Addlink AddGame A93 1TB: A DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 NVMe with a Heatsink (2026)

Name: Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB
Brand: Addlink
SKU: addlink-addgame-a93-1-tb
Rating: 4.1 (74 reviews)

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB delivers 7,200 MB/s PCIe 4.0 reads from a DRAM-less Maxio MAP1602A controller and YMTC 232-layer TLC — with an aluminium heatsink in the box and full PS5 compatibility at a budget price.

Addlink AddGame A93 1TB: A DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 NVMe with a Heatsink

Controller & Memory

The Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB runs a Maxio MAP1602A four-channel DRAM-less controller paired with YMTC 232-layer TLC NAND, leaning on Host Memory Buffer to borrow 32 MB of system RAM for the flash translation layer instead of carrying discrete DRAM. The drive lands on a single-sided M.2 2280 PCB behind a PCIe 4.0 x4 link, which keeps it slim enough for thin laptops and the PlayStation 5 expansion bay. Addlink ships the A93 with a low-profile aluminium heatsink in the box — an 8.75 mm crosscut-grid slab with a pre-applied silica thermal pad — a genuine value-add at this price tier where most DRAM-less drives arrive bare.

The A93 spans 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB, but the headline spec sheet is not flat across the line. The 1 TB reviewed here is the slowest of the three: 7,200 MB/s sequential reads and 6,100 MB/s writes, against 7,400 MB/s and 6,500 MB/s on the 2 TB and 4 TB siblings. The gap comes from NAND parallelism — the larger capacities populate more of the controller's four channels with higher-density dies, giving it more flash dies to interleave across. Endurance scales linearly at roughly 750 TBW per terabyte, so the 1 TB carries 750 TBW while the 2 TB and 4 TB get 1,500 TBW and 3,000 TBW respectively. All three share the same controller, the same YMTC NAND, the same HMB architecture, and the same five-year warranty; the 1 TB is simply the entry ticket.

Compatibility is the standard PCIe 4.0 story. The drive works in any M.2 NVMe slot and is backward-compatible with PCIe 3.0, though at half the rated throughput. In a PS5 it clears Sony's 5,500 MB/s read recommendation, and the bundled 8.75 mm heatsink fits under the console's 11.25 mm ceiling. The single-sided PCB is friendly to thin laptops where a double-sided drive would foul the chassis. The closest rivals in the DRAM-less HMB budget tier are the WD Black SN770 1 TB, the Team Group MP44 1 TB, and the Samsung 990 EVO 1 TB — all chasing the same gamer-and-PS5 buyer. The A93's differentiators are the factory heatsink and YMTC 232-layer TLC at a time when several competitors have moved to QLC at the entry level.

Storage Comparisons:

Best Deal of 1 TB SSDs NVME Best PCIe 4.0 SSD Drive Top 2 TB SSDs

AddGame A93 Performance & Benchmarks

On the 1 TB AddGame A93, Addlink rates sequential reads at 7,200 MB/s and writes at 6,100 MB/s over a PCIe 4.0 x4 link, with random performance rated up to 1,000,000 read IOPS and 820,000 write IOPS. Those are competent DRAM-less HMB numbers in the budget PCIe 4.0 tier, trading the 7,400 MB/s ceiling of the 2 TB and 4 TB siblings for a lower entry price. The Maxio MAP1602A controller is a known quantity in this segment — built on TSMC 12 nm silicon with four NAND channels running at 2,400 MT/s — and has seen wide adoption across YMTC-based drives from multiple brands.

Performance comparison

Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB vs M.2 4.0 x 4 peers

Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.

Patriot Viper PV593 1 TB: 14,500 MB/s read, 14,000 MB/s write
Patriot Viper PV593 2 TB: 14,500 MB/s read, 14,000 MB/s write
Patriot Viper PV593 4 TB: 14,500 MB/s read, 14,000 MB/s write
Patriot Viper PV573 2 TB: 14,000 MB/s read, 12,000 MB/s write
Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB (this drive): 7,200 MB/s read, 6,100 MB/s write

In PCMag's testing the 1 TB A93 delivered sequential CrystalDiskMark results that matched its rated speeds almost exactly, and its PCMark 10 Storage trace — which simulates Windows boot, Adobe Photoshop launch, and Call of Duty load sequences — scored above the average for its class. The 3DMark Storage gaming benchmark placed it in a tight cluster of top PCIe 4.0 SSDs, and its 4K random write latency was second only to the WD Black SN850X, a drive with discrete DRAM that sells at a meaningfully higher price. The SLC write cache absorbs bursts at full speed before writes settle to the native YMTC TLC rate. For a 1 TB boot-and-game drive the cache is large enough that typical desktop and gaming workloads rarely exhaust it; sustained video capture or large project exports will push through to native TLC speed sooner than on the 2 TB model, simply because the cache is smaller. The bundled aluminium heatsink keeps the controller out of thermal trouble under sustained load, and independent testing confirms minimal throttling even during extended writes.

