If you're building a new PC or upgrading an aging boot drive, you'll definitely want to check out the Kingston NV3 1TB internal SSD, now $157 (was $216) at Newegg.
An established name in the storage arena, Kingston built the NV3 as the successor to its popular NV2 line, and the jump to a Gen 4x4 controller brings a meaningful speed increase - it can hit read speeds up to 6,000MB/s.
But it keeps the single-sided, compact M.2 2280 form factor that fits easily into laptops and small-form-factor builds.
Why we recommend it
The headline number is up to 6,000MB/s of sequential read performance, and independent testing has generally found the NV3 hits close to its rated speeds, putting it in the same territory as several established TLC-based drives despite using cheaper QLC NAND.
Kingston keeps costs down with a DRAM-less design that relies on Host Memory Buffer, borrowing a slice of system RAM instead of including a dedicated cache chip. For typical use, booting, loading applications, and gaming, that trade-off is barely noticeable, and it's part of how Kingston is able to price the NV3 competitively.
The single-sided M.2 2280 layout keeps the drive slim enough for thin laptops and small-form-factor desktops, and Kingston's reputation for reliable, mainstream storage gives some reassurance on a component you don't want to think about after installing it.
Price Context & Historical Value
A $59 drop from $215.99 to $156.99 is a substantial discount, around 27 percent off, on a capacity and speed class that typically runs cheaper than this. It's worth double-checking Newegg's price at checkout since SSD pricing shifts often, but this discount looks like a genuine markdown rather than an inflated list price.
Should you buy it?
✅ Buy the Kingston NV3 1TB if... you want a fast, affordable PCIe 4.0 boot drive for a new build or upgrade, you need a compact single-sided M.2 2280 drive with low power draw, or you're a mainstream user whose workloads are mostly reads rather than sustained large writes.
❌ Skip the Kingston NV3 1TB if... you regularly write very large files such as video footage and need consistent sustained write speeds, you want a drive with a dedicated DRAM cache rather than Host Memory Buffer, or you need more than 1TB in a single drive.
The Catch: What to know before you buy
This is a QLC, DRAM-less drive, so sustained write performance drops noticeably once its SLC cache fills, which matters most for large, continuous file transfers rather than everyday use.
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