[Review] Best SSD for Your Gaming: Top Choices for Your Gaming Needs

Hard disk drives became yesterday’s news some years after the tech community experienced the night-and-day differences between SSDs and HDDs. Microsoft now requires SSDs or UFS (another type of fast storage) for its Copilot+ PC line. We also now have demanding games like Alan Wake II that require SSDs to run.

Beyond the need to meet system requirements, replacing your current SSD or upgrading from an HDD will do your gaming ambitions a whole world of good. But the SSD you choose determines the amount of difference you can make. That’s why it’s important to weigh your options wisely. I’ll show you things to consider when choosing your next drive and the best devices in the market.

How to Choose the Best SSD for Gaming

We could point to one device as the fastest SSD right now, but people have different needs. Picking the best SSD for PCs involves making a list of priorities and selecting the device that checks the most boxes at one’s price point.

You should consider the following before picking a drive:

• Price: Your budget is the driving factor, as every other consideration should stem from what you can afford. If you have a limit, your best SSD for gaming will provide the best value at your price point. Still, you must make peace with forfeiting more capable products outside your price range.
• Speed: Many things affect SSD speeds. They include form factor, memory type, controller, cache, and connector technology. While these details are important, the fastest SSD has the highest sequential and random read/write numbers.

Sequential read/write numbers specify how fast the SSD can read or write large, continuous files in megabytes per second (MB/s). Random read/write times are measured in IOPS (input/output operations per second) and indicate how long it takes to access and store small files scattered across the drive.

• Socket sizes (interfaces): An SSD’s supported interface determines whether it will fit into your computer and the type of data transfer speeds you should expect. Older computers, especially laptops, only support SATA or SAS connectors compatible with HDDs. These types of connectors offer the lowest speeds compared to M.2 interfaces.

• Compatibility: Even if your computer has the right slots, there might be slight version variations. For example, your motherboard’s PCIe generation will determine whether you can take advantage of SSDs with faster PCIe technologies. PCIe Gen 5 may be backward compatible but don’t expect Gen 5 speeds when you connect such SSDs to a Gen 4 board. 
• Durability and reliability (terabytes written): The next thing on your list of considerations is the SSD’s endurance rating measured in TBW (terabytes written). This metric indicates how many terabytes can be written to a drive over its lifespan. So if an SSD’s TBW is 500, you should be looking at replacing it when it has written a total of 500 terabytes.

• Heat: One of the by-products of an SSD’s faster speeds is heat generation. They usually run hot due to intense workloads like demanding PC games. However, some manufacturers indicate the maximum operating temperatures for different SSD models. 

You should generally weigh heat generation against read/write speeds, as the faster they are, the more heat they generate. This issue is more predominant in the fastest M.2 SSDs due their smaller form factors.

• Optimization options: Most SSD manufacturers create software applications for their products. They help with backups, checking the SSD health, and running optimization operations.

Also Read: SSD Optimization on Windows 10/11

The Best SATA SSDs for PC Gaming

A SATA SSD will be your only option if you’re using an older PC or laptop that lacks M.2 slots. While these SSDs will never provide the speeds of NVMe drives, they are 3 to 4 times better than the fastest HDDs. 

You can also opt for a SATA SSD if you’re short on cash to afford the best M.2 SSD for gaming and other speedier variants. There are still great options to choose from that can help you slash game load times, improve latency, and add more smoothness to your gaming experience.

Crucial MX500

Specifications

• Storage capacity: 4 TB, 2 TB, 1 TB, 500 GB, 250 GB
• Form factor: 7mm (2.5-inch) and M.2
• Sequential reads: Up to 560 MB/s
• Sequential writes: Up to 510 MB/s
• Endurance: 360 TBW (1 TB), 700 TBW (2 TB), 1,000 TBW (4 TB)
• Warranty: 5 years (limited)
• Price: From $57.99 (250 GB) to $269.99 (4 TB)

Strengths

• Low price
• Satisfactory and reliable performance at the SATA level
• Ships with cloning software and SSD toolbox
• Wide range of capacity options
• Long warranty

Shortcomings

• Not too reliable for frequent heavy write operations
• Lower-capacity models may be a lot slower than the larger ones

Crucial’s SSD is one of the best budget SSDs overall. Though not the fastest SSD, it is quite competitive considering its affordability. You can go for this product if you want to balance price and performance.

