Best 500GB PCIe 4.0 QLC DRAM-less SSDs
There are 10 500GB PCIe 4.0 QLC DRAM-less SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Patriot VP4300 Lite at 7400 MB/s read at 500GB. Sequential reads across the group span 5000–7400 MB/s at 500GB.
Why this configuration
A 500GB PCIe 4.0 QLC DRAM-less SSD is the value-performance sweet spot. You keep Gen4's high sequential speed — the part game loading and everyday tasks actually use — while dropping the DRAM chip (HMB fills in) trims the price. Note the QLC NAND: treat this as capacity-first — excellent for storing and reading big libraries, less ideal as a constantly-rewritten scratch disk.
500GB is a sensible OS-plus-a-few-games size.
Usually chosen for: value-minded gamers and upgraders chasing NVMe speed at the lowest sensible cost.
Good fit: read-heavy storage — media libraries and game installs you rarely rewrite; value builds and gaming where cost per gigabyte matters.
Look elsewhere for: heavy sustained writes or a video-editing scratch disk; databases, virtual machines and other sustained random-write workloads.
Ranked list
Speeds on this page are the manufacturer's 500GB ratings where published (9 of 10 drives), not the family headline figure. Rated writes at 500GB run 4000–6700 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 500GB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patriot VP4300 Lite 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 7400 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 | Crucial P310 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Phison E27T | 7100 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 | Western Digital Blue SN5100 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Polaris 3 | 7100 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 | Patriot P400 V4 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Mid-range | Maxio MAP1602 | 6200 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 5 | ADATA Legend 860 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | RTS5772DL | 6000 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 6 | Kingston NV3 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Value | Silicon Motion SM2268XT2 | 6000 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 7 | Western Digital Blue SN5000 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Value | WD Polaris 3 | 5500 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 8 | Addlink S91 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Value | Phison E21 | 5000* | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 9 | MSI Spatium M461 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Value | Phison E21T | 5000 | — | Check price on Amazon |
| 10 | Inland QN450 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Avoid | Realtek RTS5772DL | 5000 | — | Check price 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.
PCIe 4.0 x4 delivers roughly 7,000 MB/s, the current price-to-performance sweet spot for most builds.
QLC NAND stores more per cell for a lower price per terabyte, but sustained writes and rated endurance are lower, so it suits read-heavy storage.
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.
Is QLC reliable at 500GB?
QLC is fine for typical and read-heavy use; just expect a lower rated endurance (TBW) than a comparable TLC drive, and slower writes once the SLC cache fills.