Is An Ssd Worth It For Gaming Update 11/2024

Answer:

SSDs make Windows start up and load times much shorter. But this comes at the expense of storage space, as high-capacity SSDs are prohibitively expensive compared to HDDs. The value of an SSD is highly subjective, depending on how much you value speed over storage space.

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Over the past few years, solid-state drives (SSDs) have steadily replaced traditional hard drives in gaming PCs. A standard hard disk drive (HDD) simply cannot compete with the performance offered by an SSD.

However, comparisons between the two will not be covered today. Instead, we’ll be asking if solid-state drives are truly worthwhile.

What is an SSD?

The solid-state drive (SSD) is a type of electronic storage that is gaining popularity among PC manufacturers due to its small size, high performance, and durability in comparison to the conventional hard disk drive.

To store data on a computer, hard disk drives were the norm until recently. HDDs, or hard disk drives, are cumbersome and easily broken devices that store data on multiple magnetic disks.

The disks spin at a constant rate while an actuator arm attached to them moves in various patterns to read and write information. They come in two standard sizes, both of which can be quite heavy: 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) and 2.5 inches (6.35 cm).

Solid-state drives, on the other hand, have no moving parts, are compact, and are extremely durable. Using flash memory and systems of tiny circuits to store data, they are much smaller than traditional hard drives and can even be placed outside the computer. The only common SSD size is 2.5 inches (6.35 cm) across.

What are the benefits of using an SSD for a gaming computer?

We’ve touched on the rapid rise of solid-state drives (SSDs) over hard disk drives (HDDs) in the previous paragraph, particularly in gaming PCs. Let’s examine the main drivers behind solid-state drives’ meteoric rise to prominence over the past decade.

• SSDs are much more compact than HDDs. They have a sleek, contemporary design and are significantly smaller in size (2.5 inches vs. 6.35 centimeters) than conventional hard disk drives. Even more compact than their SATA counterparts, M.2 NVME SSDs boast significantly improved performance. A solid-state drive (SSD) consists of a single, small, fixed component, so there is no moving parts (such as a metal arm) involved in moving data around. They weigh a lot less compared to HDDs, so you won’t have to worry about adding extra bulk to your PC tower.
• Booting and loading times are decreased when using an SSD. It is generally true that solid-state drives, or SSDs, provide faster data access than traditional hard disk drives. Unlike SSDs, which don’t have any moving parts and can load files and boot programs almost instantly, HDDs require constant movement and repositioning of their disks and arm during reading and writing.
• SSDs are quieter than HDDs. Unlike traditional hard disk drives, solid-state drives don’t make any noise while working. Again, this is largely due to the absence of moving and interacting parts in SSDs. Because of this, they also lack the HDD-like vibrations.
• Hard drives with SSD technology are more reliable. The solid-state drive’s small size and lack of moving parts also contribute to its durability. The multiple disks and the frail actuator arm in an HDD make it extremely vulnerable to damage from drops and falls, which can cause the disks to bump into each other and corrupt your data. SSDs are much more durable because of their sturdy yet stylish construction.
• With an SSD, data fragmentation is less of a concern. When compared to solid-state drives (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs) are inefficient at storing data because, as their storage capacity is exhausted, HDDs must split files into fragments and move them around the disk platter. A large game with many gigabytes of data can be slowed down because the hard disk drive head has to sift through data to find specific sections of the file.
• SSDs prevent your computer from overheating. When playing games for extended periods of time, your computer may overheat due to the HDD’s constant spinning, moving, and vibrating. The majority of today’s PC games are notorious space hogs. However, a solid-state drive (SSD) can quickly access and load the numerous files required by these games without forcing your computer’s cooling fans into overdrive.
• Shockingly, solid-state drives (SSDs) are energy efficient. Hard disk drives (HDDs) use a lot of power whenever they’re accessed, but the difference between a gaming laptop and a desktop is negligible. Using a solid-state drive (SSD) instead of a hard disk drive (HDD) to store your data is better for the environment and can reduce your monthly electricity bill.

It’s plain to see why modern gamers favor solid-state drives (SSDs) and why traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) are losing popularity. However, hard disk drives (HDDs) still have their supporters, and many gamers still prefer HDDs or use them in tandem with an SSD.

