In the US:<\/strong><\/p>\n In the UK:<\/strong><\/p>\n PC Gamer’s got your back <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>The best SSD for gaming<\/p>\n Our expert review:<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Capacity: <\/span>500GB, 1TB, 2TB<\/span>Controller: <\/span>WD in-house (SanDisk)<\/span>Memory: <\/span>112-layer TLC<\/span>Interface: <\/span>PCIe Gen4 x4<\/span>Seq. read: <\/span>7,300MB\/s<\/span>Seq write: <\/span>6,300MB\/s<\/span><\/p>\n +<\/span>Runs much cooler than SN850<\/span>+<\/span>Great all-round performance<\/span>+<\/span>All the Gen 4 SSD you’ll ever need<\/span><\/p>\n –<\/span>Not a major step forward<\/span>–<\/span>No real gains in 4K random performance<\/span>–<\/span>Heat sink adds cost<\/span><\/p>\n Our favorite WD Black SN850X config:<\/strong><\/p>\n WD_Black SN850X | 2TB | 7,300MB\/s read | 6,600MB\/s write<\/strong><\/a> View Deal<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The arrival of the Ryzen Zen 4 CPU family means that PCIe Gen 5 is now a thing on both AMD and Intel platforms. But let’s be real. Your current PC almost certainly doesn’t have a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot. Enter, therefore, the new WD Black SN850X, something of a last hurrah for Gen 4 SSDs. And it’s the best one out there right now. <\/p>\n SK Hynix’s Platinum P41 might just have the edge on performance, but the lead is so negligible that the less expensive SN850X is our pick of the current SSD crop.<\/p>\n Our review configuration is clad head-to-toe in WD’s signature armour-style cooling, but it needn’t have bothered. This SSD runs quite a bit cooler than even its forebear, the WD Black SN850.<\/p>\n In many other regards, this new X model is a dead ringer for the existing SN850. We’re talking four lanes of PCIe Gen 4 connectivity in the now ubiquitous M.2 2280 form factor. But the 1TB model reviewed here is now the entry-level option. There’s no longer a 512GB model. What’s more, WD’s in-house controller chip, provided by compatriot SanDisk, has been revised, though detailed specifics aren’t provided. <\/p>\n Rather more specific to this WD drive is the latest 2.0 version of the company’s Game Mode drive management software. WD claims it improves game loading times courtesy of a so-called “read look-ahead” algorithm, which predictively caches game data. It now runs automatically, detecting when games are loaded. How much that kind of feature actually makes a difference in the real world is notoriously difficult to pin down. But it’s unlikely to be revolutionary.<\/p>\n Reduced operating temps are another clear benefit of this new drive. The old SN850 hit a toasty 77°C. The new drive hits just 58°C under sustained load. That’s a very worthwhile improvement. Elsewhere, the gains are less obvious, albeit the SN850 was already a great drive. The 4K random access results are a little disappointing, showing little to no improvement. Likewise, don’t expect big gains in system-wide measures of performance like PC Mark 10.<\/p>\n All of which means that the new WD Black SN850X isn’t exactly a revolutionary leap forward. Indeed, in the real world, you’ll struggle to notice the difference compared to the existing SN850 drive. But then that’s because the SN850 is a very good SSD. The one exception to that is operating temperatures. Happily, this new X model runs unambiguously cooler. <\/p>\n For most PC applications, that probably doesn’t matter. But for small form factor rigs and perhaps a gaming laptop, every little can certainly help. On that note, for most applications, we’d probably go for the cheaper bare drive rather than this more expensive model with its heat spreader. The revised SN850X is inherently a cooler-running thing, after all.<\/p>\n Read our full WD Black SN850X SSD review<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>The best budget SSD for gaming<\/p>\n Our expert review:<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Capacity: <\/span>250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB<\/span>Controller: <\/span>Sandisk PCIe 4.0<\/span>Flash: <\/span>Kioxia BiCS5 112-layer TLC<\/span>Interface: <\/span>M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4<\/span>Seq. read: <\/span>5,150MB\/s<\/span>Seq. write: <\/span>4,900MB\/s<\/span><\/p>\n +<\/span>Solid performance<\/span>+<\/span>In-house controller and flash<\/span>+<\/span>Five-year warranty<\/span><\/p>\n –<\/span>Relatively small SLC cache…<\/span>–<\/span>…slow when you go over it<\/span>–<\/span>Can get toasty<\/span><\/p>\n Our favorite WD Black SN770 config:<\/strong><\/p>\n WD Black SN770 | 