The very best SSDs in 2025

In the case of boosting your system’s efficiency, upgrading to one of many quickest SSDs is a no brainer. Whether or not you’re constructing a gaming PC, dashing up an older laptop computer or just craving lightning-fast load instances, an SSD is the best way to go. In contrast to conventional arduous drives, SSDs depend on NAND flash storage, which means you get quicker knowledge switch speeds, improved reliability and a extra responsive expertise total.

Fashionable SSDs are fairly versatile, catering to everybody from avid gamers chasing one of the best efficiency to these trying to find one of the best finances choices that also ship stable pace. Pair a high quality SSD with a strong GPU, and also you’re set for seamless gaming and multitasking. Plus, with superior firmware bettering effectivity and sturdiness, SSDs at the moment are higher than ever at dealing with high-intensity workloads. On this shopping for information, we’ll discover one of the best SSDs in the marketplace, whether or not you’re after uncooked pace, affordability or a mixture of the 2.

Finest SSDs in 2025

Essential

Capability: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Connection: M.2 | Learn pace: 11,700MB/s | Write pace: 9,500MB/s

I don’t suggest shopping for a Gen5 NVMe, even when you’ve got the {hardware} wanted to run one. The learn speeds may look spectacular on paper, however the actuality is that few video games and apps can make the most of these capabilities proper now.

Nonetheless, when you’re set on outfitting your pc with the quickest potential storage, I feel the Crucial T700 affords a compelling mixture of worth and efficiency. The T700 is among the quickest NVMe drives in the marketplace proper now, and after launching at $180, it’s potential to seek out it on sale for about $143. Notice that in case your motherboard didn’t include a heatsink on your NVMe drives, you have to to purchase the T700 mannequin that features one, which additional will increase the price.

Execs

• Very quick
• Helps DirectStorage
• 5-year guarantee

$135 at Amazon

WD_BLACK

Capability: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | Connection: M.2 | Learn pace: 7,300MB/s | Write pace: 6,300MB/s

Offered you personal the required {hardware}, Gen4 NVMe drives supply fairly good worth proper now. After testing a number of completely different fashions, I ended up shopping for the Western Digital WD_Black SN850X for my very own system. It’s very quick, delivering learn speeds of as much as 7,300MB/s, and I used to be capable of pay lower than $100 for the 1TB mannequin throughout a sale.

Should you’re set on shopping for a Gen4 mannequin, however wish to avoid wasting cash, Western Digital affords the extra inexpensive SN770. It’s not as quick because the SN850X, but when your system has one Gen4 NVMe slot, it’s nice for storing Home windows and your most essential apps.

Execs

• Quick
• DirectStorage help
• 5-year guarantee

$80 at Amazon

Essential

Capability: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Connection: M.2 | Learn pace: 3,500MB/s | Write speeds: 3,000MB/s

A earlier model of this information really useful the Essential P2 as an important finances Gen 3 NVMe decide, however as Gen4 and now Gen5 NVMe drives have entered the market, producers like Micron have discontinued a few of their entry-level Gen4 fashions. The excellent news is that their outdated high-end Gen3 drives at the moment are extra inexpensive than ever. Take the Crucial P3, for example. Micron initially priced the 1TB mannequin at $90, however in current months, it’s been on sale for as little as $40. That’s nice worth for a drive that gives 3,500MB/s learn speeds.

Execs

• Reasonably priced and steadily on sale
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Might be quicker
• Endurance stats will not be one of the best

$62 at Adorama

SABRENT

Capability: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Connection: M.2 | Learn pace: 5,000MB/s | Write pace: 4,300MB/s

Should you’re assured sufficient to open your Steam Deck to put in a brand new, greater capability NVMe, the Sabrent Rocket 2230 is a good small-sized NVME. It is going to slot into the Steam Deck’s M.2 slot with out situation, and also you don’t want to fret about it overheating. With current reductions on this mannequin, it’s dropped sufficient in worth the place you possibly can lower your expenses by shopping for the 512GB Steam Deck OLED mannequin and putting in extra storage later.

