This post includes the best NVMe SSDs among those I’ve reviewed that you can safely bring home today. That is, if you can stomach their recently increased prices due to the component shortage caused by AI.
These are fast internal solid-state drives designed for computers and game consoles that use PCIe Gen 4 or Gen 5 bus speeds — they are the fastest consumer-grade internal storage options. If you’re looking for hard drive replacements, consider this post on the top five SATA drives instead.
Dong’s note: I first published this frequently-revised roundup on April 15, 2025, and last updated it on July 5, 2026, with the latest picks.
Best NVMe SSDs: 2026’s battle-tested list
This list includes the current best NVMe SSDs and their alternatives. It is sorted in recommendation order, with the best options at the top — the numbers indicate the ranking. Scroll down for their performance charts.
Tip
NVMe and SATA are two distinctive internal storage types, with the former being much faster. Currently, the fastest NVMe drives use PCIe 5.0, although PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0 counterparts remain viable options in all cases. All NVMe SSDs can work with motherboards that support all PCIe standards, regardless of revision. Most modern computers come with one or a few M.2 slots to host NVMe SSDs.
The latest drives on this list are mostly PCIe Gen 5, but you’ll find many PCIe Gen 4 options among the alternatives mentioned, all of which were previously among the top five.
Top 5 best NVMe SSDs
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| Name | Micron Crucial P510's Rating | Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus' Rating | Micron Crucial T710's Rating | SANDISK Optimus GX Pro 8100 (formerly WD Black SN8100)'s Rating | SANDISK Optimus GX 7100/M's Rating |
| Price | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rating | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Buy this product |
1. Micron Crucial P510 (PCIe Gen 5×4)
The Crucial P510 is Micron’s third PCIe Gen 5 SSDs, but the first of the standard designed as a mainstream drive. As such, it currently has the best performance-to-cost ratio. That, plus the omission of excessive heat, makes it an excellent deal.
Alternatives:
- Crucial P310
- Crucial P5 Plus
- Crucial P1
- SABRENT Rocket 4 series
- Silicon Power XPower XS70
- Silicon-Power A80
- SK hynix Gold P31
- Shopping links: Compare these drives on Amazon!
Micron Crucial P510's Rating
Pros
Excellent performance; runs relatively cool
Helpful Crucial Storage Executive software
Comparatively affordable, 5-year warranty
Cons
Capacities cap at 2TB (for now)
2. Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus (PCIe Gen 5×2)
The Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus is Samsung’s second attempt at PCIe Gen 5. Like the 990 EVO, it operates as a two-lane drive when running as a PCIe Gen 5 SSD and as a four-lane drive when running as a PCIe Gen 4 SSD. This approach strikes a balance between delivering the necessary performance and reducing unnecessary heat, and it has proven to be a successful approach.
Alternatives from Samsung:
- Samsung SSD 9100 PRO
- Samsung SSD 990 PRO
- Samsung SSD 980 PRO
- Samsung SSD 970 PRO
- Samsung SSD 990 EVO
- Samsung SSD 980
- Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus
- Shopping links: Compare these drives on Amazon!
Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus' Rating
Pros
Excellent performance with PCIe Gen. 4 and Gen. 5
Helpful Samsung Magician software with lots of useful settings and features
Run cool, 5-year warranty
Cons
Only two-lane bandwidth with PCIe 5.0
3. Micron Crucial T710 (PCIe Gen 5×4)
The Crucial T710 is Micron’s third attempt at a high-performance PCIe Gen 5 drive with an effort to reduce the excessive heat exhibited in previous models. And it was a success. The drive delivers top performance while remaining relatively cool to the touch, similar to the case of the Sandisk Optimus GX PRO 8100.
Similar alternatives from Micron:
- Crucial T705
- Crucial T700
- Crucial T500
- Shopping link: Compare these drives on Amazon!
Micron Crucial T710's Rating
Pros
Top PCIe Gen 5 performance with a reasonable level of heat
Helpful Storage Executive dashboard software, hardware encryption support
Available in standard and heatsink versions; 5-year warranty
Cons
Capacity caps at 4TB
4. Sandisk Optimus GX PRO 81000 (formerly WD Black SN8100) (PCIe Gen 5×4)
The SANDISK Optimus GX PRO 8100 (formerly Sandisk WD Black SN8100) is the first flagship internal SSD from Sandisk after the company’s separation from Western Digital, and it’s indeed significant.
Tip
In March 2025, Western Digital (WD) split off SanDisk as a separate company, which now goes by “Sandisk”. The move means WD retains all hard platter-based products (hard drives), including those with “SanDisk” in their model names. Similarly, Sandisk takes over all NAND-based products — SSDs, memory cards, and so on — including those bearing the “WD” in their model names. In January 2026, Sandisk introduced “SANDISK Optimus” as the new brand for its NVMe SSDs, including existing WD Black and WD Blue NVMe drives.
Supporting PCIe Gen 5, the drive proved to be the fastest SSD on the market upon its release. Most importantly, it does not suffer from the heat issues often prevalent in previous Gen 5 NVMe SSDs.
SANDISK Optimus GX Pro 8100 (formerly WD Black SN8100)'s Rating
Pros
Top PCIe Gen 5 performance with manageable heat levels
Helpful Dashboard software
Up to 8TB capacity; standard and heatsink options; 5-year warranty
Cons
No user-accessible features
5. Sandisk Optimus GX 7100 (PCie Gen 4×4)
The Sandisk Optimus GX 7100, represented by the 2230 Optimus GX7100M version, is the only PCIe Gen 4×4 drive on this list. It’s a testament that, when it comes to NVMe, a higher PCIe standard doesn’t necessarily mean better.
