5 Best 1TB M.2 SSDs of 2021: Which One Should You Choose

If you are considering to buy an M.2 SSD to store your data or upgrade your system, then you should choose the 1TB M.2 SSD. But which 1TB M.2 SSD should you choose? In this post, MiniTool has introduced 5 best 1TB M.2 SSDs for you in detail.

Because of better performance, SSDs have become more and more popular and many users want to upgrade their operating system from HDD to SSD. There are several different SSDs in the market such as PCIe SSD, M.2 SSD, mSATA SSD, and so on.

And if you want to buy a 1TB M.2 SSD for your computer, then you should read this post carefully because you can find 5 best 1TB SSDs with the M.2 2280 form factor. But what kind of SSD is the best 1TB M.2 SSD?

Tip: You may be interested in this post – M.2 SSD vs. SATA SSD: Which One Is Suitable for Your PC?

You should consider its interface, max sequential read and write speed, memory, operating temperature. Then why do you need to consider the operating temperature of the SSD?

This is because the storage density of the hard disk is too large, it will cause overheating when working, resulting in performance loss. In addition, the data integrity and lifespan of the hard disk will also be affected.

Thus, the performance of SSD is better, but it may overheat and have a shorter lifespan. However, if you want the SSD to have a longer life span and not overheat, the running speed may be slower.

So it’s better to choose a 1TB M.2 SSD with heatsink, which can avoid overheating and ensure good drive performance. And the safe operating temperature for SSDs is between 30°C and 50°C.

5 Best 1TB M.2 SSDs

This part shows 5 best 1TB M.2 SSDs that come from different brands, and all SSDs’ form factor is M.2 2280.

1. Sabrent 1TB Rocket NVMe (Gen 4.0)

To pick an M.2 SSD 1Tb, Sabrent 1TB Rocket NVMe (Gen 4.0) is a good choice. It is an NVMe drive that takes advantage of the PCIe 4.0 speeds to provide you with the first-class performance at a reasonable price.

If you are using a PCIe Gen4 motherboard, then the performance speeds can reach up to 5000MB/s (read) and 4400MB/s (write). But if you are using a PCIe Gen3 motherboard, the max sequential read and write speeds can only reach 3400MB/s and 3000MB/s. So it is recommended to use a PCIe Gen4 motherboard.

Sabrent 1TB Rocket NVMe (Gen 4.0) is cheaper than other SSDs with the same parameters, but it has a disadvantage – heat dissipation. Although it should not be a big problem, if you want to use it at high speed for a long time, you may need to consider using a motherboard with an M.2 heatsink.

But there is one thing you need to know, add a heatsink may invalidate the warranty. If you are satisfied, it may be one of the best 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD.

Note: Sabrent Rocket 1TB (Gen 3.0) is a good choice for you if you want to pick a cheaper 1TB M.2 SSD.

Specs

Interface: PCI-Express 4.0 x4
Max Sequential Read and Write speed: 5000MB/s and 4400MB/s
Memory: BiCS 96L TLC NAND
Warranty: 5 years
Operating Temperature: 0 – 70 °C

2. Samsung 970 PRO 1TB

If you want to buy a 1TB M.2 SSD made by Samsung, then you can choose Samsung 970 Pro 1TB. By using the latest V-NAND technology and the newly enhanced Phoenix controller, the speed of the Samsung 970 PRO 1TB is 30% faster than before.

Samsung 970 PRO 1TB makes use of the latest PCIe Gen 3 x4 NVMe interface to provide fast sequential read speeds up to 3500 MB/s and write speeds up to 2100 MB/s. In addition, the 970 PRO uses Samsung proprietary “Magician” software to keep your drivers up to date, monitor drive health and speed, and even improve performance.

Besides, the advanced nickel-coated controller and heat spreader on the Samsung 970 PRO can achieve excellent heat dissipation and the Dynamic Thermal Guard automatically monitors and maintains the optimal operating temperature to minimize performance degradation. So it is the best M.2 SSD for gaming.

Note: You can also choose the Samsung 970 EVO 1TB, which is almost similar to the Samsung 970 PRO 1TB. But its sequential read and write speeds can only reach up 3.500MB/s and 2,500MB/s.

Specs

Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 x4
Max Sequential Read and Write speed: 3,500MB/s and 2,700MB/s
Memory: V-NAND
Warranty: 5 years
Operating Temperature: 0 – 70 °C

Tip: You may be interested in this post – Samsung QVO vs EVO vs PRO: What’s the Difference?

3. Western Digital Black SN750 1TB

Another best 1TB M.2 SSD is Western Digital Black SN750 1TB. Western Digital is famous for its HDDs, such as WD5000LPVX 500 GB HDD and WDC WD10EZEX HDD, but there are some good SSDs.

Western Digital Black SN750 1TB is a good choice for those who want to buy a 1TB M.2 SSD with high speed, large capacity drive, and low price. If you are using a PCIe Gen3 motherboard, then you can reach up to 3,470MB/s read and 3,000MB/s write speeds.

Western Digital Black SN750 1TB M.2 SSD is compatible with most motherboards whether it is a laptop or a desktop board.SN750 can be with or without heatsink, but the SN750 with the heatsink is suitable for desktop computers. Passive cooling helps to maintain the best performance level of this hard drive. So if you want to buy a 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD for desktops, SN750 is good for you.

Specs

Interface: PCI-Express 3.0
Max Sequential Read and Write speed: 3,470MB/s and 3,000MB/s
Memory: 64-layer 3D NAND
Warranty: 5 years
Operating Temperature: 0 – 70 °C

4. ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB

By using the latest 3D NAND technology and PCIe NVMe interface, the max sequential read/write speeds of XPG SX8200 Pro can reach 3,500/3,000MB/s, which can improve overall system responsiveness and reduce program and game loading time for gamers. Therefore, if you want to pick the best M.2 SSD for gaming, then ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB is the one to go for.

