Key Points
- SSDs offer snappy performance with faster boot and program load times, increasing productivity.
- SSDs are highly energy efficient, drawing less power and providing longer battery life.
- SSDs are more durable and reliable than HDDs, with shock absorbance and vibration resistance.
- Many SSDs come with efficient cooling options like heat sinks or water cooling loops.
- SSDs have internal data loss protection mechanisms, preserving your information even during blackouts.
- SSDs are hassle-free to install, with slim designs and easy-to-follow instructions.
- The XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade is the best SSD for gaming, with impressive read and write speeds and a heat sink for cooling.
- The Corsair MP600 Pro Hydro X Edition is the best water-cooled SSD, offering high performance and a compact form factor.
- The Samsung 870 QVO is the best SATA SSD, providing decent read and write speeds and a large storage capacity.
- The Kingston NV2 is the best affordable SSD, with fast speeds and low power consumption.
- The SAMSUNG 980 PRO is the best PCIe 4.0 SSD, delivering peak performance with a copper heat spreader for thermal control.
The solid-state drive (SSD) has proven to be a game changer for modern computers. Having undergone numerous technical changes from traditional hard disk drives, SSDs feature non-volatile (flash) memory instead of moving parts. It’s this unique construction that helps them attain high speeds.
Generally, older SSDs come in a 2.5-inch form factor, meaning you can plug them into the SATA port used by hard disk drives (HDD). If you own a newer computer, they feature tiny NVMe and PCIe 4.0 SSDs much faster than the SATA option. While this is the case, are solid-state drives worth buying?
Let’s take an in-depth look at why you should consider purchasing an SSD.
1. Snappy Performance
Laptops run on HDD or SSD as their primary storage medium. When using a laptop with an SSD drive, you’ll notice a sharp increase in performance over HDD as they don’t feature mechanical parts that are prone to wear and tear.
Another important feature of such drives is the incorporation of wear leveling technology in their construction, which helps extend the drive’s longevity. You’ll also experience faster boot and program load times, which will boost your productivity while gaming or multitasking.
2. Highly Energy Efficient
- Ideal for heavy graphics
- Sequential writes up to 3,000 MB/s
- Sequential reads up to 3,500 MB/s
- Up to 600 TBW
As a hardcore gamer who runs graphics-intensive games, you’ll require more energy when using a hard disk drive than a solid-state drive. SSDs use flash memory instead of moving parts, drawing less energy during operation.
Due to the SSD’s low power consumption, you should expect a decent battery life during intense gaming sessions or when using graphics-intensive applications. Subsequently, your laptop is also less likely to overheat during use.
3. Enjoy Extended Usage
Unlike hard disk drives, when your SSD falls, it won’t be as affected. That’s because it doesn’t have platters that are prone to damage. You’re also guaranteed substantial reliability of up to 10 years. Most manufacturers test them for shock absorbance and vibration resistance before they’re released onto the market.
4. Efficient Cooling
Your computers are designed with a fan system to cool them down. This minimizes the challenges of heat dissipation. Part of the heat comes from internal storage drives, including solid-state drives (SSDs).
Many SSDs come with a heat sink to cool down after extended use. You may also consider models with a custom water cooling loop that lowers the drive temperature during use.
5. Preserves Your Information
- Data transfer rate: 7,000 MB per second
- 2 TB digital storage capacity
- Bluetooth, NVMe connectivity
- Designed for hardcore gamers and tech-savvy users
Your solid-state drive can keep running after a blackout thanks to the internal data loss protection mechanism. Usually, such drives have two circuits.
One tracks the voltage changes of your device. The other automatically takes over when the voltage drops past the minimal working level. This way, your SSD has enough power to store your pending information.
6. Hassle-Free Installation
Most SSDs have a slim, compact design that easily fits in allocated spaces, even on your slim laptop. Plus, they come with instructions and guides to follow during the installation process. If you’re not a techie, you can breathe easily. You won’t require additional tools besides a screwdriver.
The 5 Best Solid-State Drives (SSDs) to Buy Today
The best SSDs come with impressive features and performance. From exceptional gaming performance to efficient cooling, these drives guarantee productivity regardless of your tasks.
Let’s look at our list of the best solid-state drives today.
1. Best for Gaming: XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade
- PCIe Gen4 NVMe 1.4 interface
- Sequential R/W up to 7400/ 6800 MB/s
- Backed by a 5-year limited manufacturer warranty
Instant-on performance during gameplay is a crunch point you can achieve with the XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade. With sequential read speeds of 7,400 MB/s and write speeds of 6,800 MB/s on PCs, this PCIe Gen4 NVMe 1.4 SSD is a real game-changer.
When using it on PS5, it attains sequential read speeds of 6100 MB/s. Despite such high performance, it remains cool while running demanding games. Thanks to its heat sink, its capable of reducing temperatures by 20%.
The minimalistic design of this solid-state drive allows for compatibility with compact and thin devices (Intel Evo Laptops), unlike some PCIe 4.0 drives. You should also know that the heat sink of this SSD doesn’t come attached, but it is easy to install.
