Lexar NM610 1TB NVMe SSD Review (2026)
The Lexar NM610 1TB pairs Intel 3D TLC NAND with the Silicon Motion SM2263XT controller to deliver budget NVMe storage with 500 TBW endurance — enough capacity and durability for a boot drive plus a healthy game library.
Controller & Memory
Inside the NM610 1TB is the Silicon Motion SM2263XT DRAM-less controller paired with Intel 64-layer 3D TLC NAND flash. The drive uses the NVMe 1.3 protocol over a PCIe 3.0 x4 link and relies on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) for its flash mapping tables. It ships as a single-sided M.2 2280 module, so clearance is not an issue in thin laptops or compact desktops.
The 1TB is the flagship of the NM610 range, which also includes 250GB and 500GB variants. All three share the same 2,100/1,600 MB/s rated speeds, but the 1TB benefits from more NAND dies for better parallelism and a larger SLC write cache. The 500 TBW endurance at 0.46 drive writes per day is the highest in the line and competitive for a budget TLC drive.
The main rivals at 1TB are the Kingston A2000 1TB, WD Blue SN550 1TB, and Crucial P2 1TB. The NM610 generally undercuts them on price but carries a shorter three-year warranty versus the five-year terms on some competing drives.
Storage Comparisons:
NM610 Performance & Benchmarks
Lexar rates the NM610 1TB at up to 2,100 MB/s sequential reads and 1,600 MB/s sequential writes, with 188,000 read IOPS and 156,000 write IOPS. eTeknix's testing of the 1TB model found sequential speeds close to the rated figures, with reads hitting 2,100 MB/s and writes approaching 1,600 MB/s in CrystalDiskMark.
Lexar NM610 1 TB vs M.2 3.0 x 4 peers
Switch between sequential throughput and random IOPS to see how this drive stacks up against other M.2 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.
- ADATA SX 8800 Pro 512 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 2,700 MB/s write
- ADATA SX 8800 Pro 1 TB: 3,500 MB/s read, 2,700 MB/s write
- ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 256 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
- ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 512 GB: 3,500 MB/s read, 3,000 MB/s write
- Lexar NM610 1 TB (this drive): 2,100 MB/s read, 1,600 MB/s write
In PCMark 8 and PCMark 10 storage benchmarks, the NM610 1TB landed in the middle of the budget NVMe pack — ahead of SATA drives by a wide margin but behind higher-end NVMe models. The SM2263XT controller delivers consistent if unspectacular performance for everyday workloads. The SLC cache on the 1TB model is generous enough to handle typical desktop write bursts without cache eviction. For sustained large-file transfers, expect speeds to settle to native TLC levels after the cache fills.
Lexar NM610 vs Competitors
See how the NM610 stacks up against other M.2 3.0 x 4 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
The NM610 1TB carries a 500 TBW endurance rating backed by a three-year limited warranty. At 0.46 drive writes per day, this translates to writing roughly 460 GB per day, every day, for three years before hitting the endurance ceiling. A typical consumer writing 20 to 50 GB per day would take 27 to 68 years to exhaust the TBW. The drive carries a 1.5 million hour MTBF rating. The three-year warranty is shorter than the five-year coverage Lexar offers on the successor NM620.
Lexar NM610 1 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 1 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 3.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Silicon Motion SM2263XT |
| Memory type [?] | Intel TLC |
| DRAM [?] | HMB |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 2100 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 1600 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 188000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 156000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 500 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 1.5 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 3 |
Verdict: Is the NM610 Worth It in 2026?
The Lexar NM610 1TB is a budget NVMe SSD that delivers on its promises — 2,100 MB/s reads, 500 TBW endurance, and enough capacity for a full system plus game library at a competitive price. The three-year warranty is the main compromise versus the newer NM620 1TB, which offers faster speeds and five-year coverage for a modest premium. Buyers prioritizing capacity per dollar over warranty length will find the NM610 a practical pick; those planning to keep the drive for five or more years should spend the extra on the NM620.
+ Pros
- 2,100 MB/s reads, 1,600 MB/s writes on PCIe 3.0
- 500 TBW endurance with Intel 3D TLC
- Single-sided M.2 2280 fits slim laptops
- Larger SLC cache than smaller NM610 capacities
- Low power consumption for laptop use
- Cons
- Only three-year warranty
- Trails pricier NVMe drives in real-world benchmarks
- DRAM-less SM2263XT limits heavy-workload performance
- No bundled software or heatsink
Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
Video Review
Lexar NM610 M.2 NVME (PCIe Gen 3x4) Overview & Benchmark