Cons

• Costly relative to full-sized NVMe drives

$100 at Amazon

Corsair

Capability: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | Connection: M.2 | Learn pace: 7,100 MB/s | Write pace: 6,800MB/sec

Engadget has a separate information devoted to the best PlayStation 5 SSDs, however when you got here to this web page in search of a advice on what NVMe to purchase on your PS5, look no additional than the Corsair MP600 Pro LPX. It meets all of Sony’s compatibility necessities and comes with a pre-installed heatsink, which means all it’s essential to do is set up it into your PS5 and also you’re good to go.

Execs

• Excellent PS5 compatibility
• Pre-installed heatsink
• Straightforward to put in

Cons

• Cheaper so as to add your personal heatsink

$155 at Amazon

Essential

Capability: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Connection: USB-C | Learn pace: 1,050MB/s | Write pace: 975MB/s

For carrying recordsdata on the go, the Crucial X9 Pro is a transportable SSD with the correct mix of efficiency, options and price. There are technically quicker choices on the market, however its 10 Gbps speeds must be fast sufficient for the backups and file transfers most individuals do with an exterior drive, and it outpaced most different fashions inside its efficiency class in our benchmark assessments. It’s tremendous tiny and sufficiently rugged on high of that, with an IP55-rated case constituted of aluminum and rubber. A five-year guarantee helps as properly. Simply word that the included USB-C cable is pretty brief, and there’s no adapter for USB-A ports within the field. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter, Shopping for Recommendation

Execs

• IP55-certified water and mud safety
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• No USB-A cable included
• Not the quickest

$138 at Amazon

SAMSUNG

Capability: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | Connection: USB 3.1 | Learn pace: As much as 400MB/s relying on the mannequin | Write pace: As much as 400MB/s

The Samsung Fit Plus has about all of the options you possibly can need on a USB drive. It connects to your pc over USB 3.1 and helps file switch speeds of as much as 300MB/s. The Match Plus can also be compact and has a helpful slot for attaching it to your keychain. The one draw back of Samsung’s USB drive is that it’s on the expensive aspect.

Execs

• USB 3.1
• Modern design
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Is likely to be too small
• No indicator gentle

$22 at Adorama

How we check SSDs

I’ve both examined or personally use each day each SSD really useful on this checklist. Out of our high picks, I purchased 4 with my very own cash after doing a few dozen hours of analysis. Individually, Engadget Senior Reporter Jeff Dunn has additionally examined a handful of our suggestions, together with the Essential X9 Professional listed above.

What to search for in a PC SSD

Essentially the most inexpensive approach so as to add quick cupboard space to a pc is with a 2.5-inch SATA drive. It’s additionally one of many best when you don’t wish to fear about compatibility since virtually each pc made within the final 20 years will embrace a motherboard with Serial ATA connections. For that purpose, one of the best SATA SSDs are a wonderful selection if you wish to prolong the lifetime of an older PC construct. Set up is easy, too. When you’ve secured the inner SSD in a drive cage, all it’s essential to do is to attach it to your motherboard and energy provide.

The one draw back of SATA drives is that, by way of responsiveness, they’re slower than their high-performance NVMe counterparts, with SATA III limiting knowledge transfers to 600MB/s. However even the slowest SSD might be considerably quicker than one of the best mechanical drives. And with high-capacity, 1TB SATA SSDs costing about $100, they’re an excellent bulk-storage choice.

In case your PC is newer, there’s an excellent probability it consists of house for a number of M.2 SSDs. The shape issue represents your ticket to the quickest SSDs in the marketplace, however the difficult half is navigating all of the completely different requirements and specs concerned.

