I'm running LMDE 7 Cinnamon 64-bit with a 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13400F, 82 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. I'm looking for a high-capacity SSD for my game library—around 2TB should be enough—and I'm also considering switching to a non-NVIDIA graphics card because of Linux driver preferences. My total budget is up to $700. What GPU and SSD options would make the most sense, and are there any motherboard or compatibility concerns I should check before buying?
4 Answers
Storage prices vary a lot, but 4TB high-quality SSDs can take up most of a $700 budget, while 2TB models are much easier to fit. Since this is mainly for games, prioritize capacity, a reputable seller, and decent reviews rather than paying extra for workstation-level endurance or top benchmark speeds.
For a 2TB gaming SSD, you don’t necessarily need a premium productivity drive. A budget NVMe model such as the Patriot P400 Lite or Silicon Power P34A60 can work well for game storage, especially if you keep roughly 20% of the drive free. Check your motherboard for the supported M.2 size and PCIe generation, although most modern NVMe drives are broadly compatible. Used drives can be cheaper, but verify their health before buying.
Before replacing the 4070, keep in mind that current NVIDIA drivers generally work reasonably well on Linux. If your main reason for switching is simply needing more storage, keeping the 4070 and putting the money toward a 2TB or larger SSD may be the better-value move. A sidegrade to a weaker card probably won’t be worth the cost unless you specifically want AMD’s driver stack.
For the GPU, look at AMD’s Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB if you want to buy new while leaving room in the budget. A discounted RX 9070 or used RX 7900 XT could also be worthwhile. The RX 9070 XT is the stronger option, but fitting it and a 2TB SSD under $700 will probably require selling your RTX 4070 or finding unusually good deals.
A 2TB drive should be enough for the immediate goal. For a larger library, adding a cheaper hard drive or another SSD later may be more practical than spending the whole budget on one huge drive.