Switching to a solid-state drive is the best upgrade you can make for your PC. These wondrous devices speed up boot times, improve the responsiveness of your programs and games, and generally makes your computer feel fast. But not all solid-state drives are the same. You can find top-notch SSDs that offer solid performance at an affordable price, or you can spend big to achieve read and write speeds that reach a whole other level.
Many SSDs come in a 2.5-inch form factor and connect to your PC via the same SATA port used by a traditional hard drive. But out on the bleeding-edge of NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) drives, you’ll find tiny “gumstick” SSDs that fit in an M.2 connection on a modern motherboard, SSDs that sit on a PCIe adapter and slot into your motherboard like a graphics card or sound card, futuristic 3D Xpoint drives, and more. Picking the perfect SSD isn’t as simple as it used to be.
That’s the purpose of this guide. We’ve tested numerous drives to find the best SSDs for any use case, and offer our top picks below. In addition to that we give you useful information on what to look for in an SSD so you can be a more knowledgable shopper. Quick note: This roundup only covers internal solid-state drives. Check out PCWorld’s guide to the best external drives if you’re looking for a portable storage solution.
Latest SSD news
- Check out our guide to which SSD you should buy, breaking down everything you need to know about which sort of solid-state drive works best in each system.
- The devastating winter storm in Texas shut down Samsung’s Austin chip facility for an extended period. That facility creates SSD controllers, and the disruption is expected to cause SSD prices to increase soon, analyst firm TrendForce predicts. Making matters worse, there’s a new cryptocurrency brewing called Chia. Chia mies cryptocoins on your storage drives, and if it takes off, hard drives and SSDs could become as scarce as graphics cards. If you’re looking to buy an SSD, consider buying it sooner than later, especially larger capacities.
- Intel discontinued all desktop consumer versions of its radical Optane drives, though the technology lives on in laptops and servers. Optane SSDs delivered blistering random access performance and incredible endurance, but in limited capacities with sky-high prices. It will be used as a caching-type feature to speed up slower NAND SSDs in future laptops.
Best SSD for most people
Samsung’s mainstream EVO series of SSDs has sat atop our recommended list ever since 2014, and the new Samsung 870 EVO is still a great option for people who want a rock-solid blend of speed, price, compatibility, and the reliability of Samsung’s 5-year warranty and superb Magician management software. But most people would be better off buying the SK Hynix Gold S31.
Not only is the Gold S31 among the fastest SATA SSDs we’ve ever tested, landing within spitting distance of the best-in-class 870 EVO, but the price for this drive is spectacular. At $44 for a 250GB drive, $57 for a 500GB drive, or $105 for 1TB, the Gold S31 costs much less than Samsung’s line, which charges $70 for a 500GB model. “When all was said and done in those real-world 48GB copies, the Gold S31 proved the fastest drive we’ve ever tested for sustained read and write operations,” our review proclaimed at the time. Enough said.
Well, maybe not. Let’s talk a bit about the brand itself, since SK Hynix isn’t exactly a household name. Despite that, it’s one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers on the planet. The company has been developing NAND and controller technology since the get-go, and while it’s been the SSD manufacturer for numerous large computer vendors, it generally hasn’t taken a place for itself on the shelves. Now it has, and the results are sterling.
If you need a larger capacity, though, or simply want to stick with a tried-and-true brand, still look to the Samsung 870 EVO, which is available in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB models. They’re just a tiny hair faster than the SK Hynix drives in raw performance but cost a wee bit more in return. That speaks more to how wildly good of a deal the Gold S31 is though, as the Samsung 870 EVO offers a very compelling and affordable package compared to most SSDs. The Samsung 870 QVO is another strong contender, with capacities ranging from 1TB all the way to a whopping 8TB, but we’ll discuss that in the next section.
Best budget SSD
The best budget SSD is also the best SSD for most people, as the SK Hynix Gold S31 discussed previously delivers fantastic performance at extremely affordable prices. If you aren’t interested in that drive for whatever reason, though, you have more options.