1TB | 5,150MB\/s read | 4,900MB\/s write<\/strong><\/a> View Deal<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n We’ve seen some incredible NVMe SSD releases recently, but they’ve tended to focus on top-end performance and come with prices to match. The WD_Black SN770 bucks this trend and, like its predecessor, the SN750, is aimed at offering better value for money than outright performance. <\/p>\n The main way it achieves this is by being a DRAM-less SSD drive. This saves a big chunk of the manufacturer’s bill of materials, and thanks to advances in the latest controllers, it can be surprising how little impact this has on performance. Such drives are slower, don’t get me wrong, but this new SN770 still quotes read and writes of 5,150MB\/s and 4,900MB\/s, respectively. Not bad. <\/p>\n The drive is a low-profile affair, with this 1TB model boasting a single NAND flash module at the back (a rebranded Kioxia BiCS5 112-Layer TLC chip) and the SanDisk controller towards the connector. Western Digital rarely reveals much about its controllers, which is the case here. <\/p>\n The SN770 is available in four sizes—250GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB, although there’s no 4TB option, which is a bit of a shame. If you want a seriously capacious drive, you’ll want to track down the Sabrent Rocket offerings, which go all the way up to 8TB.<\/p>\n The synthetic performance shows the SN770 trails more expensive drives in terms of reads, although the writes are much closer. The 4K performance is relatively impressive and shows that the SN770 has something to offer in this crowded marketplace. It’s not too surprising that this drive outperforms Samsung’s DRAM-less offering, as that is a PCIe 3.0 drive, after all, but the extent to which it does is impressive.<\/p>\n It’s worth noting that this drive can get hot when pushed, just like the SN850. It hit 76°C after a long day of testing, but without direct cooling on it, not even a heatsink. It should be fine in most systems, especially if your motherboard does come with some cooling solution.<\/p>\n It’s in the real-world tests where the SN770 really struts its stuff. You’d be hard-pushed to tell the difference between this drive and much faster offerings in most day-to-day operations. Given this is the cheaper drive right now, that counts for a lot. The SN850 is the better drive if you need better performance, but you will pay considerably more.<\/p>\n The only problem for this drive is that we don’t know how fast a drive needs to be for Microsoft’s DirectStorage. We know some developers have been targeting 5,000MB\/s, which is where the SN770 sits in our testing. So it should be good, and it’s very tempting for the money. If you’re a serious gamer, though, we’d recommend going a little bit higher up the product stack, and grabbing that WD_Black SN850.<\/p>\n Read our full WD Black SN770 1TB review<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>The most powerful SSD for gaming<\/p>\n Our expert review:<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Capacity: <\/span>500GB, 1TB, 2TB<\/span>Controller: <\/span>SK Hynix Aries<\/span>Flash: <\/span>176-layer TLC NAND<\/span>Interface: <\/span>M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4<\/span>Seq. read: <\/span>7,000MB\/s<\/span>Seq. write: <\/span>6,500MB\/s<\/span><\/p>\n +<\/span>Excellent all-round performance<\/span>+<\/span>No major weaknesses<\/span>+<\/span>Competitive on price with direct rivals<\/span><\/p>\n –<\/span>Runs a tiny bit hot<\/span>–<\/span>Unspectacular 4K performance<\/span>–<\/span>Better value is available elsewhere<\/span><\/p>\n Our favorite SK Hynix Platinum P41 config:<\/strong><\/p>\n SK Hynix Platinum P41 | 1TB | 7,000MB\/s read | 6,500MB\/s write<\/strong><\/a> View Deal<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Give it up for the new SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB. If that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, it also doesn’t help that SK Hynix isn’t the most familiar brand when it comes to the sort of consumer-focussed clobber that’s aimed at gamers, including SSDs.<\/p>\n SK Hynix, of course, isn’t actually new to this space, but the new P41 is arguably the brand’s first tilt at a truly high-end M.2 drive. The old SK Hynix Gold P31 was a bit of a clunky old thing, limited as it was to the PCIe 3.0 interface and a controller chip with a mere four memory channels. The new Platinum P41? It’s got it all. <\/p>\n Well, it’s got it all if the context is PCIe 4.0 drives. The PCIe Gen 5 revolution is just around the corner. But for now, PCIe Gen 4 is not only where it’s at. It’s probably also the limit of your PC or laptop’s capabilities. Anyway, the P41 has SK Hynix’s brand new Gen 4 controller, known as Aries. While these things tend to be relatively mysterious black boxes, we do at least know that Aries has a claimed doubling of IOPS performance versus SK Hynix’s old Cepheues chip, along with one-third faster IO speeds.