One of the 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, rushing up an older laptop computer or just craving lightning-fast load instances, an SSD is the way in which to go. In contrast to conventional arduous drives, SSDs depend on NAND flash storage, that means you get sooner knowledge switch speeds, improved reliability and a extra responsive expertise total.

Fashionable SSDs are fairly versatile, catering to everybody from avid gamers chasing the most effective efficiency to these attempting to find the most effective price range choices that also ship stable pace. Pair a top quality SSD with a robust 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 the most effective SSDs available on the market, whether or not you’re after uncooked pace, affordability or a mix 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 you probably have 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 benefit from these capabilities proper now.

Nonetheless, when you’re set on outfitting your laptop with the quickest potential storage, I believe the Essential T700 provides a compelling mixture of worth and efficiency. The T700 is among the quickest NVMe drives available on the market proper now, and after launching at $180, it’s potential to search out it on sale for about $143. Notice that in case your motherboard didn’t include a heatsink on your NVMe drives, you’ll need to purchase the T700 mannequin that features one, which additional will increase the associated fee.

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 mandatory {hardware}, Gen4 NVMe drives provide fairly good worth proper now. After testing a couple of totally 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.

In case you’re set on shopping for a Gen4 mannequin, however need to avoid wasting cash, Western Digital provides the extra reasonably priced 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 necessary apps.

Execs

• Quick
• DirectStorage assist
• 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 awesome price range Gen 3 NVMe choose, 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 previous high-end Gen3 drives at the moment are extra reasonably priced than ever. Take the Essential P3, as an illustration. 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.

Execs

• Inexpensive and continuously on sale
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• May very well be sooner
• Endurance stats should not the most effective

$62 at Adorama

SABRENT

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

In case 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 subject, 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 could possibly 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 finest 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 Professional LPX. It meets all of Sony’s compatibility necessities and comes with a pre-installed heatsink, that means all it is advisable do is set up it into your PS5 and also you’re good to go.

Execs

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

Cons

• Cheaper so as to add your individual heatsink

$155 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 Essential X9 Professional is a conveyable SSD with the right combination of efficiency, options and price. There are technically sooner choices on the market, however its 10 Gbps speeds needs to 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 prime of that, with an IP55-rated case comprised of aluminum and rubber. A five-year guarantee helps as nicely. Simply notice 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 dirt 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 Match Plus has about all of the options you could possibly 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 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
• Smooth design
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Is likely to be too small
• No indicator gentle

$22 at Adorama

How we take a look at SSDs

I’ve both examined or personally use each day each SSD really useful on this checklist. Out of our prime picks, I purchased 4 with my very own cash after doing a couple of 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 reasonably priced 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 when you don’t need to fear about compatibility since virtually each laptop made within the final 20 years will embrace a motherboard with Serial ATA connections. For that motive, the most effective 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 it is advisable 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 will probably be considerably sooner than the most effective mechanical drives. And with high-capacity, 1TB SATA SSDs costing about $100, they’re bulk-storage choice.

In case your PC is newer, there’s probability it consists of house 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 totally different requirements and specs concerned.

M.2 drives can characteristic both a SATA or PCIe connection. SSDs with the latter are generally known as Non-Unstable Reminiscence or NVMe drives and are considerably sooner 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.

In case 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 price greater than their Gen3 counterparts as nicely.

Costlier nonetheless are the newest Gen5 fashions, which provide sequential learn speeds of as much as 16,000MB/s. Nevertheless, even when your laptop helps the usual, you’re higher off shopping for a extra reasonably priced Gen4 or Gen3 drive. In the intervening time, 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 best spent on different elements, 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 all the way down to ease of set up. You add M.2 storage to your laptop by putting in the SSD straight onto the motherboard. Which will sound intimidating, however in apply the method includes a single screw that you simply 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.

Notice that you could 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. Until you need to proceed utilizing an previous M.2 drive, there’s little motive to benefit from that characteristic. Talking of backward compatibility, it’s additionally potential to make use of a Gen4 drive by way of a PCIe 3 connection, however you gained’t get any of the pace advantages of the sooner NVMe.

One very last thing to think about is that M.2 drives come in several 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 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 stated, test your laptop’s documentation earlier than shopping for a drive to make sure you’re choosing up a suitable measurement.

In case you’re shopping for a substitute SSD for the Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED, issues are simpler. For Valve’s handheld, you’ll need a 2230 measurement NVMe. Easy. In case you don’t need to open your Steam Deck, it’s additionally potential to broaden its storage by putting in a microSD card. Engadget has a separate information devoted to SD card storage, so test that out for added shopping for recommendation.

I alluded to this earlier, however the most effective shopping for recommendation I can provide 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 range lower than you assume.

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 sort of SSD that’s too small for wants. Drives can sluggish dramatically as they method capability, and you’ll in all probability find yourself buying one with a bigger storage capability sooner or later.

What to search for in moveable and USB flash drives

Transportable SSDs are a considerably totally different beast to their inner siblings. Whereas learn and write speeds are necessary, they’re virtually secondary to how an exterior drive connects to your PC. You gained’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 characteristic. For that motive, most individuals are finest off shopping for a conveyable drive with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt connection. The previous provides switch speeds of as much as 10Gbps. One of the best exterior arduous drives additionally will let you switch knowledge out of your Home windows PC to a Mac, or different system, if suitable. Remember to take into account 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 dirt proofing. Some corporations like Samsung provide rugged variations of their hottest drives with a excessive endurance score. For extra 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.

A number of the identical options contribute to an awesome thumbstick drive. Our favourite picks for finest price range exterior SSD fashions characteristic USB 3.0 connections and a few type of {hardware} encryption.

A notice on console storage

If PC gaming isn’t your factor and also you personal an Xbox Collection X|S or PS5, outfitting your fancy new console with the quickest potential storage is way extra easy than doing the identical on PC. With a Collection X or Collection S, your choices are restricted to choices from Seagate and Western Digital. The previous provides 512GB, 1TB and 2TB fashions, with essentially the most reasonably priced beginning at a not-so-trivial $90. Western Digital’s Growth Playing cards are inexpensive, with pricing beginning at $80 for the 512GB mannequin. The excellent news is that each choices are continuously on sale. Your finest wager is to set an alert for the mannequin you need by utilizing 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 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 complete information to the most effective SSDs for PS5; briefly, 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, take into account 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 gained’t run into any clearance points with the heatsink. Corsair provides 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 technology console, you will get barely sooner recreation load instances from a PlayStation 4 by swapping the included arduous drive to a 2.5-inch SSD, however going out of your means to take action in all probability 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 isn’t 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 will probably be a lot for most individuals who want further cupboard space for images, paperwork and packages. In case you’re a hardcore gamer, chances are you’ll need to put money into much more storage contemplating many high-profile titles immediately can take up a ton of house.

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

The brief reply is that it will depend on what you want your drive for. Basically, SSDs are sooner and extra environment friendly than HDDs, however HDDs are often cheaper. We suggest springing for an SSD for many use circumstances immediately — upgrading a PC, saving necessary images and paperwork, storing video games long run, and many others. However when you’re centered on getting essentially the most quantity of additional house potential (and sticking to a price range), an HDD might be choice for you.

Does greater SSD imply sooner?

Getting an even bigger SSD doesn’t at all times translate right into a sooner drive total. A much bigger SSD will present a better storage capability, which implies extra space for storing digital information and packages. To grasp how briskly an SSD will probably be, you’ll need 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 make sure you try these numbers earlier than you make a purchase order.