Now that traditional multi-level cell (MLC) and triple-level cell (TLC) solid-state drives are plummeting in price, manufacturers have rolled out new-look quad-level cell (QLC) drives that push SSD prices even lower. The new technology lets drive makers stuff SSDs with hard drive-like levels of capacity while simultaneously coming close to the juicy SSD speeds we all love so much—most of the time. The first round of QLC drives, including the still-superb Samsung 860 QVO, saw its write speeds plunge to hard drive-like levels when you transfer dozens of gigabytes of data in one go.
The Samsung 870 QVO—Samsung’s second-generation QLC offering—doesn’t suffer from the same fate. If you don’t plan on moving around massive amounts of data at once and need more space, this a great option if you need capacities larger than what SK Hynix offers. Samsung’s drive is available at $110 for 1TB, $205 for 2TB, $450 for 4TB, or $900 for 8TB (oof) on Amazon. The older Samsung 860 QVO remains a good option too, but the newer 870 QVO bests it in every way.
If you want to add a bunch of storage to your computer at even lower price, also consider Crucial’s BX500, a fantastic SSD available in several flavors: The 2TB capacity we tested (currently $200 on Amazon), 1TB ($90 on Amazon) , 480GB ($55 on Amazon), and 240GB ($39.95 on Amazon). “The BX500 is subjectively as fast as anything out there until it runs out of cache,” we said in our review. “That’s likely to be a rare occurrence for the average user. Power users should skip it, but for everyone else it’s a good deal.”
But what if you’ve got a newer motherboard that supports the faster, newfangled NVMe M.2 drives? Keep reading!
Best NVMe SSD
If performance is paramount, the Samsung 970 Pro or Seagate FireCuda 510 are the fastest NVMe SSDs you can buy—but most people should buy the SK Hynix Gold P31. Yes, SK Hynix is on a roll, dominating our budget, NVMe, and best overall SSD categories.
The Gold P31 is the first NVMe SSD to feature 128-bit TLC NAND, and it pushes SK Hynix’s drive beyond other options, which use 96 NAND layers. The model we tested absolutely aced our CrystalDiskMark 6 and AS SSD synthetic benchmarks, nearly hitting the blistering 3.5GBps read and write speeds claimed in the press release. It also held its own against SSDs that cost much more in our real-world 48GB and 450GB file transfer tests. “The SK Hynix Gold P31 performs like a top-tier drive, but it’s priced just slightly higher than bargain drives,” we stated, and well, that says it all. You can get a 500GB model for $75 or a 1TB model for $135 on Amazon.
The Crucial P5 is another great, affordable NVMe SSD that performs on par with much costlier options, and would likely be our top pick if the SK Hynix Gold P31 didn’t exist. The Gold P31 is both slightly faster and slightly cheaper, however, so go for that first. Crucial’s drive is a killer alternative though.
You can find compelling options for slightly less money if you’re on a budget, though. The Western Digital Blue SN550 NVMe SSD isn’t the flashiest NVMe drive, nor is it quite as fast as the alternatives mentioned above. But it costs far, far less. Despite its entry-level price—$45 for 250GB, $65 for 500GB, or $130 for 1TB—the WD Blue SN550 runs circles around other bargain NVMe drives and falls within spitting distance of the performance of those higher-priced enthusiast options. It’s from a known, established brand with a good track record for reliability, too, and comes with a longer-than-average five year warranty.
If you want just a wee bit more performance, the Addlink S70 NVMe SSD is another stellar option, earning our Editors’ Choice award. We slightly prefer its performance to the WD drive’s, but Addlink’s SSDs now cost more than its rival’s after receiving price increases, and the WD Blue SN550’s performance is more than enough for everyday computer users. Addlink isn’t as well-known as WD, but also offers a 5-year warranty on its drive.
The PNY XLR8 CS 3030 is another good option, offering fast performance at a good price. It gets bogged down during especially long writes, however, though it should be excellent for everyday use.
