The best SSDs can expand your desktop PC, laptop, or even game console’s storage, as well as minimize load times. Depending on your budget, you can explore a wealth of different types of SSD, storage capacities, and transfer speeds.
TL;DR – These are the Best SSDs:
Samsung 980 Crucial P3 Plus WD_BLACK SN850XCrucial T705WD_Black SN770 Samsung 980 Pro Samsung 870 QVO Corsair MP600 Pro XT Hydro X Edition SK hynix Gold P31Sabrent Rocket 2230
Although a hard drive might still have a place when you need something to store a lot of data, frankly, they are old, and loud, and there are better options available. Your gaming PC deserves the best, as do your consoles, so you should consider one of the best SSDs to speed things up a little. For Xbox users, check out our roundup of the best external SSDs for Xbox Series X.
1. Samsung 980 Pro
The Best SSD
Samsung 980 Pro
13
PCIe 4.0 SSD using Samsung’s own NAND flash and DRAM cache for read speeds up to 7,000MB/s and write speeds up to 5,000MB/s.
Interface
M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x 4
Sequential write
5,000MB/s
NAND type
Samsung 1xxL 3D TLC V-NAND
Warranty
5 Years or 600 TBW
Budget price for fast read speeds
Support for Microsoft’s DirectStorage
It’s a flagship without PCIe 5.0
I have been using the Samsung 980 Pro in my main gaming rig for more than a year now, and let me just say right now: this is an awesome SSD. Not only is it one of the fastest PCIe 4.0 SSDs on the market right now, but because it’s using the latest Samsung SSD controller, it’s extremely reliable: even the 250GB model has a 5 year and 150TB TBW (terabytes written) warranty. If you go for the 1TB option, which, you know, you should, that warranty is expanded to 600TB TBW. That sounds good on paper, but because I test computer hardware and am constantly wiping and reinstalling my system, I’ve far exceeded that limit and it’s still reporting 100% drive health.
And while it is still using PCIe 4.0, which has since been dethroned by PCIe 5.0, that’s actually a point in its favor. Now that PCIe 5 drives are pouring out into the market, the Samsung 980 Pro has never been more affordable. You can get it without a heatsink for around $100 for a 1TB model. That’s way cheaper than it was when it came out, and if you’re just using your PC for gaming, you won’t notice a difference between it and a newer drive anyway.
There’s even a version of the Samsung 980 Pro with a built-in heatsink, which just so happens to make this the best PS5 SSD, too. Honestly, no matter what you’re using this drive for, this is going to be the best SSD for the vast majority of people out there. It’s going to outspeed pretty much any other PCIe 4.0 drive on the market, while still being a lot more affordable than a PCIe 5.0 SSD.
2. Crucial P3 Plus
Best Budget SSD
Crucial P3 Plus
1
Score big with this drive offering commendable 5,000M/Bs read speeds, 1TB storage, and QLC NAND technology for a budget-friendly price.
Interface
M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x 4
Sequential Write
3,600MB/s
Warranty
5 Years or 220 TBW
Read speeds far surpass PCIe 3.0 speeds
QLC NAND technology is slightly less durable than TLC
The Crucial P3 Plus may be a slightly toned-down version of our top pick, though it’s still plenty capable, delivering a lot of bang for your buck. Priced under $100 for 1TB (often on sale for much less), this SSD uses Micron QLC NAND to reach high capacities at a low cost without sacrificing much performance. You’ll get solid read speeds at 5,000MB/s, which is on the lower end for PCIe 4.0, but still blows PCIe 3.0 speeds out of the water, ensuring you enjoy limited PC lag and load times.
Given that the Crucial P3 Plus uses QLC NAND technology, it’s slightly less durable than drives using TLC, so you only get 220 total drive writes or a five-year warranty, whichever comes first. That’s still a decent amount of reliability that should last the lifetime of your PC. There’s also a dashboard available to upgrade the drive’s firmware and monitor health, though you don’t get any AES hardware-based encryption.
3. WD_BLACK SN850X
Best PS5 SSD
WD Black SN850X
20
Interface
M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x 4
Sequential write
6,600MB/s
NAND type
232-Layer Micron TLC
Warranty
5 Years or 2,400 TBW
Optional heatsink and RGB
More expensive than similar options
While the Corsair MP600 PRO is a suitable option for the PS5, if you want to squeeze the fastest read and write speeds and get a decent amount of storage for all your games, the WD_BLACK SN850X takes the crown. It does, however, come at a much higher cost, so bear this in mind. You could end up spending more if you take up the optional heatsink and RGB, too.
