Kingston NV1 NVMe PCIe SSD 500GB, M.2

So far, there isn't much to get excited about for the NV1, but that changes with pricing. At just $85 for the 1 TB version, the Kingston NV1 is one of the most affordable M.2 NVMe SSDs on the market. That's exactly why I bought the NV1. Kingston doesn't sample it, and it was super cheap during Black Friday, so I thought I'd bring you the review. Such an attractive price point will be tempting for a lot of people, especially those who don't think of themselves as power user and would rather make the most of every dollar because their computer is rarely used and not their highest priority. Even at that price point, there are plenty of alternatives that are a better choice than the Kingston NV1. First of all, make sure you're not buying an M.2 SATA drive—you want M.2 NVMe. Now check if you can find something with TLC—it'll always be faster than the NV1. Right now, interesting low-cost TLC drives are the Team Group T-Create Classic ($79), Team Group MP33 ($82), and Acer FA100 ($84), among others. If you are willing to go down the QLC route, the Intel 660p ($80) and 670p ($89) will offer better performance thanks to their DRAM cache chip, and the $90 Sabrent Rocket Q is worth mentioning here, too. If you are looking for the best price/performance, consider the WD Blue SN570 ($90) or Kioxia Exceria ($85, albeit not available in the US). Both drives are a huge upgrade over the NV1 at only a minimal price increase. If you're thinking about buying from Kingston because they are a reputable brand, do consider that they are knowingly omitting important specifications to have the option of silently changing out components, thinking most people will never notice.