One of the best SSDs in 2025

In terms 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 quicker information switch speeds, improved reliability and a extra responsive expertise general.

Trendy SSDs are fairly versatile, catering to everybody from avid gamers chasing the very best efficiency to these trying to find the very best funds choices that also ship strong velocity. Pair a top quality SSD with a strong GPU, and also you’re set for seamless gaming and multitasking. Plus, with superior firmware enhancing 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 very best SSDs available on the market, 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 when you’ve got 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 make the most of these capabilities proper now.

Nonetheless, in the event you’re set on outfitting your laptop with the quickest potential storage, I believe the Crucial T700 provides a compelling mixture of value 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 to your NVMe drives, you will have 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

Supplied you personal the required {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.

Should you’re set on shopping for a Gen4 mannequin, however wish 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 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 important funds Gen 3 NVMe decide, 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 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 steadily on sale
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Could possibly be quicker
• Endurance stats usually are not the very best

$62 at Adorama

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 superb small-sized NVME. It’ll slot into the Steam Deck’s M.2 slot with out concern, and also you don’t want to fret about it overheating. With current reductions on this mannequin, it’s dropped sufficient in value the place you can 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 best PlayStation 5 SSDs, however in the event you got here to this web page in search of a suggestion on what NVMe to purchase to 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, that means all you must do is set up it into your PS5 and also you’re good to go.

Professionals

• 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 recordsdata on the go, the Crucial X9 Pro is a conveyable SSD with the correct mix of efficiency, options and value. There are technically quicker choices on the market, however its 10 Gbps speeds ought 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 exams. 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 observe 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

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 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 facet.

Professionals

• USB 3.1
• Smooth design
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Could be too small
• No indicator gentle

$22 at Adorama

How we check SSDs

I’ve both examined or personally use every day each SSD really helpful on this record. 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

Probably the most reasonably priced manner 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 in the event you 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 motive, the very best SATA SSDs are a wonderful alternative if you wish to lengthen the lifetime of an older PC construct. Set up is simple, too. When you’ve secured the inner SSD in a drive cage, all you must 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 information transfers to 600MB/s. However even the slowest SSD will likely be considerably quicker than the very best mechanical drives. And with high-capacity, 1TB SATA SSDs costing about $100, they’re an excellent bulk-storage choice.

In case your PC is newer, there’s an excellent likelihood 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 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.

Should you’re working an AMD system, meaning 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. Take into account that Gen4 SSDs usually value greater than their Gen3 counterparts as properly.

Dearer nonetheless are the most recent 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 reasonably priced Gen4 or Gen3 drive. For the time being, only a few video games and purposes can make the most of Gen3 NVMe speeds, not to mention Gen4 and Gen5 speeds. What’s extra, Gen5 NVMe drives can run scorching, which might result in efficiency and longevity points. Your cash is best spent on different parts, 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 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.

Notice 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 motive to make the most of that characteristic. Talking of backward compatibility, it’s additionally potential to make use of a Gen4 drive by a PCIe 3 connection, however you received’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 frequent choices are 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110. (The primary two numbers signify 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 measurement of NVMe SSD due to a number of standoffs. That stated, verify your laptop’s documentation earlier than shopping for a drive to make sure you’re choosing up a appropriate measurement.

Should you’re shopping for a substitute SSD for the Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED, issues are easier. For Valve’s handheld, you will have a 2230 measurement NVMe. Easy. Should 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 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 exams differ lower than you suppose.

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 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 moveable and USB flash drives

Moveable 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 received’t get probably 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 let you switch information out of your Home windows PC to a Mac, or different gadget, if appropriate. Make sure you take into account this beforehand in the event you plan to make use of your moveable drive throughout a number of gadgets.

Moreover, in the event 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 firms like Samsung provide rugged variations of their hottest drives with a excessive endurance ranking. For extra peace of thoughts, 256-bit AES {hardware} encryption will assist stop somebody from accessing your information in the event you ever lose or misplace your exterior SSD.

Among the similar options contribute to an important thumbstick drive. Our favourite picks for finest funds exterior SSD fashions characteristic 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 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 provides 512GB, 1TB and 2TB fashions, with probably the most reasonably priced 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 steadily on sale. Your finest wager is to set an alert for the mannequin you need by utilizing a value tracker like CamelCamelCamel.

With Sony’s PlayStation 5, upgrading the console’s inner 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’d 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. Try 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 received’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 era console, you may get barely quicker recreation load instances 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 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 usually advocate getting a minimum of a 1TB SSD in the event you’re trying to improve PC or recreation console storage, or trying so as to add an exterior drive to your toolkit. A 1TB drive will likely be lots for most individuals who want further cupboard space for pictures, paperwork and applications. Should you’re a hardcore gamer, it’s possible you’ll wish to spend money on 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 quick reply is that it is dependent upon what you want your drive for. Generally, SSDs are quicker and extra environment friendly than HDDs, however HDDs are normally cheaper. We advocate springing for an SSD for many use instances immediately — upgrading a PC, saving essential pictures and paperwork, storing video games long run, and so forth. However in the event you’re targeted on getting probably the most quantity of additional house potential (and sticking to a funds), an HDD could possibly be an excellent choice for you.

Does larger SSD imply quicker?

Getting a much bigger SSD doesn’t all the time translate right into a quicker drive general. An even bigger SSD will present a better storage capability, which implies more room for storing digital recordsdata and applications. To know how briskly an SSD will likely 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 you should definitely try these numbers earlier than you make a purchase order.