One of the best SSDs in 2025

Relating to 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, dashing up an older laptop computer or just craving lightning-fast load occasions, an SSD is the way in which to go. In contrast to conventional exhausting drives, SSDs depend on NAND flash storage, which means you get quicker knowledge switch speeds, improved reliability and a extra responsive expertise total.

Fashionable SSDs are fairly versatile, catering to everybody from avid gamers chasing one of the best efficiency to these trying to find one of the best funds choices that also ship strong velocity. Pair a top quality SSD with a robust GPU, and also you’re set for seamless gaming and multitasking. Plus, with superior firmware enhancing effectivity and sturdiness, SSDs are actually higher than ever at dealing with high-intensity workloads. On this shopping for information, we’ll discover one of the best SSDs in the marketplace, whether or not you’re after uncooked velocity, affordability or a mixture of the 2.

Finest SSDs in 2025

Essential

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

I don’t advocate shopping for a Gen5 NVMe, even in case you 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 reap the benefits of these capabilities proper now.

Nonetheless, if you happen to’re set on outfitting your laptop with the quickest potential storage, I feel the Essential T700 presents a compelling mixture of worth and efficiency. The T700 is likely one of the quickest NVMe drives in the marketplace proper now, and after launching at $180, it’s potential 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 will have to purchase the T700 mannequin that features one, which additional will increase the fee.

Execs

• Very quick
• Helps DirectStorage
• 5-year guarantee

$135 at Amazon

WD_BLACK

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

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

When you’re set on shopping for a Gen4 mannequin, however wish 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 essential apps.

Execs

• Quick
• DirectStorage help
• 5-year guarantee

$80 at Amazon

Essential

Capability: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Connection: M.2 | Learn velocity: 3,500MB/s | Write speeds: 3,000MB/s

A earlier model of this information beneficial the Essential P2 as an awesome funds 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 are actually extra inexpensive than ever. Take the Essential P3, as an example. Micron initially priced the 1TB mannequin at $90, however in current months, it’s been on sale for as little as $40. That’s nice worth for a drive that gives 3,500MB/s learn speeds.

Execs

• Inexpensive and continuously on sale
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

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

$62 at Adorama

SABRENT

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

When you’re assured sufficient to open your Steam Deck to put in a brand new, larger capability NVMe, the Sabrent Rocket 2230 is a superb small-sized NVME. It’s going to slot into the Steam Deck’s M.2 slot with out situation, and also you don’t want to fret about it overheating. With current reductions on this mannequin, it’s dropped sufficient in worth the place you may get monetary savings 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 velocity: 7,100 MB/s | Write velocity: 6,800MB/sec

Engadget has a separate information devoted to the greatest PlayStation 5 SSDs, however if you happen to 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 Professional LPX. It meets all of Sony’s compatibility necessities and comes with a pre-installed heatsink, which means all you might want to do is set up it into your PS5 and also you’re good to go.

Execs

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

Cons

• Cheaper so as to add your personal heatsink

$155 at Amazon

Essential

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

For carrying information on the go, the Essential X9 Professional is a transportable SSD with the correct mix 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 checks. It’s tremendous tiny and sufficiently rugged on prime of that, with an IP55-rated case made out of aluminum and rubber. A five-year guarantee helps as properly. Simply notice 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

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 velocity: As much as 400MB/s relying on the mannequin | Write velocity: As much as 400MB/s

The Samsung Match Plus has about all of the options you may 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

• May be too small
• No indicator mild

$22 at Adorama

How we take a look at SSDs

I’ve both examined or personally use every day each SSD beneficial on this record. Out of our prime 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

Probably the most inexpensive means so as to add quick space for storing to a pc is with a 2.5-inch SATA drive. It’s additionally one of many best if you happen to don’t wish to fear about compatibility since nearly each laptop made within the final 20 years will embody a motherboard with Serial ATA connections. For that purpose, one of the best SATA SSDs are a wonderful alternative if you wish to prolong the lifetime of an older PC construct. Set up is simple, too. When you’ve secured the interior SSD in a drive cage, all you might want to do is to attach it to your motherboard and energy provide.

The one draw back of SATA drives is that, when it comes to 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 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 probability it contains area for a number of M.2 SSDs. The shape issue represents your ticket to the quickest SSDs in the marketplace, however the difficult 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 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.