If you’re interested in a more technical analysis of the question of whether or not SSDs are worthwhile, check out my other article on the topic.

However, we must first address the differences between internal and external SSDs before discussing the reasons why an HDD may still be a viable choice for some gamers.

Can you use an external SSD for PC gaming?

You can add more space to your gaming PC with either an external or internal solid-state drive, just like you can with a hard disk drive.

Solid-state drives (SSDs) are rapidly becoming the norm for gaming PCs and laptops alike, so your computer, depending on the year and manufacturer, may already have one inside.

Even though solid-state drives (SSDs) are increasingly being included in gaming PCs by their manufacturers, those who don’t have one can always buy an external SSD.

If you don’t feel like opening up your computer to install an internal SSD or taking it to a professional, an external SSD is a great option because it is portable and smaller than ever before.

The main difference between an internal and external SSD is simple: an external SSD can be plugged into your computer and used immediately, while an internal SSD must be attached to your PC’s motherboard.

If you need more space, you can usually add an external solid-state drive or SSD to your computer.

Given that some newer PC games can weigh in at hundreds of gigabytes, it may be worthwhile to invest in an external SSD in addition to the SSD or HDD already installed on your computer if you have a large library of games that you switch between frequently.

What To Consider

Here we will go over the two most important considerations you should make before deciding whether or not an SSD is worth the investment.

Performance

A solid-state drive (SSD) is preferable for a number of reasons, the most prominent of which is its faster read/write speeds. While it’s true that even the most budget-friendly SATA SSDs can easily outperform performance-focused HDDs by a significant margin, what good does this extra speed do for gaming?

You won’t be subjected to nearly as many loading screens. Naturally, this also means quicker Windows boot times and faster file transfer speeds, but for gamers, the main benefit is shorter load times.

Storage Capacity and Prices

HDDs are still popular because of their large storage capacities, which are directly related to their reasonable prices. Hard disk drives (HDDs) offer a much more affordable per-gigabyte option.

To give just one example, for about $40 you can purchase a 1 terabyte (TB) hard drive. In the meantime, a trustworthy 1 TB SSD will set you back at least $150, and the quickest, highest-quality models can cost well over $400.

Does a gaming PC need an SSD and an HDD?

Dual storage configurations, in which two different types of storage are used, are becoming increasingly popular, even though neither type is required for a gaming PC. Most PC gamers who are also tech-savvy today use both a hard disk drive (HDD) and a solid state drive (SSD) in the same machine, but for different purposes.

A computer with dual storage is the most effective, long-lasting, and inexpensive way to store your massive video game collection and other data.

Sure, if money were no object, you could buy a mountain of SSDs and burn through them quickly. Consumers typically have to strike a balance between price and performance, if they want to get anything done.

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You can avoid this problem by keeping infrequently accessed files on your computer’s hard disk drive and frequently used games and other files on one or more solid-state drives.

Because they are stored on an SSD, your games will launch instantly. Files of lesser importance can be stored on a secondary hard drive.

In addition, you may not need to buy an extra drive because many modern gaming computers already have a dual storage setup consisting of an HDD and an SSD.

If you don’t want to spend time looking for an external SSD or opening your computer to attach an internal SSD to its motherboard, one of these computers is worth the investment, despite its higher price tag.

As the price of solid-state drives (SSDs) continues to drop and their storage capacity increases, it’s likely that pure SSD systems will replace HDDs in the future, at least among those who use PCs for gaming.

The question of which storage method is best will continue to be discussed for the foreseeable future.

So, what are the benefits of using a computer with a dual storage system right now?

Best SSD for gaming in 2022

WD Black SN850

When it comes to solid-state drives, the WD Black SN850 is your best bet.

The WD Black SN850 is the world’s fastest consumer-grade solid-state drive (SSD), with blistering read and write speeds of 7,000MB/s and 5,300MB/s, respectively, thanks to its use of the PCIe 4.0 interface. You should also notice that your gaming PC boots up and performs other common tasks more quickly with this level of performance.

Customers who are concerned about the WD Black SN850’s performance due to thermal throttling have the option of purchasing the drive with an additional heatsink. To top it all off, the heatsink is not only functional, but also stylish, thanks to its incorporation of a splash of RGB lighting.

