# Addlink S93 1TB: An Ultra-Slim DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 NVMe for Laptops (2026)

The Addlink S93 1 TB squeezes 7,200 MB/s PCIe 4.0 reads into a 2.25 mm single-sided M.2 2280 card — one of the thinnest Gen4 drives on the market and a purpose-built upgrade for ultrabooks where every millimetre of clearance counts.

Quick answer: The Addlink S93 1 TB earns its place as a laptop-first budget PCIe 4.0 drive — the 2.25 mm single-sided PCB is the story here, and it is the thinnest Gen4 M.2 drive in its price bracket. The 7,200 MB/s read ceiling, 600 TBW endurance, and five-year warranty are all class-competitive, and the power-efficiency claims hold up on a controller with a proven TSMC 12 nm track record. Buyers who can step up to the 2 TB version get higher peak throughput, double the endurance, and a larger SLC cache, but the 1 TB is the right capacity for a boot-and-apps laptop upgrade. Look past the S93 if the system lacks integrated M.2 cooling — Addlink's own AddGame A93 ships with an aluminium heatsink in the box on the same MAP1602 platform, making it the more complete desktop or PS5 pick. The closest alternative outside Addlink's lineup is the WD Black SN770 1 TB, which matches the S93 on peak reads and TBW but adds AES 256-bit hardware encryption at the cost of a slightly thicker PCB and no bundled cooling either. For a thin laptop where clearance is the bottleneck, the S93 is one of the few drives that genuinely solves a physical constraint rather than just chasing a spec-sheet number.

## Specifications

| Specification | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Capacity | 1 TB |
| Interface | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller | Maxio Tech MAP1602-C |
| Memory type | YMTC 232-L TLC |
| DRAM cache | HMB |
| Sequential read | 7200 MB/s |
| Sequential write | 6100 MB/s |
| Random read IOPS | 1000000 |
| Random write IOPS | 820000 |
| Endurance | 600 TBW |
| MTBF | 2000000 |
| Warranty | 5 years |

## Performance

Addlink rates the 1 TB S93 at 7,200 MB/s sequential reads and 6,100 MB/s sequential writes over a PCIe 4.0 x4 link, placing it in the upper half of the DRAM-less HMB segment. Random performance is rated at up to 1,000,000 read IOPS and 820,000 write IOPS — controller-limited figures that are identical across all three S93 capacities. The Maxio MAP1602 is a known quantity in this tier, 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 including Addlink's own AddGame A93.

The Guru3D review of the 4 TB S93 family flagship found sequential CrystalDiskMark results that matched rated speeds and sustained writes that held at roughly 5,000 MB/s through about 25 percent of capacity before the SLC cache exhausted and writes settled to native TLC speed. The 1 TB model has a proportionally smaller SLC cache, so sustained write throughput drops sooner than on the 2 TB and 4 TB variants — relevant for large video exports or bulk file transfers, but largely invisible in boot, game-load, and application-launch workloads that dominate consumer use. Addlink claims over 35 percent lower power consumption than typical Gen4 x4 SSDs, a figure that tracks with the MAP1602's reputation for efficiency on the TSMC 12 nm node. For a laptop drive, power draw under load matters as much as peak throughput — a drive that sips watts during sequential reads extends battery life during large file copies. Independent testing of MAP1602-based drives consistently shows competitive PCMark 10 Storage and 3DMark Storage Gaming scores within the top third of PCIe 4.0 SSDs, though the DRAM-less HMB architecture does show higher 4K random write latency than drives with discrete DRAM like the Samsung 990 Pro or WD Black SN850X — drives that sell at a meaningfully higher price.