When you’re operating an AMD system, which means a minimum of a Ryzen 3000 or 5000 CPU and an X570 or B550 motherboard. With Intel, in the meantime, you’ll want a minimum of an eleventh or twelfth Gen processor and a Z490, Z590 or Z690 motherboard. Needless to say Gen4 SSDs sometimes price greater than their Gen3 counterparts as properly.

Dearer nonetheless are the newest Gen5 fashions, which provide 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. In the intervening time, only a few video games and functions can reap the benefits of Gen3 NVMe speeds, not to mention Gen4 and Gen5 speeds. What’s extra, Gen5 NVMe drives can run sizzling, which may result in efficiency and longevity points. Your cash is healthier spent on different elements, like upgrading your GPU, for now.

As for why you’d 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 instantly onto the motherboard. Which will sound intimidating, however in apply 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 which 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 wish to proceed utilizing an previous M.2 drive, there’s little purpose to reap the benefits of that characteristic. Talking of backward compatibility, it’s additionally potential to make use of a Gen4 drive via a PCIe 3 connection, however you gained’t get any of the velocity advantages of the quicker NVMe.

One last item 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 symbolize width in millimeters and the latter denote the size.) For probably 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 dimension of NVMe SSD due to a number of standoffs. That mentioned, examine your laptop’s documentation earlier than shopping for a drive to make sure you’re choosing up a suitable dimension.

When you’re shopping for a substitute SSD for the Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED, issues are simpler. For Valve’s handheld, you will have a 2230 dimension NVMe. Easy. When you don’t wish to open your Steam Deck, it’s additionally potential to develop its storage by putting in a microSD card. Engadget has a separate information devoted to SD card storage, so examine that out for added shopping for recommendation.

I alluded to this earlier, however one of the best 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 record on their drives are theoretical and real-world efficiency benchmark checks range lower than you assume.

In case your funds 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 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 essential, they’re nearly secondary to how an exterior drive connects to your PC. You gained’t get probably the most out of a mannequin just like the SanDisk Excessive Professional V2 with out a USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 connection. Even amongst newer PCs, that’s one thing of a premium characteristic. For that purpose, most individuals are greatest 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. One of the best exterior exhausting drives additionally assist you to switch knowledge out of your Home windows PC to a Mac, or different gadget, if suitable. Be sure you contemplate this beforehand if you happen to plan to make use of your moveable drive throughout a number of gadgets.

Moreover, if you happen to 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 provide rugged variations of their hottest drives with a excessive endurance score. For added peace of thoughts, 256-bit AES {hardware} encryption will assist forestall somebody from accessing your knowledge if you happen to ever lose or misplace your exterior SSD.

Among the identical options contribute to an awesome thumbstick drive. Our favourite picks for greatest funds 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 simple 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 presents 512GB, 1TB and 2TB fashions, with probably 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 continuously on sale. Your greatest guess 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 answer, the PS5 makes use of NVMe storage. Fortunately, there aren’t as many potential configurations as you’d discover on a PC. Engadget maintains a complete information to one of the best SSDs for PS5; briefly, your greatest guess is a high-capacity Gen4 drive with a built-in heatsink. Take a look at that information for a full record of gaming SSD suggestions, however for a fast go-to, contemplate 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 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 technology console, you will get barely quicker recreation load occasions from a PlayStation 4 by swapping the included exhausting 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.

SSD FAQs

What dimension SSD is greatest?

There isn’t a one dimension suits all rule for SSDs, however we typically advocate getting a minimum of a 1TB SSD if you happen to’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 lots for most individuals who want additional space for storing for photographs, paperwork and packages. When you’re a hardcore gamer, you could wish to spend money on much more storage contemplating many high-profile titles immediately can take up a ton of area.

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

The quick reply is that it will depend on what you want your drive for. Typically, SSDs are quicker and extra environment friendly than HDDs, however HDDs are often cheaper. We advocate springing for an SSD for many use instances immediately — upgrading a PC, saving essential photographs and paperwork, storing video games long run, and many others. However if you happen to’re centered on getting probably the most quantity of additional area potential (and sticking to a funds), an HDD might be a superb possibility for you.

Does greater SSD imply quicker?

Getting an even bigger SSD doesn’t at all times translate right into a quicker drive total. An even bigger SSD will present the next storage capability, which implies more room for storing digital information and packages. To grasp how briskly an SSD will probably be, you’ll wish to take a look at its learn/write speeds: learn speeds measure how briskly a drive can entry data, whereas write speeds measure how briskly the drive can save data. Most SSDs record their approximate learn/write speeds of their specs, so make sure you take a look at these numbers earlier than you make a purchase order.