One of the best SSDs in 2025

On the subject 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, dashing up an older laptop computer or just craving lightning-fast load instances, an SSD is the best way to go. Not like conventional exhausting drives, SSDs depend on NAND flash storage, which means you get sooner knowledge switch speeds, improved reliability and a extra responsive expertise general.

Trendy SSDs are fairly versatile, catering to everybody from players chasing the very best efficiency to these looking for the very best funds choices that also ship strong pace. Pair a high 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 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 in the marketplace, whether or not you’re after uncooked pace, affordability or a mixture of the 2.

Finest SSDs in 2025

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 high 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 approach 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 should you don’t wish to fear about compatibility since virtually each pc made within the final twenty years will embody a motherboard with Serial ATA connections. For that cause, the very best SATA SSDs are a wonderful alternative if you wish to prolong the lifetime of an older PC construct. Set up is easy, too. When you’ve secured the inner SSD in a drive cage, all it is advisable 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 might be considerably sooner 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 house for a number of M.2 SSDs. The shape issue represents your ticket to the quickest SSDs in the marketplace, however the tough half is navigating all of the totally 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 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.

For those who’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. Needless to say Gen4 SSDs sometimes price greater than their Gen3 counterparts as properly.

Dearer nonetheless are the most recent Gen5 fashions, which supply sequential learn speeds of as much as 16,000MB/s. Nevertheless, even when your pc 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 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 right down to ease of set up. You add M.2 storage to your pc by putting in the SSD immediately onto the motherboard. That will sound intimidating, however in follow the method entails a single screw that you just first take away to attach the drive to your pc after which retighten to safe the SSD in place. As an added bonus, there aren’t any wires concerned, making cable administration simpler.

Word you could set up a SATA M.2 SSD into an M.2 slot with a PCIe connection, however you’ll be able to’t insert an NVMe M.2 SSD right into a M.2 slot with a SATA connection. Except you wish to proceed utilizing an outdated M.2 drive, there’s little cause to benefit from that function. Talking of backward compatibility, it’s additionally potential to make use of a Gen4 drive by way of a PCIe 3 connection, however you received’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 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 a couple of measurement of NVMe SSD because of a number of standoffs. That mentioned, verify your pc’s documentation earlier than shopping for a drive to make sure you’re choosing up a suitable measurement.

For those who’re shopping for a alternative SSD for the Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED, issues are easier. For Valve’s handheld, you will have a 2230 measurement NVMe. Easy. For those who don’t wish to open your Steam Deck, it’s additionally potential to increase its storage by putting in a microSD card. Engadget has a separate information devoted 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 supply 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 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 sort of SSD that’s too small for wants. Drives can sluggish dramatically as they strategy capability, and you’ll in all probability 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 totally 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 received’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 cause, most individuals are greatest off shopping for a transportable drive with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt connection. The previous gives switch speeds of as much as 10Gbps. One of the best exterior exhausting drives additionally let you switch knowledge out of your Home windows PC to a Mac, or different machine, if suitable. Make sure to contemplate 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 supply rugged variations of their hottest drives with a excessive endurance ranking. 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 similar options contribute to an ideal thumbstick drive. Our favourite picks for greatest funds exterior SSD fashions function USB 3.0 connections and a few type of {hardware} encryption.

A be aware 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 gives 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 regularly on sale. Your greatest 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 inside 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’ll discover on a PC. Engadget maintains a complete information to the very best SSDs for PS5; in brief, your greatest 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, 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 received’t run into any clearance points with the heatsink. Corsair gives 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 sooner recreation load instances from a PlayStation 4 by swapping the included exhausting drive to a 2.5-inch SSD, however going out of your approach 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 greatest?

There is no such thing as a one measurement matches all rule for SSDs, however we usually suggest getting a minimum of a 1TB SSD should 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 might be a lot for most individuals who want additional cupboard space for images, paperwork and packages. For those who’re a hardcore gamer, you could wish to spend money on much more storage contemplating many high-profile titles as we speak can take up a ton of house.

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

The quick reply is that it is determined by what you want your drive for. On the whole, SSDs are sooner and extra environment friendly than HDDs, however HDDs are normally cheaper. We suggest springing for an SSD for many use instances as we speak — upgrading a PC, saving essential images and paperwork, storing video games long run, and so forth. However should you’re centered on getting essentially the most quantity of additional house potential (and sticking to a funds), an HDD may very well be possibility for you.

Does greater SSD imply sooner?

Getting a much bigger SSD doesn’t all the time translate right into a sooner drive general. An even bigger SSD will present the next storage capability, which suggests more room for storing digital recordsdata and packages. To grasp how briskly an SSD might 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 be sure you take a look at these numbers earlier than you make a purchase order.