Team Group NV5000 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

The NV5000 reads at 4500 MB/s, which is fine, but writes at 1900 MB/s, which is not. It's DRAM-less, lacks a heatsink, and user sentiment sits at the 43rd percentile. If you find it cheap, it's a solid game library drive. Otherwise, spend a bit more on something with DRAM.

The 4500 MB/s sequential read is the headline number, and it's genuinely useful for game load times and booting Windows. But the 1900 MB/s write speed is a letdown. That's roughly half what we see from mid-range Gen4 drives like the Crucial T500, and it shows up when you're moving large files or installing games. The SLC cache helps with bursty writes, but once it fills, you're looking at speeds that feel more like a SATA drive on a good day.

Being DRAM-less is the culprit. Without onboard DRAM, the controller has to work harder on random operations, and our random performance data puts this drive at the 62nd percentile. That's about average, but average in a category where the good drives are really good. The graphene cooling label is a nice touch, though it's not a substitute for an actual heatsink if your motherboard doesn't have one built in.

Against the Crucial T500, the NV5000 gives up a lot. The T500 reads and writes well past 7000 MB/s, has DRAM, and costs about the same in the US. The WD_BLACK SN7100 is another step up, with better endurance and a proper heatsink option. Even the Kingston FURY Renegade G5 leaves the NV5000 behind on writes. Where the NV5000 competes is against older PCIe 3.0 drives and other budget Gen4 options. It's faster than any SATA drive by a wide margin, and the read speed is enough for most gamers. But if you're doing video editing or moving large files regularly, the write speed will frustrate you.

Pricing is all over the place. In the US, you're looking at USD 160 to 162 across three listings, which is a tough sell when faster drives with DRAM sit in the same range. But in Canada, the spread is wild: CAD 110 to CAD 230 across two vendors. At CAD 110, this drive makes a lot of sense as a budget game library. At CAD 230, you're paying flagship money for entry-level performance. If you're in Canada, shop around. The lower end of that range is where the NV5000 earns its keep.

The Team Group NV5000 is an entry-level PCIe 4.0 drive that reads at 4500 MB/s and writes at 1900 MB/s. That read speed lands in the 64th percentile of our database, which is solid for a budget drive but nowhere near the 7000+ MB/s flagships. The write speed is the real story here, it's closer to what we'd expect from a good PCIe 3.0 drive than a Gen4 contender.

For the price, you're getting 1TB of storage, SLC caching, and a graphene cooling label. No DRAM, which matters if you're hammering it with sustained writes. The 320 TBW endurance rating is middle of the pack, and the 3-year warranty is fine but not generous. It's a budget drive that occasionally punches above its weight on reads, while writes remind you what you paid for.

Skip this if you move large files regularly or edit video. The 1900 MB/s write speed will feel slow the first time you transfer a 50GB game. Also skip it if your motherboard lacks an M.2 heatsink and you don't want to buy one separately. And if you're in the US, the USD 160 to 162 price puts it dangerously close to faster DRAM-equipped drives. The NV5000 only makes sense when it's cheap, like that CAD 110 Canadian listing.

The NV5000 is a budget drive with a split personality. Reads are quick enough to feel modern, but writes drag it down to PCIe 3.0 territory. The 320 TBW endurance and 3-year warranty give some peace of mind, and the graphene label is a nice touch. But with no DRAM and no heatsink in the box, you're making compromises. At the right price, especially that CAD 110 listing, it's a decent game storage drive. At full retail, you can do better.