Besides, SX8200 Pro SSD supports LDPC error-correcting code technology and E2E data Protection to ensure data security and integrity. But if you want to use this SSD, you need to make sure that the M. 2 slot of the motherboard supports PCIe NVMe or M Key with NVMe. And this SSD is not compatible with Mac, so other parts may be required on Mac systems. What’s more, this 1TB M.2 SSD also contains heatsink.

Specs

Interface: PCI-Express 3.0 x4
Max Sequential Read and Write speed: 3,500MB/s and 3,000MB/s
Memory: 3D NAND
Warranty: 5 years
Operating temperature: 0 – 70°C

5. Seagate Firecuda 520 1TB

As a well-known brand of hard drives, Seagate Firecuda 520 1TB is also a good choice for 1TB M.2 SSD. This solid-state gaming hard drive is backward compatible with the PCIe 3.0 platform and the AMD X570 chipset PCIe 4.0 motherboard.

The maximum reading speed and writing speed can reach 5,000MB/s and 4,400MB/s. With such a high IOPS, you can spend less time loading games and so on. Besides, Seagate Firecuda 520 features 1.8M hours MTBF, and up to 3,600TB TBW.

Specs

Interface: PCI-Express 4.0 x4
Max Sequential Read and Write speed: 5,000MB/s and 4,400MB/s
Memory: 3D TLC NAND
Warranty: 5 years
Operating temperature: 0 – 70°C

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How to Migrate Your OS to 1TB M.2 SSD?

In order to get better performance, you can try to upgrade your system to 1TB M.2 SSD. But how to do? Reinstall your system? It is too troublesome. There is a brilliant tool that allows you to migrate your operating system from the original disk to the 1TB M.2 SSD without reinstalling OS.

This tool is MiniTool ShadowMaker, which is a professional SSD cloning software. In addition, MiniTool ShadowMaker is also a powerful Windows backup software, which allows you to back up the operating system, disk, partition, file, and folder.

Apart from the disk clone and backup feature, it allows you to sync files and folders to more than one location. This program provides you a Trial Edition that you can use it for free within 30 days, and if you want to use it permanently, get its Pro Edition.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Now, here is the tutorial on how to migrate your system to the 1TB M.2 SSD.

Step 1: Insert your 1TB M.2 SSD to your computer. Install and launch MiniTool ShadowMaker, then click Keep Trial.

Step 2: Choose Connect under This Computer to get into the main interface.

Note: You can also manage a remote computer as long as computers are on the same LAN and you have another computer’s IP address.

Step 3: Go to the Tools page and then click the Clone Disk feature.

Step 4: In the pop-up window, click Source to choose the disk clone source. Here, you need to choose the original system disk as the clone source and click Finish to continue.

Step 5: Click Destination to choose a target disk. Here, you need to choose the 1TB M.2 SSD as the target disk. Then click Finish to continue.

Step 6: After you have selected the source disk and the target disk, click OK to continue. Then you will receive a warning message that tells you all data on the target disk will be destroyed during the disk cloning process. Then click Yes to continue.

Note: Make sure that there is no important data on the target disk because all the data will be destroyed. If there is, it is recommended to read this post – How to Backup Files on Windows 10? Try These Top 4 Ways.

Step 7: MiniTool ShadowMaker will begin to clone your system to the 1TB M.2 SSD, and you should never interrupt the disk clone process until it is finished.

Tip: If the Remaining Time is so long that you don’t want to wait, you can check Shut down the computer when the operation is completed.

Step 8: When the disk clone process is completed, you will receive a message which tells you that the source disk and the target disk have the same signature. If both of them are connected to the computer, either of them will be marked as offline. So, you need to remove the original system disk from your computer.

After you have finished all the steps above, you have successfully migrated your OS to the 1TB M.2 SSD without reinstalling the operating system and losing your data.

Bottom Line

To sum up, this post has introduced 5 best 1TB M.2 SSDs. So after reading this post, you should know which 1TB M.2 SSD is fit for you. If you have other better 1TB M.2 SSDs or have any confusion about using MiniTool ShadowMaker to migrate your system, leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].

1TB M.2 SSD FAQ

Is M2 SSD reliable?

Yes, it is reliable. The M.2 SSD allows you to experience 4 times faster than ordinary SSD. For M.2 SSDs, the max sequential read speed can up 5000 MB/s and write speed can up to 4400 MB/s. Moreover, the M.2 SSD can also have more than 500MB of DDR3 cache.

What is M2 SSD drive?

M.2 SSD is used to achieve high-performance storage in thin devices with limited power consumption (such as tablet computers and ultrabooks). To get more information about it, you should read this post – What Is M.2 SSD? Things You Need to Know Before Getting It.

What does NVMe stand for?

As a host controller interface and storage protocol, NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is designed to accelerate the transfer of data between enterprise and client systems and SSDs through a computer’s high-speed PCIe buses. Maybe you are interested in this post – What Is NVMe SSD? Precautions Before Getting NVMe SSD.

How long do SSD drives last?

The service life of SSD has a built-in “death time”. For simplicity: the electrical effect leads to the fact that data can only be written to memory cells inside the chip about 3,000 to 100,000 times during its lifetime. After that, the unit “forgot” the new data. Maybe you are interested in this post – How to Know Your SSD’s Lifespan and How to Increase Its Life.

About The Author

Sonya

Position: Columnist

Author Sonya has been engaged in editing for a long time and likes to share useful methods to get rid of the common problems of Windows computers, such as Windows Update error. And she aims to help more people to protect their data. What’s more, she offers some useful ways to convert audio and video file formats. By the way, she likes to travel, watch movies and listen to music.