With a five-year warranty, you can game in comfort. You can also rest in the knowledge that this SSD was designed for the PS5, so compatibility won’t be an issue. Like the Crucial T705, you can often get a great deal on the WD_BLACK SN850X if you know where to look.
4. Crucial T705
Best PCIe 5.0 SSD
Crucial T705
0
Currently the fastest SSD on the market
Interface
M.2 2280 PCIe 5.0 x 4
Sequential read
13,600MB/s
Sequential write
10,200MB/s
NAND type
232-Layer Micron TLC
You have to pay the PCIe 5.0 tax
Compatible with Intel Core 13th-14th Gen and AMD Ryzen 7000 Series CPUs, the Crucial T705 is an absolute beast of an SSD, boasting sequential read speeds of up to 13,600MB/s! Available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, you can easily spend over $500 on this SSD, but if you want the best of the best, money ain’t no object. Luckily, you can often nab this SSD on offer, so keep your eyes peeled for a much-needed saving.
There’s an optional passive heatsink, too, but this bump the price up. If you’re looking for the fastest SSD around, currently, and a promise of over 14GB/s of potential throughput, this is where it’s at. For computer enthusiasts, Gen 5 drives remain at the top-end, and this is one not to be missed.
5. WD_Black SN770
Best SSD Boot Drive
WD_Black SN770
0
Compelling speeds and considerable endurance at up to 600 full-drive writes make the WD_Black SN770 a solid, affordable boot drive option.
Interface
M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x 4
Sequential write
4,900MB/s
Warranty
5 Years or 600 TBW
If you want to limit the time you wait for your PC to turn on and all your applications to load, a great boot drive is a must. It should be relatively fast and roomy. This makes the WD_Black SN770 with a 1TB capacity a great option. It offers compelling speeds with fast sequential reads at 5,150 MB/s and writes at 4,900 MB/s. This is 40% faster than the last-gen, WD_Black SN750 SE. Plus, during random operations, where your operating system will likely feel its speeds the most, it still keeps up a solid performance. Another perk is this drive has considerable endurance at up to 600 full drive writes, or 600TBW for the 1TB model.
The WD_Black SN770 is a bit more affordable than its faster counterpart, the WD_Black SN850, so you’ll be able to spring for the larger 1TB capacity, or if you need more space, you can grab the 2TB model. This means the drive should maintain its peak performance for longer as long as you don’t fill it completely with files and media. And, where you’ve saved a bit of money on a quality boot drive, you can then spend a bit more on a dragster to handle large file transfers or your game library.
6. Samsung 980
Best NVMe SSD
Samsung 980
0
For systems with a PCIe 3.0 interface, this is a great drive with its 3,500MB/s sequential reads and 3,000MB/s sequential writes.
Interface
M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x 4
Sequential write
3,000MB/s
Warranty
5 Years or 600 TBW
Improved power efficiency
If your system isn’t able to take advantage of the latest PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives, then you don’t need to sink the extra cash it takes to get one of them. Instead, you can pick up the Samsung 980 SSD. This is the PCIe 3.0 counterpart to the PCIe 4.0-based Samsung 980 Pro SSD.
What you get from this drive is more or less a continuation of what Samsung had already been offering in this market segment with the Samsung 970 Evo and 970 Pro. You’ll find serious speeds around every corner with 3,500MB/s sequential reads and 3,000MB/s sequential writes. Random read and write operations are also cruising along at a fast clip. And, though it’s not a major leap up compared to the 970 Evo, Samsung claims it has improved power efficiency by 32% and reduced heat by 50%.
7. Samsung 870 QVO
Best SATA SSD
Samsung 870 QVO
2
SATA SSD delivering 4TB of storage and decent speeds for an affordable price thanks to its use of QLC flash storage.
NAND type
4-bit QLC V-NAND
Warranty
3 Years or 1,440 TBW
Massive 4TB storage capacity
Speeds nowhere near PCIe NVMe SSDs
Samsung already had a strong value proposition for SATA SSDs with its 860 QVO, which offered up fairly substantial storage at a lower price thanks to its use of QLC flash storage. Now, Samsung is continuing that offering with the 870 QVO. These SSDs muster a little bit of extra speed, reaching for the maximum throughput SATA can even handle. While speeds are definitely not as impressive as those found on even budget PCIe NVMe SSDs, the price-per-gigabyte of the Samsung 870 QVO is compelling. If you want a lot of storage on an SSD, this is the way to go.
