The most effective SSDs in 2025

In case your laptop is beginning to really feel a bit of sluggish, otherwise you’re uninterested in ready for video games and apps to load, upgrading to probably the greatest SSD choices on the market is usually a game-changer. Strong-state drives (SSDs) are a lot quicker than conventional onerous drives, serving to your system boot up in seconds, load giant information immediately and make on a regular basis duties really feel snappier. Whether or not you’re upgrading a laptop computer, constructing a gaming PC or simply need further storage for work or inventive initiatives, the correct SSD can severely enhance efficiency.

However with so many specs to think about — PCIe Gen 4, Gen 5, SATA, NVMe — it’s straightforward to get misplaced within the jargon. That’s the place we are available in! We’ve rounded up one of the best SSD choices that will help you discover the correct steadiness of pace, capability and worth, so you will get the improve you want with out overpaying for options you received’t use.

Desk of contents

Greatest SSDs in 2025

Essential

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

I don’t advocate shopping for a Gen5 NVMe, even if in case you have the {hardware} wanted to run one. The learn speeds would possibly look spectacular on paper, however the actuality is that few video games and apps can benefit from these capabilities proper now.

Nonetheless, should you’re set on outfitting your laptop with the quickest attainable storage, I feel the Crucial T700 presents a compelling mixture of worth and efficiency. The T700 is likely one of the quickest NVMe drives available on the market proper now, and after launching at $180, it’s attainable to search out it on sale for about $143. Word that in case your motherboard didn’t include a heatsink in your NVMe drives, you have to to purchase the T700 mannequin that features one, which additional will increase the fee.

Professionals

• Very quick
• Helps DirectStorage
• 5-year guarantee

$140 at Adorama

WD_BLACK

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

Supplied you personal the mandatory {hardware}, Gen4 NVMe drives supply fairly good worth proper now. After testing a couple 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.

For those who’re set on shopping for a Gen4 mannequin, however need to avoid wasting cash, Western Digital presents 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 vital apps.

Professionals

• Quick
• DirectStorage assist
• 5-year guarantee

$94 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 incredible price range 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 are actually extra inexpensive than ever. Take the Crucial P3, for example. Micron initially priced the 1TB mannequin at $90, however in latest months, it’s been on sale for as little as $40. That’s nice worth for a drive that provides 3,500MB/s learn speeds.

Professionals

• Inexpensive and regularly on sale
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Could possibly be quicker
• Endurance stats usually are not one of the best

$60 at Adorama

SABRENT

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

For those who’re assured sufficient to open your Steam Deck to put in a brand new, larger capability NVMe, the Sabrent Rocket 2230 is a good small-sized NVME. It can slot into the Steam Deck’s M.2 slot with out situation, and also you don’t want to fret about it overheating. With latest 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 should you got here to this web page in search of a advice on what NVMe to purchase in 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, that means all you must do is set up it into your PS5 and also you’re good to go.

Professionals

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

Cons

• Cheaper so as to add your personal heatsink

$170 at Amazon

Essential

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

For carrying information on the go, the Crucial X9 Pro is a transportable SSD with the right combination of efficiency, options and value. 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 exams. It’s tremendous tiny and sufficiently rugged on high of that, with an IP55-rated case created from aluminum and rubber. A five-year guarantee helps as effectively. Simply word that the included USB-C cable is pretty quick, and there’s no adapter for USB-A ports within the field. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter, Shopping for Recommendation

Professionals

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

Cons

• No USB-A cable included
• Not the quickest

$89 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 laptop 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 useful slot for attaching it to your keychain. The one draw back of Samsung’s USB drive is that it’s on the expensive aspect.

Professionals

• USB 3.1
• Smooth design
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Could be too small
• No indicator mild

$23 at Adorama

How we check SSDs

I’ve both examined or personally use day by day each storage drive 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 means 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 should you don’t need to fear about compatibility since nearly each laptop 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 superb selection if you wish to prolong the lifetime of an older PC construct. Set up is easy, too. When you’ve secured the interior SSD in a drive cage, all you must 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 information transfers to 600MB/s. However even the slowest SSD will probably be considerably quicker than one of the best mechanical drives. And with high-capacity, 1TB SATA SSDs costing about $100, they’re a superb bulk-storage possibility.

In case your PC is newer, there’s a superb likelihood it contains area for a number of M.2 SSDs. The shape issue represents your ticket to the quickest SSDs available on the market, however the tough 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.

For those who’re working an AMD system, which means no less than a Ryzen 3000 or 5000 CPU and an X570 or B550 motherboard. With Intel, in the meantime, you’ll want no less than an eleventh or twelfth Gen processor and a Z490, Z590 or Z690 motherboard. Understand that Gen4 SSDs sometimes price greater than their Gen3 counterparts as effectively.

