BIWIN Black Opal NV7400 2TB: DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 Speed (2026)

Posted on August 01, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The BIWIN Black Opal NV7400 2TB pairs a DRAM-less Maxio controller with Host Memory Buffer to hit 7,450 MB/s reads, matching DRAM-equipped rivals at a lower cost.

BIWIN Black Opal NV7400 2TB: DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 Speed

Controller & Memory

The NV7400 2TB runs a Maxio MAP1602A-F3C controller, a 4-channel NVMe 2.0 chip that skips onboard DRAM and instead borrows a slice of system RAM through Host Memory Buffer to hold its mapping tables. It's paired with 3D TLC NAND; independent reviews of other capacities in this line report Micron's 232-layer B58R flash, though BIWIN's own spec sheet doesn't name a NAND vendor for every capacity. The DRAM-less design trades a small amount of steady-state random performance for lower power draw and heat, which matters more in thin laptops and small-form-factor desktops than in a full tower with plenty of airflow.

BIWIN sells this line in 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, and the 2TB sits at the top of the sequential-speed curve alongside the 1TB: 512GB drops to 4,200 MB/s writes and 800K IOPS, while 2TB reaches the line's peak 7,450 MB/s read and 6,500 MB/s write rating. Endurance scales with capacity, from 500 TBW at 512GB up to 4,000 TBW at 4TB, putting the 2TB's 2,000 TBW rating squarely at the midpoint.

As a single-sided M.2 2280 drive with no DRAM chip to cool, the NV7400 fits thin laptops and small-form-factor builds without extra thermal headroom, and at 2TB it competes against other DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 drives like the WD Blue SN580, Crucial P3 Plus, and Teamgroup MP44 rather than DRAM-equipped flagships like the Samsung 990 Pro. Its main pitch against those DRAM-less rivals is a higher rated sequential speed at a similar street price, with enough capacity headroom for a large modern game library.

Black Opal NV7400 Performance & Benchmarks

The 2TB Black Opal NV7400 is rated for 7,450 MB/s sequential reads and 6,500 MB/s sequential writes, with random performance rated up to 1,000,000 IOPS reading and 900,000 IOPS writing, matching the 1TB and edging out the 4TB's slightly lower random-read rating. Hitting DRAM-equipped-flagship sequential numbers on a DRAM-less controller is the NV7400's main selling point; the Maxio MAP1602A-F3C leans on Host Memory Buffer and an SLC write cache to get there rather than dedicated onboard DRAM.

Performance comparison

BIWIN Black Opal NV7400 2 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
  • BIWIN Black Opal NV7400 2 TB (this drive): 7,450 MB/s read, 6,500 MB/s write

That SLC cache is where the trade-off shows up: once a sustained write outruns it, throughput drops toward the native TLC write speed, and DRAM-less drives generally see a steeper drop than DRAM-equipped ones once the cache is exhausted. BIWIN doesn't publish the exact cache size, so buyers moving very large files (bulk footage transfers, full game library moves) should expect the write speed to taper on a long, continuous copy rather than holding 6,500 MB/s throughout. For everyday use, boot times, game loads, and level streaming, the 2TB capacity's read speed comfortably clears PS5's 5,500 MB/s minimum, and it's fast enough for DirectStorage-enabled PC games without being the bottleneck. Random IOPS matter less than sequential speed for most desktop use, but the rated 1,000,000/900,000 figures are competitive with DRAM-equipped drives a tier above this one on price.

BIWIN Black Opal NV7400 vs Competitors

See how the Black Opal NV7400 stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:

Endurance, TBW & Warranty

The 2TB Black Opal NV7400 carries a 2,000 TBW endurance rating and a 5-year warranty. At a typical consumer workload of 30 to 50GB written per day, 2,000 TBW takes roughly 110 to 180 years to exhaust, far beyond both the warranty term and the drive's realistic service life. BIWIN also rates the NV7400 at 1,500,000 hours MTBF, a population-level statistic describing expected failure rates across a large batch of drives rather than a promise for any single unit. The 5-year warranty matches what DRAM-equipped rivals in this price tier typically offer, so buyers aren't giving up warranty coverage for the DRAM-less design, only some steady-state performance headroom. As with most consumer NVMe warranties, whichever limit arrives first ends coverage, though at 2,000 TBW a heavy workload would need to sustain over 1TB of writes per day to age out on endurance before the 5-year mark.

