SSDs are the way to go for gaming, no doubt about that. You might think your computer is fast, but the speed of an SSD is like night and day over an HDD. This list is a quick glimpse at the great and affordable SSDs on the market today and is by no means a comprehensive one. There’s a lot of great products out there now.
Samsung 860 EVO (1 TB)
Samsung is the current market leader for SSDs, and it’s easy to see why. Their meeting of price and performance can’t be beaten, with blazing fast speeds, a high capacity, and a price that won’t break the budget. While technically not the cheapest 1 TB drive you can find (and the deal does get considerably worse at higher capacities), the 860 EVO outperforms everything else at this price point.
Crucial P1 (1TB, NVME)
The Crucial P1 is an excellent budget SSD; you can pick it up for under $100, and it provides exceptional speed and performance. The main issue is that its NVME label is misleading; it’s generally going to be about as fast as a SATA drive due to the way it processes data. Still, it’s cheap and fast, perfect for fast gaming on a budget.
Crucial MX500 (1 TB)
The MX500 is, frankly, just a superior version of the P1 in many ways. While technically slower while at half load, and slightly more expensive, it runs faster on a full charge than the P1. Reliable, cheap, and fast, it’s perfect for a budget gaming machine (and higher-end ones for that matter).
Intel 660p (2 TB, NVME)
The Intel 660p is a great 2 TB model. In part because it costs the same as buying a pair of 1 TB SATA drives, but is a large NVME drive. Good performance, excellent price, and the only drawback is a slightly faster decay (it’ll wear out pretty quick…if you’re writing over 220 GB to it every day.).
Samsung X5 Portable SSD (1 TB, NVME)
I’ll level with you: this one ain’t cheap. It costs about four times what the MX500 does depending on who you’re buying from. That’s going with the low-end option, too. The price you pay for a blazingly fast, portable SSD. The compact part is a huge chunk of what you’re paying the premium on, so unless you need it, give this a miss. If for whatever reason, you do need it, though, it’s a great SSD.
ADATA XPG SX8200 PRO (512 GB, NVME)
What this drive lacks with its capacity it more than makes up for with performance and price. It is blazing fast, and extraordinarily cheap compared to similar models on the market. As far as bang for your buck goes, this one can’t get beat.
Corsair Force Series MP510 (2 TB, NVME)
While expensive, this one isn’t as exorbitantly so as the Samsung X5 Portable. You get excellent performance (not quite top of the line, but close enough) at quite a reasonable price for a 2 TB NVME drive. If you have money to burn on a top-end model, this is an excellent pick.
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