Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD vs Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against NVMe SSDs at a similar price

The Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD scores 6.6/10 overall, ahead of the Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD at 5.9/10.

The Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD leads on efficiency and thermals and software.

The Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD leads on performance and endurance.

They score the same on warranty.

The biggest difference is endurance, where the Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD scores 8/10 to the Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD's 4/10.

Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

5.9/10verdict: good, not the best

The Kingston NV3 suits buyers who want a cool, low-power PCIe 4.0 M.2 drive for everyday use and light server or homelab duty. It is a budget-minded option with a five-year warranty and Kingston's SSD Manager tool. It is a weaker fit for anyone who writes large amounts of data or needs confirmed hardware details.

Typically about £130 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

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Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD

6.6/10verdict: good, not the best

The Lexar EQ790 is a PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 2280 drive for buyers who want a long warranty and high endurance ratings at the 2TB size. It suits desktop builds and homelab machines where airflow is decent or a heatsink is fitted. It is less suited to anyone who needs steady writes over very large transfers or a laptop with tight cooling.

Typically about £134.99 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

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Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD	Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD
Performance	35%	5/10	6/10
Endurance	20%	4/10	8/10
Warranty	15%	9/10	9/10
Efficiency and thermals	15%	7/10	5/10
Software	15%	6/10	5/10
Overall		5.9/10	6.6/10

Specifications

Spec	Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD	Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD
Interface	PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe	PCIe Gen4x4
Sequential read	6,000 MB/s (1TB model)	Up to 7000 MB/s (1TB)
Sequential write	4,000 MB/s (1TB model)	Up to 6000 MB/s (1TB, base page; the heatsink page and a press report give 5000 MB/s)
Endurance (2TB)	320 TBW (1TB model)	600 TBW (1TB); 1200 TBW (2TB)
Form factor	M.2 2280 (22x80mm, single-sided)	M.2 2280, 80 x 22 x 2.45 mm (base model)
Warranty	5 years limited warranty with free technical support	Five-year limited warranty

Strengths and weaknesses

Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

+ Owners praise low power draw and low heat
+ Five-year warranty with free technical support
+ Owners report good value for money
− 640 TBW at 2TB is modest for heavy writing
− No heatsink included

Skip it if:

Anyone running sustained heavy writes, such as build servers, logging or scratch disks.
Buyers who need confirmed NAND type and a DRAM cache.
Buyers who want a heatsink included with the drive.

Read the full Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD review ›

Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD

+ 1,200 TBW endurance rating at 2TB
+ Five-year limited warranty
+ Heatsink version available as a separate SKU
− Base model has no heatsink
− Throttling recorded once cache fills at 224 GB

Skip it if:

Buyers who move several hundred gigabytes in single transfers and need steady write speed.
Laptop owners with poor cooling who don't want a heatsink or can't fit one.
Anyone who needs published firmware tooling or an update history.

Read the full Lexar EQ790 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD review ›

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