Upgrade Your PC & Gaming Console With the Best Solid State Drives
Compare the Best Solid State Drives of 2022
SK Hynix Solid State Drive – Best Overall
The SK Hynix P31 internal solid-state drive can be the perfect upgrade for your PC. With a 128-layer TLC NAND, this SSD features top-tier performance without emptying your wallet. The high thermal efficiency ensures that the drive functions at its full potential with reliable efficiency. It offers a read and write speed of 3500 MB/s and 3200 MB/s, respectively, similar to high-end solid-state drives but at a good bargain.
Depending on your storage requirements, you can opt between the 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB variants. This powerful NVMe solid state drive allows instantaneous data transfer and offers durable performance throughout its lifespan with the ability to handle 1200 terabytes written. The high performance, longevity, and 5-year warranty make this solid state drive the best overall on our list.
Pros
- Compatible with PC and laptops
- Contains eco-friendly packaging
- Efficient read/write speed
- Fast custom controller
Cons
- No firmware update
Samsung Solid State Drive – Best SATA Drive
Samsung’s 2.5-inch SATA drive is the best memory upgrade available in multiple capacities and budget options. Whether you pick the 250GB or 4TB drive, this internal SATA solid state drive offers reliable PC performance throughout its lifespan. Its custom-designed controller and the 96-layer TLC make it the fastest among its competitors, offering better sequential read & write speed.
Its easy and reliable interface allows you to achieve better multitasking performance without any lagging issues, and the installation takes almost no effort. This SATA solid state drive is perfect for everyday use, heavy-duty gaming, and content creation.
Pros
- Highly compatible with major devices and motherboards
- Offers excellent and smooth system operation
- Suitable memory upgrade for all purposes
Cons
- Drive management software has compatibility issues
Kingston A400 Internal SSD – Best for Laptops
For aging PC systems and notebooks with slow performance issues, Kingston A400 is an excellent speed boost. This sleek and slim SSD has a 7mm form factor that can fit into almost all systems and devices. Depending on your system requirement and installation preferences, you can also pick between the M.2 and SATA interface. Both variants are lightweight and easy to install.
Once in action, this internal solid-state drive boosts your PCs and laptops with fast boot-up time, lag-free processing, and fuss-free file transfer. This solid drive is a decent upgrade option with a write and read speed of 450MB/s and 500MB/s.
Pros
- Durable build with shock and vibration resistance
- Faster loading and transfer time
- Great for multitasking
Cons
- No cloning software for data transfer
SanDisk SSD Plus – Highest Durability
Offering up to 2TB capacity, the SanDisk SSD Plus 2.5-inch SATA3 variant is an excellent PC upgrade for everyday PC users. This solid state drive is the most durable option due to its shock, vibration, and temperature resistance. As a result of these durability features, it offers reliable and smooth performance without heating up or malfunctioning at a mere drop or impact.
It also isn’t noisy and provides an exceptional data transfer speed resulting in efficient processing. The dashboard software support from the manufacturer tracks the drive’s performance and makes data transfer easy. This SSD is an overall better alternative than upgrading to another mechanical hard drive if you often deal with hard drive failures.
Pros
- Faster launch and loading time
- Durable design exterior
- Easy to install
Cons
- Data migration takes some trial & error
Leven JS600 SSD – Best Budget
Available in capacities ranging from 64GB to 4TB, the Leven JS600 internal solid state drive will sort out your storage and performance woes. This SATA3 drive with 3D-layer flash memory offers a new breath of life to painfully slow systems. The 7mm sleek design ensures that the drive will fit into PCs and notebooks/laptops with limited space.
With a 560MB/s data transfer rate, this solid state drive efficiently stores your media, but the read/write speed also depends on the capacity you opt for. Higher drive capacity offers faster transfer speed and more reliable performance. This internal solid state drive is a great budget option to boost your PC performance or enhance storage memory.
