Kingston NV2 1TB -- Budget PCIe 4.0 DRAM-Less NVMe Review
The Kingston NV2 1 TB is the capacity sweet spot in Kingston's budget PCIe 4.0 line, delivering adequate Gen4 throughput at a price that undercuts most competitors.
The NV2 1 TB uses the Phison PS5021-E21T controller with HMB. At 1 TB it is rated at 3,500 MB/s reads and 2,800 MB/s writes — the write speed scales with increased NAND parallelism. Endurance is 320 TBW, backed by a three-year warranty. The single-sided PCB fits thin laptops.
At 1 TB, the NV2 is a viable boot-and-gaming drive for budget builds. The 2,800 MB/s writes are adequate for game installations and light file transfers. The HMB architecture provides acceptable random I/O for general use. Kingston's variable hardware policy means the exact controller and NAND may differ between batches, but the rated speeds remain the same. For buyers who prioritize price over peak performance, the NV2 1 TB is one of the cheapest Gen4 1 TB drives available.
✅ Storage Comparisons:
🚀 Performance and benchmarks
The 1 TB NV2 delivers 3,500/2,800 MB/s sequential reads and writes. The HMB design handles moderate sustained writes adequately. Gaming load times are competitive with any PCIe 4.0 drive. Under heavy sustained writes, the drive transitions to native NAND speeds faster than DRAM-equipped alternatives.
Kingston NV2 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
- Kingston NV2 1 TB (this drive): 3,500 MB/s read, 2,800 MB/s write
🖥️ Endurance and warranty
Kingston covers the NV2 1 TB with a three-year warranty limited by 320 TBW, equivalent to roughly 292 GB/day over three years. At typical consumer write rates this spans many years beyond the warranty period.
📊 Specs
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 1 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Phison PS5021-E21 |
| Memory type [?] | Toshiba 3D TLC |
| DRAM [?] | HMB (DRAM-less) |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 3500 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 2800 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 3000000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 3000000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 320 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | n/a |
| Warranty (years) [?] | n/a |
Conclusion
The 1 TB NV2 is the capacity to buy if you want the cheapest Gen4 1 TB drive. Its 3,500/2,800 MB/s speeds are adequate for gaming and general productivity. The 320 TBW endurance is sufficient for consumer use. The DRAM-less design means it is not suitable for sustained professional workloads. The variable hardware policy means you may get different controllers and NAND between batches — but at the NV2's price point, this is an accepted trade-off. Compare pricing against the WD Blue SN580 1 TB and Crucial P3 1 TB.
+ Pros
- 3,500/2,800 MB/s -- adequate Gen4 speeds
- DRAM-less HMB design keeps price lowest
- 320 TBW endurance -- sufficient for consumer use
- Single-sided PCB -- thin-laptop compatible
- Often the cheapest 1TB PCIe 4.0 drive available
- Cons
- No DRAM -- slower sustained random I/O
- Variable hardware -- components change between batches
- Below Gen4 ceiling -- not a performance drive
- 3-year warranty (not 5 years like most competitors)
🛒 Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
✨ Video Review
I bought this for my laptop. it broke right after these tests! Kingston NV1 1TB NVMe SSD