I recommend choosing the highest storage capacity your budget can accommodate. Not only will you have more space for your games, but will also get more out of the SSD. Read/write speeds and TBW are better the higher you go, which translates to better performance and endurance.

Still, your decision should be down to what matters to you. If longevity is more important, consider looking at similarly priced options like the Samsung SSD 860 Pro or adding a few bucks to land the 870 EVO.

Samsung 870 EVO

Specifications

• Storage capacity options: 4 TB, 2 TB, 1 TB, 590 GB, 250 GB
• Form factor: 2.5-inch
• Sequential reads: Up to 560 MB/s
• Sequential writes: Up to 530 MB/s
• Endurance: 600 TBW (1 TB), 1,200 TBW (2 TB), 2,400 TBW (4 TB)
• Warranty: Up to TBW or 5 years, whichever comes first
• Price: From $64.99 (250 GB) to $389 (4 TB)

Strengths

• One of the fastest SATA drive in the market
• Competitive TBW
• Overall great value for money

Shortcomings

• Price may be on the high side for larger capacities
• Warranty may be less than 5 years, depending on use case

Samsung’s SATA offerings almost always perform better than the competition in every metric and price range. While it’s slightly more expensive, it will be a better choice in terms of speed, endurance, and performance if you can stretch your budget a bit.

However, it’s one of the best SSDs for PC gaming for people stuck with SATA slots. If you have an NVMe slot, you can go for similarly priced M.2 SSDs with faster speeds and performance like the Samsung 980 SSD or even the 990 Pro.

The Best NVMe SSDs for Gaming

NVMe SSDs are generally connected to PCIe interfaces on motherboards and come in the M.2 form factor. They offer blistering speeds, 4 to 6 times higher than SATA SSDs. In some cases, it’s 10 to 12 times higher when you count modern PCIe Gen 5 options. Whenever you hear people praising the game-changing performance of SSDs, they are almost always talking about NVMe devices.

However, NVMe SSDs have the following disadvantages:

• They are a lot more expensive than their SATA counterparts, but users believe the investment makes sense considering the performance difference. 
• People stuck with SATA and older connectors must upgrade their computers to enjoy NVMe speeds.
• They produce more heat under heavy workload. This shows that your GPU and CPU are not the only reasons your computer is overheating.
• They may have shorter lifespans than SATA drives due to the heat problem.
• Users may not find 500 GB and lower storage options in the fastest M.2 SSD models.

While there are other types of NVMe form factors, we’ll be focusing on helping you get the best M.2 SSD for gaming, as they are the common option.

Samsung 990 Pro

Specifications

• Storage capacity: 4 TB, 2 TB, 1 TB
• Form factor: M.2
• PCIe: Gen 4
• Sequential reads: Up to 7,450 MB/s
• Sequential writes: Up to 6,900 MB/s
• Endurance: 600 TBW (1 TB), 1,200 TBW (2 TB), 2,400 TBW (4 TB)
• Warranty: 5 years or TBW
• Price (without heatsink): $110 (1 TB), $180 (2 TB), $330 (4 TB)

Strengths

• Top-of-the-line support and software
• Excellent performance and relatively power-efficient
• Has heatsink option
• Advanced hardware-level encryption

Shortcomings

• May not maintain expected high level of performance during prolonged write operations
• Gaming performance can be better
• Pricey

The 990 Pro made this list because it is reliable, fast, and efficient. Its pricing is also competitive since it has hardware-based encryption and you can find cheaper deals compared to its MSRP. While some hardcore gamers would prefer other high-end PCIe 4.0 options, it gets the job done, especially at this price level.

WD Black SN850X

Specifications

• Storage capacity: 8 TB, 4 TB, 2 TB, 1 TB
• Form factor: M.2
• PCIe: Gen 4
• Sequential reads: 7,300 MB/s
• Sequential writes: 6,600 MB/s
• Endurance: 600 TBW (1 TB), 1,200 (2 TB), 2,400 (4 TB), 4,800 (8 TB)
• Warranty: 5 years
• Price (without heatsink): $90 (1 TB), $150 (2 TB), $310 (4 TB), $850 (8 TB)

Strengths

• Competitively priced
• Offers 8 TB capacity
• High-end endurance 
• Offers heatsink option

Shortcomings

• No 256-bit AES hardware-level encryption

The WD Black SN850X is one of the best-rated PCIe Gen 4 SSDs for gaming. Some even consider it the fastest M.2 SSD in the Gen 4 category because it beats its specification speeds sometimes in real-world use. It runs cooler than most drives in this category, especially when you add the heatsink. It also provides reliable ongoing performance, even during brutal workloads. 

