Is a Gen5 SSD worth €20–30 more than a Gen4 drive?

I’d lean Gen4 unless you already know you need Gen5 speeds. A good Gen4 drive will remain fast for years, while Gen5’s advantage is mostly visible during sustained transfers, benchmarks, and certain professional workloads. For gaming, the extra heat and cost usually don’t translate into a noticeable benefit.

If the price gap is genuinely only €20–30, choosing Gen5 can be reasonable for future-proofing. Just compare the specific models rather than looking only at the generation, since controller efficiency, sustained performance, warranty, and endurance matter too. The motherboard’s M.2 heatsink should generally be adequate, provided it makes proper contact with the SSD and your case has decent airflow.

For normal desktop use and gaming, probably not. Games and everyday applications run perfectly well from Gen3 or Gen4 drives, and you’re unlikely to notice a meaningful difference in boot or loading times. Gen5 drives also produce more heat, so the extra money usually makes more sense only if you regularly move very large files or do other storage-heavy work.

The overheating concern depends heavily on the SSD model. Some Gen5 drives run considerably cooler than others, and a motherboard heatsink can handle them when installed correctly. Check independent reviews for temperatures under sustained loads, and avoid choosing a drive solely because it has the highest advertised sequential speed.