Lexar 4TB SSD PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280

The Lexar NQ780 is a 4TB Gen 4 drive with 7000 MB/s reads and a single-sided design that fits in laptops. It's priced between USD 500 and USD 655, which is steep for a DRAM-less drive with only 4 customer reviews. The WD Black SN850X and Crucial T500 offer better value for desktop users. Buy it only if you need 4TB in a thin laptop and can get it at the USD 500 price.

The NQ780 hits 7000 MB/s read and 6000 MB/s write at its best. That puts it in the upper-middle of the Gen 4 pack. Not the absolute fastest, but fast enough that you won't notice a difference in game load times or boot-ups compared to a 7400 MB/s drive. The 8-channel controller helps with sustained writes, which is where cheaper DRAM-less drives usually fall apart. Once the SLC cache fills up, this drive should hold its speed better than budget alternatives.

Random performance lands at the 62nd percentile in our database. That's about average for this class. For gaming and everyday use, you won't feel it. For heavy workstation tasks like video editing or database work, you might notice the difference compared to a drive with DRAM. The HMB technology helps close that gap, but it's not magic. If you're moving huge files around all day, a DRAM-equipped drive will still feel snappier.

The WD Black SN850X is the obvious rival. It's faster in random workloads, has DRAM, and WD's warranty support is well-established. If you're building a desktop and don't care about the single-sided design, the SN850X is the safer bet at a similar price. The Crucial T500 is another strong competitor. It's often cheaper, has DRAM, and Crucial's reliability reputation is excellent. The T500 also hits similar sequential speeds, so you're not giving up much.

The Samsung 9100 PRO is a different beast entirely. It's a Gen 5 drive, so it's significantly faster if your motherboard supports it. But it's also more expensive and overkill for most people. The Kingston FURY Renegade G5 is another Gen 5 option that makes the NQ780 look dated on paper. But again, Gen 5 drives run hot and need proper cooling. For a laptop, the NQ780's single-sided design and power management make more sense than any Gen 5 drive.

Here's where things get tricky. The NQ780 costs between USD 500 and USD 655 depending on the vendor. That's a USD 155 spread, which is wild. Best Buy has the lowest price at USD 500, and that's the one to grab if you're set on this drive. At USD 655, you're paying way too much for what you get.

For context, the WD Black SN850X 4TB often sells in a similar range, and it has a proven track record, DRAM cache, and a clean 5-year warranty. The Crucial T500 is another strong option that frequently undercuts this price. The NQ780's affordability percentile sits at 16th, meaning it's more expensive than 84% of comparable drives. That's a tough pill to swallow for a DRAM-less design with almost no customer feedback.

The Lexar NQ780 is a 4TB PCIe 4.0 drive that wants to be your everything drive. Big capacity, decent speed, and a single-sided design that actually fits in laptops. That last part matters more than you'd think. A lot of high-capacity drives are double-sided, and they simply don't fit in thinner machines. Lexar made a point of keeping this one slim, and that's a real differentiator.

But here's the thing. This drive sits in a weird spot. It's not the fastest Gen 4 drive out there, and it's not the cheapest either. The price bounces between USD 500 and USD 655 depending on where you look. For that money, you're competing with drives like the WD Black SN850X and Crucial T500, both of which have stronger reputations and better warranties.

Who's this for? Someone who needs 4TB in a laptop and wants a drive that just works. The DRAM-less design with HMB support is fine for most people. The 1200 TBW endurance rating is solid for the capacity. And the 5-year warranty mentioned in the highlights is a nice touch, though the spec sheet also lists a 1-year warranty, which is confusing. We'll get into that.

Desktop builders should look elsewhere. The NQ780's main advantage is its single-sided design, which doesn't matter in a desktop with proper M.2 slots and heatsinks. The WD Black SN850X and Crucial T500 both offer better random performance and DRAM caches at similar or lower prices. If you're building a gaming rig, those are the smarter picks.

Anyone who needs proven reliability should also skip this. With only 4 customer reviews and a social proof ranking in the bottom 5th percentile, there's just not enough real-world data to trust this drive for critical work. If you're storing important projects or running a business off this drive, go with a brand that has thousands of reviews and a clear warranty policy. The inconsistent warranty info alone is enough to make me nervous about recommending this for anything mission-critical.

If you need 4TB in a laptop and the single-sided design is a hard requirement, the NQ780 is worth considering. It's one of the few high-capacity drives that actually fits in thinner machines. The performance is good enough for gaming and general use, and the 1200 TBW endurance means you won't wear it out quickly. Just make sure you buy it at the USD 500 price point, not USD 655.

For desktop users, I'd steer you toward the WD Black SN850X or Crucial T500 instead. Both offer better random performance, DRAM caches, and more established reliability records at similar or lower prices. The NQ780 isn't a bad drive, but it's hard to recommend when the competition is this strong and this drive has almost no real-world feedback to lean on.