Best 500GB MLC DRAM-less SSDs
There are 22 500GB MLC DRAM-less SSDs compared here. The fastest is the G.Skill PHOENIX BLADE PCIe at 2000 MB/s read, and the highest-rated for endurance is the Kingston SSDNOW KC300 (1785 TBW). Sequential reads across the group span 450–2000 MB/s at 500GB.
Why this configuration
A 500GB MLC DRAM-less SSD is a legacy endurance choice. MLC stores two bits per cell instead of three, so these older drives take far more rewriting than a modern budget drive, at a much higher cost per gigabyte.
500GB is a sensible OS-plus-a-few-games size.
Usually chosen for: write-heavy secondary roles and keeping older machines useful.
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 22 are listed. The full SSD catalogue filters on every spec.
Speeds on this page are the manufacturer's 500GB ratings where published (2 of 22 drives), not the family headline figure. 1 of the 22 are rated slower at 500GB than at their fastest capacity. Rated writes at 500GB run 500–1000 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 500GB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  G.Skill PHOENIX BLADE PCIe 500GB, 960GB | Mid-range | 4x SandForce SF-2282 | 2000* | 1536 | Find on Amazon |
| 2 |  Samsung T7 TOUCH PORTABLE SSD 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Mid-range | "SAMSUNG 2-core Samsung Pablo + SA | 1050 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 3 |  Mushkin SCORPION PCI-E 250GB, 500GB | Mid-range | 2x SandForce SF-2281 | 925* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 4 |  Galax GAMER SSD L 500GB | Mid-range | Phison PS3110-S10 (4-Core, 55nm CM | 562* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 5 |  Kingston SSDNOW KC100 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Mid-range | SandForce SF-2281 | 555* | 640 | Find on Amazon |
| 6 |  Kingston SSDNOW KC380 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 60GB | Mid-range | Sandforce SF-2241 | 550* | 1562 | Find on Amazon |
| 7 |  Intel 530 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 80GB, 180GB, 360GB | Mid-range | SandForce SF-2281 | 540* | 36.5 | Find on Amazon |
| 8 |  Kingston SSDNOW KC300 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 60GB, 180GB | Mid-range | SandForce SF-2281 | 525* | 1785 | Find on Amazon |
| 9 |  Corsair Force Series™ GT 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 60GB, 90GB, 180GB | Value | SandForce SF-2281VA1-SDC-ES | 555* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 10 |  HyperX HYPER-X 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Value | Sandforce SF-2281 | 555* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 11 |  HyperX KINGSTON HYPERX 3K 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 90GB | Value | SandForce® SF-2281 | 555* | 307.2 | Find on Amazon |
| 12 |  OCZ VERTEX 3 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Value | SandForce SF-2281VA1-SDC-ES | 550* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 13 |  OCZ VX500 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 1TB | Value | Toshiba TC358790 | 550* | 592 | Find on Amazon |
| 14 |  Mushkin ATLAS VITAL™ 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Value | SandForce 2281 | 540 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 15 |  HyperX Fury 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Value | SandForce® SF-2281 | 470* | 750 | Find on Amazon |
| 16 |  Kingston SSDNOW V+200 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 60GB, 90GB | Low-end | SandForce SF-2281 | 535* | 384 | Find on Amazon |
| 17 |  Kingston SSDNOW V300 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | Low-end | SandForce SF-2281 | 450* | 256 | Find on Amazon |
| 18 |  Mushkin ECO2 128GB, 250GB, 500GB, 60GB | — | SandForce SF-2241 | 560* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 19 |  Palit GFS 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | — | Phison S3111-S11 | 560* | — | Find on Amazon |
| 20 |  Silicon Power VELOX V70 128GB, 250GB, 500GB | — | SandForce SF-2281 | 560* | — | 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.
MLC NAND is older and costs more per gigabyte, but is very durable.
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.