KINGBANK KP260 Plus 1TB: the sweet-spot capacity (2026)

Posted on by Raymond Chen

Quick answer

The KINGBANK KP260 Plus 1TB suits budget-focused gamers and everyday users who want flagship-tier PCIe 4.0 speed at a mainstream capacity without paying flagship-tier prices.

Read: 7000 MB/s Write: 6500 MB/s Endurance: 600 TBW Warranty: 1 years Interface: M.2 4.0 x 4

The KINGBANK KP260 Plus 1TB pairs flagship-tier PCIe 4.0 speed with a mainstream capacity, undercutting brand-name rivals while still clearing PS5's read-speed guidance.

KINGBANK KP260 Plus 1TB: the sweet-spot capacity

Controller & Memory

KINGBANK builds the KP260 Plus around a Maxio controller and YMTC TLC NAND, skipping a dedicated DRAM chip in favor of Host Memory Buffer, the same architecture used across the whole KP260 Plus line. It connects over PCIe 4.0 x4 in the standard M.2 2280 form factor.

At 1 TB, the KP260 Plus sits at the middle of its range, which also ships in 512 GB and 2 TB, and represents the capacity most buyers land on when balancing price against a full modern game or application library. It's the faster sibling of KINGBANK's standard KP260, which tops out around 5,000/4,000 MB/s - the Plus roughly doubles the write figure for a meaningful real-world difference in large file transfers and game installs.

Without an included heatsink, the KP260 Plus 1TB fits laptops, thin desktops, and the PS5's internal M.2 slot without clearance issues, though a desktop build under sustained heavy writes may benefit from an aftermarket M.2 heatsink given the drive's high rated throughput. At this speed tier it competes directly with DRAM-less flagship-class drives like the Lexar NM790 1TB and WD Black SN770 1TB, both of which carry noticeably longer independent review histories and more consistent retail warranty support overall for cautious shoppers.

KP260 Plus Performance & Benchmarks

KINGBANK rates the KP260 Plus 1TB at up to 7,000 MB/s sequential reads and 6,500 MB/s sequential writes over PCIe 4.0 x4, flagship-speed territory despite the DRAM-less design. Independent PassMark-aggregated benchmark data for this exact 1TB capacity shows real-world measured throughput closer to 6,385 MB/s reads and 5,075 MB/s writes - lower than the rated burst figures, which is a normal gap between manufacturer-rated peaks and sustained measured performance rather than a defect.

Performance comparison

KINGBANK KP260 Plus 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
  • KINGBANK KP260 Plus 1 TB (this drive): 7,000 MB/s read, 6,500 MB/s write

Like the rest of the line, the KP260 Plus 1TB relies on an SLC write cache and Host Memory Buffer instead of dedicated DRAM; once a large sustained transfer exhausts that cache, write speeds drop toward the native TLC ceiling. Random IOPS figures for this capacity aren't independently confirmed, so treat specific numbers seen elsewhere with caution. For gaming, OS responsiveness, and everyday file transfers, the KP260 Plus 1TB comfortably outruns most DRAM-equipped budget drives in its price class.

KINGBANK KP260 Plus vs Competitors

See how the KP260 Plus stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:

Endurance, TBW & Warranty

KINGBANK rates the KP260 Plus 1TB at 600 TBW of total write endurance, in line with typical ratings for a mainstream 1TB drive. At a typical 20-50 GB of writes per day, that budget lasts roughly 33 to 82 years before hitting the rated limit, far longer than most buyers will own the drive, so endurance is not a practical concern for normal use. The MTBF rating is 2,000,000 hours, a statistical reliability figure describing failure rates across a large population of drives rather than a promise for any individual unit.

Warranty coverage on this listing is 1 year, short for a drive at this speed tier compared to the 3-to-5-year terms common among established brands like WD or Lexar. Buyers should weigh that shorter coverage against the lower purchase price typical of KINGBANK's direct-to-consumer sales model.

