NMVe drives for Belink ME mini

[Enquiries]

Hello Gentlemen,

Question after seeing the review I've bought the Beelink ME mini.
However (even as IT guy) I'm stumped about which 4Tb NVMe drives to use. I don't care about speed, I want durability and data security as it replaces my old synology 1511+ with 5x4TB WD red's with all family photo's etc.
But don't want so overspend without need or usefullness.
Could not find any usefull reviews out there and a tad scared to go for lesser known brands.

So do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance and keep up the excellent work.

With kind regards,

Dominic

[ed]

Thanks for the kind words and for reaching out — and great to hear you’ve picked up the Beelink ME Mini after the review. It’s a very capable little system, especially when you’re transitioning from something like the Synology DS1511+.

Given your use case — storing family photos and personal data long-term, prioritising durability over performance — you’re absolutely right to be cautious about the NVMe drives you choose. Lesser-known brands might be cheaper, but with critical data like yours, it’s worth sticking with reliable, well-tested models.

For 4TB NVMe drives within your budget of 200–250 euros per unit, I’d recommend focusing on enterprise or data-centre grade models that are known for high endurance, power-loss protection, and strong firmware support. These are some of the best options that balance cost, reliability, and availability:
1. Kingston DC1500M or DC1000M – Solid enterprise-class drives, designed for mixed workloads, excellent endurance, and available in 4TB capacity. These are designed for long-term use and high reliability, with power-loss protection onboard.
2. Solidigm P41 Plus or P5430 – Solidigm (formerly Intel SSD division) has been putting out very reliable drives with great endurance and low power draw. The P5430 is newer and leans towards read-heavy workloads but still offers enterprise-class durability and stability.
3. Micron 7450 Pro or 7400 Pro – These are high-end enterprise SSDs with very good endurance ratings, thermal management, and robust power-loss protection. May be a little over budget depending on your region, but worth watching for offers.
4. WD SN700 – Less common in retail, but this is WD’s more durable NVMe range used in NAS and workstation environments. It sits somewhere between their consumer and enterprise lines, and it’s compatible with long-term data workloads.
5. Samsung PM9A3 or PM893 (M.2 variant) – If you can find the PM9A3 in M.2 form factor at the 3.84TB capacity, it’s one of the most widely deployed enterprise SSDs today. Great TBW rating, Samsung’s reliability, and good power efficiency.

You’ll want to avoid gaming-focused drives (like the WD Black SN850 or Samsung 980 Pro) if endurance and stability are your goals. They’re great for performance, but not built for long-term data retention under constant uptime. Also avoid any DRAM-less budget models, as these tend to wear out faster and don’t handle large-scale transfers as well.

Lastly, whatever drives you go with, I’d still recommend maintaining at least one backup (cloud, cold HDD, or another NAS or DAS) — even the best SSDs can fail without warning, and RAID isn’t a backup.