HP FX 900 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Review

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Raymond Chen

The HP FX 900 1 TB is a budget-friendly PCIe 4.0 NVMe that punches above its weight by pairing the Innogrit IG5236 controller with Micron 3D TLC NAND and hitting 5,000 MB/s sequential reads without the cost of onboard DRAM.

Under the hood, the HP FX 900 1 TB runs on Innogrit IG5236 controller (listed as IG5220BAA in some variants) — a DRAM-less design that relies on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology to borrow a small slice of system RAM for caching metadata. The NAND is Micron 96-layer 3D TLC, configured in a double-sided M.2 2280 form factor. HMB has come a long way since the early DRAM-less drives, and modern implementations like this one narrow the performance gap with full-DRAM competitors while keeping costs down.

HP offers the FX 900 series in 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities. The 1 TB model reviewed here sits at the sweet spot: it carries the full 5,000 MB/s read rating and a substantial 800 TBW endurance rating, whereas smaller capacities often throttle write speeds. The drive ships without a heatsink, so if you are dropping it into a PS5 or a thermally constrained laptop, factor in a low-profile M.2 cooler.

The HP FX 900 competes directly with other mid-tier PCIe 4.0 drives like the Western Digital Blue SN580, Kingston KC3000, and Crucial P5 Plus. It trades blows on sequential throughput but undercuts many of them on price, making it a solid pick for gamers upgrading from SATA or PCIe 3.0 NVMe who want the 4.0 jump without paying flagship premiums. PS5 users should note the lack of included heatsink — Sony requires a drive with a cooling solution to meet thermal specs, so add that to the cart.

✅ Storage Comparisons:

Best Deal of 1 TB SSDs NVME Best 4 TB SSD Best PCIe 4.0 SSD Drive

🚀 Performance and benchmarks

HP rates the FX 900 1 TB at up to 5,000 MB/s sequential reads and 4,800 MB/s sequential writes over its PCIe 4.0 x 4 interface. Random performance comes in at up to 820,000 read IOPS and 645,000 write IOPS — strong numbers for a DRAM-less design and ample for gaming, OS boot, and typical desktop workloads. Independent benchmarks consistently show the drive hitting or exceeding these rated figures in CrystalDiskMark, with real-world file copies landing in the 3,500–4,200 MB/s range depending on file size.

Performance comparison

HP FX 900 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.

PNY XLR8 CS3140 1 TB: 7,500 MB/s read, 5,650 MB/s write
PNY XLR8 CS3140 2 TB: 7,500 MB/s read, 6,850 MB/s write
Asgard AN4 512 GB: 7,500 MB/s read, 5,500 MB/s write
Asgard AN4 1 TB: 7,500 MB/s read, 5,500 MB/s write
HP FX 900 1 TB (this drive): 5,000 MB/s read, 4,800 MB/s write

Like most TLC-based NVMe drives, the FX 900 employs an SLC cache strategy to accelerate burst writes. Independent testing indicates a cache size in the 150–200 GB range on the 1 TB model, after which writes settle into a steady-state TLC write speed. For typical consumer workloads — game installs, video editing projects, large file transfers — this means you get full-speed writes for most single operations and only see throttling if you are pushing hundreds of gigabytes in one go. Gaming load times see modest improvements over SATA SSDs and PCIe 3.0 drives. DirectStorage titles will benefit more from the random IOPS than raw sequential throughput.

🖥️ Endurance and warranty

HP backs the FX 900 1 TB with a 5-year warranty that is TBW-limited to 800 terabytes written. TBW measures how much data you can write before the warranty expires — in this case, 800 TB. To put that in perspective, at a heavy workload of 100 GB per day, the 1 TB model would last roughly 22 years before exhausting its TBW rating. Even at 200 GB daily — more than most enthusiasts write — you are looking at over a decade of covered use. Most users will hit the five-year calendar limit long before they approach 800 TBW.

The warranty is direct with HP, which generally means RMA through HP support channels rather than the retailer. MTBF is not prominently specified in HP consumer datasheet for this series, which is common for DRAM-less HMB designs targeting the budget tier. The combination of 800 TBW and five years of coverage is competitive for the price point and matches or exceeds offerings from some competitors in the same segment.

