Best 128GB PCIe 3.0 MLC DRAM SSDs
There are 7 128GB PCIe 3.0 MLC DRAM SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Apacer Z280 at 2750 MB/s read, and the highest-rated for endurance is the Plextor M8PeY (768 TBW). Sequential reads across the group span 1000–2750 MB/s at 128GB.
Why this configuration
A 128GB PCIe 3.0 MLC DRAM 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: workstation and creative loads that hammer random I/O.
Ranked list
Speeds on this page are the manufacturer's 128GB ratings where published (6 of 7 drives), not the family headline figure. 6 of the 7 are rated slower at 128GB than at their fastest capacity. Rated writes at 128GB run 500–620 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 128GB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Plextor M8PeY 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | High-end | Marvell 88SS1093 | 1600 | 768 | Find on Amazon |
| 2 |  Plextor M8PeG 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | High-end | Marvell 88SS1093 | 1600 | 768 | Find on Amazon |
| 3 |  OCZ RD400 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Mid-range | TOSHIBA TC56NCP070GSB (POSSIVELMEN | 2200 | 296 | Find on Amazon |
| 4 |  OCZ RD400 AIC 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Mid-range | TOSHIBA TC56NCP070GSB (POSSIVELMEN | 2200 | 592 | Find on Amazon |
| 5 |  Plextor M8PeGN 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Mid-range | Marvell 88SS1093 | 1600 | 768 | Find on Amazon |
| 6 |  Apacer Z280 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Value | Phison PS5007-E7 | 2750* | 698 | Find on Amazon |
| 7 |  ADATA XPG SX8000 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | — | Silicon Motion SM2260 (Dual ARM Co | 1000 | 640 | 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.
MLC NAND is older and costs more per gigabyte, but is very durable.
An onboard DRAM cache keeps the flash mapping table on the drive, holding random performance steady under sustained load.