Best 1TB PCIe 3.0 MLC DRAM SSDs
There are 9 1TB PCIe 3.0 MLC DRAM SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Samsung 960 PRO M.2 at 3500 MB/s read at 1TB. Sequential reads across the group span 1900–3500 MB/s at 1TB.
Why this configuration
A 1TB 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.
1TB is the capacity most single-drive builds settle on.
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 1TB ratings where published (9 of 9 drives), not the family headline figure. Rated writes at 1TB run 1100–2700 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 1TB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Samsung 960 PRO M.2 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | SAMSUNG POLARIS CONTROLLER (5-Core | 3500 | 1200 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 |  Samsung PRO 970 M.2 500GB, 1TB | Top-tier | SAMSUNG PHOENIX CONTROLLER (5-Core | 3500 | 1200 | Find on Amazon |
| 3 |  Plextor M8PeY 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | High-end | Marvell 88SS1093 | 2500 | 768 | Find on Amazon |
| 4 |  Plextor M8PeG 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | High-end | Marvell 88SS1093 | 2500 | 768 | Find on Amazon |
| 5 | High-end | Phison PS5007-E7 | 2200 | — | Find on Amazon | |
| 6 |  OCZ RD400 AIC 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Mid-range | TOSHIBA TC56NCP070GSB (POSSIVELMEN | 2600 | 592 | Find on Amazon |
| 7 |  Plextor M8PeGN 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Mid-range | Marvell 88SS1093 | 2500 | 768 | Find on Amazon |
| 8 |  ADATA SX9000 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | — | Marvell 88SS1093 | 2800 | 1000 | Find on Amazon |
| 9 |  ADATA XPG SX8000 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | — | Silicon Motion SM2260 (Dual ARM Co | 1900 | 640 | Find on Amazon |
The parts, explained
1TB is the mainstream single-drive capacity.
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.