Switching to a solid-state drive (SSD) is the best upgrade you can make for your PC. It makes a huge different o your build as the performance offered by the SSD is a far better choice than their traditional counterparts. And when you are planning to build your own custom gaming machine, then choosing the best SSD is the right choice. Why? Because you need extra space to install the best PC games and to ensure faster reboot of your machine, but getting a drive with quicker file transfer and read speeds can chop load times right down.
Since these SSDs are designed using the latest technology, they’re much better than the HDDs, not just in terms of noise, but also they can cut down on the power consumption of your PC. When thinking, whether buying an SDD is the right choice or not, the answer is “Yes.” There are only upsides to getting an SSD in your rig… apart from price.
However, not all gaming enthusiasts are able to pay a huge amount to upgrade their gaming machines, we have created this list of the best SDDs that are not just faster, quieter, but also they fit your budget too.
How to Buy Best SSD for Gaming?
- Storage Capacity
One of the prime features of any SSD is the storage capacity it offers, so it must be on the top of your list while shopping for the best SSDs online as you’re going to load all your games in the storage.
It is crucial to keep that in mind when buying an SSD as they are the optimal storing source for long periods of time. The SSDs with high capacity storage capacity has been very expensive to date, but not anymore. These days the storage capacity is more and the prices are lower.
- Speed
This is another important consideration that must be kept in mind while looking for the best SSDs for your gaming machine. The better the read and write speed, the less time it will take to transfer your data. After all, the primary purpose of an SSD is to offer in regard to gaming is the faster load times. So, investing in an SSD with higher storage capacity, but with less speed is not a smart choice.
- Connectivity
Your SSD is connected to the motherboard using a connector cable. There are two types of connection ports available in the modern SSDs: SATA III connector and an M.2 slot. Although there is not much difference in the appearance, but performance plays a big role. The M.2 slot has a much higher theoretical throughput than SATA. This is the reason that most of the NVMe SSDs use M.2 – but not all M.2 SSDs are NVMe SSDs. Consider the connector available and supported by your Motherboard, before you make a purchase of SSD.
- Know your home computer
Before you start your hunt for the best Gaming SSDs in the market, it is essential to know your computer and its capabilities. This means you may want to know how much storage is supported and what kind of connectivity port is available. This will help you save a lot of hard work by classifying the best suitable for your computer.
- Power Consumption
Similar to any other component of your gaming PC, your SSD will also have an impact on your power consumption capacity. If you’re a desktop user after the best possible performance, the power consumption may be a less important part for you. But, for laptop users, it may be a big issue. If you are looking for an extremely efficient SSD, then it’s suggested to go with Samsung’s 850 EVO over a faster-but-power-hungry NVMe drive. This will help you save your power consumption and your backup as well.
This is one of the most recent releases by Samsung, which has been a leader in the manufacturing of a wide range of electronics devices. We all know their appliances and gadgets, but this Korean giant also manufactures some of the most popular SSDs out there. The Samsung 860 EVO is pretty much what you would expect an average NAND SSD to look like. Its design is very neat and clean, with a thin 2.5-inch frame and a matte black finish.
Storage & Performance
When buying an SSD, performance and storage are the prime factors that may affect your choice and this is what makes Samsung 860 EVO an ideal choice as it comes with a total of five storage options: 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB. This SSD also features a 540/520 MB/s read/write speed, which means that the transfer speed of your files will be much better than any other one on the market. Finally, it interfaces via a SATA III connector which is the standard for a lot of internal SSDs available today.
In addition to offering better performance and storage ability, this SSD also comes with a whopping 5 years of manufacturer warranty. This is not just the fastest SSD around, but it is more than adequate for gaming. Though at the moment, there are newer SSDs available, the 860 EVO results to be your smarter and cost-effective choice.
If you are looking for an affordable SSD for your gaming machine, then Intel 660p is the smartest choice you can make. Granted, it is not as affordable as some Samsung SSDs nor is it as fast as the more advanced models of Samsung such as the 970 EVO Plus, but it’s been used and recommended by most professional gamers.
Storage and Performance
As far as the storage and performance of Intel 660p is concerned, this has been very effectively able to impress us as it comes in three storage variants: 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. In addition to multiple storage options, 660p also comes with great read/write speed of 1500/1000 MB/s, which makes the 660p significantly faster than most SATA SSDs. As mentioned earlier, this is not designed for professional gamers, it’s the right choice for beginners and others.
Great performance, affordability, and better read and write speed, are just a few features that make this the right choice. With its features in mind, it’s quite clear that the Intel 660p is your typical best solution that will appeal to anyone who are looking for budget-friendly SSD. It may not be the fastest of all, but it’s the jack of all trades. When it comes to intensive tasks and large file transfers, 660p is a great pick.
Western Digital has been a leader in manufacturing a wide range of computer components and we have already mentioned their products on our previous articles. This The next name in our list of the best SSDs comes from the same brand. WD Blue from Western Digital focuses on balancing storage capacity, performance, and pricing, making it an ideal choice for those who need great performance.
Storage and Performance
The WD Blue SSDs is available on various versions 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. And it’s a bit better than the Samsung 860 QVO if talking about the speed as it comes with a sequential read/write speed of 560/530 MB/s. Of course, it’s not much different, but it is better. In addition to it, this model comes in both 2.5-inch and M.2 form factor, which allows you to choose the better one that fits better with your PC’s motherboard.
Although its price is more or less the same as that of the Samsung 860 QVO, the choice depends upon your needs and budget. The two primary advantages of WD Blue is its ability to choose between two different form factors and its 5-year warranty.
This is probably the best launches for Samsung. The 860 QVO, unsurprisingly, looks very similar to the EVO, but it looks more appealing with its gorgeous matte black exterior. If talking about the performance, Samsung 860 QVO is much better and faster than its other counterparts. This SSD by Samsung really pushes the envelope when it comes to the kind of storage capacity.
Storage & Performance
The 860 QVO has been designed with multiple budgets in mind, which is why this comes in three storage variants: 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB. As for the performance, it offers sequential read and writes speeds of 550 and 520 MB/s respectively, which is more or less the norm with NAND SSDs that interface using SATA III.
What makes this model one of the best one among the top SSDs available online for gaming is its capacity and pricing. If compared to other models available with 240 GB storage, this one starts at 1 TB and costs just over $100. The only downside of this model is its short warranty period. Normally, Samsung offers 5 years warranty, but the 860 QVO gets only 3.
The next name in our list of the top SSDs comes from the house of Kingston. After all, there is no way that we can talk about memory and leave out Kingston as this is the leader in manufacturing computer components across the world. One of the most talked about the SSDs by Kingston is the A400, a rather basic yet affordable solution.
It features a 2.5-inch SATA SSD with a dark grey exterior and it comes in the M.2 form factor as well.
Storage & Performance
Now when talking about the performance and storage capacity of Kingston, this model is a very impressive choice, not just for the beginners, but also for avid gamers. It comes in 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB variants. And its performance also varies based on the capacity – For the 120 GB and 240 GB variants, the read speed remains a solid 500 MB/s but the write speed are 320 and 350 MB/s respectively. And its 480 and 960 GB variants offer a write speed of 450 MB/s.
If you are on a tighter budget and need a powerful SSD that looks good and offers better performance and storage capacity for your gaming machine, then the Kingston A400 may be the right pick. There’s no way you can find a better deal than this one on the internet. Overall, it is a rather reliable SSD, designed with compact design and is packed with performance.