Best 128GB PCIe 3.0 DRAM-less SSDs
There are 18 128GB PCIe 3.0 DRAM-less SSDs compared here. The fastest is the HP EX900 at 2100 MB/s read, and the highest-rated for endurance is the Gigabyte NVMe SSD (1600 TBW). Sequential reads across the group span 560–2100 MB/s at 128GB.
Why this configuration
A 128GB PCIe 3.0 DRAM-less SSD is an affordable NVMe step up from SATA. Gen3 is roughly six times SATA's throughput yet often costs little more, making it the easy default for a first NVMe drive or a laptop that only supports Gen3.
At 128GB this is really a boot or cache drive rather than a main library.
Usually chosen for: budget builders, laptop upgraders and anyone leaving SATA behind.
Good fit: value builds and gaming where cost per gigabyte matters.
Look elsewhere for: databases, virtual machines and other sustained random-write workloads.
Ranked list
Speeds on this page are the manufacturer's 128GB ratings where published (15 of 18 drives), not the family headline figure. 14 of the 18 are rated slower at 128GB than at their fastest capacity. Rated writes at 128GB run 400–1600 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 128GB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Integral M Series M.2 2280 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Mid-range | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 1800 | 256 | Find on Amazon |
| 2 |  Intel ® SSD 760P SERIES 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Mid-range | Silicon Motion SM2262G (2-Core 575 | 1640 | 576 | Find on Amazon |
| 3 |  Patriot P300 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Value | Silicon Motion SMI 2263XT / Phison | 1600 | 320 | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 |  TeamGroup MP33 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | Silicon Motion SM2263XT | Phison P | 1500 | 1000 | Check price on Amazon |
| 5 |  HP EX900 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Value | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (Remarcado | 2100* | 200 | Find on Amazon |
| 6 |  ADATA XPG SX6000 Lite 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Value | Realtek’s RTS5763DL | 1800 | 480 | Find on Amazon |
| 7 |  Transcend 110S 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Value | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 1500 | 400 | Find on Amazon |
| 8 |  Galax GAMER 120-M.2 128GB | Value | PHISON PS3111-S11-13 (1-Core 40nm, | 560* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 9 |  Gigabyte NVMe SSD 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Low-end | Phison's PS5008-E8T | 1550 | 1600 | Find on Amazon |
| 10 |  TeamGroup MP32 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Low-end | Phison PS5008-E8 | 1350 | 800 | Find on Amazon |
| 11 |  Gigabyte M.2 PCIe SSD 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Low-end | Phison's PS5008-E8T | 1100 | 400 | Find on Amazon |
| 12 |  Toshiba BG4 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | — | Controlador Toshiba(Proprietário) | 2000 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 13 |  Netac N930E PRO 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | — | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 1800 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 14 |  Orico TROODON V500 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | — | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 1800 | 400 | Find on Amazon |
| 15 |  KingSpec NE 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | — | Silicon Motion SM2263XT | 1620 | 292 | Find on Amazon |
| 16 |  Toshiba RC100 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | — | — | 1600* | 240 | Find on Amazon |
| 17 |  KingDian NVMe 128GB, 500GB, 1TB | — | Silicon Motion's SM2263XT (2-Core | 850 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 18 |  Xraydisk NVMe 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | — | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 600 | — | Find on Amazon |
* family rating — the manufacturer does not publish a 128GB figure for this drive.
The parts, explained
128GB suits a boot drive or a light secondary disk.
PCIe 3.0 x4 reaches about 3,500 MB/s — plenty for everyday use and gaming, and cheaper than Gen4.
DRAM-less drives use the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) instead — cheaper, and fine for everyday use and gaming, with a small penalty under heavy random writes.
Common questions
Is a DRAM-less 128GB SSD good enough?
For gaming and everyday use, yes — HMB covers those workloads well. If you run sustained heavy random writes (databases, VMs), a drive with a DRAM cache stays more consistent.