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Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe SSD Introduction
Lexar has a new 4th generation NVMe SSD drive out on the market called the NM790, targeting higher performances and capacities with more affordable pricing. The 4TB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe drive reviewed here today boasts sequential speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s read and 6500 MB/s write, and has a fantastic 3,000 TBW rating. Lexar provides a 5-year warranty for future support as well.
You can get the NM790 in capacities of 4TB, 2TB, 1TB, or 512GB, with write performance and TBW ratings decreasing with the lower capacity variants. You can get the 4TB NM790 for $195.16 USD from Amazon, and the 2TB for $109.88 USD.
Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe SSD Closer Look
The packaging for the Lexar NM790 is clean, sharp, and professional looking. Despite being advertised as Playstation 5-compatible, the packaging doesn't scream gamer product although it should be fully capable. Inside of the box is a single booklet for quick installation and warranty information, while the clamshell protecting the drive also contains a spare M.2 screw.
The Lexar NM790 has a soft thermal pad sticker, though mine had some minor scuffs - likely from being a test sample. The back of the drive has a label with the drive model, part, and serial numbers, as well as logos for different regulatory agencies. Removing the thermal sticker is fairly easy, and doing so lets us get a look at the new 12nm Maxio MAP1602 controller which is popular for its high performance and low costs. The four storage ICs are engraved Longsys (the parent company of Lexar) RY18TAA48421024, which appears to be a rebranded 232-layer 3D TLC. There is no DRAM, but the drive uses SLC cache to boost performance for most tasks. Unless you copy a whole bunch of games or media, you won't bottleneck the drive.
Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe SSD Features
| Capacities | 512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe Gen4x4 |
| Speed | 512GB—Sequential read up to 7200MB/s, sequential write up to 4400MB/s¹ 1TB—Sequential read up to 7400MB/s, sequential write up to 6500MB/s¹ 2TB—Sequential read up to 7400MB/s, sequential write up to 6500MB/s¹ 4TB—Sequential read up to 7400MB/s, sequential write up to 6500MB/s¹ |
| Operating Temperature | 0°C to 70°C (32°F to 158°F) |
| Storage Temperature | -40°C to 85°C (-40°F to 185°F) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 80 x 22 x 2.45 mm (3.15” x 0.87” x 0.10”) |
| Weight | 6g / 0.013 lbs |
| Warranty | Five-year limited warranty |
| Shock-resistant | 1500G, duration 0.5ms, Half Sine Wave |
| Vibration-resistant | 10~2000Hz, 1.5mm, 20G, 1 Oct/min, 30min/axis (X,Y,Z) |
| TBW | 512GB: 500TBW, 1TB: 1000TBW, 2TB: 1500TBW,4TB：3000TBW |
| MTBF | 1,500,000 Hours |
| 1Up to 7400MB/s read transfer, write transfer speeds lower. Speeds based on internal testing. Actual performance may vary. 2Comparison based on internal testing. Actual performance may vary. Security safeguards, by their nature, are capable of circumvention. Lexar does not guarantee data will be 100% secure from unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction. Actual usable memory capacity may vary. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. Lexar is not liable for any loss of data or images. |
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Information Courtesy of Lexar @ https://www.lexar.com/product/lexar-nm790-m-2-2280-pcie-gen-4x4-nvme-ssd/
Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe SSD Testing
To test the Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD, we will use the latest Intel Raptor Lake i9-13900K CPU on an MSI Z790 Carbon WiFi motherboard.
Testing Setup
- Case: Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB
- Motherboard: MSI MPG Z790 Carbon WiFi
- CPU: Intel i9-13900K
- CPU Cooler: Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID Ultra 360
- GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra Hybrid
- RAM: Patriot Viper Venom RGB 32GB DDR5-7400 MHz (2x16GB) Kit
- OS SSD: XPG Atom 50 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4
- OS: Windows 11 Pro
- PSU: EVGA Supernova 1600 P+
Installing the drive is straight forward. I used the heat sink included with the MSI Z790 Carbon WiFi and had no problems with thermals. Read performance was a little shy on my run through, but write exceeded the advertisements, and 4K random IOPS were great! These speeds are fantastic and should please anyone out there, although if your intent is NAS/external drives where you expect to be transferring at least several hundred gigabytes of data, you may want drives with DRAM instead. Outside of that specific scenario, these NM790 drives should make everyone happy.
Lexar NM790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe SSD Conclusion
The Lexar NM790 puts on a class act, providing exceptional storage speeds while being very affordable. The 3,000 TBW rating is a great addition, and the 5-year warranty is nice. This drive is fully capable of handling gaming or anything else you could throw at it! The NM790 is tested and advertised as Playstation 5 compatible too, so console gamers can readily make use of this drive.
You can get the 4TB Lexar NM790 on sale right now for $195.16 USD at Amazon. If you're in the market for blazing fast storage, the Lexar NM790 is a great choice!
