An SSD is indispensable in every new system, but also in every older configuration. The question is: what is the best SSD? Reason for us to take a good look at the 21 most popular SSDs of the moment.
You can test and assess an SSD in several ways. It is especially important to think about your intended use, because different SSDs have their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, one SSD is better suited for light use or as an extra SSD to load games, for example, while others are better as a primary drive for your operating system or in heavy scenarios such as photo or video editing.
We have therefore focused our test on a few clear practical situations, which are best simulated by the PC Mark 10 test suites. How does the ssd deal with short-term intensive use (Quick Test), how does the ssd perform as the primary drive for your operating system (Full test) and how does the SSD deal with an extremely intensive scenario (Consistency test)?
We do include the sequential test (ATTO Benchmark 2M Test) to verify that any marketing claims regarding maximum speeds are correct, but our scores are based on more practical testing.
In this test, we focus on these Gen4 SSDs. Developments around older gates have now come to a standstill. There are hardly any new SSDs that focus on SATA or Gen3 interfaces. View the test results at a glance below. Then we discuss in detail what you should pay attention to when purchasing and we highlight the best SSDs.
Reliability
We would like to give the most weight to reliability, but it is – as we also wrote in previous tests – almost impossible to test. Most SSDs are made to run for a million or more hours. Even with continuous use, you need more than a hundred years for that, so we can’t do anything with that.
Entry-level SSDs also continue to work for years in a test. By the time we can say something sensible about the reliability of an SSD, that model will be long gone. Moreover, test results of one product do not provide enough relevant data to say anything about other products of a particular brand.
This is good news for you, because it means that you do not have to take the life of an SSD into account when purchasing.
Watch the temperature
Processing gigabytes of data per second is no easy task for the controller of an SSD. The temperature can therefore rise considerably. Although it is not a requirement for simple use, a gen4 SSD will need to be cooled for intensive use.
Many motherboards come standard with heatsinks for SSDs, and some SSDs come with a heatsink themselves. If neither of these is the case, we recommend ordering a separate heatsink. This will cost you roughly a tenner, but it is well worth the investment.
What capacity?
Higher capacity SSDs tend to be faster than variants with less storage. Certainly the really small SSDs up to 256 GB are less fast in benchmarks. A larger SSD is also more durable because of the larger number of memory cells.
Also, SSDs with a higher capacity are often a lot cheaper per gigabyte. For example, SSDs of around 250 GB have a poor price-per-gigabyte ratio, so that an SSD with about 500 GB usually costs only a tenner or two more. That gives you better performance, more reliability and extra capacity for the future. Definitely worth considering.
Migrate or clean install?
Most SSDs come with a migration tool to transfer your entire system. In our experience, an SSD upgrade is a good time for a clean install. Reinstalling Windows 10 or 11 is a snap, and that’s how you really make a clean start with your system. Make sure you have a good backupâ€
Also read: This is how you upgrade from hdd to ssd
Buying Advice
We tested 21 different SSDs, too many to discuss one by one. We choose to highlight the best SSDs for different purposes.
Competition is fierce in most categories and the differences are very small. In addition, the prices of SSDs can vary from day to day. For each category we list some alternatives to look at. If you see that one of those alternatives is much cheaper than the test winner, you can safely choose that alternative option.
For professional use
Gen4 SSDs come into their own in heavy applications because of their high-end performance. Think of photo or video editing, or other tasks where you actively work with large files. These are often (semi-)professional purposes, where things like performance, stability and support outweigh the price. The time savings that a fast ssd entails usually pays for itself in such a scenario. At the same time, you also want to save time on things like firmware updates.
The Samsung 980 PRO performs across the board, from light to extremely heavy tasks, simply excellent and does not drop any stitches. It is not the fastest SSD on the market, but it is still preferable for professional use. Samsung has by far the best-executed software, with smooth software and firmware updates and excellent durability statistics.
Other good SSDs for professionals are the WD Black SN850, Kingston KC3000, Corsair MP600 PRO LPX/XT and Seagate Firecuda 530.
For all-round use
Do you only care about speed? Then we simply look at the performance scores in the graphs. But that is no easy task either, because no SSD is the fastest in every test. In addition, some SSDs score well in specific tests because they are purposefully built for that purpose, while they subsequently give up heavily elsewhere.