Costlier nonetheless are the most recent Gen5 fashions, which supply sequential learn speeds of as much as 16,000MB/s. Nonetheless, even when your laptop helps the usual, you’re higher off shopping for a extra inexpensive Gen4 or Gen3 drive. For the time being, only a few video games and functions can benefit from Gen3 NVMe speeds, not to mention Gen4 and Gen5 speeds. What’s extra, Gen5 NVMe drives can run scorching, which may result in efficiency and longevity points. Your cash is healthier spent on different parts, like upgrading your GPU, for now.

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

Word that you may set up a SATA M.2 SSD into an M.2 slot with a PCIe connection, however you may’t insert an NVMe M.2 SSD right into a M.2 slot with a SATA connection. Except you need to proceed utilizing an outdated M.2 drive, there’s little purpose to benefit from that function. Talking of backward compatibility, it’s additionally attainable to make use of a Gen4 drive via a PCIe 3 connection, however you received’t get any of the pace advantages of the quicker NVMe.

One very last thing to think about is that M.2 drives come in numerous bodily sizes. From shortest to longest, the frequent choices are 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110. (The primary two numbers symbolize width in millimeters and the latter denote the size.) For essentially 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 due to a number of standoffs. That mentioned, examine your laptop’s documentation or firmware earlier than shopping for a drive to make sure you’re selecting up a appropriate measurement.

For those who’re shopping for a substitute SSD for the Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED, issues are simpler. For Valve’s handheld, you have to a 2230 measurement NVMe. Easy. For those who don’t need to open your Steam Deck, it’s additionally attainable to broaden 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 exams range lower than you suppose.

In case your price range 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 sluggish dramatically as they method capability, and you’ll most likely find yourself buying one with a better gigabyte capability sooner or later.

What to search for in moveable and USB flash drives

Transportable SSDs are a considerably completely different beast to their inside siblings. Whereas learn and write speeds are vital, they’re nearly secondary to how an exterior drive connects to your PC. You received’t get essentially the most out of a mannequin just like the SanDisk Excessive Professional V2 and not using a 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 presents switch speeds of as much as 10Gbps. The most effective exterior onerous drives additionally can help you switch information out of your Home windows PC to a Mac, or different gadget, if appropriate. Remember to think about this beforehand should you plan to make use of your moveable drive throughout a number of units.

Moreover, should you plan to take your drive on journeys and commutes, it’s worthwhile to purchase a mannequin with IP-certified water and dirt proofing. Some firms like Samsung supply rugged variations of their hottest drives, together with the Samsung SSD T7 Protect, with a excessive endurance score. For added peace of thoughts, 256-bit AES {hardware} encryption will assist forestall somebody from accessing your information should you ever lose or misplace your exterior SSD.

Among the identical options contribute to an incredible thumbstick drive. Our favourite picks for finest price range 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 attainable storage is much extra simple 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 presents 512GB, 1TB and 2TB fashions, with essentially the most inexpensive beginning at a not-so-trivial $90. Western Digital’s Enlargement Playing cards are cheaper, with pricing beginning at $80 for the 512GB mannequin. The excellent news is that each choices are regularly 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 inside storage is barely extra concerned. As a substitute of using a proprietary resolution, the PS5 makes use of NVMe storage. Fortunately, there aren’t as many potential configurations as you’ll discover on a PC. Engadget maintains a comprehensive guide to the best SSDs for PS5; in brief, your finest wager is a high-capacity Gen4 drive with a built-in heatsink. Try 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 presents 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB variations of the drive. Count on to pay about $110 for the 1TB variant and about $200 for 2TB.

For these nonetheless enjoying on a earlier era console, you will get barely quicker recreation load occasions from a PlayStation 4 by swapping the included onerous drive to a 2.5-inch SSD, however going out of your means 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 and updating your working system as an alternative.

SSD FAQs

What measurement SSD is finest?

There isn’t any one measurement matches all rule for SSDs, however we typically advocate getting no less than a 1TB SSD should you’re trying to improve PC or recreation console storage, or wanting so as to add an exterior drive to your toolkit. A 1TB drive will probably be loads for most individuals who want further cupboard space for images, paperwork and applications. For those who’re a hardcore gamer, you could need to put money into much more storage contemplating many high-profile titles as we speak can take up a ton of area.

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

The quick reply is that it depends upon what you want your drive for. On the whole, SSDs are quicker and extra environment friendly than HDDs, however HDDs are normally cheaper. We advocate springing for an SSD for many use instances as we speak — upgrading a PC, saving vital images and paperwork, storing video games long run, and many others. However should you’re centered on getting essentially the most quantity of additional area attainable (and sticking to a price range), an HDD could possibly be a superb possibility for you.

Does greater SSD imply quicker?

Getting a much bigger SSD doesn’t at all times translate right into a quicker drive total. A much bigger SSD will present a better storage capability, which implies more room for storing digital information and applications. To grasp how briskly an SSD will probably be, you’ll need to have 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 you’ll want to take a look at these numbers earlier than you make a purchase order.