If you don’t mind spending up for faster, Samsung 970 Pro-level performance, the Kingston KC2500 also runs with the big dogs, but at a more affordable price. “While it didn’t reach the top step of the podium in any one test, the KC2500 was always within easy hailing distance of the leader,” we said in our review. “It’s available at about the same price as the competition and should be at the top of your short list when you’re shopping for a high-performance NVMe SSD.”
And now, you can finally get blistering NVMe speeds without sacrificing capacity thanks to a new breed of supersized SSDs, though you’ll pay up for the privilege. The OWC Aura 12 delivers average NVMe performance (read: faster than most) paired with a big 4TB of performance for $929. The superb Sabrent Rocket Q amps everything up with top-notch performance and a crazy 8TB capacity, but it’ll set you back a cool $1,500. The bleeding-edge isn’t cheap.
Best PCIe 4.0 SSD
Most NVMe SSDs use the standard PCIe 3.0 interface, but even faster PCIe 4.0 drives exist now—at least on systems that support the bleeding-edge technology. Currently, only AMD’s Ryzen 3000 processors support PCIe 4.0, and even then only when they’re inserted in a X570 or B550 motherboard. If you meet that criteria, though, PCIe 4.0 SSDs leave even the fastest PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSDs in the dust.
Corsair, Gigabyte, and Sabrent rolled out the first PCIe 4.0 SSDs available, with all offering similar performance from 1TB models at around $200. Our favorite PCIe 4.0 drive costs slightly more, though.
We’ve only recently added a PCIe 4.0 test bench to our setup, but the champion thus far is the Samsung 980 Pro. The drive exceeded Samsung’s claimed 7GBps read and 5GBps write speeds in our testing. To drive home just how ludicrous that is, the SK Hynix Gold P31—our favorite standard NVMe drive—wowed us with write speeds half as fast. Samsung’s drive also blazed through our real-world file transfer tests, though it can occasionally slow down a bit if you throw a massive amount of data at it, as we discovered in our 450GB transfer test. Most people will never stress their SSD this hard, though.
All that performance comes at a premium, though. You’ll pay $90 for 250GB, $150 for 500GB, or $230 for 1TB of capacity.
Alternatively, the WD Black SN850 is a hair behind the Samsung 980 Pro’s performance, but “by a rather slim margin,” for roughly the same price. “If you’re looking for the ultimate in single SSD PCIe4 storage performance, you won’t go wrong with either,” we said in our review. “Your choice.” It also earned our Editors’ Choice award.
If you want an SSD with fast PCIe 4.0 speeds, but don’t want to spend up for Samsung’s best-in-class performance, consider the XPG Gammix S50 Lite.
“The XPG Gammix S50 Lite is the first PCIe 4 SSD we’ve tested that doesn’t carry a hefty next-gen surcharge,” we said in our review. “In the real world, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a system running it, and one running the far more expensive Samsung 980 Pro. Very long transfers aside, it’s a very good deal.”
The Gammix S50 Lite costs $140 for 1TB or $260 for 2TB.
Coming up next: Everything you need to know to buy the right SSD for you
NVMe SSD setup: What you need to know
Be aware of what NVMe drives deliver before you buy in. Standard SATA SSDs already supercharge boot times and loading times for PCs, and for a whole lot cheaper. You’ll get the most use from NVMe drives, be it in a M.2 form factor like the Samsung 980 Pro or a PCIe drive, if you routinely transfer data, especially in large amounts. If you don’t do that, NVMe drives aren’t worth the price premium.
If you decide to buy an NVMe SSD, make sure your PC can handle it. This is a relatively new technology, so you’ll only be able to find M.2 connections motherboards from the past few years. Think AMD Ryzen and mainstream Intel chips from the Skylake era onward, for the most part. NVMe SSDs that were mounted on PCIe adapters were popular in the technology’s early years, before M.2 adoption spread, but they’re rarer now. Make sure you’re actually able to use an NVMe SSD before you buy one, and be aware that you’ll need 4 PCIe lanes available in order to use it to its full potential.