If we look at the light to medium tasks that most users will perform, there are two SSDs that score consistently high: the WD Black SN850 and the Kingston KC3000. This duo is practically flush in the upper echelons of the test charts. The WD Black SN850 has invariably been a lot cheaper than its competitor in recent months, and of course we also take that into account with a practically equal score. The WD Black SN850 therefore deserves the Best Tested quality mark.
Other good choices for consistent all-round performance are the Kingston KC3000, but also the Corsair MP600 PRO LPX/XT.
For non-stop use
In order to come into its own in non-stop use, an SSD must actually be specifically developed for this. Most specimens need moments of rest to maintain their rapid performance, while in the consistency test they are put to work for many hours at a time.
If we continuously put the SSDs under pressure, three versions prove to hold up considerably better than the others: the Corsair MP600 PRO LPX and XT, and the Seagate Firecuda 530. Those three pack a huge margin from the rest when it comes to extreme scenarios. . Even the aforementioned 980 PRO, KC3000 and SN850 Black lose out here.
The Corsairs score slightly better in the moderately intensive tasks and thus take the win in this category. It doesn’t really matter which of the two versions you choose: the LPX has a slightly slimmer heatsink than the XT, but the performance is comparable. It just depends on which version is the cheapest at the time.
Price-performance ratio
Do you want an SSD that doesn’t cost too much, but performs well? Then we see four SSDs with a price-per-terabyte of up to 125 euros. This makes them hardly more expensive than mid-range Gen3 SSDs. Two of them, the Sabrent Rocket Q and the WD SN750SE, are just so much worse than the rest that we can’t really recommend them.
The Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4 and the Crucial P5 Plus perform a lot better for a minimal additional cost. The Crucial in particular stands out positively. The P5 Plus is therefore our choice for those looking for the best price-performance ratio. At least, as long as this model remains competitively priced compared to its competitors. Otherwise, the Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4 is a good alternative.
For Playstation 5
You can expand the PlayStation 5 with a Gen4 SSD. The requirements that Sony sets for an SSD are slightly different than for a computer. For example, it must have a reading speed of at least 5500 MB per second and be equipped with a heatsink. In addition, the SSD and heatsink together may not be higher than 11.25 mm, although there is a little bit of play in that.
Our testing shows that the performance differences between SSDs in a PS5 when loading games are marginal. This makes an affordable SSD that meets the requirements the most interesting. Incidentally, you can order a separate heatsink for about 10 euros, so an SSD does not have to be supplied with a heatsink as standard. We see the Crucial P5 Plus as the best option, followed by the Aorus Gen4 and the Corsair MP600 PRO LPX.
Read here how to install an SSD in your PS5.
Large capacities
Most SSDs are available in capacities up to 2 or 4 TB, enough for most purposes. If you want more, there are also some 8 TB options. These can be useful, for example, to install a huge game library on a Steam Deck, which only fits one SSD.
To offer 8 TB of storage on a small piece of hardware just 8 cm long, there are some concessions to be made. For example, such SSDs use QLC memory, so that they dangle at the bottom of the performance charts.
So you don’t buy the Corsair MP400 and the Sabrent Rocket Q because of their speed, but they are two of the few options if you really need more storage. There are hardly any performance differences between them, so you can be guided by the price. In the last few months, the Rocket Q was usually just a bit cheaper than the MP400.
Conclusion
Anyone looking for a new SSD these days cannot really ignore the Gen4 standard. We have listed a number of recommendations, in which we have also looked at price developments in recent months. For example, the WD Black SN850 earns the Best Tested quality mark and we award the Editorial Tip quality mark to the Crucial P5 Plus (best price-performance ratio), the Corsair P600 PRO (non-stop use) and the Samsung 980 PRO (professional use).
Every recommendation is closely followed by numerous alternatives that are often hardly inferior to it, but are at most a tenner or two more expensive. If prices change, such an alternative may suddenly turn out to be the best choice. Our test winners are excellent starting points, but always keep a close eye on the prices before you buy.
Would you like to do some comparative research yourself? View the range of SSDs on Kieskeurig.nl here or check which SSDs are competitively priced at Bol.comâ€
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