Best 2TB PCIe 3.0 DRAM-less SSDs
There are 9 2TB PCIe 3.0 DRAM-less SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Intel INTEL® SSD 760P SERIES at 3230 MB/s read at 2TB, and the highest-rated for endurance is the ADATA XPG GAMMIX S5 (1200 TBW). Sequential reads across the group span 1800–3230 MB/s at 2TB.
Why this configuration
A 2TB 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.
2TB is the current default for people who'd rather not think about free space for a while.
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 2TB ratings where published (8 of 9 drives), not the family headline figure. Rated writes at 2TB run 1400–2100 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 2TB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intel ® SSD 760P SERIES 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Mid-range | Silicon Motion SM2262G (2-Core 575 | 3230 | 576 | Find on Amazon |
| 2 | ADATA FALCON 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Mid-range | Realtek RTS5762DL (Dual Core, 8-Ch | 3100 | 1200 | Find on Amazon |
| 3 | TeamGroup MP33 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | Silicon Motion SM2263XT | Phison P | 1800 | 1000 | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 | ADATA XPG GAMMIX S5 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | Realtek’s RTS5763DL | 2100 | 1200 | Find on Amazon |
| 5 | Asgard AN2 M.2 PCI-E 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 2100 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 6 | ADATA SWORDFISH 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | Realtek RTS5763DL (Dual Core, 8-Ch | 1800 | 960 | Find on Amazon |
| 7 | KingSpec NE 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | — | Silicon Motion SM2263XT | 2615 | 292 | Find on Amazon |
| 8 | Kingston NV1 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | — | — | 2100 | 480 | Find on Amazon |
| 9 | MSI SPATIUM M370 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | — | Phison’s PS5013-E13-31 (1-Core, 4- | — | — | Find on Amazon |
The parts, explained
2TB is today's sweet spot for large game libraries and creative work.
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 2TB 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.