Brad ChacosThe Samsung 960 Pro NVMe SSD in an M.2 slot.
To get the most out of an NVMe drive, you want to run your operating system on it, so you must have a system that recognizes the drive and can boot from it. PCs purchased during the past year or two should have no problem booting from an NVMe drive, but support for that can be iffy in older motherboards. Do a Google search for your motherboard and see if it supports booting from NVMe. You may need to install a BIOS update for your board. If your hardware can’t boot from an NVMe SSD, your machine should still be able to use it as a secondary drive.
What to look for in an SSD
Capacity and price are important, of course, and a long warranty can alleviate fears of premature data death. Most SSD manufacturers offer a three-year warranty, and some nicer models are guaranteed for five years. But unlike the olden days of SSDs, modern drives won’t wear out with normal consumer usage, as Tech Report tested and proved years ago with a grueling endurance test.
The biggest thing to watch out for is the technology used to connect the SSD to your PC. We go into deeper details and buying advice in our guide on which SSD you should buy.
- SATA: This refers to both the connection type and the transfer protocol, which is used to connect most 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives and SSDs to your PC. SATA III speeds can hit roughly 600MBps, and most—but not all—modern drives max it out. (More on that in the next section.)
- PCI-E: This interface taps into four of your computer’s PCIe lanes to blow away SATA speeds, to the tune of nearly 4GBps over PCIe gen. 3. Those sort of face-melting speeds pair nicely with supercharged NVMe drives. Both the PCIe lanes in your motherboard and the M.2 slot in your motherboard can be wired to support the PCIe interface, and you can buy adapters that allow you to slot “gumstick” M.2 drives into a PCIe lane. PCIe 4.0 drives are significantly faster, but require an AMD Ryzen 3000-series CPU with an X570 or B550 motherboard.
- NVMe: Non-Volatile Memory Express technology takes advantage of PCIe’s bountiful bandwidth to create blisteringly fast SSDs that blow SATA-based drives out of the water. Check out PCWorld’s “Everything you need to know about NVMe” for a nitty-gritty deep-dive.
- M.2: This is where things get tricky. Many people assume M.2 drives all use NVMe technology and PCIe speeds, but that’s not true. M.2 is just a form factor. Sure, most M.2 SSDs use NVMe, but some still stick to SATA. Do your homework. Many modern Ultrabooks rely on M.2 for storage.
- U.2 and mSATA: You may also stumble across mSATA and U.2 SSDs, but both motherboard support and product availability are rare for those formats. Some older Ultrabooks included mSATA before M.2 became popular, and drives are still available if you need them.
Speed matters, of course, but as we said most modern SSDs saturate the SATA III interface. Not all of them, though.
SSDs vs. hard drives
Do you need an SSD? “Need” is a strong word, but we heartily recommend that everyone upgrade to an SSD. Solid-state drive speeds blow even the fastest mechanical hard drives out of the water. Simply swapping the hard drive in your old laptop or desktop out for an SSD can make it feel like a whole new system—and a blazing fast one at that. Buying an SSD is easily the best upgrade you can make for a computer.
SSDs cost more per gigabyte than mechanical hard drives, though, and thus aren’t often available in ultra-high capacities. If you want speed and storage space, you can buy an SSD with limited space and use it as your boot drive, then set up a traditional hard drive as secondary storage in your PC. Place your programs on your boot drive, stash your media and other files on the hard drive, and you’re ready to have your cake and eat it too.
Best SSDs: Our reviews
If you’d like to know more about our best SSD picks as well as other options, the links below point you toward all the SSDs we’ve recently reviewed. We’ll keep evaluating new ones on a regular basis, so be sure to check back to see what other drives we’ve put through their paces. And once more, if you’re looking for portable storage, check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best external drives.
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