I'm working on revitalizing an older gaming PC for someone, and I'm wondering if SATA SSDs are still a viable option in 2025. The specs of the PC are quite good for 1440p gaming, though there's a slight CPU bottleneck in more demanding games. Currently, it can only fit a single Gen3 NVMe SSD, which is already in use. I don't want to resort to a traditional HDD for modern games. Are SATA SSDs still worth considering, and would you recommend any specific models? I found the 870 Evo mentioned in my research.
5 Answers
Absolutely, keep your NVMe as the boot drive and use a SATA SSD for gaming storage. They're still reliable for older systems. I've got a couple in mine and they work just fine!
I've been using SATA for a while now just for my operating system. They are perfectly fine, although people often suggest NVMe as a faster alternative for not much extra cash. Why not save up for a bigger drive, like 4TB? It'll last through future upgrades.
I currently use an old SATA SSD for my legacy games and it works like a charm! By the time I need an upgrade, we might have Gen 6 NVMe drives around.
SATA SSDs are best for storage these days. Their speeds hover around 600MB/s if you're lucky, while NVMe drives can hit 5,000MB/s or more. If you're still gaming, they should hold up just fine for modern titles, but not at the blazing speeds of NVMe.
What's the max speed for M.2 drives nowadays? I know Gen 3 is around 3,500, Gen 4 can reach 8,000+. Am I on track?
SATA drives are still solid, especially for bulk storage. Just keep in mind that loading large models or games will be slower compared to NVMe. I use 870 EVOs because they're reliable where NVMe isn't an option. Just have some patience with load times!
Yep, definitely a good choice! Any reputable brand will do the job well. I've had great experiences with most SATA drives.
Same here! I moved mine from my old build. Got a 2TB NVMe and two 250GB SATA SSDs for extra game storage.