Staff Writer

The PNY CS2342 is an excellent M.2 2230 SSD with good performance and reasonable power efficiency at 2TB in a single-sided package.

The Lexar Play SE is a capacious but strange NVMe SSD with rare hardware. It puts up meager numbers.

The Biwin Black Opal NV7400 is a solid performer with reasonable power efficiency and no real downsides.

The TeamGroup NV5000 is a storage device first and an SSD second. It fulfills the function that older SSDs did and without using any truly new hardware.

The GE Pro is a fast, PCIe 5.0 SSD that unfortunately has all the negative characteristics of an early high-end drive: high power consumption with inconsistent performance.

The Patriot Viper PV593 is perfectly good on paper and delivers satisfactory marks but doesn’t quite close the deal.

The Adata XPG Mars 980 Blade is a high-end Gen 5 SSD with only mediocre performance for its class that’s saved by its pricing.

The Corsair MP700 Micro is everything you want from a drive with high performance and power efficiency in a small form factor.

The Corsair MP700 Pro XT is fashionably late, delivering solid numbers across the board to usher in a true high-end SSD contender.

The Kingston NV3 2230 is Kingston’s budget take on this form factor, offering decent all-around performance and power efficiency at a good price.

The Biwin NV7200 is a compelling new budget SSD that fits the bill for many users.

The HighPoint RocketAIC 7608AW is a boundary-pusher when configured with 8x8TB Samsung 9100 Pro SSDs. It’s super fast, but the consumer application is limited.

The Kingston Fury Renegade G5 is efficient and performs well with no real downsides. It’s fast and hides no unpleasant surprises.

The Acer FA200 has nothing wrong with it, having relatively good all-around performance and solid power efficiency. It’s outdated and hard to find, though.

The SMI SM2504XT ES is a capable, power-efficient PCIe 5.0 SSD on a platform that should offer a more affordable high-end experience. It takes the competing Phison E31T to task in all the right ways.

The Sandisk WD Blue SN5100 is the fastest QLC SSD we’ve seen so far, and it’s power-efficient, too.

Kioxia’s Exceria Plus G4 is a mid-range PCIe 5.0 drive that is a safe choice.

The Biwin Black Opal X570 is a unique drive, running with an eight-channel control without DRAM. Its performance is not bad, but the drive may have only niche applications.

The Lexar NM1090 Pro is not a bad drive, but its appeal is somewhat limited given its position in the market. It has good all-around performance, but it isn't exceptional.

Samsung pushes the limit with the 8TB 9100 Pro, offering the first large-capacity high-end PCIe 5.0 drive. It’s a good drive, but the price might cause some hesitation.

The Seagate Exos M sets a new record for single drive capacity with new technology for extra power savings. However, the tech feels like more of the same in performance terms.

The TeamGroup MP44Q is another budget SSD from the company, this time using QLC flash instead of TLC. It performs well with good power efficiency, but has the expected QLC drawbacks.