The value of solid-state drives (SSDs) has continued to fall in recent times, and it is now simpler (and extra reasonably priced) than ever to improve your gaming PC with quicker load instances and extra responsive gameplay. Thanks to those financial savings, it is attainable to purchase an SSD for not solely storing and operating the primary working system but in addition apps and video games. Listed below are our favourite picks for the very best SSDs for gaming.
Our picks for the highest SSDs for gaming in 2024
WD Black SN850X PCIe 4.0 SSD
Finest total SSD
Among the finest SSDs for taking part in video games
The WD Black SN850X is a barely upgraded model of the common SN850. It is among the best PCIe 4.0 SSDs available on the market and can be utilized in a gaming PC or a PS5.
- Switch charges as much as 7,300 MB/s
- Good worth
- Capacities as much as 4TB
The Western Digital Black SN850X is a severe SSD for gaming. It is not fairly as quick as a few of the dearer NVMe drives such because the Samsung 990 Professional, but it surely’ll simply load much more demanding video games in a matter of seconds. That is an M.2 NVMe drive and as such requires a slot on the motherboard. A lot of the finest motherboards launched immediately can have a number of M.2 SSD slots. It is able to operating at PCIe 4.0 speeds.
As a result of video games have grown in measurement to 100GB (if no more), the WD Black SN850X is accessible in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. The latter would permit for the storing of 40 100GB video games on the identical drive, making it attainable to retailer your whole Steam (or one other favourite retailer) library on the WD Black SN850X. Switch charges can hit speeds of as much as 7,300 MB/s for studying knowledge and 6,300 MB/s for writing knowledge. This makes the SSD among the best for putting in and operating PC video games.
Samsung 990 Professional SSD 1TB
Runner-up finest SSD
Wonderful efficiency comes at a worth
$110 $140 Save $30
Samsung’s 990 Professional is really pushing the boundaries of what PCIe 4.0 storage can supply. It gives the quickest switch speeds we have seen to date for a Gen 4 drive whereas not costing rather more than slower SSDs.
- Switch charges as much as 7,450 MB/s
- Features a heatsink
- Costly
- Capacities as much as 2TB
This can be our “runner-up” advice for the very best SSD for gaming, however do not let that idiot you into believing the Samsung 990 Professional is not definitely worth the asking worth. That is about as quick as we will see with PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSDs and Samsung is pushing its 990 Professional drives to their limits. Samsung even features a heatsink with these drives, although many motherboards have built-in spreaders on high of M.2 slots.
The Samsung 990 Professional is able to hitting speeds of as much as 7,450 MB/s and 6,900 MB/s for studying and writing knowledge, respectively. That is significantly quicker than even our high advice. To place these speeds into perspective, a SATA drive (be it an SSD or HDD) can solely obtain as much as 560MB/s. Do you have to be making the swap from a 3.5-inch mechanical drive, you will discover a large distinction. It is significantly costly and is not obtainable in sizes above 2TB, however is properly price it if you happen to actually require such ridiculous switch speeds.
WD Blue SN580 Gen 4 SSD
Finest worth SSD
For individuals who need to avoid wasting cash
- Switch charges as much as 4,150 MB/s
- Good worth
Not everybody has a number of a whole lot to blow on a single SSD for taking part in video games, which is the place the Western Digital Blue SN580 comes into play. It is cheaper than each the Samsung 990 Professional and WD Black SN850X, however is not gradual by any commonplace. Costing lower than $40 for the smallest drive at 250GB, it is attainable to go all the way in which as much as 2TB to permit the storing of 20 100GB video games. It is not the biggest however does value barely much less per GB.
The WD Blue SN580 is able to hitting learn speeds of 4,150 MB/s for loading video games. There are some notable options included with the Western Digital Blue SN580 that additional sweeten the deal, together with a five-year guarantee.
Samsung 870 EVO SSD
Finest SATA SSD
Dependable efficiency at a extra cheap worth
$75 $120 Save $45
The Samsung 870 EVO is among the finest SSDs you should purchase proper now. It gives spectacular sustained efficiency, strong endurance, and comes with a 5-year guarantee.
- Switch charges as much as 550 MB/s
What in case your motherboard would not have a spare M.2 slot, otherwise you choose to not spend greater than $80 on the smallest drive obtainable? We would suggest a 2.5-inch SATA SSD such because the Samsung 870 EVO. It is reasonably priced, beginning at $60 for the smallest drive, but is rated for switch speeds of as much as 550 MB/s. Capacities embrace 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB, making it attainable to improve the storage in your desktop for a extra cheap worth with out sacrificing obtainable area.
It is not solely quick (in SATA phrases) however Samsung additionally made these drives sturdy. SSDs have a finite write restrict, however you can load roughly 300TB of information on the 500GB Samsung 870 EVO earlier than you begin to encounter points. There’s additionally a substantial guarantee hooked up to every drive, additional offering peace of thoughts.