Samsung’s 4TB 870 QVO costs around $250. While it’s usually true that the more you get of something the less you pay for each one, that hasn’t held true for capacious SSDs, but this time Samsung is making it economical to go for the bigger option. That means you can readily fit a massive amount of fast storage in a tiny space without breaking a budget. Samsung also has a 1TB, 2TB, and 8TB version available. The specs vary slightly between models, with different warranties and DRAM cache sizes being most notable. In any case, there are few more compelling options for switching away from SATA hard drives than these SSDs.
8. Corsair MP600 Pro XT Hydro X Edition
Best Liquid-Cooled SSD
Corsair MP600 Pro XT Hydro X Edition
0
Grab this unique, fast drive that attaches a water block so it’s ready for your liquid-cooled rig.
Interface
M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4
Sequential write
6,800MB/s
Warranty
5 Years or 1,400 TBW
Unique and effective liquid cooling
High capacity with extreme endurance
What’s better than a fast SSD? An extra-fast SSD that has extreme cooling to ensure heat never slows it down. That’s what Corsair aims to offer with the Corsair MP600 Pro XT Hydro X Edition. This takes Corsair’s MP600 XT Pro SSD, which is already a fast drive, and attaches a water block rather than a heatsink so it’s ready for your liquid-cooled gaming rig.
This 3D TLC NAND drive itself delivers high speeds thanks to its use of the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. It can offer sequential read and write speeds of up to 7,000MB/s and 6,800MB/s respectively. Since this drive comes in a spacious 2TB capacity, you won’t have to worry about needing to upgrade it anytime soon. And this drive is sure to last a long while thanks to its extreme endurance, which has it rated for a total of 1,400 TBW.
9. SK hynix Gold P31
Best M.2 SSD for Laptops
SK hynix Gold P31
0
Get incredible power efficiency for less, and extend your device’s battery health
Interface
M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x 4
Sequential write
3,200MB/s
NAND type
128-Layer 3D TLC
Warranty
5 Years or 1,200 TBW
2TB is slower than the 500GB model
With 128-Layer flash, the SK hynix Gold P31 is an incredibly good value for money SSD suitable for upgrading your laptop’s storage. With higher efficiency, you can eek out more power from your laptop without needing to charge it so often. So, really, you’re lengthening the life of your laptop and getting better storage overall.
With strong read and write performance, the SK hynix Gold P31 is a real game changer. Even for desktop PCs in need of an upgrade, it’s a worthy choice. It’s frustrating that the 2TB option is slower than the 500GB model, but it’s a small price to pay in the long-run.
10. Sabrent Rocket 2230
Best SSD for Steam Deck
Sabrent Rocket 2230
0
Upgrade your device and enjoy faster read and write speeds from Sabrent
Sequential write
4,300MB/s
Warranty
2 Years or 5 Years with registration
1TB is the largest storage option
If you’re in search of a powerful M.2 SSD for your device that holds smaller PCIe SSDs, you’re onto a winner with the Sabrent Rocket 2230. For example, if you own a Steam Deck or Microsoft Surface Pro, you might want to upgrade to a faster and more efficient SSD.
Here you can expect good all-round performance, and reasonably high read and write speeds (especially considering its small size). It’s also very efficient, too, which is a valuable feature if you want to extend your device’s battery life.
When not on offer, the Sabrent Rocket 2230 is a little pricey for what it is. Though, there are options to lower the price – 256GB or 512GB storage capacities are available, making it a little more reasonable.
