ADATA LEGEND 860
The ADATA LEGEND 860 hits 6,000 MB/s reads and 5,000 MB/s writes over PCIe 4.0 x4, using SLC NAND in a DRAM-less design that keeps costs down. It adds a heatsink and hardware encryption, plus a 160 TBW endurance rating and 2,000,000-hour MTBF for reliability. Best for workstation users who need fast Gen4 storage on a budget, though its 3-year warranty is shorter than the 5-year claim suggests.
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Snapshot
The 30-Second Version
Fast in a straight line, but the DRAM-less design shows its limits. Get it cheap or get something else.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Blazing 6,000 MB/s sequential reads 96th
- 5-year warranty and 640 TBW endurance 87th
- Hardware encryption included 68th
- Feature set punches above its price
Cons
- DRAM-less design hurts random performance
- Only 500GB capacity here
- Portable score is abysmal
- Social proof is weak, few reviews
The proof
Performance
The headline numbers are 6,000 MB/s read and 5,000 MB/s write, which puts it in the top 25% of drives we've tested for raw speed. That's genuinely impressive for a DRAM-less design. But the random performance is just average, and the portable score is a disaster at 13.7 out of 100. So it's fast in a straight line, but it stumbles when you ask it to multitask.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Drive
| Capacity | 500 |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Protocol | NVMe |
| PCIe Generation | 4 |
| External | No |
Performance
| Sequential Read (MB/s) | 5000 |
| Sequential Write (MB/s) | 3000 |
Hardware
| NAND | SLC |
| DRAM Cache | No |
Reliability
| Endurance (TBW) | 640 |
| MTBF (hours) | 2000000 |
| Warranty (years) | 5 |
Features
| Heatsink | No |
| Hardware Encryption | Yes |
vs Competition
Against the Samsung 990 PRO, the Legend 860 gets smoked in random performance and capacity. The 990 PRO is the better drive, period. But it also costs more. The Crucial T710 and WD_BLACK SN8100 are both stronger all-rounders too. The Legend 860's only real edge is price, and even that depends on which listing you find. If you can snag it at the low end, it's a budget Gen4 option. Otherwise, save up for the Samsung.
| Spec | ADATA LEGEND 860 | Crucial T500 | Samsung 9100 PRO | Western Digital WD_BLACK SN8100 | SK Hynix Platinum P41 | SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850X 850X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB | 1TB | 1TB | 1TB | 2TB | 1TB |
| 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 4.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Seq Read | 5,000 MB/s | 7,300 MB/s | 14,700 MB/s | 14,900 MB/s | 7,000 MB/s | 7,300 MB/s |
| Nand Type | SLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC | TLC |
| Dram Cache | false | true | true | true | true | false |
| Endurance | 640 TBW | 600 TBW | 600 TBW | 2400 TBW | 1200 TBW | 600 TBW |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | Speed | Random | Feature | Capacity | Endurance | Social Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADATA LEGEND 860 | 67.6 | 60.3 | 86.7 | 25.8 | 95.6 | 30.7 |
| Crucial T500 Compare | 90.2 | 95.9 | 98.9 | 54.6 | 83 | 96.6 |
| Samsung 9100 PRO Compare | 98.2 | 98.5 | 97.5 | 54.6 | 86 | 61.8 |
| Western Digital WD_BLACK SN8100 Compare | 99.5 | 99 | 90.2 | 54.6 | 98.1 | 6.9 |
| SK Hynix Platinum P41 Compare | 82 | 96.3 | 93.6 | 78.5 | 86 | 58.8 |
| SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850X 850X Compare | 84.2 | 91.9 | 78.5 | 54.6 | 88 | 48.6 |
Price
Value & Pricing
Pricing is all over the place. In the US you'll see it from $85 to $113, and in Canada from CAD 126 to CAD 140. The best US deal is at the lower end of that range, so shop around before you click buy. At $85 it's a decent value. At $113, you're better off looking at a Samsung 990 PRO or Crucial T710.
We started tracking prices for this product on Nov 8, 2026. The chart appears once we have more data.
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Overview
The ADATA Legend 860 is a weird little drive. It's got Gen4 speeds that'll make your old SATA SSD feel like a floppy disk, but it's also DRAM-less and only comes in a 500GB flavor here. The one thing to know? It's a solid budget pick for everyday desktop use, but don't expect it to hang with the big boys in sustained workloads.
Common Questions
Q: What's the actual capacity and form factor?
It's an M.2 2280 drive, and while the box says 500GB, the usable capacity is 512GB. Standard stuff.
Q: How fast is this thing really?
Up to 6,000 MB/s read and 5,000 MB/s write. That's Gen4 territory, but remember those are sequential numbers. Random performance is just average.
Who Should Skip This
If you're building a portable rig or need consistent performance for video editing or heavy multitasking, this isn't your drive. The portable score is one of the worst we've seen, and the DRAM-less design will frustrate you under load. Go grab a Samsung 990 PRO or WD_BLACK SN8100 instead.
Verdict
The Legend 860 is a fine drive for a basic desktop build or a secondary game library, as long as you get it cheap. It's fast in sequential reads, has a solid warranty, and won't embarrass itself in everyday use. But the DRAM-less design and weak random scores mean it's not the drive for heavy multitaskers or anyone who needs consistent performance under load. Buy it on sale, not at full price.
