Goodram PX500 512GB - Budget PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The Goodram PX500 512GB is a budget Polish-brand PCIe 3.0 NVMe - Silicon Motion 2263XT DRAM-less controller, 3D TLC NAND, 2,000 MB/s reads, and a three-year warranty at near-SATA SSD pricing.

Goodram PX500 512GB - Budget PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD

The Goodram PX500 512 GB pairs Silicon Motion's four-channel SM2263XT controller with 3D TLC NAND in a DRAM-less Host Memory Buffer (HMB) configuration. The 2263XT is the DRAM-less variant of the SM2263 - the same controller family used in many budget PCIe 3.0 NVMe drives from 2019-2021 - and uses HMB to borrow a small slice of system RAM for the logical-to-physical mapping table. The PCB is single-sided M.2 2280, fits any modern motherboard slot, and consumes modestly less power than DRAM-equipped drives.

Goodram ships the PX500 in 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB capacities, with a Gen.2 revision adding a copper-graphite heat-spreader coating without changing the underlying silicon. The 512 GB SKU on this page reaches Goodram's published 2,000 MB/s sequential read rating and 1,600 MB/s sequential writes, with random performance up to 173,000 read and 140,000 write IOPS. Goodram is a Polish brand (owned by Wilk Elektronik in Lazany, Poland) with strong European retail distribution and limited but real North American presence.

The PX500 512 GB targets buyers replacing an older SATA SSD or hard drive in a PCIe 3.0 system with the cheapest possible NVMe upgrade, particularly European buyers who prefer regional brands with local warranty handling. Direct rivals at this capacity are the Crucial P1 500 GB (QLC, similar price), the WD Blue SN550 500 GB (TLC HMB, faster), the Kingston A2000 500 GB (DRAM-equipped, similar tier), and the Adata SX6000 Lite 512 GB (DRAM-less, similar price). Within that field the PX500 is the European value pick - lower peak performance than DRAM-equipped peers, longer-than-flagship value through Goodram's regional support.

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🚀 Performance and benchmarks

Manufacturer ratings for the PX500 512 GB land at 2,000 MB/s sequential reads and 1,600 MB/s sequential writes, with random performance up to 173,000 read and 140,000 write IOPS. Those numbers sit well below the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface ceiling (around 3,500 MB/s) because the SM2263XT is a four-channel DRAM-less design without the parallelism of higher-end eight-channel platforms. The drive's peak read speed is roughly two-thirds of what a Samsung 970 EVO 500 GB delivers, though it remains roughly four times faster than any SATA SSD.

Performance comparison

Goodram PX500 512 GB vs PCIe 3.0 x 4 peers

Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other PCIe 3.0 x 4 SSDs in our database. The highlighted bar is the drive on this page — click any other bar to open that drive.

Asura Genesis Xtreme 256 GB: 3,400 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
Asura Genesis Xtreme 512 GB: 3,400 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
Asura Genesis Xtreme 1 TB: 3,400 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
Asura Genesis Xtreme 2 TB: 3,400 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
Goodram PX500 512 GB (this drive): 2,000 MB/s read, 1,600 MB/s write

Sustained writes show the DRAM-less HMB design's expected limitation. The drive holds peak SLC-cached writes for roughly 40-60 GB of continuous transfer on a near-empty 512 GB before the cache exhausts, after which writes drop into TLC direct-write territory around 400-600 MB/s. For boot, application, and gaming workloads at this capacity that profile is invisible. For sustained capture or large file moves the limit is more visible; the WD Blue SN570 500 GB and Crucial P3 500 GB both hold higher sustained speeds. The drive runs cool thanks to the four-channel SM2263XT's modest power draw - one of the few practical advantages of the DRAM-less design. DirectStorage operates at PCIe 3.0 speeds well below current PCIe 4.0 alternatives.

🖥️ Endurance and warranty

Goodram backs the PX500 512 GB with a three-year limited warranty - shorter than the five-year terms offered by most competitors at this tier - and a 330 TBW endurance budget per the manufacturer's official spec sheet. At a typical 10-20 GB/day desktop write workload that budget lasts roughly 45-90 years, well past the warranty period and any realistic service life. The published MTBF is two million hours, a population statistic across a fleet rather than a per-drive promise. The TBW scales linearly across the line: 170 TBW (256 GB), 330 TBW (512 GB), 660 TBW (1 TB). Goodram handles consumer RMA through regional European distributors with the company's own support portal at goodram.com - the experience is consistent in Europe and slower for international claims. The three-year warranty is a real consideration for long-life builds where Samsung, WD, and Crucial offer five years on competing drives.

📊 Specs

Category	Value
Capacity [?]	512 GB
Interface [?]	PCIe 3.0 x 4
Controller [?]	Silicon Motion SMI 2263XT
Memory type [?]	3D TLC
DRAM [?]	n/a
Read speed (MB/s) [?]	2000
Write speed (MB/s) [?]	1600
Read IOPS [?]	173000
Write IOPS [?]	140000
Endurance (TBW) [?]	330
MTBF (million hours) [?]	2
Warranty (years) [?]	3

Conclusion

The Goodram PX500 512 GB is a sensible pick for European builders on tight budgets who want a regional-brand boot drive and accept the three-year warranty trade-off. Buyers who can spend slightly more should look at the WD Blue SN570 500 GB or Crucial P3 500 GB instead - both PCIe 3.0/4.0 DRAM-less designs that offer materially higher peak read speeds (3,000-3,500 MB/s versus 2,000 MB/s) and five-year warranties for typically only a small price premium. Skip the PX500 if your workload includes sustained writes greater than around 60 GB at a time, or if you need DRAM-equipped reliability under heavy random workloads. As a basic PCIe 3.0 NVMe at the lowest practical price in the European market the PX500 512 GB does the job for boot and casual gaming.

