# Lexar NM710 512GB Review — Entry-Level PCIe 4.0 on a Budget (2026)

The Lexar NM710 512GB brings 5,000 MB/s PCIe 4.0 reads to budget builds, though its 2,600 MB/s write ceiling shows exactly where the money was saved.

Quick answer: Buy the Lexar NM710 512GB as a boot drive or an office-grade uplift — it is one of the cheapest ways to put genuine PCIe 4.0 speed in a machine, and the 5-year warranty removes the usual entry-tier anxiety. Skip it for sustained write workloads, console upgrades, or anything where capacity matters; 300 TBW, 2,600 MB/s writes, and 512 GB all point elsewhere. The obvious alternative sits one shelf over: the 1 TB NM710 fixes the write speed and endurance halves for a modest step up in cost, while the Kingston NV2 and WD Blue SN580 play the same budget game with their own trade-offs. As a cheap, warrantied Gen4 boot stick, the NM710 512GB does its job.

## Specifications

| Specification | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Capacity | 512 GB |
| Interface | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller | Maxio MAP1602A 4 Channel |
| Memory type | Micron 176-L TLC |
| DRAM cache | No |
| Sequential read | 5000 MB/s |
| Sequential write | 2600 MB/s |
| Random read IOPS |  |
| Random write IOPS |  |
| Endurance | 300 TBW |
| MTBF | 1500000 |
| Warranty | 5 years |

## Performance

Lexar rates the 512GB NM710 at 5,000 MB/s sequential reads and 2,600 MB/s writes over PCIe 4.0 x4, and notably publishes no random IOPS figures for this model at all. The read number is the story: it outruns every SATA SSD by a wide margin and makes boot times, application launches, and level loads feel immediate on a budget build. Game installs and file copies benefit from that same burst speed, since the roughly 80 GB pSLC cache that ssd-tester measured absorbs them at full rate.

The write ceiling defines the limits. Sustained copies beyond the pSLC cache settle to the 2,600 MB/s native rate, and as a DRAM-less HMB design, heavy random write sessions are where it trails DRAM-equipped drives most visibly — none of which matters much for a boot-and-games drive. Being a PCIe 4.0 drive, it also makes sense as a future-proofing play for boards that dropped SATA support entirely. Within its tier, reviewers consistently describe the experience as exactly what a budget NVMe should be: quick where it counts, cheap where it does not.

## Endurance, TBW & Warranty

Lexar stands behind the NM710 512GB with a 5-year limited warranty rated to 300 TBW, whichever comes first. The endurance figure is the range's lowest — the 1 TB model carries 600 TBW — but the math stays comfortable: at a modest 20 GB written per day, exhaustion would take more than forty years. The rated MTBF is 1.5 million hours, a fleet-level reliability statistic rather than a promise about any single drive. The 5-year coverage is the standout here, matching what Lexar gives its premium NM790 line and beating the 3-year terms still common on entry drives; claims are handled through Lexar in most regions, so a proof of purchase is worth keeping.

## Pros and Cons

**Pros:**

- 5,000 MB/s sequential reads
- 300 TBW endurance with 5-year warranty
- DRAM-less HMB design stays cool and efficient
- Far faster than any SATA alternative
**Cons:**

- Writes cap out at 2,600 MB/s
- No DRAM cache on the PCB
- 300 TBW endurance is the range's lowest
- Random IOPS ratings unpublished by Lexar


## Verdict

Buy the Lexar NM710 512GB as a boot drive or an office-grade uplift — it is one of the cheapest ways to put genuine PCIe 4.0 speed in a machine, and the 5-year warranty removes the usual entry-tier anxiety. Skip it for sustained write workloads, console upgrades, or anything where capacity matters; 300 TBW, 2,600 MB/s writes, and 512 GB all point elsewhere. The obvious alternative sits one shelf over: the 1 TB NM710 fixes the write speed and endurance halves for a modest step up in cost, while the Kingston NV2 and WD Blue SN580 play the same budget game with their own trade-offs. As a cheap, warrantied Gen4 boot stick, the NM710 512GB does its job.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is the Lexar NM710 512GB compatible with the PS5?

Technically installable, but not a good match. Sony recommends a PCIe 4.0 drive reading at 5,500 MB/s or faster, and the NM710 tops out at 5,000 MB/s, just under that guidance. It also requires a heatsink within Sony's 11.25 mm height limit, and 512 GB is too small to be useful on a console whose games routinely exceed 100 GB. For a PS5 upgrade, a 1 TB or larger drive with faster reads — such as Lexar's own NM790 — is the sensible route.

### Is the Lexar NM710 512GB good for gaming?

As a boot-and-games drive for a budget gaming PC, yes. The 5,000 MB/s read rating loads operating systems and game levels with no perceptible lag versus pricier drives, and DirectStorage-ready titles benefit from the full PCIe 4.0 link. The honest constraints are capacity and write speed: 512 GB fills quickly with modern installs that can exceed 100 GB each, and the 2,600 MB/s write ceiling shows when reinstalling large games. Treat it as a starter drive, with the 1 TB model as the natural upgrade.

### Does the Lexar NM710 512GB have a DRAM cache?

No — the NM710 is a DRAM-less design. The Maxio MAP1602 controller uses Host Memory Buffer to borrow system RAM for the drive's mapping tables, and a pseudo-SLC cache carved from the NAND absorbs write bursts; ssd-tester measured roughly 80 GB of it on the 500 GB unit. For boot duty, office work, and gaming, the result feels much like a DRAM-equipped drive. Sustained heavy writing is where the difference appears, once the pSLC cache fills and writes settle to the native 2,600 MB/s rate.

### What is the TBW endurance of the Lexar NM710 512GB?

This capacity is rated at 300 TBW, backed by a 5-year limited warranty that ends at whichever limit arrives first. That is the lowest endurance in the NM710 range — the 1 TB model doubles it to 600 TBW — but it still works out to over forty years at a modest 20 GB of writes per day. In practice, a boot-drive workload writes a fraction of that, so the warranty term is far more likely to matter than the TBW ceiling.

### How much faster is the 1 TB Lexar NM710 than the 512 GB?

Sequential reads are identical at 5,000 MB/s, but everything else favors the 1 TB model: writes jump from 2,600 to 4,500 MB/s, endurance doubles from 300 to 600 TBW, and larger capacities generally sustain their performance better once the pSLC cache fills. The 5-year warranty and 1.5 million-hour MTBF rating carry across unchanged. If the budget can absorb the step up, the 1 TB model is the better long-term pick; the 512 GB earns its keep only where cost is the deciding factor.

### Lexar NM710 or Lexar NM790 — which should I pick?

The NM790 is the stronger drive at every capacity, and the gap is wide: 7,400 MB/s reads versus 5,000, writes up to 6,500 MB/s versus a 4,500 MB/s range maximum, and 1,000 TBW endurance at 1 TB versus 600 TBW. The NM710's case rests on price alone — it is the budget line, and at the smallest capacities the discount can be meaningful. Pay for the NM790 if the drives cost similar amounts; settle for the NM710 only when every dollar counts or the drive is destined for a light-duty machine.

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Last updated: 2026-09-05. Source: https://ssdrive.net/lexar-nm710-512-gb