The only downsides are the increased price when you add the heatsink and the missing hardware-level encryption.

Crucial T700

Specifications

• Storage capacity: 4 TB, 2 TB, 1 TB 
• Form factor: M.2 (2280)
• PCIe: Gen 5
• Sequential reads: Up to 12,400 MB/s
• Sequential writes: Up to 11,800 MB/s
• Endurance: 600 TBW (1 TB), 1,200 TBW (2 TB), and 2,400 TBW (4 TB)
• Warranty: 5 years
• Price (without heatsink): $143 (1 TB), $255 (2 TB), $406 (4 TB)

Strengths

• Very fast and reliable
• Gen 5 ensures longevity
• Offers heatsink option

Shortcomings

• Quite pricey with the heatsink option
• Not everyone can take advantage of Gen 5 speeds
• Heatsink offers mainstream cooling 

This SSD is among the best offerings for people using Gen 5-compatible motherboards. It can work with Gen 4 motherboards since PCIe is backward compatible, but you should only expect half the speeds promised on the spec sheet. Still, it’s a great buy if you intend to upgrade your motherboard in the near future.

Kingston Fury Renegade

Specifications

• Storage capacity: 4 TB, 2 TB, 1 TB, 500 GB
• Form factor: M.2 (2280)
• PCIe: Gen 4 
• Sequential reads: Up to 7,300 MB/s
• Sequential writes: Up to 7,000 MB/s
• Endurance: 500 TBW (500 GB), 1,000 TBW (1 TB): 2,000 TBW (2 TB), 4,000 (4 TB)
• Warranty: 5 years
• Price (without heatsink): $75 (500 GB), $120 (1 TB), $196 (2 TB), $385 (4 TB)

Strengths

• Offers a 500 GB option
• Heatsink option for better cooling
• Outstanding endurance ratings
• Very competitive pricing

Shortcomings

• Subpar power efficiency and heat management
• No hardware-level encryption
• Mainstream performance 

The deal with the Renegade is sacrificing performance and hardware encryption for its lower price and longevity. However, its real-world performance shouldn’t be too off-putting if you’re not constantly using 4K-level rendering when running the most demanding games and 3D programs.

Teamgroup MP44 SSD

Specifications

• Storage capacity: 8 TB, 4 TB, 2 TB, 1 TB, 500 GB
• Form factor: M.2
• PCIe: Gen 4
• Sequential reads: Up to 7,400 MB/s
• Sequential writes: Up to 6,900 MB/s
• Endurance: 700 TBW (500 GB), 1,450 TBW (1 TB): 2,500 TBW (2 TB), 3,000 (4 TB), 6,000 TBW (8 TB)
• Warranty: 5 years
• Price: $70 (1 TB), $116 (2 TB), $229 (4 TB), 825 (8 TB)

Strengths

• Offers 500 GB and 8 TB options
• Best budget SSD in the NVMe category
• Great endurance ratings

Shortcomings

• Lacks heatsink
• Low 4K performance
• Some capacity options are quite pricey 

The Teamgroup MP44 hits the right spots in endurance, performance, and pricing at some capacities. It is considered the best M.2 SSD for gaming in the budget category. But if you’re going for the best budget SSD option here, you may have to consider other things apart from price. 

For example, the 512 GB option, while a great addition for value hunters, offers subpar read/write speeds compared to the rest of the line. If you’re considering this product, review the specific storage option on your radar to ensure it checks all your boxes.

The Best SSD for Gaming: Where Should You Lean?

As I mentioned, choosing your best SSD for PC gaming should be measured by the best-performing drive within your price range. SATA options will never compete with any modern NVMe SSD in speed, but they’re far better than HDDs and cheaper than NVMe drives.

Here’s an overview of the fastest SSDs for gaming:

Best SSD for Gaming: Leveling Up Gaming Performance

Remember to go through your options one more time, even after picking the winning model. You must pore through the smallest deal to confirm that you have the best fit and the best deal. The fastest M.2 SSD you choose may not fit into your system.

Remember to take care of your SSD by using health-check apps and improving heat management practices.

Please head to the comments section to tell us where you’re leaning and which SSD you ultimately pick.

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