NAND Types
Almost all SSDs are made up of NAND flash memory, but they don’t necessarily use the same type. in fact, the market is currently made up of four types of NAND memory—with SLC, MLC TLC, and QLC variants—and the big thing that separates them all is how their underlying cells store the 1’s and 0’s that make up your data. Let’s take a quick look at what makes each type of NAND memory tick
SLC: short for single-level cells, this is the original form of NAND memory and arguably the best. SLC is designed to only accept one bit per memory cell, which makes them the fastest, most durable and reliable, and often also the most expensive.MLC: Multi-Layer Cell store one more bit to every cell, bringing the number to two. It’s a bit slower than SLC, because two bits are being written to every cell, which in turn makes this type of NAND slower and less reliable. The shortcomings of MLC aren’t too bad though and that’s why you see a lot of flagship SSDs utilize this type of NAND memory.TLC: Now we’re starting to get into the budget spectrum with Triple-Layer Cell. As its name might suggest, TLC has three bits written to every cell and all its detriments.QLC: You guessed it, QLC is short for Quad-Level Cell and you probably also surmised that it writes four bits to each cell. At this point, speed isn’t a concern and storage space becomes the priority here. That said, reliability and endurance become a concern here, but at least SSDs of this type are usually very cheap.PLC: Penta-Level Cell SSDs, which write five bits to every cell, are still on the horizon but it’ll be interesting to see how low it will make the prices of SSDs go.
SSD vs HDD
What’s the best type of PC storage for you? Here we explore SSDs vs HDDs.
An HDD or hard drive is packing an actual hard disc and an actuator arm that moves across the disc when reading or writing and often comes in a 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drive size with a SATA data connector and power connector. On the other hand, SSDs or solid-state drives contain electrons moving around with no moving parts. These drives also come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with some resembling HDDs and others which come in much smaller form factors, slotting directly into motherboards. That means you won’t need to worry about running more SATA and power cables.
If you’re looking for speed, an SSD runs laps around HDDs. Even the slowest SATA SSDs beat out the fastest HDDs, and you can find PCIe SSDs with read speeds that clock in above 7,000MB/s. So, SSDs are the clear winner for storing your most used applications and especially shine in games. However, though HDDs are slow, they offer a ton of storage for a low price, making them ideal candidates to house large files or documents you don’t access frequently and applications that don’t require speed.
SSDs are the winner when it comes to durability, as you don’t have the moving parts of an HDD that can get easily damaged when dropped or bumped. But in terms of longevity—if you aren’t dropping it—a hard drive saves data more safely. The flash memory cells in an SSD are stored using an electrical charge that can leak, making a hard drive’s written disk a better choice for long-term storage.
Upcoming SSDs
With PCIe 5.0 in full swing, we can expect more PCIe 5.0 SSDs taking the stage, offering the fastest read/write speeds available. For users who handle 4K or 8K video files, or want the best available for AAA games, PCIe 5.0 is the way forward.
How To Pick the Best SSD
Picking the best SSD can make a world of difference when it comes to speeding up your computer and enhancing overall performance. The first thing to think about is how much storage space you’ll need. Are you a digital hoarder with tons of files, photos, and videos? Or are you more of a minimalist? SSDs come in various sizes, from 120GB to a whopping 8TB or more. Choose a capacity that suits your needs without overpaying for space you won’t use.
One of the main advantages of SSDs is their blazing-fast speed compared to traditional HDDs. Look for SSDs with high read and write speeds for snappy performance, quick boot times, and speedy file transfers. If you have a PC or laptop that can handle the latest generation of SSDs (PCIe 5.0), then you’ll notice a huge leap in read/write speeds compared to PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0. Remember, however, if you purchase an M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD and only have a PCIe 4.0-capable PC, it won’t work.
On that note, you’ll also need to consider the form factor of the SSD and make sure it’s compatible with your computer or laptop. Common form factors include 2.5-inch, M.2, and NVMe. Check your device’s specifications or consult the manufacturer’s guidelines to ensure a proper fit.
If you plan on giving your SSD a run for its money, take a look at the SSD’s endurance rating, often measured in TBW. This can give you an idea of how long the drive is expected to last under typical usage conditions. A higher TBW generally indicates a longer lifespan.
If you’re a gamer or professional, you could take into account any additional features that might be important to you, such as built-in encryption, data migration software, or RGB lighting (if you’re into that sort of thing!). These extras can add to the overall appeal and functionality of the SSD.
FAQs
Is SSD a Hard Drive or RAM?
While speed is a factor when choosing an SSD, it shouldn’t be mistaken for RAM. SSDs are used to store data; read/write speeds denote how fast the SSD performs in various tasks.
Which SSD Is Fastest?
The Crucial T705 is currently the fastest PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD on the market, offering sequential read/write speeds of up to 14,500/12,700MB/s.
Is a Built-In SSD Better Than an External SSD?
Internal SSDs generally are better than external SSDs as they tend to offer faster read/write speeds. That said, you can still find external SSDs that perform well, especially if it uses a USB 3.0 interface.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
