HomeSSDsPCIe 3.0 QLC

Best PCIe 3.0 QLC SSDs

PCIe 3.0QLC

There are 11 PCIe 3.0 QLC SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Intel INTEL® SSD 670P SERIES at 3500 MB/s read, and the highest-rated for endurance is the Fuzedrive P200 (3600 TBW). Sequential reads across the group span 1800–3500 MB/s.

Why this configuration

A PCIe 3.0 QLC 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. Note the QLC NAND: treat this as capacity-first — excellent for storing and reading big libraries, less ideal as a constantly-rewritten scratch disk.

Usually chosen for: budget builders, laptop upgraders and anyone leaving SATA behind.

Good fit: read-heavy storage — media libraries and game installs you rarely rewrite.

Look elsewhere for: heavy sustained writes or a video-editing scratch disk.

Ranked list

#ModelTierControllerRead MB/sTBW
1
Fuzedrive P200
Fuzedrive P200
900GB, 1.6TB
High-end Phison PS5012-E12S (TSMC 12nm, 8-C34703600 Find on Amazon
2
Intel OPTANE MEMORY H10
Intel OPTANE MEMORY H10
250GB, 500GB, 1TB
High-end Silicon Motion SM2263 + Intel SLL32400300 Find on Amazon
3
Intel ® SSD 670P SERIES
Intel ® SSD 670P SERIES
500GB, 1TB, 2TB
Mid-range Silicon Motion SM2265 (Dual Core 33500740 Find on Amazon
4
Corsair MP400 NVMe
Corsair MP400 NVMe
1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
Mid-range Phison PS5012-E12S (TSMC 12nm, 8-C34801600 Find on Amazon
5
Sabrent ROCKET Q
Sabrent ROCKET Q
1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
Mid-range Phison PS5012-E12S (TSMC 12nm, 8-C3400940 Find on Amazon
6
Silicon Power UD70
Silicon Power UD70
500GB, 1TB, 2TB
Mid-range PHISON E12 PS5012-E12S-32 (2-Core 3400530 Find on Amazon
7
Crucial P2
Crucial P2
250GB, 500GB
Value Phison’s PS5013-E13T2300300 Find on Amazon
8 Value Silicon Motion SM2263EN (2-Core, 42000600 Find on Amazon
9
Intel ® SSD 660P SERIES
Intel ® SSD 660P SERIES
500GB, 1TB, 2TB
Value Silicon Motion SM2263EN (2-Core, 41800400 Find on Amazon
10 Silicon Motion SM2265 (Dual Core 33300370 Find on Amazon
11
Kingston NV1
Kingston NV1
500GB, 1TB, 2TB
2100480 Find on Amazon

The parts, explained

PCIe 3.0 x4 reaches about 3,500 MB/s — plenty for everyday use and gaming, and cheaper than Gen4.

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.

Common questions

Is QLC reliable at these?

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.