BIWIN Black Opal NV7400 2 TB Specifications

Category Value
Capacity [?] 2 TB
Interface [?] M.2 4.0 x 4
Controller [?] Maxio MAP1602A
Memory type [?] Biwin 3D TLC
DRAM [?] No
Read speed (MB/s) [?] 7450
Write speed (MB/s) [?] 6500
Read IOPS [?] 1000000
Write IOPS [?] 900000
Endurance (TBW) [?] 2000
MTBF (million hours) [?] 1500000
Warranty (years) [?] 5

Verdict: Is the Black Opal NV7400 Worth It in 2026?

The Black Opal NV7400 2TB suits budget and mainstream builders who want near-flagship sequential speed and a roomy game library without paying for a DRAM chip they may not need, including PS5 owners and thin-laptop upgraders. Buyers doing frequent large sustained writes, like video editors dumping 4K footage daily, should lean toward a DRAM-equipped drive that holds its write speed longer once the SLC cache fills. The WD Blue SN580 and Crucial P3 Plus are the closest DRAM-less alternatives if brand reputation and a longer independent track record matter more than BIWIN's slightly higher rated write speed. For a primary game or content drive on a budget, the NV7400 2TB's 7,450 MB/s reads, 2,000 TBW endurance, and full 5-year warranty make it a reasonable pick.

+ Pros

  • 7,450 MB/s reads rival DRAM-equipped drives
  • 2,000 TBW endurance at 2TB
  • Full 5-year warranty
  • NVMe 2.0 controller support
  • Lower power draw from DRAM-less design
  • Roomy capacity for a large game library

- Cons

  • Write speed tapers once SLC cache fills
  • No onboard DRAM for mapping tables
  • 512GB sibling drops to 4,200 MB/s writes
  • Fewer independent long-term reviews than WD or Crucial
  • No official Sony PS5 compatibility listing

4 / 5 · 31 votes

Buy this or similar SSD Storage:

Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB

-57% $165
List Price: $379.99

Buy on Amazon

Video Review

Testing My FIRST Biwin SSD! — Biwin Black Opal NV7400 2TB

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Its 7,450 MB/s read speed and PCIe 4.0 interface are fast enough for quick game installs and level streaming, and the drive supports DirectStorage on PC. Because it's DRAM-less, extremely random-access-heavy workloads may lag a DRAM-equipped flagship slightly, but for typical gaming loads the difference is not noticeable, and 2TB holds a large modern game library comfortably.

No. It's a DRAM-less design that uses Host Memory Buffer, borrowing a small portion of the host system's RAM over the PCIe interface to store mapping tables instead of an onboard DRAM chip. This lowers cost, power draw, and heat output compared to DRAM-equipped drives, at some cost to sustained random performance.

Sony requires PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage rated at 5,500 MB/s or faster reads, with dimensions fitting within 110 x 25 x 11.25mm including any heatsink. The NV7400 2TB's 7,450 MB/s rating clears that bar, but BIWIN does not appear on Sony's official approved-drive list, so buyers should treat it as spec-compatible rather than officially certified.

The 2TB model is rated for 2,000 TBW, backed by a 5-year warranty. For a typical desktop or PS5 workload writing 30 to 50GB per day, that endurance rating would take roughly 110 to 180 years to exhaust, far beyond both the warranty period and the drive's realistic useful life.

It's a single-sided drive without an onboard DRAM chip, so it generates less heat than DRAM-equipped flagships and can run without a dedicated heatsink in most desktop cases with reasonable airflow. A motherboard M.2 heatsink or basic case airflow is still worth using for sustained heavy workloads to avoid thermal throttling on long writes.

The 2TB and 1TB capacities both reach the line's peak 7,400 to 7,450 MB/s read and 6,500 MB/s write rating, while the 4TB matches that sequential speed but rates slightly lower random-read IOPS at 900K instead of 1,000K. Endurance scales with capacity: 1,000 TBW at 1TB, 2,000 TBW at 2TB, and 4,000 TBW at 4TB.

All three are DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 drives using Host Memory Buffer, but the NV7400 is rated for higher sequential speeds on paper than either WD or Crucial's equivalent capacities. The SN580 and P3 Plus have longer independent review histories and stronger brand reliability track records, which is the main trade-off buyers make for BIWIN's higher rated numbers.

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