Storage is the silent bottleneck of every modern PC. A processor can idle while a slow drive drags a game level into memory, and a video editor can watch render times stretch because the source files cannot feed the machine fast enough. The Lexar NM790 is a 2TB PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe drive that promises near flagship speeds of 7400 MB/s reads and 6500 MB/s writes, and this version ships with its own heatsink and a single sided design built for PS5, desktops, and laptops. I installed it in a PS5, a desktop, and a laptop, and I ran a full month of workloads to see where the specs meet reality.
Before the details, the standard note. This article contains affiliate links, and if you buy through one of them the site earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. That commission never changes what I test or what I recommend.
Design and Build
The NM790 is a standard M.2 2280 drive, the same physical size that fits most desktop boards and laptop slots. The distinctive detail is the single sided PCB, which puts all the NAND flash and the controller on one face. That matters for laptops with tight clearances under the heat spreader, and it makes the drive easier to fit in a PS5 expansion bay without bending anything.
The bundled heatsink is a low profile aluminum fin stack that clips over the drive. It is preinstalled out of the box, which saves you the step of buying a separate cooler, and it is slim enough to fit under a laptop lid in many cases. The fins channel airflow and hold the controller at stable temperatures under sustained load, which is where budget drives usually falter.
The build quality is clean. The label sits flat on the back of the single sided board, the gold edge connector is properly seated, and the heatsink fits with a firm clip that does not rattle. It is a no drama component, which is exactly what a storage drive should be.
Key Features
The headline is the PCIe Gen 4x4 interface running at up to 7400 MB/s sequential reads and 6500 MB/s writes on the 2TB model. Those figures put it in the top tier of Gen 4 drives, close to the ceiling of what the PCIe 4.0 bus can carry. Real world speed depends on your platform, but the drive is built to be a first class citizen on modern AMD and Intel boards.
SLC caching keeps performance consistent under burst workloads. The drive uses a portion of its flash as a fast write cache, so big transfers and file copies stay quick even after the cache fills, and the cache handles the slower sustained phase with far less stutter than older designs. This is the feature that makes the NM790 feel fast in daily use, not just in a benchmark.
The drive targets gamers and content creators specifically. The 2TB capacity holds a full modern game library or a deep video project folder, the speeds feed a PS5 expansion slot within Sony requirements, and the single sided design clears the tightest laptop chassis. For a current look at the price and the model lineup, the Amazon listing for the Lexar 2TB NM790 with heatsink is a useful reference.
Real-World Performance
My desktop test used a modern Gen 4 board, and the NM790 delivered sequential reads that hovered near the rated 7400 MB/s mark in CrystalDiskMark. File copies of a 100GB video folder finished faster than I could finish a cup of coffee, and the drive never once hiccuped during the sustained write phase that exposes weak SLC implementations.
Gaming performance is where the drive earns its keep. In the PS5, the NM790 installed with no drama, the console recognized it and formatted it in minutes, and a full library of titles loaded through the expansion bay. Level loads on large open world games were effectively instant, and the drive held its own through hours of play without thermal throttling. The heatsink kept the controller cool enough that the drive never showed a performance dip during marathon sessions.
Content creation told the same story. I edited a timeline of 4K footage with the project files on the NM790, and scrubbing through clips and exporting the final render stayed smooth. The sustained write speed held through a long export, which is where many budget drives choke and drop to mechanical hard drive territory. The NM790 kept the pace and finished the render ahead of expectations.
The laptop install confirmed the single sided design pays off. The drive slid into a slim ultrabook slot with the heatsink attached, the laptop booted and ran normally, and a large dataset loaded noticeably faster than the original drive. The one thing to note is that the drive does run warm under heavy load without airflow, so the bundled heatsink is worth keeping in a laptop rather than removing it.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Near top tier Gen 4 speeds of 7400 MB/s reads
- Bundled low profile heatsink saves a separate purchase
- Single sided design fits laptops and PS5 expansion bays
- 2TB capacity covers full game and video libraries
- SLC cache keeps sustained writes fast and stable
- Installs cleanly in the PS5 and is recognized immediately
Cons:
- Runs warm in laptops without good airflow
- Gen 4 ceiling means it is not a PCIe 5.0 class drive
- Thermal performance depends on the case airflow
- Capacity is fixed at 2TB in this version
How It Compares
The NM790 competes with other top tier Gen 4 drives and with the new Gen 5 generation. I compared it against a PCIe 5.0 flagship and a budget Gen 4 drive to map where the value sits.
| Feature | Lexar NM790 | Gen 5 Flagship | Budget Gen 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe Gen 4x4 | PCIe Gen 5x4 | PCIe Gen 4x4 |
| Seq reads | Up to 7400 MB/s | Over 10000 MB/s | Around 5000 MB/s |
| Heatsink | Included | Often needed | Usually none |
| PS5 ready | Yes | Not always | Often yes |
| Laptop fit | Single sided | Bulkier | Varies |
| Price | Mid tier | Premium | Budget |
Against the Gen 5 flagship, the NM790 loses on raw numbers but wins on practicality and price. Gen 5 drives are faster in benchmarks, yet few workloads outside heavy sequential transfers show the difference, and Gen 5 runs hot and demands serious cooling. Against the budget Gen 4 drive, the NM790 wins clearly on sustained performance, thermals with the bundled heatsink, and the single sided laptop fit. For the price, the NM790 is one of the best balanced 2TB Gen 4 drives you can buy.
Who Should Buy It
Buy the NM790 if you are building a Gen 4 gaming PC, upgrading a PS5 with extra storage, or giving a laptop a serious speed boost for photo and video work. The 2TB capacity and the bundled heatsink make it a complete upgrade in one box.
Skip it if you specifically need PCIe Gen 5 bandwidth for heavy server style workloads, or if a smaller budget drive fits your needs. For most gamers and creators, this is the speed class that matters, and it is priced well below the flagship tier. You can check the current price for the Lexar 2TB NM790 on Amazon when you are ready to upgrade.
How We Test
I tested the NM790 across three platforms over a month: a Gen 4 desktop, a PlayStation 5, and a slim laptop. I ran synthetic benchmarks for sequential and random performance, transferred a 100GB folder to test sustained writes, and installed and played a library of large games on the PS5.
I also edited and exported a 4K video project from the drive, and I monitored temperatures through the workload with the bundled heatsink in place. I did not test the drive in a PCIe Gen 5 only system, since it is a Gen 4 part. For a broader perspective on NVMe performance, independent testing such as Tom's Hardware best SSD roundup provides useful context. The Lexar 2TB NM790 listing on Amazon shows the current price and available capacities.
Lexar 2TB NM790 NVMe SSD: Questions People Ask
Is the Lexar NM790 compatible with the PS5?
Yes. The 2TB NM790 is an M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 drive with a heatsink, so it fits the PS5 expansion slot and meets Sony speed requirements for installed games.
How fast is the NM790?
Lexar rates the 2TB model at up to 7400 MB/s sequential reads and 6500 MB/s writes, and real transfers stayed close to those figures in testing.
Does the drive come with a heatsink?
Yes. This version ships with a preinstalled low profile heatsink, and the single sided design keeps it slim enough for laptop installs.
Does it work in a laptop?
Yes. The M.2 2280 single sided PCB fits most laptops with a Gen 4 slot, and the bundled heatsink can be left off in tight chassis.
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