Another noteworthy feature is that this GAMMIX SSD offers maximum storage of up to 4TB — ample storage space for an extensive gaming library or applications. It also comes with a five-year warranty, which guarantees superb performance.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Comes with a five-year warranty, ensuring reliability. | For this drive to work on PS5, your device should have a firmware 21.02-04.00.00.42 or higher. |
| Has fast sequential read speeds of 7,400 MB/s and write speeds of 6.800 MB/s. | |
| Offers maximum storage space of 4 TB to store a vast gaming library. |
2. Best Water-Cooled SSD: Corsair MP600 Pro Hydro X Edition
- PCIe Gen4 x4 controller delivers up to 7,000 MB/ sec sequential read and 6,550 MB/ sec sequential write speeds
- High-density 3D TLC NAND
- Hydro X Series XM2 Water Block
If you’re interested in liquid-cooling SSDs, you might want to check out the Corsair MP600 Pro Hydro X Edition. While most SSDs use a heat sink to maintain optimum temperatures, Corsair has included a water block. It allows the addition of a custom cooling loop for fast performance.
Sticking to performance, the drive features a PCIe Gen4 x4 controller that delivers sequential read speeds of 7,000 MB/s and write speeds of 6,550 MB/s.
The drive also includes a high-density 3D TLC NAND chip. The chip combines performance and 3600 Terabytes Written (TBW) to guarantee optimal performance over years of use.
Another noteworthy feature is its compact M.2 2280 form factor, which can fit perfectly into a PCIe 4.0 slot on the motherboard. Once installed, you can use the Corsair SSD toolbox software to update the drive firmware or erase data from the drive.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The water block feature allows the addition of a custom water loop for enhanced performance. | Doesn’t include a custom cooling loop. |
| The high 3600 TBW enhances its longevity. | |
| Corsair Toolbox software lets you perform different tasks, like updating the SSD firmware. |
3. Best SATA: Samsung 870 QVO
- Samsung's latest 2nd generation QLC SSD with up to 8TB of storage capacity
- SATA interface limit of 560/ 530 MB/s sequential speeds
- Capacity increases reliability using a refined ECC algorithm for stable performance
If you want significant improvements in your computer’s boot speed and overall performance, consider using the SAMSUNG 870 QVO. This drive attains a sequential read speed of 560 MB/s and a write speed of 530 MB/s.
It’s relatively lower than that of NVMe SSD drives, which can attain read and write speeds of up to 3.5 GB/s. What’s more, you’ll enjoy a storage capacity of up to 8 TB, which is decent enough as additional storage for your games, images, or media files.
Regarding reliability, the drive offers up to 2880 Terabytes Written (TBW) thanks to the use of an error correction code (ECC) algorithm that guarantees stable performance. To top it off, Samsung gives a 3-year warranty, a testament to their confidence in the product.
What’s more, you can use the Samsung Magician software to improve the drive performance by updating it with the latest firmware.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It has high read and write speeds (560 and 530 MB/s, respectively). | Read and write speeds vary depending on the firmware version and system hardware. |
| Offers up to 8 TB of storage, which is ideal for saving large files. | |
| Features Samsung Magician software for wider customization. |
4. Best Affordable Option: Kingston NV2
- Gen 4x4 NVMe PCle 4.0 performance with read speeds up to 3500 MB/s
- 1 TB digital storage capacity
- NVMe hard disk interface
The Kingston NV2 is the perfect drive for budget-conscious buyers looking for an entry-level SSD. While it may be an ideal budget-friendly pick, it features read speeds of 3,000 MB/s and write speeds of 2,800 MB/s.
These speeds guarantee faster boot times for your laptop and faster data transfers. More importantly, this drive uses less power and generates low heat during use to optimize your system performance.
Again, it’s compact, making it an excellent option for thin laptops. At an extra cost, you can consider the 4 TB version.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It’s a low-priced storage drive (under $50). | 1 TB storage might not be enough for today’s storage needs. |
| Produces less heat during use for optimal performance. |
5. Best PCIe 4.0 SSD: SAMSUNG 980 PRO
- Read speeds up to 7,000 MB/s
- Compact M.2 2280 form factor
- 1 TB digital storage capacity
When looking for a PCIe 4.0 SSD with faster read speeds (up to 7,000 MB/s), the SAMSUNG 980 PRO is a worthwhile investment. At such speeds, it’s perfect for a high-performance computing system.
To guarantee stable performance, the SAMSUNG 980 has a copper heat spreader included for thermal control of the NAND chip. Best of all, the SSD controller includes a nickel coating to keep the heat level optimum.
An important aspect to remember is that you can only achieve peak performance using this drive if your system supports PCIe 4.0. Another worthy mention is that you’ll enjoy a two-month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography when you purchase a 1 or 2-TB SSD.
Plus, you can use the Samsung Magician tool to check the speeds and health of your drive and boost its performance.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Can make updates to the drive using the Samsung Magician tool. | Doesn’t include a heat sink. |
| Features write speed of 7,000MB/s, helping deliver great performance. |
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