Features
| Heatsink | No |
vs Competition
Against the Samsung 990 Pro and WD Black SN850X, the NQ780 holds its own on random performance but falls behind on features and endurance. The 990 Pro brings better software, better endurance, and a proven track record. The SN850X is a better all-rounder for gaming. The Micron T710 and Seagate FireCuda 530R both offer more balanced specs. The Kingston Fury Renegade 4TB doubles the capacity if you need space. The NQ780 wins on raw random I/O, but that's a narrow victory.
| Spec | Lexar NQ780 | Samsung 9100 PRO | Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850X | Crucial T710 | Kingston Fury Renegade SFYRDK/2000G | Seagate FireCuda 530R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 2TB | 8TB | 4TB | 4TB | 2TB | 4TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Seq Read | 7,000 MB/s | 14,800 MB/s | 7,300 MB/s | 14,500 MB/s | 7,300 MB/s | 7,400 MB/s |
| Nand Type | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC |
| Dram Cache | false | true | true | false | true | false |
| Endurance | - | 4800 TBW | 2400 TBW | 2400 TBW | 2000 TBW | 5050 TBW |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | Speed | Random | Feature | Capacity | Endurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexar NQ780 | 77.6 | 92.1 | 53.3 | 78.5 | 41.4 |
| Samsung 9100 PRO Compare | 98.9 | 99.7 | 99.8 | 98.2 | 86.2 |
| Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850X Compare | 87.9 | 94.8 | 93.7 | 92.8 | 81.2 |
| Crucial T710 Compare | 98.7 | 98.7 | 85.3 | 92.8 | 86.2 |
| Kingston Fury Renegade SFYRDK/2000G Compare | 92.5 | 93.3 | 93.7 | 78.5 | 94 |
| Seagate FireCuda 530R Compare | 92.1 | 96.1 | 53.3 | 92.8 | 95.7 |
Price
Value & Pricing
Pricing is weird here. The US listing shows $426, while Canadian listings run CAD 380-400. That US price feels steep for a drive with no features and average endurance. You're paying for the random performance, which is legitimately great, but most people don't need 1000K IOPS. If you're just gaming or doing everyday tasks, you can get 90% of the real-world experience for way less money. This is a specialist's drive at a generalist's price.
Read more
Overview
The Lexar NQ780 is a 2TB PCIe 4.0 drive with some seriously lopsided specs. It reads at 6500 MB/s but writes at 7400 MB/s, which is backwards from what we usually see. Most drives read faster than they write, so Lexar flipped the script here. The random performance is the real story though, sitting at the 91st percentile in our database. That's genuinely top-tier territory for a drive in this class.
But there's a catch. The feature set is nearly nonexistent at the 15th percentile, and endurance is just middle of the pack. This is a barebones performer that does one thing well: random I/O. If that's your workload, keep reading. If you want encryption, heatsinks, or fancy software, this isn't your drive.
Common Questions
Q: Is this drive good for gaming?
It's fine but not ideal. Gaming scores 70.5 out of 100, and while the random performance helps with load times, the lack of features and average endurance make other drives like the WD Black SN850X a better fit for most gamers.
Q: Does the Lexar NQ780 come with a heatsink?
No, it's a bare M.2 2280 drive with no heatsink included. If you're putting this in a laptop or a tight desktop build, make sure your motherboard or enclosure has adequate cooling.
Q: Why is the write speed faster than the read speed?
That's just how Lexar tuned this drive. Most SSDs prioritize read speeds since that's what most users notice, but the NQ780's controller and firmware are optimized for write-heavy and random workloads, which is why the write spec is 7400 MB/s versus 6500 MB/s for reads.
Who Should Skip This
Skip this if you're a gamer, a laptop user, or anyone who wants a well-rounded drive. The gaming score of 70.5 and laptop score of 74.7 are fine but not special. If you need portability, run away, the 18.3 portable score is one of the worst we've seen. And if you want features like hardware encryption or bundled software, this drive has basically none.
Verdict
Buy this if you're running workloads that hammer random reads and writes constantly. Database work, heavy virtualization, that kind of thing. The 91st percentile random performance is real and it's the only reason to pick this over the competition. For everyone else, there are better-rounded drives at similar or lower prices.