Addlink AddGame A93 vs Competitors

See how the AddGame A93 stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:

Compare with rival drives:

Neo Forza NFP455 1 TB Team Group Cardea A440 Pro Special 1 TB Acer FA200 1 TB

Endurance, TBW & Warranty

Addlink covers the AddGame A93 1 TB with a five-year limited warranty, capped by whichever arrives first between the five-year term and the 750 TBW endurance rating. That TBW figure is the entry point of a line that scales to 1,500 TBW at 2 TB and 3,000 TBW at 4 TB, holding a consistent 750 TBW per terabyte across the three capacities — a scaling pattern that tracks YMTC 232-layer TLC's rated endurance and sits above average for the budget PCIe 4.0 segment. The WD Black SN770 1 TB carries 600 TBW, and the Team Group MP44 1 TB is rated at 650 TBW, making the A93's 750 TBW the most generous in its immediate competitive set. At a typical consumer workload of around 20 GB of writes per day the drive would need more than 100 years to exhaust its write budget, so the five-year warranty expires long before the NAND approaches its rated limit. Even a heavier 50 GB-per-day routine clears five decades. Addlink rates the drive at 1.5 million hours MTBF, but treat that figure as a population-reliability statistic describing expected failure rates across a large fleet rather than a lifespan promise for any individual unit. The warranty is serviced through the retailer or distributor; Addlink does not operate a direct end-user RMA portal in most regions.

Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB Specifications

Category	Value
Capacity [?]	1 TB
Interface [?]	M.2 4.0 x 4
Controller [?]	Maxio Tech MAP1602-C
Memory type [?]	YMTC 232-L TLC
DRAM [?]	HMB
Read speed (MB/s) [?]	7200
Write speed (MB/s) [?]	6100
Read IOPS [?]	1000000
Write IOPS [?]	820000
Endurance (TBW) [?]	750
MTBF (million hours) [?]	1500000
Warranty (years) [?]	5

Verdict: Is the AddGame A93 Worth It in 2026?

The Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB earns its place as a budget PCIe 4.0 drive for gamers and PS5 owners who want a factory heatsink without paying extra for it. The 7,200 MB/s read ceiling, 750 TBW endurance, and five-year warranty are all class-competitive, and the single-sided PCB plus the bundled aluminium cooler make it a drop-in upgrade for thin laptops and the PS5 expansion bay. Buyers who can stretch to the 2 TB version get higher peak throughput, twice the endurance, and a larger SLC cache for the premium, but the 1 TB hits the capacity most buyers actually shop at. Look past the A93 if sustained write throughput is central to the workload — the DRAM-less HMB design is not built for heavy content-creation scratch-disk duty, and the SLC cache on the 1 TB runs out sooner than on the larger capacities. The closest alternative is the WD Black SN770 1 TB, which posts nearly identical peak speeds and the same HMB architecture but ships bare, making the A93 the smarter pick for anyone who would otherwise add a third-party heatsink.

+ Pros

7,200 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 4.0
750 TBW endurance with 5-year warranty
Aluminium heatsink included in the box
Single-sided M.2 2280 fits thin laptops and PS5
YMTC 232-layer TLC at a budget price point
PS5 compatible out of the box

- Cons

DRAM-less HMB design limits sustained random I/O
1 TB is slower than 2 TB and 4 TB siblings
No AES 256-bit hardware encryption
SLC cache smaller than on the 2 TB version
No discrete DRAM for heavy workstation use

4.1 / 5 · 74 votes

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Video Review

Ultimate PS5 SSD Upgrade? Addlink A93 4TB Tested!

Frequently Asked Questions

It is, and the value proposition holds up well. The Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB delivers 7,200 MB/s sequential reads and 1,000,000 random read IOPS, well past the threshold where game load times stop scaling meaningfully with storage speed — the CPU and asset decompression become the bottleneck first. Its 3DMark Storage gaming score sits in a tight pack of top PCIe 4.0 drives, and PCMark 10's game-load trace returned above-average numbers. The DRAM-less HMB design is not a liability for gaming because titles issue large sequential reads, not sustained random writes. The 1 TB capacity holds a healthy game library, and the included heatsink keeps temperatures in check during long sessions. At this price tier it competes directly with the WD Black SN770 and wins on the bundled cooler.