Pros
- Easily configures and recognizes Windows
- Comes with a three-year warranty
- Longer life span
- Slim form factor is compatible with notebooks
Cons
- Not the most reliable option
Buying Guide to Scoring the Right Solid State Drive
With so much technical jargon to breeze through, every internal SSD manufacturer claims their product is the greatest. How do you ensure that your product choice is optimal for your PC? Read this buying guide for your answer.
Why SSD Over HDD
Long term durability
Unlike mechanical hard drives, solid state drives offer consistent performance with a longer life span. If you’re wondering why it’s because hard drives have moving parts that can malfunction with continual usage. On the flip side, solid state drives utilize flash memory for storage and have no moving parts.
Therefore, SSDs are less susceptible to damage and malfunction compared to HDDs.
Better speed, enhanced performance
If you want your games to load faster, experience shorter boot-up times, and want less waiting to access large programs and files, upgrading to a solid state drive is a no-brainer.
Compared to even the fastest hard drive, internal solid state drives offer better performance due to their advanced technology and durability. Installing an internal SSD breathes new life into the system by providing fast processing speed and enhanced performance.
Essential Considerations
Determine drive capacity
Solid state drives are available from 64GB to 4TB or even 8TB (in some cases!) capacity. You will notice that the higher the drive capacity, the meatier the price tag becomes, so it is essential to determine your system requirements and the drive capacity right for you.
For optimum PC performance and everyday usage, 256GB drive capacity works well for fast boot-up and web browsing. For gaming PCs, laptops, and heavy content storage, 512GB capacity is the minimum that you should go for.
Beyond that, the price point increases, but so does the performance and storage. If you have tons of heavy software to run and manage large media libraries, 1TB and above capacities are where you should set your sights.
Read/write speed
Compared to HDD read/write speed, solid state drives perform way better, with faster and more reliable performance. You cannot expect the same data transfer speed from all SSDs, though. The read/write speed depends on the drive's storage capacity and flash memory. For instance, a 1TB drive would generally offer higher speeds than a 256GB drive.
Drive durability & life span
Even the most durable and high-quality solid-state drives have a life span. You cannot expect them to last for a lifetime while operating at optimal levels, but you can choose an SSD that gives you the highest value for your investment.
The durability of a solid-state drive is expressed in terabytes written (TBW) or mean time before failure (MTBF). TBW essentially refers to the number of times you can rewrite a drive.
When buying a solid-state drive, check the manufacturer's claim regarding TBW or MTBF rating to determine if it will be a worthwhile investment. You will find manufacturers offering a lifespan of up to 1200 TBW for some models.
Check for compatibility
Imagine you got an ultrafast NVMe solid-state drive, but the connectivity slot on your motherboard is only compatible with SATA drives. The aftermath would be a headache, so when opting for an internal solid-state drive, always check if it's compatible with your PC, laptop, or gaming console. For instance, a SATA 2.5-inch drive will be suitable for most laptops, but the M.2 stick drive might not fit properly into your notebook chassis.
SATA vs. NVME SSD: What’s the difference?
If you are a novice in the realm of PC upgrades and hardware, terms like SATA, PCIe, and NVMe will throw you for a loop. Solid state drives come in three interface types: SATA, PCIe Gen 3 (NVMe) & PCIe Gen 4. Currently, SATA and NVMe variants are the more popular options.
SATA solid state drives
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment(SATA) is an older interface similar to HDD technology but more refined regarding data transfer speed. Compared to the PCIe interface, the SATA drives offer lower transfer speed, but the maximum sequential read/write speed of 600MB/s is good enough to carry out heavy-duty processing without issue. SATA drives are also still effective for users with older motherboards lacking the M.2 connectivity slot.
PCIe3 NVMe interface
The NVMe-based solid state drives offer faster performance reaching up to 3500MB/s read and write speeds. More recent motherboard models have an integrated M.2 slot compatible with PCIe NVMe SSD. This interface offers faster data processing speed, is suitable for heavy-duty editing and multitasking, and is way more sophisticated than SATA drives regarding tech advancement.