## Endurance, TBW & Warranty

Addlink covers the S93 1 TB with a five-year limited warranty, capped by whichever arrives first between the term and the 600 TBW endurance rating. That TBW scales linearly across the S93 family at 600 TBW per terabyte — 1,200 TBW at 2 TB and 2,400 TBW at 4 TB — which tracks YMTC 232-layer TLC's rated cycle life and is competitive within the budget PCIe 4.0 segment. The WD Black SN770 1 TB also carries 600 TBW, while the Team Group MP44 1 TB edges ahead at 650 TBW; the Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB, built on QLC, manages only 220 TBW. At a typical consumer workload of 20 GB of writes per day, a 600 TBW rating works out to roughly 82 years of endurance — the five-year warranty term expires long before the NAND approaches its write limit. Even at an aggressive 50 GB per day the drive clears 32 years, so TBW exhaustion is a non-issue for the 1 TB boot-and-apps role this drive is most likely to fill. Addlink rates the S93 at 2.0 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. Warranty claims are handled through the retailer or distributor; Addlink does not operate a direct end-user RMA portal in most regions.

## Pros and Cons

**Pros:**

- 7,200 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 4.0
- Ultra-slim 2.25 mm single-sided PCB fits tight laptop slots
- 600 TBW endurance with 5-year warranty
- YMTC 232-layer TLC at a budget price point
- Over 35% lower power consumption than typical Gen4 drives
- PS5 compatible with room for a third-party heatsink
**Cons:**

- DRAM-less HMB design limits sustained random I/O latency
- No heatsink included — bare drive only
- 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


## Verdict

The Addlink S93 1 TB earns its place as a laptop-first budget PCIe 4.0 drive — the 2.25 mm single-sided PCB is the story here, and it is the thinnest Gen4 M.2 drive in its price bracket. The 7,200 MB/s read ceiling, 600 TBW endurance, and five-year warranty are all class-competitive, and the power-efficiency claims hold up on a controller with a proven TSMC 12 nm track record. Buyers who can step up to the 2 TB version get higher peak throughput, double the endurance, and a larger SLC cache, but the 1 TB is the right capacity for a boot-and-apps laptop upgrade. Look past the S93 if the system lacks integrated M.2 cooling — Addlink's own AddGame A93 ships with an aluminium heatsink in the box on the same MAP1602 platform, making it the more complete desktop or PS5 pick. The closest alternative outside Addlink's lineup is the WD Black SN770 1 TB, which matches the S93 on peak reads and TBW but adds AES 256-bit hardware encryption at the cost of a slightly thicker PCB and no bundled cooling either. For a thin laptop where clearance is the bottleneck, the S93 is one of the few drives that genuinely solves a physical constraint rather than just chasing a spec-sheet number.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is the Addlink S93 1 TB good for gaming?

It is a capable gaming drive, though it is built more for laptops than for desktop gaming rigs. The Addlink S93 1 TB delivers 7,200 MB/s sequential reads and 1,000,000 random read IOPS, enough that game load times stop scaling with storage speed — the CPU and asset decompression become the bottleneck first. The DRAM-less HMB design is not a liability for gaming because titles issue large sequential reads rather than sustained random writes, and the MAP1602 controller has proven itself in 3DMark Storage Gaming benchmarks on par with top PCIe 4.0 drives. The bare-drive design means you will need a motherboard with an integrated M.2 heatsink or a third-party cooler for a desktop build. For a gaming laptop with a tight M.2 slot, the S93's 2.25 mm single-sided PCB is a genuine advantage — it fits where thicker drives with pre-installed heatsinks will not. The WD Black SN770 is the closest alternative for desktop gaming, offering similar speeds and the same TBW.

### Is the Addlink S93 1 TB compatible with the PS5?

Yes, it meets Sony's published requirements, though you will need to add a third-party heatsink. 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 S93 1 TB clears the speed bar at 7,200 MB/s, and the bare 2.25 mm drive leaves roughly 9 mm of headroom for an aftermarket heatsink under the 11.25 mm ceiling. The single-sided PCB also aids clearance. Sony does not maintain a publicly updated official compatibility list covering every drive model, but the S93 meets every published criterion. If you would rather avoid sourcing a separate heatsink, Addlink's own AddGame A93 uses the same MAP1602 controller and YMTC NAND but includes an aluminium heatsink in the box, making it the more convenient PS5 choice from the same brand.

