Best 128GB PCIe 3.0 TLC DRAM SSDs
There are 7 128GB PCIe 3.0 TLC DRAM SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Mushkin PILOT at 2710 MB/s read, and the highest-rated for endurance is the ADATA XPG GAMMIX S10 (640 TBW). Sequential reads across the group span 660–2710 MB/s at 128GB.
Why this configuration
A 128GB PCIe 3.0 TLC 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: everyday all-rounder use, from OS drive to game library; workstation and creative loads that hammer random I/O.
Ranked list
Speeds on this page are the manufacturer's 128GB ratings where published (4 of 7 drives), not the family headline figure. 3 of the 7 are rated slower at 128GB than at their fastest capacity. Rated writes at 128GB run 415–550 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 128GB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mushkin PILOT 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Mid-range | Silicon Motion SM2262 | 2710* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 2 |  Biostar M500 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Mid-range | Possivelmente Silicon Motion SM226 | 1500 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 3 |  Corsair MP300 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 960GB | Value | Phison PS5008 | 1600* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 4 |  Apacer AS2280 P2 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Value | Phison PS5008-E8 | 1580* | 240 | Find on Amazon |
| 5 |  ADATA XPG GAMMIX S10 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Value | Silicon Motion SM2260 (Dual ARM Co | 660 | 640 | Find on Amazon |
| 6 |  ADATA XPG GAMMIX SX7000 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Value | Silicon Motion SM2260 (Dual ARM Co | 660 | 640 | Find on Amazon |
| 7 |  Patriot SCORCH M.2 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Low-end | Phison PS5008-E8-10 | 1700 | 300 | 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.
TLC NAND is the mainstream choice — a solid balance of endurance, speed and cost.
An onboard DRAM cache keeps the flash mapping table on the drive, holding random performance steady under sustained load.