The statement about NVMe 3 confuses me since NVMe 2.3 is the most recent standard.My concern is that I've been told to stay away from NVMe 3 drives and ones that use Phison controllers (which were seen as often being unreliable depending upon the Phison controller version). I already returned Kingston unit that the Argon case manufacturer explicitly stated wouldn't work, because it was NVMe 3-based.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVM_Express
Is it possible your meant PCIe 3?
My understanding is PCIe refers to the electrical signalling while NVMe is the storage protocol.
Note the official Raspberry Pi branded SSDs are PCIe 3 compliant but run on a Pi 5 in PCIe 2 mode for better compatibility.
It's difficult to advise on a brand or model of SSD because in the consumer market the underlying hardware and specifications are always subject to change. Being able to guarantee compatibility is why Raspberry Pi branded their own SSDs.
If worried about compatibility, I'd buy from a local shop with a good return policy. Cheaper drives that run cooler are rumoured to be more likely to work. SSDs which support PCIe 4 and 5 speeds tend to cost more, run hotter and gain little advantage on a Pi 5 because PCIe 3 is the fastest available.
Any drive that supports PCIe 2 but not PCIe 3 is likely to be so old that it also runs hot.
Statistics: Posted by ejolson — Sat Jan 24, 2026 2:07 am