TeamGroup Vulcan Z SA3 2TB
Finest worth SATA SSD
Save much more cash with this SATA SSD
TeamGroup’s Vulcan Z SA3 vary of SATA SSDs gives wonderful worth with this 2TB drive coming in at lower than $80. This a lot area is right for storing video games, media, and extra, providing a notable improve over mechanical drives.
- Capacities as much as 2TB
- Nice improve over HDDs
Generally you do not want the quickest SSDs obtainable however as an alternative need the selection between some capacities and lower your expenses within the course of. That is the place the TeamGroup Vulcan Z SA3 comes into play with capacities ranging between 240GB to 2TB. With learn and write speeds clocking in at 550 MB/s and 500 MB/s, respectively, and whereas that is nowhere close to what NVMe drives are able to, it is adequate for gaming. In the event you’re shifting up from mechanical drives, this will likely be a strong improve.
It is backed by TeamGroup’s three-year guarantee and makes use of 3D NAND for nice efficiency at an affordable worth.
Samsung 870 QVO SATA III 2.5-inch SSD
Finest capability SSD
Video games are large lately, however this SSD will not break a sweat
$110 $120 Save $10
This SSD from Samsung is very large. It has ample area for all of your favourite video games, media, after which some. It is expensive, however this low cost makes it simpler to digest.
- Capacities as much as 8TB
- Good worth
- Switch charges as much as 560 MB/s
In the event you worth capability above all else, have a look at no different drive than the Samsung 870 QVO. The SATA SSD is accessible in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB flavors, the latter permitting the storage of as much as 80 100GB video games. It is designed for heavy storage, making it excellent for loading up an enormous library of PC video games. The drives are additionally quick and might attain as much as 560 MB/s. They will not beat M.2 NVMe drives, but it surely’s nonetheless greater than sufficient for quick load instances in most titles.
It is not fairly pretty much as good as EVO and different Samsung drives because of the expertise used for storing knowledge, however the speeds and pricing counter this swap. It is what permits Samsung to supply the capacities at such reasonably priced costs, in addition to the spectacular 8TB model.
WD Black P40 SSD (2TB)
Finest moveable SSD
Gaming on the go has by no means been simpler
$200 $330 Save $130
The WD Black P40 SSD is nice for storing video games and different necessary recordsdata you need to tackle the go. It even has RGB lights built-in.
- Switch charges as much as 2,000 MB/s
- Moveable
The WD Black P40 SSD is a transportable drive that does not must be put in inside a PC case. The inner M.2 drive is cased inside a protecting shell and linked by way of USB. Not solely can you utilize it with a console, but in addition a desktop or laptop computer PC. Due to this, an exterior drive such because the WD Black P40 will not be as quick as different inside NVMe drives, however these are nonetheless able to hitting as much as 2,000 MB/s.
How briskly the drive will carry out will likely be largely decided by the velocity of the USB port the drive will likely be linked to. Whether or not you are into backing up knowledge and your video games or transferring the identical library between machines, the WD Black P40 SSD can be a sensible choice.
Essential T700 NVMe SSD
Finest PCIe 5.0
Seize the newest and nice SSD
$180 $210 Save $30
The Essential T700 PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD is among the quickest solid-state drives on the planet, with as much as 11,700MB/s reads and 9,500MB/s writes on the 1TB capability, rising to 12,400MB/s reads and 11,800MB/s writes on the bigger capacities.
After the very newest and best SSD available on the market? When you have a motherboard with PCIe 5.0 lanes for its M.2 slots, you should purchase the Essential T700. This drive is blazing quick with speeds clocking in at 11,700 MB/s for studying knowledge and 9,500 MB/s for writing it. In our testing, we discovered the drive to be even quicker with learn and write speeds hitting greater than 12,000 MB/s and 11,000 MB/s, respectively.
Essential, being a part of Micron, can make the most of the corporate’s 232-layer TLC NAND3, which has a most velocity of two.4GB/s. The Essential T700 is accessible in capacities of 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. In the event you do plan to make use of a PCIe 5.0 drive similar to this, we might suggest configuring your PC case with as many followers as attainable as these SSDs can produce some severe warmth below load. We noticed temperatures hit simply shy of 90 levels Celcius but it surely’s a tradeoff for such excessive ranges of efficiency.
Selecting the very best SSD for gaming
The WD Black SN850X is a PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD, making it one of many quickest drives available on the market, not considering newer PCIe 5.0 {hardware}. It is not the costliest household of drives both, making it higher suited to storing knowledge similar to PC video games. However if you happen to do not need to spend that a lot on an SSD, we would suggest trying on the Essential P5 Plus. It is nonetheless a PCIe 4.0 M.2 drive however is not as quick as our high suggestions.
We’re not together with any PCIe 5.0 drives simply but as the prices far outweigh the returns most individuals would be capable to get pleasure from on a normal system. Anticipate to see some added in future revisions of our suggestions right here.
WD Black SN850X PCIe 4.0 SSD
Finest General
The WD Black SN850X is a barely upgraded model of the common SN850. It is among the best PCIe 4.0 SSDs available on the market, and can be utilized in a gaming PC or a PS5.