Yes, and it is a cleaner PS5 upgrade than most budget drives. Sony requires an M.2 NVMe SSD recommending at least 5,500 MB/s sequential reads and fitting within 110 by 25 by 11.25 millimetres with a heatsink installed. The Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB clears the speed bar at 7,200 MB/s, and the bundled aluminium heatsink measures 8.75 mm tall — under the 11.25 mm ceiling — so the drive drops straight into the console expansion bay with no extra hardware. The single-sided PCB also aids clearance. Sony does not maintain a publicly updated official compatibility list covering every drive model, but the A93 meets every published criterion. The PS5 expansion slot is PCIe 4.0 only, so the higher ceiling of the 2 TB and 4 TB A93 variants is wasted here, making the 1 TB the most practical capacity choice for a console upgrade.

No, the AddGame A93 is a DRAM-less design that relies on Host Memory Buffer technology instead. The Maxio MAP1602A controller borrows roughly 32 MB of system RAM to hold the flash translation layer mapping table, the same job a discrete DRAM chip would perform on a pricier drive. For consumer workloads — game loads, OS boots, application launches — HMB delivers near-DRAM responsiveness because these are predominantly sequential reads that do not stress the mapping table. The trade-off surfaces under heavy sustained random writes, where discrete DRAM would maintain more consistent latency. HMB is the norm at this price tier; the WD Black SN770, Team Group MP44, and Samsung 990 EVO all take the same DRAM-less HMB approach.

The Addlink AddGame A93 1 TB carries a 750 TBW endurance rating, the entry point of a lineup that scales to 1,500 TBW at 2 TB and 3,000 TBW at 4 TB. At roughly 750 TBW per terabyte, the endurance tracks YMTC 232-layer TLC's rated cycle life and is above average for the budget PCIe 4.0 segment: the WD Black SN770 1 TB carries 600 TBW, and the Team Group MP44 1 TB is rated at 650 TBW. At 20 GB of writes per day the drive would take over 100 years to exhaust the rating, so the five-year warranty term expires long before the NAND wears out. The TBW cap matters more on the 2 TB and 4 TB capacities, which are more likely to see write-heavy scratch-disk workloads.

It ships with one, which is one of the A93's genuine selling points. Addlink includes an aluminium heatsink in the box — an 8.75 mm crosscut-grid slab with a pre-applied silica thermal pad — that claims to reduce controller and NAND temperatures by over 20 percent under load. Most budget PCIe 4.0 drives arrive bare and expect the user to rely on the motherboard's built-in M.2 cover, which not every board includes. The bundled heatsink is thin enough for the PS5 expansion bay and for most laptops, though builders whose motherboard already includes a thick M.2 armour plate may need to remove the factory heatsink or use a different slot. For a desktop without integrated M.2 cooling, the A93's in-box heatsink is a genuine convenience.

Yes, though the gap is modest. The 1 TB AddGame A93 is rated at 7,200 MB/s sequential reads and 6,100 MB/s writes, while the 2 TB and 4 TB siblings both hit 7,400 MB/s and 6,500 MB/s — a difference of roughly 3 to 6 percent. The reason is NAND parallelism: the larger capacities populate more of the Maxio MAP1602A controller's four channels with higher-density dies, giving the controller more flash dies to interleave reads and writes across. Random IOPS are identical across all three capacities because they are controller-limited. The real-world impact of the speed gap is invisible in game loads and OS boots, showing up only in large sequential transfers where the 2 TB finishes a few seconds sooner. The more noticeable capacity-level difference is the SLC cache size, which grows with total NAND and gives the 2 TB more headroom for sustained writes.

The two occupy the same DRAM-less HMB PCIe 4.0 tier and trade blows on the spec sheet. The 1 TB A93 and 1 TB WD Black SN770 both peak at roughly 7,200 MB/s reads, though the SN770 writes slightly faster at 6,200 MB/s versus the A93's 6,100 MB/s. The A93 carries 750 TBW against the SN770's 600 TBW, a 25 percent endurance advantage. The A93's biggest practical differentiator is the bundled aluminium heatsink — the SN770 ships bare and expects the user to supply cooling. The SN770 counters with stronger brand recognition and a longer independent review record. For a PS5 build the A93 is the more complete package out of the box; for a desktop where the motherboard already includes an M.2 armour plate, the two are close enough that availability and price on the day should decide.