Lexar NM790 2TB NVMe Gen4
2TB NVME GEN 4 SSD, 7400 MB/s read, DRAM-less (HMB).
Best rupees per terabyte in Gen4 right now. DRAM-less but the HMB implementation holds up well in real use.
Official India stock. Full warranty through the brand's India service network, standard RMA if anything goes wrong.
Full specs
Where to buy Lexar NM790 2TB NVMe Gen4 in India
Expect to pay roughly ₹8,600-9,500 for the Lexar NM790 2TB NVMe Gen4 in India right now, depending on offers and seller. I always recommend buying from retailers that give a proper GST invoice - it's what makes your India warranty claim smooth later.
In my years running a PC store, PrimeABGB (Mumbai) and Vedant Computers (Kolkata) have also been consistently reliable for verified stock - compare before buying.
Lexar NM790 2TB Review — India's Best Value Gen4 NVMe Right Now
The Lexar NM790 2TB is the best-value Gen4 NVMe available in India right now — 7,400 MB/s sequential reads with a DRAM cache for ₹7,500–10,500. It costs ₹4,000–7,000 less than the FireCuda 530 2TB or Kingston Fury Renegade 2TB while delivering nearly identical real-world performance in gaming and everyday workloads. For budget builders who need 2TB of fast storage, this is the easy recommendation.
The Drive That Quietly Became the Value King
The Lexar NM790 showed up in the Indian market without much fanfare, undercut everything in its price bracket, and quietly became my go-to recommendation for budget 2TB Gen4 builds. At ₹7,500–10,500, it delivers 7,400 MB/s sequential read speeds — fractionally faster on paper than the FireCuda 530, Kingston Fury Renegade, and even the Samsung 990 Pro — while costing significantly less than all of them. The value math here is straightforward: unless your workload specifically stresses sustained writes at high intensity, the NM790 2TB is where I'd put ₹8,000 every time.
I've already listed the NM790 1TB as a value pick on this site. The 2TB extends that recommendation with even better cost-per-gigabyte, and the dual-die NAND configuration gives it an edge in sustained write behavior over the 1TB model.
Performance and Real-World Analysis
The NM790 2TB is built on a controller that Lexar hasn't fully disclosed but benchmarks indicate is in the Maxio MAP1602 family, paired with Micron B47R 232-layer TLC NAND. The DRAM cache is a genuine differentiator at this price — many drives in this range rely on HMB (Host Memory Buffer) instead, which performs noticeably worse in sustained random I/O.
Sequential reads hit 7,400 MB/s and writes reach 6,500 MB/s — the write spec is lower than the FireCuda 530's 7,000 MB/s, but in real-world mixed workloads the gap is rarely meaningful. Where you do feel the difference is in extended sustained write tests: after cache depletion, the NM790 2TB falls to around 2,000–2,500 MB/s, versus 4,000+ MB/s on the FireCuda 530 2TB. For video editors exporting massive files constantly, that gap matters. For everyone else, it doesn't.
Random 4K performance is solid: approximately 700K IOPS read and 650K IOPS write. These are excellent numbers for the price tier — comparable to drives costing ₹4,000 more.
Game loading performance is essentially indistinguishable from the fastest Gen4 drives. I've tested NVMe drives in Hogwarts Legacy, Elden Ring, and Cyberpunk 2077 at sequential read speeds ranging from 5,150 MB/s to 7,400 MB/s — the load time differences are 0.5–2 seconds. For gaming, this drive is everything you need.
Thermals are manageable. Without a heatsink the drive runs warm under sustained load but doesn't throttle in normally ventilated cases. Add a basic M.2 heatsink (₹500–1,000) if you're in a compact case or doing heavy sustained writes.
Endurance is rated at 1,500 TBW for the 2TB — respectable for the price, though below the FireCuda 530 2TB's 2,000 TBW. The 5-year warranty is industry standard and handled through Lexar's India service channel.
India Pricing and Availability
The NM790 2TB typically runs ₹7,500–10,500 in India — the range varies significantly based on sales and stock. MDComputers and Amazon India are the most consistent stockists. PrimeABGB and Vedant Computers carry it sporadically. During Amazon Great Indian Festival sales I've seen it dip below ₹8,000, which makes it essentially untouchable value at 2TB.
For context, the Kingston Fury Renegade 2TB runs ₹12,000–16,000 and the FireCuda 530 2TB hits ₹17,000–22,000. The NM790 2TB delivers within 5% of both in real-world gaming and everyday use for thousands less. The 5-year warranty and Indian service presence add peace of mind.
Note: Lexar has expanded its India distribution significantly. Availability was patchy in 2024 but is now reliable at major e-commerce platforms and specialty PC retailers. Check both Amazon India and MDComputers for the best pricing on any given day.
Who Should Buy the Lexar NM790 2TB
Budget builders doing their first 2TB NVMe upgrade are the obvious fit — this is genuinely the best value at this capacity in India right now. Gamers who want 2TB of fast storage without premium pricing will not find a better deal. The DRAM cache separates it from true budget drives in random I/O, making it suitable for light content creation work too. Students building a capable machine for video editing courses or creative work get excellent bang for their money here.
Who Should Skip the Lexar NM790 2TB
Anyone requiring PCIe 5.0 speeds should look elsewhere — this is a Gen4 drive and a strong one, but Gen5 is the ceiling. Professional video editors doing heavy, sustained 4K+ write workflows will benefit from upgrading to the FireCuda 530 2TB for its better sustained write performance post-cache. And if you're building a NAS, this is not the right drive category — look at Seagate IronWolf or WD Red instead.
Questions
A: Based on what I've seen and community reports, yes. The 1,500 TBW endurance and 5-year warranty are solid at this price. Lexar uses quality NAND and the DRAM cache reduces write amplification. I'd use this confidently in a primary build.
A: Both are excellent value 2TB Gen4 drives. The NM790 often comes in ₹1,000–2,000 cheaper. The T500 has slightly better-documented sustained write behavior. I give the NM790 the edge purely on price-per-gigabyte, but either choice is sound.
A: Yes, it exceeds Sony's 5,500 MB/s requirement. For PS5 use, it's an outstanding value pick — you get the same real-world console performance as the FireCuda 530 for significantly less money.