Quick Answer
For NAS-style home storage, prioritise capacity and sustained write speed over peak sequential numbers; a 2TB Gen 4 drive at roughly R2,400 to R3,400 is the sweet spot at Evetech. TLC NAND with a DRAM cache holds speed under long copies far better than budget QLC drives. Buy fewer, larger drives rather than several small ones to keep your free space healthy.
Capacity before raw speed
Pick capacity first. A 1TB drive holds roughly 12 to 15 large AAA installs or several hundred thousand RAW photos; a 2TB drive doubles that for about R900 to R1,200 more. Real-world load times between a 5,000MB/s and a 7,400MB/s drive differ by a second or two, so most SA buyers should add the gigabytes rather than chase the headline sequential figure for NAS-style home storage.
Heat, NAND and sustained writes
Long copies expose the cheap drives. QLC NAND without DRAM can crater to 100 to 300MB/s once its cache fills, while TLC drives with DRAM hold a flat line. Keep the drive under 70C with the board's M.2 heatsink so it never throttles; a Samsung 990 PRO 2TB or WD Black SN850X 2TB both stay cool and steady for NAS-style home storage.
Setup notes for SA buyers
For students on campus, plan around residence power and desk space first, then pick the part that fits the room you actually have. A clean install on a fresh NVMe drive is faster than cloning, and it clears years of clutter at the same time. Reliable Evetech-stocked picks for NAS-style home storage include the Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB, WD Black SN770 2TB and Kingston NV3 1TB.
FAQ
Is a Gen 4 NVMe SSD worth it over Gen 3?
Only if your motherboard has a PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot and you do heavy file work like 4K video or large dataset copies. For gaming and everyday tasks a Gen 3 drive at around R1,200 is indistinguishable and leaves budget for more capacity.
How much NVMe storage do I actually need?
1TB is the minimum for a modern build and 2TB is the comfortable choice if you keep several big games or large media libraries. Going below 1TB means juggling installs constantly, which is the most common regret SA buyers report.
Will an NVMe SSD overheat in a small case?
It can throttle past about 70C under sustained writes, but the motherboard's M.2 heatsink or a R150 add-on keeps temperatures in check. For gaming and normal use, brief peaks rarely cause any slowdown at all.
Buyer's tip
Before checkout, open Task Manager and note your current drive's free space. If you are under 15 percent free, capacity is your real upgrade, not a faster Gen 4 drive.