Alternative PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSDs from Sandisk (formerly Western Digital):
- Sandisk Optimus 5100 (formerly WD Blue SN5100)
- WD Blue SN5000
- WD Blue SN580
- WD Black SN850
- Sandisk Optimus GX PRO 850X (formerly WD Black SN850X)
- WD Black SN770
- WD Blue SN570
- WD Blue SN550
- Shopping link: Compare these drives on Amazon!
SANDISK Optimus GX 7100/M's Rating
Pros
Excellent PCIe Gen 4 NVMe performance
Available in compact 2230 and standard 2280 designs
Helpful dashboard software
Cons
No 2280 adapter included
No hardware encryption or user-accessible features.
Best NVMe SSDs: The performance charts
Best NVMe SSDs: The takeaway
Over the past decade, the NVMe SSD has gradually become the standard for internal computer storage. It’s now almost impossible to buy a new laptop, even a desktop, that doesn’t use one as the primary storage unit.
While NVMe drives are not created equal, in most cases, any drive that uses PCIe Gen 4 or later will be fast enough for almost any application. That said, if you’re still using a computer with a SATA SSD (or a hard drive), it’s time to upgrade to a new computer, or at least migrate to an NVMe drive to achieve the best possible performance.
On a budget and can’t decide? I’d say get the one with the lowest cost. I’ve used all of these drives for years (and will continue to use them), and none has died on me — I consider myself a heavy user when it comes to moving data around. With the endurance notion in mind, in most cases, what practically separates these storage devices in real-world consumer-grade applications is their cost.
Why buy the SN5100 over the SN7100?
The SN7100 is cheaper (2TB is $120 vs $142 on Amazon).
The SN7100 is available in 4TB.
The SN7100 is TLC vs QLC on the SN5100.
The SN7100 is slightly faster.
It’s not even on your list of alternatives to the SN5100.
I didn’t test/review the SN7100, Matt–looks like you missed the first sentence of this post. I was too busy with CES at the time. But, as mentioned, get the cheapest one when in doubt.
Thanks for all the honest work you’ve done, Dong. I’m sorry for the stain that is the previous commenter. Take it from me, as I’m old: sometimes, it’s better to ignore than try to help. You can’t fix stupid, as they say.
👍
What speeds do people get now using any PCIx nvme to nvme file copy on same windows machine? For example on Windows 11
Per example above I typically max at 1Gbps
That is in the copy performance charts of each review. And no, NVMe SSDs can sustain many hundred times higher that 1Gbps, which is merely 125MB/s.
The highest speed for NVME to NVME I’ve seen reported by Windows is ~1GB/sec. Is that GigaBYTE or GigaBIT (I think the latter)
Well, you first need to be fluent on the units, bits and bytes are quite different, so is Gbps vs. GB/s or Mbps vs. MB/s. Otherwise, your numbers are meaningless.
Second, generally, when it comes to data copy speeds, we use megabytes per second (MB/s).
Third, no, 1GB/s (which is 1000MB/s) is not the cap, neither is even 10GB/s, I’ve seen PCIe Gen 5×4 drives that scored around 11000 MB/s in one-way copy test. Here’s the latest chart. Anyhow, try to do some reading before commenting.
Well first, you come off as condesending, so try to read your own rules.
Second, the numbers are not meaningless. 1GS/s is reported by the MS File Manager.
Third, the original point I wanted to make is that any reporting of NVME speeds needs to take the OS into account when reporting. MS acknowledged there own kernel issues affecting copy/write speeds. (which could explain why an NVME capable of 3500 MB/s is noted to be maxed out at 1000MB/s)
You’ve literally used different units each time, including this latest time and I still have no idea what you’re trying to say. What is “1GS/s”? If you can’t express yourself clearly, you should work on that instead of your little feelings. Check rule #3 above! And no, no drive maxes out at 1000MB/s, or maybe you mean 10,000MB/s? But even then, that’s not true as mentioned previously. Make sure you read before commenting.
It’s called a simply typo: should be 1GB/s
Again, rule #3 above. And work on your typos. I’d do that first before calling others condescending (not that I care what you call me). If you can’t own what you say, don’t say it!
and work on being respectful! (your own rule)
if you can’t follow you your own rules, don’t write it!
What rule I don’t follow? I answered your questions as asked. You clearly came off as not knowing the basic data units, so, I tried to get you on the same page. You also came off as having wrong information (and still do), and I tried to put some sense into you.
If you’re unsure of what you’re talking about, maybe don’t say it. Repeating silly things don’t make them true.
My new Windows computer with Gen5 SSD does over 11.5 GB/sec read and write. That equates about 92 Gbps. And it’s not the fastest computer or SSD on the market. .
@Little, you’re not just little, you’re petty! On top of that, you’re an idiot and a big waste of time! Take your lesson and get lost! Why keep humiliating yourself?
remember, respectful!
it’s respectful enough to call an imbecile like you “idiot”. clearly you don’t know what respect means. at the very least it has to be earned, or you get the due respect you deserve which is that of an idiot per your previous interaction with Dong.
This is getting out of hand, gents. I’ll lock this thread. Future comments from *any* of you on this post will be deleted automatically.