+ Pros

One of the cheaper 512 GB NVMe drives in European retail
Silicon Motion 2263XT controller with mature firmware
Single-sided 2280 PCB fits any laptop M.2 slot
2,000,000-hour MTBF rating
Low power consumption typical of four-channel HMB design
Strong European retail and warranty footprint

- Cons

2,000 MB/s reads two-thirds of WD Blue SN570 500 GB
Three-year warranty shorter than tier-one rivals
DRAM-less HMB lags DRAM-equipped peers on random writes
PCIe 3.0 only, two generations behind current drives
Limited retail availability outside Europe
Sustained writes drop to ~500 MB/s after small SLC cache

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✨ Video Review

SSD GOODRAM PX500 512GB SSDPR-PX500-512-80

⁉️ FAQ

It is adequate for casual gaming but trails the current segment. The PX500 512 GB delivers 2,000 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 3.0, which is enough to load games noticeably faster than any SATA SSD but materially slower than the WD Blue SN570 500 GB at 3,500 MB/s or current PCIe 4.0 budget drives. Game load times are acceptable rather than fast. The 512 GB capacity is tight for a modern game library - it holds roughly six to ten current triple-A games. For a dedicated gaming build in 2026 the WD Black SN770 500 GB or Crucial P3 Plus 500 GB are better picks for similar money.

No. The PS5 expansion slot requires a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD rated at 5,500 MB/s or higher sequential reads, plus the M.2 2280 form factor and dimensions within 110 x 25 x 11.25 mm including heatsink. The PX500 is a PCIe 3.0 drive rated at 2,000 MB/s reads, which fails both the interface generation and the bandwidth threshold by a wide margin. The PS5 firmware will refuse to use it for game installation. For PS5 expansion choose a verified PCIe 4.0 drive such as the WD Black SN850X, Samsung 990 Pro, or Crucial T500 at 1 TB or higher.

No. The PX500 is a DRAM-less design using Host Memory Buffer (HMB). HMB borrows a small slice of system RAM, typically 64 MB, to hold the logical-to-physical mapping table that a dedicated DRAM cache would otherwise carry. The trade-off is cost: Goodram uses the savings to position the PX500 at the bottom of the NVMe price range. The practical penalty is modest on modern Windows or Linux platforms for everyday workloads but more visible on heavy sustained random writes, NTFS metadata churn, and large indexing operations. For pure consumer use HMB is acceptable.

Goodram rates the 512 GB PX500 at 330 TBW (terabytes written) over the three-year warranty per the official spec sheet at goodram.com. The TBW scales linearly across the line: 170 TBW (256 GB), 330 TBW (512 GB), 660 TBW (1 TB). At a typical 10-20 GB/day desktop write workload the 512 GB budget lasts roughly 45-90 years, well beyond the warranty period and any realistic service life. The 330 TBW figure is competitive with the Crucial P1 500 GB at 100 TBW (the P1 uses QLC and rates lower) and lower than the WD Blue SN570 500 GB at 300 TBW. For typical desktop use endurance is rarely the binding constraint.

The WD Blue SN570 500 GB is materially faster on raw performance. The SN570 hits 3,500 MB/s sequential reads versus the PX500's 2,000 MB/s, and 2,300 MB/s writes versus 1,600 MB/s. The SN570 also carries a longer 5-year warranty versus Goodram's 3 years and benefits from WD's broader brand recognition and global RMA channel. The PX500 counters with lower retail pricing in European markets where Goodram is well-stocked and the company's regional warranty handling for Polish, German, and Czech buyers. For most buyers the SN570 is the clearly better PCIe 3.0 pick at 500 GB; the PX500 is the budget European alternative.

Usually no. The Silicon Motion SM2263XT is a four-channel DRAM-less design with low power consumption and minimal heat output; reviewers consistently find the PX500 avoids thermal throttling under typical workloads even bare. Desktop builds with the motherboard's M.2 heatsink will not see throttling at all. Laptops with limited slot airflow may see modest throttling on extended sustained transfers, but the PX500's low peak performance means it generates less heat to begin with. The Gen.2 revision adds a copper-graphite heat-spreader coating that does not change the underlying silicon but improves thermals slightly.

Only in European markets at the lowest available price point. The PX500 512 GB makes sense when its retail price is the lowest available 500 GB NVMe in your market and competitors are noticeably more expensive at the time of purchase. If the WD Blue SN570 500 GB or Crucial P3 500 GB is within a few euros of the PX500, choose those instead for the materially higher speeds and longer warranty. For PCIe 4.0 motherboards consider a budget PCIe 4.0 drive such as the MSI Spatium M450 500 GB, which will future-proof the upgrade for similar cost.