Our Favorites

• The world’s first PCIe 4.0 x4 gaming SSD
• Heatsinks for the various colors of the rainbow are available as an option.

Samsung 970 EVO Plus

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is the best solid-state drive (SSD) that uses PCIe 3.0.

If you’re looking to replace your slow SATA hard drive or solid-state drive with something more modern, the Samsung 970 EVO Plus is your best bet. The 970 EVO Plus exemplifies why the South Korean tech giant’s storage components have been among the market’s most desirable for years.

Samsung’s 970 EVO Plus, with its PCIe 3.0 interface and blistering sequential read/write speeds, can make even the most sluggish gaming rig feel like a racehorse. In order to maximize the SSD’s potential, you can install the Samsung Magician optimization suite.

Things we appreciate

• Accelerating PCI Express 3.0
• The powerful Samsung Magician program

Samsung 870 EVO

The Samsung 870 EVO is the top-tier SATA SSD on the market.

Though NVMe SSDs will eventually replace their SATA counterparts, SATA drives like the Samsung 870 EVO still have a lot to offer. While its sequential read/write speeds may seem slow compared to PCIe storage, it is still faster than any hard drive and more than fast enough for most games.

The Samsung 870 EVO is a good option to consider if storage space is more important to you than processing speed. It is available in capacities up to 4 terabytes, so you can buy it without worrying about where to put your Steam library, and it is much cheaper than any M.2 SSD offering the same amount of storage.

Our Favorites

• For PC games, that is still plenty of speed.
• Abundant possibilities

Crucial P5 Plus

The Crucial P5 Plus is the best low-priced PCIe 4.0 SSD.

Crucial’s P5 Plus demonstrates that you don’t need to go into debt to get a PCIe 4.0 SSD with respectable performance.

The Crucial P5 Plus is dependable and has a long lifespan thanks to its two-million-hour mean time to failure (MTTF) rating and read speeds of up to 6,600MB/s. Even if the product’s high durability rating isn’t enough to inspire confidence, the included five-year warranty should do the trick.

This is what we like

• Very fast reading and writing speeds
• Excellent rating for endurance
• Guaranteed for 5 Years

WD Blue SN550

The WD Blue SN550 is the most capable low-cost PCIe 3.0 SSD.

The Blue SN550 NVMe SSD from WD proves that cheap doesn’t have to mean low-quality by providing up to 2TB of storage space, 600TBW of endurance, and respectable read/write speeds. It’s not the quickest drive, but it’s the best you can get for under $100 that doesn’t compromise on capacity, speed, or both. That’s why it’s the best budget gaming PC option out there.

Because the SanDisk 96L TLC NAND flash package has been relocated to a location further from the controller, the device operates at a cooler 59°C than comparable devices.

Our Favorites

• A PCI Express 3.0 bus with four lanes
• Astonishing value for the money
• Endurance at 600 TBW

Crucial MX500

The Crucial MX500 is a top-tier low-cost SATA solid-state drive.

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To get the lowest price on an SSD without sacrificing too much in performance, the MX500 is your best bet. Crucial is able to offer SSDs with its own high-quality memory at competitive prices because it is owned by Micron.

Even though it’s not the absolute cheapest SSD available, the MX500 is the most cost-effective option we can recommend without sacrificing quality.

Our Favorites

• Costs that are lower than the competition
• SATA’s fastest read/write times
• Superior stamina

XPG Spectrix S40G

XPG’s Spectrix S40G is the top-tier RGB SSD.

SSDs aren’t the most eye-catching parts of a PC; they usually take a back seat to things like RGB-lit graphics cards, top-tier CPU coolers, and top-tier gaming RAM. The XPG SPECTRIX S40G is the latest PC component to be RGB’d, and its strikingly bright and customizable heatsink is ideal if you don’t want to conceal your M.2 drive.

For a reasonable price, you get speeds that are on par with our top pick, data security provided by AES-256-bit encryption, and a five-year warranty.

In accordance with our preferences

• Highest quality, most visually appealing SSD that supports RGB
• Protection for five years
• Persistence at 640 TBW

SK Hynix Gold P31

SK Hynix’s Gold P31 M.2 SSD is the best available option for portable computers.

