Best 500GB DRAM-less SSDs
There are 142 500GB DRAM-less SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Biwin NV7400 at 7450 MB/s read, and the highest-rated for endurance is the Intel INTEL® OPTANE™ 905P (27370 TBW). Sequential reads across the group span 350–7450 MB/s at 500GB.
Why this configuration
A 500GB DRAM-less SSD is the value shortlist. Dropping the DRAM chip takes cost out of the drive, and Host Memory Buffer borrows a little system RAM to cover most of the gap. Gaming and everyday use barely notice; sustained random writes do.
500GB is a sensible OS-plus-a-few-games size.
Usually chosen for: budget builds, game libraries and second drives.
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
The top 20 of 142 are listed. The full SSD catalogue filters on every spec.
Speeds on this page are the manufacturer's 500GB ratings where published (38 of 142 drives), not the family headline figure. 5 of the 142 are rated slower at 500GB than at their fastest capacity. Rated writes at 500GB run 400–6900 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 500GB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Intel ® OPTANE™ 905P 500GB, 380GB, 960GB, 1.5TB | Top-tier | INTEL EAUO8D15 SLL3D (POSSIVELMENT | 2600* | 27370 | Find on Amazon |
| 2 |  Intel ® OPTANE™ 900P 500GB, 280GB | Top-tier | INTEL EAUO8D15 SLL3D | 2500* | 5110 | Find on Amazon |
| 3 | Biwin NV7400 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxiotek MAP1602A | 7450* | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 | Acer Predator GM7 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 7400* | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 5 | AGI AI828 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | Mid-range | TenaFe TC2201 | 7400* | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 6 | KingSpec XG7000 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602, Silicon Motion SM22 | 7400* | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 7 | KLEVV CRAS C925G 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 7400 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 8 | Lexar NM790 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 7400* | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 9 | Patriot VP4300 Lite 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 7400 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 10 | Netac NV7000-t 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 7300* | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 11 | Western Digital Black SN7100 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | SanDisk Polaris 3 | 7250 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 12 | Crucial P310 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Phison E27T | 7100 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 13 | Western Digital Blue SN5100 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Polaris 3 | 7100 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 14 | Silicon Power US75 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 7000 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 15 | Patriot P400 V4 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 6200 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 16 |  Intel ® SSD 760P SERIES 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Mid-range | Silicon Motion SM2262G (2-Core 575 | 3230* | 576 | Find on Amazon |
| 17 |  Samsung 980 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Mid-range | SAMSUNG PABLO "S4LR033" CONTROLLER | 3100 | 600 | Find on Amazon |
| 18 |  ADATA FALCON 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Mid-range | Realtek RTS5762DL (Dual Core, 8-Ch | 3100* | 1200 | Find on Amazon |
| 19 |  Mushkin HELIX-L 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Mid-range | Silicon Motion SM2263XT | 2105 | 600 | Find on Amazon |
| 20 |  G.Skill PHOENIX BLADE PCIe 500GB, 960GB | Mid-range | 4x SandForce SF-2282 | 2000* | 1536 | Find on Amazon |
* family rating — the manufacturer does not publish a 500GB figure for this drive.
The parts, explained
500GB is a comfortable OS-and-games starting point.
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 500GB 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.