One of the best SSDs in 2025

With regards 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 best way to go. In contrast to conventional arduous drives, SSDs depend on NAND flash storage, which means you get quicker knowledge switch speeds, improved reliability and a extra responsive expertise general.

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

Greatest 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 you probably 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 doable storage, I believe the Crucial T700 presents a compelling mixture of worth and efficiency. The T700 is without doubt one of the quickest NVMe drives in the marketplace proper now, and after launching at $180, it’s doable to search out it on sale for about $143. Observe that in case your motherboard didn’t include a heatsink in your NVMe drives, you’ll need to purchase the T700 mannequin that features one, which additional will increase the associated fee.

Professionals

• 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

Offered you personal the required {hardware}, Gen4 NVMe drives provide fairly good worth proper now. After testing just a few 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 in a position to pay lower than $100 for the 1TB mannequin throughout a sale.

Should you’re set on shopping for a Gen4 mannequin, however need to avoid wasting cash, Western Digital presents 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 essential apps.

Professionals

• 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 really helpful the Essential P2 as an awesome finances 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 reasonably priced than ever. Take the Crucial 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 provides 3,500MB/s learn speeds.

Professionals

• Inexpensive and continuously on sale
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Might be quicker
• Endurance stats aren’t the very best

$62 at Amazon

SABRENT

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

Should 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’s 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 current 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 velocity: 7,100 MB/s | Write velocity: 6,800MB/sec

Engadget has a separate information devoted to the best PlayStation 5 SSDs, however should you got here to this web page on the lookout for a suggestion 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, which means all you could do is set up it into your PS5 and also you’re good to go.

Professionals

• Excellent PS5 compatibility
• Pre-installed heatsink
• Straightforward 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 Crucial X9 Pro is a transportable SSD with the correct mix of efficiency, options and price. 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 comprised of aluminum and rubber. A five-year guarantee helps as nicely. Simply observe 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

Professionals

• 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 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 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.

Professionals

• USB 3.1
• Glossy design
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Could be too small
• No indicator mild

$22 at Adorama

How we take a look at SSDs

I’ve both examined or personally use day by day each SSD really helpful 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 reasonably priced manner 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 should you don’t need to fear about compatibility since virtually each laptop made within the final 20 years will embody a motherboard with Serial ATA connections. For that purpose, the very 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 could 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 can be considerably quicker than the very best mechanical drives. And with high-capacity, 1TB SATA SSDs costing about $100, they’re bulk-storage possibility.

In case your PC is newer, there’s likelihood 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 completely different requirements and specs concerned.

M.2 drives can function both a SATA or PCIe connection. SSDs with the latter are often known as Non-Risky 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 expertise 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.

Should you’re working an AMD system, which means not less than a Ryzen 3000 or 5000 CPU and an X570 or B550 motherboard. With Intel, in the meantime, you’ll want not less than an eleventh or twelfth Gen processor and a Z490, Z590 or Z690 motherboard. Understand that Gen4 SSDs usually price greater than their Gen3 counterparts as nicely.

Dearer nonetheless are the newest 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 reasonably priced Gen4 or Gen3 drive. In the mean 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 sizzling, which might 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. That 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.

Observe that you would be able to set up a SATA M.2 SSD into an M.2 slot with a PCIe connection, however you possibly can’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 purpose to benefit from that function. Talking of backward compatibility, it’s additionally doable to make use of a Gen4 drive by way of 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 numerous 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 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 dimension of NVMe SSD because of a number of standoffs. That mentioned, verify your laptop’s documentation earlier than shopping for a drive to make sure you’re selecting up a appropriate dimension.

Should you’re shopping for a alternative SSD for the Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED, issues are easier. For Valve’s handheld, you’ll need a 2230 dimension NVMe. Easy. Should you don’t need to open your Steam Deck, it’s additionally doable to broaden its storage by putting in a microSD card. Engadget has a separate guide dedicated to SD card storage, so verify that out for added shopping for recommendation.

I alluded to this earlier, however the very 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 fluctuate lower than you assume.

In case your finances 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 strategy capability, and you’ll most likely find yourself buying one with a bigger storage capability sooner or later.

What to search for in transportable and USB flash drives

Moveable SSDs are a considerably completely different beast to their inside siblings. Whereas learn and write speeds are essential, 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 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. One of the best exterior arduous drives additionally will let you switch knowledge out of your Home windows PC to a Mac, or different gadget, if appropriate. Make sure you take into account this beforehand should you plan to make use of your transportable drive throughout a number of gadgets.

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 corporations 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 should you ever lose or misplace your exterior SSD.

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

A observe 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 doable storage is much 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 presents 512GB, 1TB and 2TB fashions, with essentially the most reasonably priced beginning at a not-so-trivial $90. Western Digital’s Enlargement 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 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 an alternative of using a proprietary answer, 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; briefly, your finest wager 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, 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 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 may get barely quicker recreation load occasions from a PlayStation 4 by swapping the included arduous drive to a 2.5-inch SSD, however going out of your manner to take action most likely isn’t price 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 finest?

There isn’t any one dimension suits all rule for SSDs, however we usually advocate getting not less than a 1TB SSD should 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 can be loads for most individuals who want additional space for storing for images, paperwork and applications. Should you’re a hardcore gamer, it’s possible you’ll need to spend money on much more storage contemplating many high-profile titles at present can take up a ton of area.

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

The brief reply is that it relies on what you want your drive for. On the whole, SSDs are quicker and extra environment friendly than HDDs, however HDDs are often cheaper. We advocate springing for an SSD for many use instances at present — upgrading a PC, saving essential images and paperwork, storing video games long run, and so on. However should you’re centered on getting essentially the most quantity of additional area doable (and sticking to a finances), an HDD could possibly be possibility for you.

Does greater SSD imply quicker?

Getting an even bigger SSD doesn’t all the time translate right into a quicker drive general. A much bigger SSD will present the next storage capability, which implies more room for storing digital information and applications. To grasp how briskly an SSD can 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 record their approximate learn/write speeds of their specs, so make sure you try these numbers earlier than you make a purchase order.