Crucial 4TB SSD PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280

Fast, huge, and affordable when you shop around. The QLC endurance hit is worth it for 4TB of Gen4 speed at this price.

The sequential numbers are the star of the show. 7,100 MB/s read and 6,000 MB/s write put this drive in the top tier of Gen4 SSDs, and the random IOPS at 1,000K read and write are best-in-class territory. That's the kind of performance that makes game loads feel snappy and file transfers fly. The catch is you need a PCIe 4.0 slot to actually see those speeds. Drop it in a Gen3 board and you'll leave a lot of performance on the table. The QLC NAND and DRAM-less design mean sustained writes can dip once the SLC cache fills up, but for typical gaming and productivity workloads you'll rarely notice.

The P310 goes head to head with the WD Black SN850X and Samsung 9100 PRO. The SN850X has TLC NAND and a DRAM cache, so it's the better pick if you're doing heavy sustained writes or want maximum endurance. The Samsung 9100 PRO is a Gen5 drive that's faster on paper but costs significantly more and requires a Gen5 slot to really shine. For most gamers and PS5 owners, the P310 delivers 90% of the real-world experience at a much friendlier price. If you're building a workstation that hammers the drive daily, get the SN850X instead.

Pricing is all over the place right now. In the US you'll see this drive listed anywhere from $519 to $795 depending on the vendor, which is a massive spread. If you're paying the low end of that range, this is a fantastic deal for 4TB of Gen4 speed. At the high end, you're getting into territory where better endurance drives start to make more sense. Shop around and don't overpay. The sweet spot is finding it closer to $519 than $795.

The Crucial P310 4TB is a Gen4 drive that punches way above its price class in raw speed. You get 7,100 MB/s reads and 6,000 MB/s writes, which puts it right up there with drives that cost a lot more. The headline here is simple: this is one of the fastest ways to add 4TB of storage to a PS5 or laptop without completely wrecking your wallet. It's QLC and DRAM-less, so it's not a workstation endurance monster, but for gaming and everyday use it's a genuinely great pick.

If you're a content creator who hammers drives with constant large file writes, this isn't your drive. The QLC NAND and DRAM-less design will show their limits under sustained workloads. Go get a WD Black SN850X or a Samsung 990 Pro instead. Same goes if you're still on a Gen3 motherboard and don't plan to upgrade, you'll be paying for speed you can't use.

The Crucial P310 4TB is an easy recommendation for gamers, PS5 owners, and anyone who wants a big, fast Gen4 drive without spending flagship money. The QLC endurance trade-off is real but overblown for typical use. With a 5-year warranty and 800 TBW, most people will never come close to wearing this thing out. Buy it at the right price and you'll be very happy.