Lexar NM790 1TB: Full Speed, DRAM-less Efficiency (2026)
Quick answer
The Lexar NM790 1TB makes sense for buyers who want genuinely class-leading PCIe 4.0 performance for a primary drive, laptop upgrade, or PS5 storage expansion without paying DRAM-equipped flagship prices.
Read: 7400 MB/s Write: 6500 MB/s Endurance: 1000 TBW Warranty: 5 years Interface: M.2 4.0 x 4
The Lexar NM790 1TB reaches this drive's full 6,500 MB/s write ceiling and is rated by independent reviewers among the best DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 drives available.
Controller & Memory
Inside the Lexar NM790 1TB is a Maxio MAP1602 controller paired with YMTC 232-layer TLC NAND and no dedicated DRAM chip; the drive relies on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology to keep its mapping tables fast. It runs over a PCIe 4.0 x4 link using the NVMe protocol and ships in a single-sided M.2 2280 form factor, a design Lexar keeps even at its larger 4 TB capacity.
The NM790 is Lexar's flagship-tier TLC drive, distinct from the budget QLC NQ790 and NQ710 lines. It ships in 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacities; this 1 TB model reaches the line's full 7,400 MB/s read and 6,500 MB/s write ratings, unlike the 512 GB model, whose write speed is reduced to 4,400 MB/s due to fewer NAND dies for parallel writes.
The NM790 1TB fits laptops, Mini PCs, and the PlayStation 5's M.2 slot, and its efficient DRAM-less design runs cooler than many DRAM-equipped rivals while still keeping pace with them. Independent reviewers have compared it favorably to drives like the Samsung 990 Pro and WD Black SN850X on value, and PCWorld rated it the fastest DRAM-less SSD it had tested at the time of review, calling out its combination of speed and lowered pricing as a genuine standout.
Storage Comparisons:
NM790 Performance & Benchmarks
The 1 TB Lexar NM790 is rated for up to 7,400 MB/s sequential reads and 6,500 MB/s sequential writes, with up to 1,000,000 IOPS on random reads and 900,000 IOPS on random writes, the line's full-speed figures. Tom's Hardware found the NM790 rivals even high-end PCIe 4.0 drives despite being DRAM-less, delivering good-to-great sustained performance with notably better power efficiency than many DRAM-equipped competitors.
Lexar NM790 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
- Lexar NM790 1 TB (this drive): 7,400 MB/s read, 6,500 MB/s write
Like any TLC drive, the NM790 leans on SLC caching for its peak write speed; the 1 TB model's cache is larger than the 512 GB's, so it holds its peak write speed over a bigger share of any large transfer before settling to a lower but still solid TLC-native write speed, rather than collapsing sharply the way a QLC drive would. For everyday use, booting Windows, loading games, general file work, and even serious content creation, the 1 TB NM790 performs confidently. PCWorld separately noted the DRAM-less design costs it a bit on random-write performance specifically, though not enough to matter for typical users.
Lexar NM790 vs Competitors
See how the NM790 stacks up against other M.2 4.0 x 4 drives in our database:
Compare with rival drives:
Endurance, TBW & Warranty
Lexar rates the 1 TB NM790 at 1,000 TBW and backs it with a 5-year limited warranty, strong figures for a DRAM-less drive at this capacity. At a realistic 20-30 GB per day write workload, 1,000 TBW works out to roughly 91-137 years before the drive reaches its rated endurance limit, far beyond the warranty period and the practical lifespan of the rest of the PC around it. Lexar also lists a 1,500,000-hour MTBF figure, though that's a population-level statistical average across many drives rather than a promise about any single unit's lifespan. Warranty service runs through Lexar's regional RMA process, so keep your purchase receipt on hand.
Lexar NM790 1 TB Specifications
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacity [?] | 1 TB |
| Interface [?] | M.2 4.0 x 4 |
| Controller [?] | Maxio MAP1602 |
| Memory type [?] | YMTC 232-L TLC |
| DRAM [?] | No |
| Read speed (MB/s) [?] | 7400 |
| Write speed (MB/s) [?] | 6500 |
| Read IOPS [?] | 1000000 |
| Write IOPS [?] | 900000 |
| Endurance (TBW) [?] | 1000 |
| MTBF (million hours) [?] | 1500000 |
| Warranty (years) [?] | 5 |
Verdict: Is the NM790 Worth It in 2026?
The Lexar NM790 1TB makes sense for buyers who want genuinely class-leading PCIe 4.0 performance for a primary drive, laptop upgrade, or PS5 storage expansion without paying DRAM-equipped flagship prices. There's little reason to skip it unless you specifically need more capacity, in which case the 2 TB or 4 TB NM790 offers the same performance profile with more room. Compared to QLC alternatives like Lexar's own NQ790 or NQ710, the NM790's TLC NAND holds its performance and endurance more consistently under sustained load. Overall, independent reviewers rate this as one of the strongest values in PCIe 4.0 storage, and 1 TB is the capacity where it fully delivers.
+ Pros
- Full 7,400/6,500 MB/s read/write speeds
- 1,000 TBW endurance and a 5-year warranty
- Rivals DRAM-equipped drives despite being DRAM-less
- Single-sided M.2 2280 fits laptops and PS5
- Rated fastest DRAM-less SSD by PCWorld at review time
- Cons
- No DRAM cache impacts random writes slightly
- Runs behind Lexar's premium NM1090 Pro on peak numbers
- 1TB capacity fills up fast for large modern game libraries
- No included heatsink on the base version
Buy this or similar SSD Storage:
Video Review
NEW BEST BUDGET SSD? | Lexar NM790 SSD review
