Addlink 1TB SSD PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2

10,300 MB/s sequential reads put the Addlink G55 in the top 4% of drives we've tested. It's DRAM-less and endurance is just average, but the price undercuts most Gen5 competitors. If you want near-flagship speed on a budget, this is a strong pick.

Sequential reads at 10,300 MB/s and writes at 9,000 MB/s put this drive in elite territory. We're talking top 4% of all drives we've tested for raw speed. That's faster than most people's RAM was a decade ago, which is a fun thought. The 7nm controller keeps thermals in check, and Addlink claims it doesn't throttle under sustained load, which matters if you're moving hundreds of gigabytes of video footage.

Random performance is more middle-of-the-road at the 62nd percentile. That's fine for gaming and everyday use, but if you're hammering the drive with database workloads or heavy multitasking, you'll notice it's not a record-setter there. The DRAM-less design with HMB works well enough for most people, but it's the reason this drive costs less than the Samsung 990 PRO.

Against the Samsung 990 PRO, the G55 actually wins on raw sequential speed, 10,300 MB/s versus the 990 PRO's 7,450 MB/s. But the 990 PRO has DRAM and better random performance, so it's more consistent across all workloads. The Crucial T500 is a closer match on price, but it's a Gen4 drive topping out around 7,400 MB/s, so the G55 smokes it in sequential transfers. The Kingston Fury Renegade and WD_BLACK SN8100 are both strong Gen4 options, but neither touches the G55's peak numbers. The Lexar NM1090 PRO is the real Gen5 rival here, with similar specs and a similar price, so that's the one to cross-shop.

At $207 USD, the G55 undercuts several Gen5 competitors while delivering near-flagship sequential speeds. You're getting 96th percentile speed for a price that sits below the midpoint for affordability. The EUR pricing ranges from 238 to 252, which tracks similarly. The real question is whether you need Gen5 at all. If you're coming from a Gen4 drive, the jump to 10,300 MB/s is noticeable in large file transfers but less so in everyday tasks. For the speed you're getting, this is a solid deal.

The Addlink G55 hits 10,300 MB/s sequential reads, which puts it in the 96th percentile for speed in our database. That's the headline here. You're getting near the top of the Gen5 charts without paying the absolute premium that some flagship drives demand. The 9,000 MB/s write speed isn't far behind either, so large file transfers and game installs fly.

But this drive is a study in trade-offs. It's DRAM-less, relying on HMB to keep things moving, and the endurance and capacity scores sit right around the middle of the pack. The 5-year warranty is a nice safety net, and the single-sided M.2 2280 design means it'll actually fit in laptops and tight builds. Just don't expect it to be a portable drive, that score is rough.

Skip this drive if you need something portable. The 18.2/100 portable score is one of the worst we've seen, so don't plan on throwing this in an external enclosure for on-the-go work. Also skip it if your workload is random-heavy, the 62nd percentile random performance means drives like the Samsung 990 PRO will feel snappier in database or virtualization tasks. And if you're still on PCIe 3.0, you're paying for speed you can't use.

If you want Gen5 speed without paying Gen5 flagship prices, the Addlink G55 is a compelling option. The 10,300 MB/s read speed is legitimately top-tier, and the 5-year warranty gives you some peace of mind. The DRAM-less design and average endurance are the compromises you make for the price. For gamers and content creators who mostly do large sequential transfers, this drive makes a lot of sense. For heavy random workload users, look elsewhere.