### Does the Addlink S93 have a DRAM cache?

No, the S93 is a DRAM-less design that uses Host Memory Buffer technology instead. The Maxio MAP1602 controller borrows roughly 32 MB of system RAM to hold the flash translation layer mapping table, the same job a discrete DRAM chip performs on a pricier drive like the Samsung 990 Pro or WD Black SN850X. 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 maintains more consistent latency. HMB is the standard approach at this price tier; the WD Black SN770, Team Group MP44, and Samsung 990 EVO all take the same DRAM-less HMB approach. The S93's specific advantage is that the MAP1602 controller on TSMC 12 nm silicon runs cooler under HMB load than some competing DRAM-less controllers.

### What is the TBW endurance of the Addlink S93 1 TB?

The Addlink S93 1 TB carries a 600 TBW endurance rating, the entry point of a lineup that scales to 1,200 TBW at 2 TB and 2,400 TBW at 4 TB — a clean 600 TBW per terabyte across all three capacities. That figure is competitive within the budget PCIe 4.0 segment: the WD Black SN770 1 TB matches it at 600 TBW, the Team Group MP44 1 TB edges ahead at 650 TBW, and the Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB trails badly at 220 TBW because it uses QLC NAND. At a typical 20 GB of writes per day the S93 1 TB would need roughly 82 years to exhaust its write budget, so the five-year warranty term expires long before the NAND approaches its rated limit. The TBW cap matters more on the 2 TB and 4 TB capacities, which are more likely to see write-heavy scratch-disk or content-creation workloads.

### Does the Addlink S93 need a heatsink?

It ships without one, which is by design — the S93 is built for laptops and compact systems where a pre-installed heatsink would prevent the drive from fitting at all. The 2.25 mm single-sided PCB is one of the thinnest Gen4 M.2 drives available, and Addlink explicitly targets ultrabooks where the M.2 slot sits against the chassis floor or keyboard backplate with minimal clearance. In a laptop, the chassis itself often acts as a heat spreader through a thermal pad on the bottom panel, and the MAP1602 controller's TSMC 12 nm efficiency keeps thermals manageable even without a dedicated heatsink. In a desktop without an integrated motherboard M.2 cover, you should add a low-profile third-party heatsink — Gen4 controllers can throttle under sustained load when run bare in a desktop case with limited airflow. For a PS5 install, a third-party heatsink is mandatory to meet Sony's requirement that the drive-and-cooler assembly fits within 11.25 mm.

### Is the 1 TB Addlink S93 slower than the 2 TB version?

Yes, though the difference is modest in practice. The 1 TB S93 is rated at 7,200 MB/s sequential reads and 6,100 MB/s writes, while the 2 TB and 4 TB siblings both reach 7,400 MB/s reads and 6,500 MB/s writes — a gap of roughly 3 to 6 percent. The reason is NAND parallelism: the 2 TB and 4 TB models populate more of the Maxio MAP1602 controller's four channels with higher-density dies, giving the controller more flash planes to interleave reads and writes across. Random IOPS are identical across all three capacities at 1,000,000 read and 820,000 write because they are controller-limited. The real-world impact of the sequential speed gap is invisible in game loads and OS boots; it shows up only in large file copies 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 sustained-write headroom before performance drops to native TLC speed.

### How does the Addlink S93 compare to the AddGame A93?

The two share the same core platform — Maxio MAP1602 controller, YMTC 232-layer TLC, HMB, PCIe 4.0 x4 — and deliver essentially identical per-capacity performance. The difference is physical and practical. The S93 is a 2.25 mm bare drive built for thin laptops where a pre-installed heatsink would block installation; it claims over 35 percent lower power consumption than typical Gen4 drives and prioritises efficiency. The AddGame A93 ships with an aluminium heatsink pre-applied, making it the more complete package for a desktop or PS5 build where cooling is the user's responsibility. The A93 1 TB also carries a higher 750 TBW endurance rating against the S93's 600 TBW, and PCMag awarded the A93 an Editors' Choice for its price-to-performance ratio. If the system has an integrated M.2 heatsink or you are buying for a laptop, the S93 is the better physical fit. If you are building a desktop without motherboard M.2 cooling or upgrading a PS5, the A93 saves you the step of sourcing a separate heatsink.

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Last updated: 2026-07-21. Source: https://ssdrive.net/addlink-s93-1-tb