M.2 drives can function both a SATA or PCIe connection. SSDs with the latter are often called Non-Unstable Reminiscence or NVMe drives and are considerably quicker than their SATA counterparts, with Gen3 fashions providing sequential write speeds of as much as 3,000MB/s. These drives depend on NVMe NAND know-how for his or her superior efficiency and sturdiness. You may get twice the efficiency with a Gen4 SSD, however you’ll want a motherboard and processor that helps the usual.

Should you’re working an AMD system, which means at the least a Ryzen 3000 or 5000 CPU and an X570 or B550 motherboard. With Intel, in the meantime, you’ll want at the least an eleventh or twelfth Gen processor and a Z490, Z590 or Z690 motherboard. Remember that Gen4 SSDs usually value greater than their Gen3 counterparts as properly.

Costlier nonetheless are the most recent Gen5 fashions, which provide sequential learn speeds of as much as 16,000MB/s. Nonetheless, even when your pc helps the usual, you’re higher off shopping for a extra inexpensive Gen4 or Gen3 drive. In the meanwhile, only a few video games and functions can make the most of Gen3 NVMe speeds, not to mention Gen4 and Gen5 speeds. What’s extra, Gen5 NVMe drives can run sizzling, which might result in efficiency and longevity points. Your cash is best spent on different elements, like upgrading your GPU, for now.

As for why you’d purchase an M.2 SATA drive over a equally specced 2.5-inch drive, it comes all the way down to ease of set up. You add M.2 storage to your pc by putting in the SSD instantly onto the motherboard. Which will sound intimidating, however in observe the method includes a single screw that you simply first take away to attach the drive to your pc after which retighten to safe the SSD in place. As an added bonus, there aren’t any wires concerned, making cable administration simpler.

Notice that you could set up a SATA M.2 SSD into an M.2 slot with a PCIe connection, however you possibly can’t insert an NVMe M.2 SSD right into a M.2 slot with a SATA connection. Except you wish to proceed utilizing an outdated M.2 drive, there’s little purpose to make the most of that function. Talking of backward compatibility, it’s additionally potential to make use of a Gen4 drive by a PCIe 3 connection, however you received’t get any of the pace advantages of the quicker NVMe.

One last item to contemplate is that M.2 drives come in numerous bodily sizes. From shortest to longest, the widespread choices are 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110. (The primary two numbers signify width in millimeters and the latter denote the size.) For probably the most half, you don’t have to fret about that since 2280 is the default for a lot of motherboards and producers. Some boards can accommodate multiple measurement of NVMe SSD because of a number of standoffs. That stated, examine your pc’s documentation earlier than shopping for a drive to make sure you’re selecting up a appropriate measurement.

Should you’re shopping for a alternative SSD for the Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED, issues are easier. For Valve’s handheld, you have to a 2230 measurement NVMe. Easy. Should you don’t wish to open your Steam Deck, it’s additionally potential to increase its storage by putting in a microSD card. Engadget has a separate guide dedicated to SD card storage, so examine that out for extra shopping for recommendation.

I alluded to this earlier, however one of the best shopping for recommendation I can supply is don’t get too caught up about being on the bleeding fringe of storage tech. The sequential learn and write speeds you see producers checklist on their drives are theoretical and real-world efficiency benchmark assessments fluctuate lower than you suppose.

In case your finances forces you to decide on between a 1TB Gen3 NVMe and a 512GB Gen4 mannequin, go for the higher-capacity one. From a sensible standpoint, the worst factor you are able to do is purchase a kind of SSD that’s too small for wants. Drives can gradual dramatically as they method capability, and you’ll most likely find yourself buying one with a bigger storage capability sooner or later.

What to search for in moveable and USB flash drives

Moveable SSDs are a considerably completely different beast to their inner siblings. Whereas learn and write speeds are essential, they’re virtually secondary to how an exterior drive connects to your PC. You received’t get probably the most out of a mannequin just like the SanDisk Excessive Professional V2 with no USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 connection. Even amongst newer PCs, that’s one thing of a premium function. For that purpose, most individuals are finest off shopping for a transportable drive with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt connection. The previous affords switch speeds of as much as 10Gbps. The very best exterior arduous drives additionally help you switch knowledge out of your Home windows PC to a Mac, or different system, if appropriate. Make sure to think about this beforehand when you plan to make use of your moveable drive throughout a number of units.

