256GB M.2 NVMe Internal 2280 SSD

I ordered this on Auckland Anniversary Day, and expected to wait an additional day for its arrival. But no: it arrived the next morning, sent from Wellington. Cunning, and much appreciated.

The no-name SSD worked out just fine as a replacement for the three year old Samsung EVO which our NAS had chewed to bits before spitting it out. Figuratively, you understand.

Again, I appreciate PBTech's prices, quality and service. Always top notch. I ordered this on Auckland Anniversary Day, and expected to wait an additional day for its arrival. But no: it arrived the next morning, sent from Wellington. Cunning, and much appreciated.

The no-name SSD worked out just fine as a replacement for the three year old Samsung EVO which our NAS had chewed to bits before spitting it out. Figuratively, you understand.

Again, I appreciate PBTech's prices, quality and service. Always top notch.

By: leighelse 08/02/24

Verified Owner

The quality was ok, but it made me curious when I saw a scratch across it. The quality was ok, but it made me curious when I saw a scratch across it.

Fast storage Fast storage

A good performance drive, NVMe yes, but DRAM cache no. Expect a HMB based with PCIe Gen 3 x 4. When the price dips these are excellent value. A good performance drive, NVMe yes, but DRAM cache no. Expect a HMB based with PCIe Gen 3 x 4. When the price dips these are excellent value.

It is a potluck but I received a Samsung ssd. Formatted and installed no problems. Useful for dual booting. It is a potluck but I received a Samsung ssd. Formatted and installed no problems. Useful for dual booting.

Received a Gen4x4. Installed it into my laptop with no issues and has been working happily ever since. Received a Gen4x4. Installed it into my laptop with no issues and has been working happily ever since.

SSD works great, detected instantly in BIOS and Windows. Setup was quick and easy. CrystalDiskInfo shows good health. Good value for the price. For now (4 days since installed) it works flawlessly. Happy with purchase 👍 recommended.

R/W speed showed on the photo. Really good results.

I was lucky enough to get this ssd at a great price during Black Friday:)

When I came to the Tauranga store to buy this SSD, it was out of stock. The consultant told me it could be ordered and collected in about 8 days once it was delivered. In the end, the SSD arrived in just 5 days, which made me very happy. Fast delivery, polite and helpful staff.
...view more SSD works great, detected instantly in BIOS and Windows. Setup was quick and easy. CrystalDiskInfo shows good health. Good value for the price. For now (4 days since installed) it works flawlessly. Happy with purchase 👍 recommended.

R/W speed showed on the photo. Really good results.

I was lucky enough to get this ssd at a great price during Black Friday:)

When I came to the Tauranga store to buy this SSD, it was out of stock. The consultant told me it could be ordered and collected in about 8 days once it was delivered. In the end, the SSD arrived in just 5 days, which made me very happy. Fast delivery, polite and helpful staff.

Thank you, PB Tech!

Took a chance buying 4 during 2025 Black Friday. The "brands vary" disclaimer is definitely real, as I got drives wildly different from each other. If you're comfortable with that randomness, or you have use cases for multiple types of mid-to-low-end NVMe's and can justify getting a mix of drives, this deal can work out well IF you get it on sale, like $20-28 in 2025/2026. Without the sale though, I'd pass on this.

I wanted 3 drives but ordered 4 to hedge my bets. I hoped for one drive fast enough to be a speedy boot/OS drive for a new lightweight Linux home server, and I got that.

Also hoped one would fill a USB 3.2 10gbps NVMe enc...view more Took a chance buying 4 during 2025 Black Friday. The "brands vary" disclaimer is definitely real, as I got drives wildly different from each other. If you're comfortable with that randomness, or you have use cases for multiple types of mid-to-low-end NVMe's and can justify getting a mix of drives, this deal can work out well IF you get it on sale, like $20-28 in 2025/2026. Without the sale though, I'd pass on this.

I wanted 3 drives but ordered 4 to hedge my bets. I hoped for one drive fast enough to be a speedy boot/OS drive for a new lightweight Linux home server, and I got that.

Also hoped one would fill a USB 3.2 10gbps NVMe enclosure I had lying around, that I could use for fast portable storage, and thanksfully, I got that too.

Lastly, I have a Unifi router that accepts NVMe and will happily accept any low-performing drive, as it's only going to store logs, which is like a small amount of text files per day. This way, if I got a super slow drive (which I did), I'd actually be able to put it to good use.

After receiving them, I gave all 4 the speed test using a USB4 (40 Gbps) NVMe enclosure hooked up to a Thunderbolt 4 port. This test can identify the true model number of the drives, and can see how close to the enclosure's 4 GBytes/sec limit they can get to, and I was surprised that 3 out of 4 gave very respectable mid-range performance. Here's what I got.

- SK Hynix BC901, Gen 4x4. A little slow on the writes at 2 GBytes/sec, but very fast 4 GBytes/sec reads. More than enough for a Linux OS drive. It could actually be higher reads, and I'll find out when installed in a PC soon.

- SK Hynix BC711, Gen 3x4. About 2 GBytes/sec writes and 3.2 GBytes/sec reads. This is more than enough to use as a portable drive in a USB 3.2 or USB4 USB enclosure.

- Kioxia BG6, appears to be Gen 3x4. 2.2 GBytes/sec writes and 3.7 GBytes/sec reads, putting it as good as the BC901. I'll find a use for it sometime, either as another OS boot drive or maybe as another portable USB drive.

- Samsung PM9B1, claims Gen 4x4 on the label but super slow 0.4 GBytes/sec max writes and great 3.3 GBytes/sec reads. Could be going bad, maybe? I actually have a use for a slow, non-important drive, but if I didn't, I'd wouldn't keep it.

Avoid these for any modern laptop, gaming system, and work desktop that would benefit hugely with Gen 4 NVMe speed and an actual warranty. For a PC tinkerer could use cheap SSDs for a homelab, I recommend grabbing these when on sale.

They are much faster than my previous Sata ssds and work just as well as more expensive options. SMART data seems good. Have not had any problems yet with these drives. They are much faster than my previous Sata ssds and work just as well as more expensive options. SMART data seems good. Have not had any problems yet with these drives.

I got a pm991a. It works and there is barely any wear on the drive. You must put a thermal pad and some metal on the chips or the temps won't be that great. I got a pm991a. It works and there is barely any wear on the drive. You must put a thermal pad and some metal on the chips or the temps won't be that great.

Smooth operation Smooth operation

Surprisingly snappy for the price. Used as a boot drive in a compact HTPC — Windows 11 loads fast, no hiccups. Single-notch 2280 format fit cleanly, and thermals stayed cool under light gaming. Great value for plug-and-play builds. Surprisingly snappy for the price. Used as a boot drive in a compact HTPC — Windows 11 loads fast, no hiccups. Single-notch 2280 format fit cleanly, and thermals stayed cool under light gaming. Great value for plug-and-play builds.