KINGBANK KP260 Plus 1 TB Specifications

Category Value
Capacity [?] 1 TB
Interface [?] M.2 4.0 x 4
Controller [?] Maxio
Memory type [?] YMTC TLC
DRAM [?] No
Read speed (MB/s) [?] 7000
Write speed (MB/s) [?] 6500
Read IOPS [?] 7000000
Write IOPS [?] 6500000
Endurance (TBW) [?] 600
MTBF (million hours) [?] 2000000
Warranty (years) [?] 1

Verdict: Is the KP260 Plus Worth It in 2026?

The KINGBANK KP260 Plus 1TB suits budget-focused gamers and everyday users who want flagship-tier PCIe 4.0 speed at a mainstream capacity without paying flagship-tier prices. It's a weaker choice for buyers who prioritize long warranty coverage or an established independent review track record, since KINGBANK's 1-year warranty trails bigger names by several years. Buyers who want similar DRAM-less speed with more warranty security should look at the Lexar NM790 1TB. Overall, the KP260 Plus 1TB is a strong price-to-performance pick at a genuinely fast rated speed, provided the buyer accepts the shorter warranty.

+ Pros

  • 7,000 MB/s sequential reads on PCIe 4.0
  • Mainstream 1TB capacity at a budget price
  • Notable speed jump over the standard KP260
  • 2,000,000-hour MTBF rating
  • Low price via direct-to-consumer sales

- Cons

  • Only a 1-year warranty despite flagship-tier speed
  • DRAM-less design relies on Host Memory Buffer
  • No included heatsink for sustained desktop loads
  • Limited independent long-term review coverage

4.4 / 5 · 53 votes

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Video Review

KingBank KP260 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes - its 7,000 MB/s rated read speed comfortably outruns most SATA and many PCIe 3.0 drives for game load times, and 1 TB is enough for a solid modern game library. Normal gaming use rarely pushes past its SLC write cache, making it a strong price-to-performance pick for a primary gaming drive.

Yes - its 7,000 MB/s rated sequential read comfortably clears Sony's suggested 5,500 MB/s minimum for PS5 expansion storage, and its M.2 2280 form factor without a tall heatsink fits the console's internal slot without clearance issues. It's one of the faster budget options at 1 TB that meets Sony's published guidance.

No, the KP260 Plus is a DRAM-less design that uses Host Memory Buffer (HMB) to borrow a portion of system RAM for its mapping tables instead of a dedicated DRAM chip. It still reaches flagship-tier rated speeds despite the missing DRAM, though sustained write consistency past the SLC cache trails DRAM-equipped drives in the same speed class.

KINGBANK rates the 1TB KP260 Plus at 600 TBW (terabytes written), a typical endurance figure for the capacity. At a typical 20-50 GB of writes per day, that works out to roughly 33 to 82 years before reaching the rated limit, far longer than most buyers will keep the drive in service, so endurance is not a practical concern for everyday use.

It doesn't ship with one, and for laptops, the PS5, or light desktop use it generally doesn't need one. Given its high rated throughput, desktop users running sustained heavy write workloads may see a noticeable benefit from adding a motherboard M.2 heatsink, though it isn't required for typical day-to-day use.

The Plus roughly doubles the standard KP260's write speed (6,500 MB/s versus 4,000 MB/s) and pushes reads from 5,000 to 7,000 MB/s, while keeping the same 600 TBW endurance, 2,000,000-hour MTBF, and 1-year warranty. For buyers who can afford the price difference, the Plus is a meaningfully faster drive for the same reliability profile.

Both are DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 drives that reach flagship-tier rated sequential speeds at 1 TB, but the Lexar NM790 has a longer independent review history and generally more consistent retail warranty support. The KP260 Plus's main advantage is price through direct-to-consumer sales, at the trade-off of a shorter 1-year warranty and less third-party testing.

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