Moreover, when you plan to take your drive on journeys and commutes, it’s worthwhile to purchase a mannequin with IP-certified water and mud proofing. Some corporations like Samsung supply rugged variations of their hottest drives with a excessive endurance score. For added peace of thoughts, 256-bit AES {hardware} encryption will assist forestall somebody from accessing your knowledge when you ever lose or misplace your exterior SSD.

Among the identical options contribute to an important thumbstick drive. Our favourite picks for finest finances exterior SSD fashions function USB 3.0 connections and a few type of {hardware} encryption.

A word on console storage

If PC gaming isn’t your factor and also you personal an Xbox Sequence X|S or PS5, outfitting your fancy new console with the quickest potential storage is much extra easy than doing the identical on PC. With a Sequence X or Sequence S, your choices are restricted to choices from Seagate and Western Digital. The previous affords 512GB, 1TB and 2TB fashions, with probably the most inexpensive beginning at a not-so-trivial $90. Western Digital’s Growth Playing cards are cheaper, with pricing beginning at $80 for the 512GB mannequin. The excellent news is that each choices are steadily on sale. Your finest wager is to set an alert for the mannequin you need through the use of a worth tracker like CamelCamelCamel.

With Sony’s PlayStation 5, upgrading the console’s inner storage is barely extra concerned. As a substitute of using a proprietary answer, the PS5 makes use of NVMe storage. Fortunately, there aren’t as many potential configurations as you’d discover on a PC. Engadget maintains a comprehensive guide to the best SSDs for PS5; briefly, your finest wager is a high-capacity Gen4 drive with a built-in heatsink. Take a look at that information for a full checklist of gaming SSD suggestions, however for a fast go-to, think about the Corsair MP600 Professional LPX I like to recommend above. It meets all of the reminiscence specs for Sony’s newest console and also you received’t run into any clearance points with the heatsink. Corsair affords 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB variations of the drive. Anticipate to pay about $110 for the 1TB variant and about $200 for 2TB.

For these nonetheless taking part in on a earlier era console, you may get barely quicker recreation load instances from a PlayStation 4 by swapping the included arduous drive to a 2.5-inch SSD, however going out of your approach to take action most likely isn’t value it at this level and also you’re higher off saving your cash for one of many new consoles.

SSD FAQs

What measurement SSD is finest?

There is no such thing as a one measurement suits all rule for SSDs, however we typically suggest getting at the least a 1TB SSD when you’re seeking to improve PC or recreation console storage, or trying so as to add an exterior drive to your toolkit. A 1TB drive might be lots for most individuals who want additional cupboard space for images, paperwork and packages. Should you’re a hardcore gamer, it’s possible you’ll wish to spend money on much more storage contemplating many high-profile titles at present can take up a ton of house.

Is a 256GB SSD higher than a 1TB arduous drive?

The brief reply is that it is determined by what you want your drive for. On the whole, SSDs are quicker and extra environment friendly than HDDs, however HDDs are often cheaper. We suggest springing for an SSD for many use instances at present — upgrading a PC, saving essential images and paperwork, storing video games long run, and so forth. However when you’re targeted on getting probably the most quantity of additional house potential (and sticking to a finances), an HDD could possibly be an excellent choice for you.

Does larger SSD imply quicker?

Getting an even bigger SSD doesn’t all the time translate right into a quicker drive total. A much bigger SSD will present a better storage capability, which suggests extra space for storing digital recordsdata and packages. To know how briskly an SSD might be, you’ll wish to take a look at its learn/write speeds: learn speeds measure how briskly a drive can entry info, whereas write speeds measure how briskly the drive can save info. Most SSDs checklist their approximate learn/write speeds of their specs, so be sure you take a look at these numbers earlier than you make a purchase order.