📊 Specs

Category	Value
Capacity [?]	1 TB
Interface [?]	M.2 4.0 x 4
Controller [?]	Innogrit IG5220BAA
Memory type [?]	Micron 3D TLC
DRAM [?]	HMB
Read speed (MB/s) [?]	5000
Write speed (MB/s) [?]	4800
Read IOPS [?]	820000
Write IOPS [?]	645000
Endurance (TBW) [?]	800
MTBF (million hours) [?]	n/a
Warranty (years) [?]	5

Conclusion

Buy the HP FX 900 1 TB if you want PCIe 4.0 speeds on a budget and do not need the absolute last megabyte per second that flagship drives command. It is an excellent boot drive for gaming PCs, a solid upgrade path from SATA or older NVMe, and a perfectly capable scratch disk for 4K video editing or Lightroom catalogs. Skip it if you need sustained write performance for multi-TB transfers or if you require an included heatsink for a PS5 upgrade. The WD Black SN850X or Samsung 990 Pro will beat it on sustained heavy workloads, but they also cost significantly more. For most gamers and general-purpose users, the FX 900 hits the value sweet spot.

+ Pros

5,000 MB/s sequential reads at a budget price point
800 TBW endurance on the 1 TB model
5-year warranty with competitive TBW coverage
Innogrit IG5236 controller with mature HMB implementation
Available up to 2 TB capacity
Low power draw suitable for laptops

- Cons

DRAM-less HMB design, slower than full-DRAM competitors on sustained writes
No included heatsink — required for PS5
SLC cache exhausts after 150–200 GB of sustained writes
Write speed drops in TLC steady-state vs DRAM-equipped drives

🛒 Buy this or similar SSD Storage:

Samsung 980 Pro 2 Tb

-57% $165
List Price: $379.99

Buy on Amazon

INLAND Performance Plus 1 Tb

$79.99

Buy on Amazon

Silicon Power 512GB NVMe SSD

$42.97

Buy on Amazon

✨ Video Review

Una SSD ULTRA RÁPIDA para PC | Laptop | PlayStation 5 - Review HP FX900 PRO Nvme 1.4

⁉️ FAQ

Yes, the HP FX 900 1 TB is well-suited for gaming. Its 5,000 MB/s sequential reads and 820,000 read IOPS provide fast game load times, and the DRAM-less HMB design has minimal impact on gaming workloads compared to full-DRAM drives. You will see noticeable improvements over SATA SSDs and PCIe 3.0 NVMe, though the difference between this and a flagship PCIe 4.0 drive in real-world gaming load times is often a second or two — not enough to justify paying double for most players.

The HP FX 900 1 TB meets Sony PCIe 4.0 and speed requirements for PS5 storage expansion, but it ships without a heatsink. Sony requires that any M.2 drive installed in a PS5 must have an effective cooling solution, as the console internal bay lacks direct airflow over the SSD. You will need to pair this drive with a low-profile M.2 heatsink that fits within the PS5 dimensional limits (width less than 25 mm, total height with cooler less than 11.25 mm). Once equipped with a heatsink, it works fine as PS5 expandable storage.

No, the HP FX 900 uses a DRAM-less design with Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology. Instead of onboard DRAM, it reserves a small portion of your system RAM (typically 50–100 MB) to cache the flash translation layer and metadata. Modern HMB implementations, particularly on the Innogrit IG5236 controller used here, close much of the performance gap that plagued early DRAM-less drives. You will see slightly lower sustained write performance after the SLC cache fills compared to full-DRAM drives, but for typical desktop and gaming use, the difference is negligible.

The HP FX 900 1 TB is rated for 800 TBW (terabytes written) over its warranty life. TBW represents the manufacturer guarantee that the drive can write 800 terabytes of data before it may wear out. At a typical workload of 50 GB per day, that translates to over 43 years of use — far longer than the five-year warranty period. Even heavy workloads of 100–200 GB daily would take 11–22 years to exhaust the TBW rating. Most users will never approach this limit in normal use.

The HP FX 900 1 TB does not strictly require a heatsink for desktop or laptop use under normal workloads. Its Innogrit controller and 96-layer TLC NAND run relatively cool compared to higher-power enthusiast drives. However, adding a heatsink can help maintain peak performance during sustained write operations and is strongly recommended if you are installing it in a PS5 (Sony requires a cooling solution for warranty compliance) or in a laptop with limited airflow around the M.2 slot.

Both the HP FX 900 and WD Blue SN580 are DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 drives targeting the budget segment, and they use similar controller technology (Innogrit IG5236-family). Sequential performance is comparable, with both rated around 5,000 MB/s reads. The FX 900 advertises higher endurance at 800 TBW versus the SN580 600 TBW on the 1 TB model. Real-world performance is similar in most workloads, so the choice often comes down to current pricing and brand preference. Check if either includes a heatsink, as that can affect total cost.