The SK Hynix Gold P31 SSD is ideal for upgrading your portable storage without sacrificing performance and is compatible with even the most powerful gaming laptops. This drive, with its built-in Cephius controller and Hyper-write technology, can achieve read speeds of up to 3,500MB/s, making it significantly faster than both SATA SSDs and low-cost NVMe drives.

Even though it can reach very high data transfer rates, the Gold P31 has a power efficiency rating of 172.2Mbps/W, which is especially useful in a hot laptop. This means you won’t have to spend as much time gaming next to an outlet, and it’s also good news for the battery life of your portable powerhouse.

The things we appreciate

• Slimline packaging
• With a five-year guarantee.
• Astonishing 1,200-Ton Breakaway Torque

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD

The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is the best external SSD.

All the other SSDs on this list are meant to be installed within your computer system, but you should also have a secondary external drive on hand just in case. The Extreme Portable SSD from SanDisk has an IP55 rating, making it a safe haven for your PC games and other important files from the elements.

Notably, the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD uses USB 3.2 gen, which enables it to provide read and write speeds that are faster than SATA. In case your computer doesn’t have a USB-C port, the included USB-A adapter will make up for it.

Those things that appeal to us

• Hardened exterior
• Incredibly Rapid Access Time
• Structured in a condensed form

FAQs

SATA VS NVMe SSDs

SATA drives have been around for longer than NVMe-based drives, and while they provide slower read/write speeds, their cost per GB is much lower. That’s why they’re the best option for a low-cost PC build or if you just need a lot of space on your solid-state drive for your Steam library. In addition, the speeds are still much faster than those of a regular hard drive.

However, the cost of NVMe drives continues to drop, with the fastest 500GB NVMe SSDs now retailing for less than $150.

Are PCIe 4.0 SSDs worth it over PCIe 3.0?

Even though PCIe 3.0 SSDs are still useful, the newest options offer speeds twice as fast as the older standard. PCI Express 4.0 storage is ideal for recently released games because of its lightning-fast data transfer speeds. What this means is that PCIe 4.0 is the way to go if you want to ensure that your system will be compatible with future technologies.

What is an add-in card SSD?

Accompanying card SSDs resemble graphics cards in appearance and utilize the PCIe interface to connect to your computer. PCIe options have an advantage over M.2 ones because they are backwards-compatible with SATA drives, despite using the same standard.

Can you put a PCIe 4.0 SSD in a 3.0 slot?

You can use a PCIe 3.0 drive with a PCIe 4.0 system, and vice versa. In both cases, your performance will be capped by the restrictions of the 3.0 standard.

Which capacity SSD should I buy?

You don’t need a drive as large as your hard drive if you don’t want to, especially since not all of the best PC games benefit from being installed on a solid-state drive. A 512GB SSD is adequate for a Windows installation. Even if you want to go bigger than 1TB, you can still install a few high-quality games on it.

How to find the best SSD deals

Although solid state drives (SSD) can be quite pricey, there are often significant sales throughout the year. SATA drives are much more affordable than M.2 drives, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find blazing fast storage at a discount.

Conclusion – Is An SSD Worth It?

In the end, it all boils down to whether or not you value speedier loading times more than having more space for your data.

No matter what you decide, we still wouldn’t recommend using an SSD if you only have a desktop computer. It is common practice to use an SSD for the operating system and a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) for data storage. While solid-state drives (SSDs) are more reasonably priced now than ever before, hybrid storage solutions that include both SSDs and HDDs provide the best overall performance, capacity, and cost.

But if you’re playing on a laptop and can’t afford a large SSD, SSHDs are a good alternative. These hybrid drives, which add some NAND memory to a regular hard disk, provide a noticeable performance boost over regular HDDs. They haven’t caught up to the speeds of solid-state drives (SSDs), unfortunately.

It is possible to use an SSD for the operating system and an external HDD for data storage. Because external HDDs are so reasonably priced and convenient, they are a practical storage option for both mobile devices and stationary computers.

In any case, keep in mind that their only real use is as storage drives because they do not offer the best efficiency.

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