<\/p>\n Not only that, it’s also a quad-core design that sports eight memory controllers and allocates 2GB of DDR4 cache memory for this 2TB model. All of which makes it on par with top-end controllers like the Phison E18, as seen in various drives including the Seagate FireCuda 530<\/a>, the SanDisk-powered WD Black SN850X, and the new Pascal chip in the Samsung 990 Pro.<\/p>\n As for the actual flash memory used, it’s SK Hynix’s latest and very greatest 176-layer 3D TLC NAND. It’s about as advanced as TLC memory currently gets, and SK Hynix claims a 40% performance boost over its old 128-layer chips. The net result is sequential read and write specs for this 2TB model of 7,000MB\/s and 6,500MB\/s respectively. <\/p>\n Finally, on the speeds and feeds, this 2TB drive is rated at 1,200TB for write endurance. As it happens, that’s exactly the same as the new Samsung 990 Pro 2TB. But it’s also a fair distance short of some other competing M.2 SSDs. <\/p>\n All of which just leaves the minor matter of how this drive actually performs. When it comes to peak sequential throughput, the Platinum P41 is basically as fast as anything else out there, bar a few rounding errors. OK, the Samsung 990 Pro is a bit faster at 7,462MB\/s for reads to the P41’s 7,375MB\/s. But, honestly, it’s inconsequential. The same goes for writes, where pretty much all the top drives will do just under 6.9GB\/s.<\/p>\n Slightly less edifying are the P41’s operating temps. At 71°C peak, it’s a little toastier than we’d ideally like. Not that we actually saw any signs of any thermal throttling. But temps that high are a teensy bit of a long-term reliability concern. <\/p>\n So, this is a damn good drive. It’s at least as good as anything else: trading blows with WD’s Black SN850X, Samsung’s upgraded 990 Pro, and the usual Phison E18-powered suspects. If you want a top-end PCIe 4.0 drive, there’s certainly plenty of choices. And the SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB should certainly be on your shortlist.<\/p>\n Read our full SK Hynix Platinum P41 review<\/a>.<\/p>\n Image 1 of 4<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span>The best Steam Deck SSD<\/p>\n Our expert review:<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Capacity: <\/span>256GB, 512GB, 1TB<\/span>Controller: <\/span>Phison E21<\/span>Flash: <\/span>177-layer TLC NAND<\/span>Interface: <\/span>M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4<\/span>Seq. read: <\/span>Up to 5,000MB\/s <\/span>\n
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Best SSD for gaming<\/h2>\n
\n <\/span>Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n1. WD Black SN850X<\/a><\/h3>\n
Specifications<\/h4>\n
Reasons to buy<\/h4>\n
Reasons to avoid<\/h4>\n
![\"WD_Black](\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/6eVQSqatTmaEuox4xiCfyD-200-100.jpg\" "\\"WD_Black")
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\nThe 1TB version is a great shout if you’re after an affordable, but fast, SSD. But the 2TB drive is a great price with regular discounts down to under the $200 mark much of the time. That puts it below the competing Samsung or SK Hynix drives.<\/p>\n2. WD Black SN770<\/a><\/h3>\n
Specifications<\/h4>\n
Reasons to buy<\/h4>\n
Reasons to avoid<\/h4>\n
![\"WD](\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/ZBJmwAjHrdijggmJPppThi-200-100.jpg\" "\\"WD")
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\nThis DRAM-less drive may not offer the fastest throughput, but it isn’t far off, and in terms of value for money it’s in a class of its own. 1TB for just over $100 is definitely worth picking up.<\/p>\n3. SK Hynix Platinum P41<\/a><\/h3>\n
Specifications<\/h4>\n
Reasons to buy<\/h4>\n
Reasons to avoid<\/h4>\n
![\"SK](\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/H32J27UpeyTBsnSPXck3EL-200-100.jpg\" "\\"SK")
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\n<\/strong>The great thing about the SK Hynix drive is that its 1TB drive is just as quick as the 2TB version, which means you get the highest performance write SSD at 1TB. The WD SN850X will generally be cheaper, but if you need the raw SSD performance the 1TB P41 nails it.<\/p>\n4. Sabrent Rocket 2230<\/a><\/h3>\n
Specifications<\/h4>\n