I'm on the hunt for recommendations on Gen 4 SSDs suitable for gaming. Currently, I've noticed that the top options like the 990 Pro, T500, and SN850X are all priced pretty similarly. Are there any good alternatives that come in either at that price point or even lower? Appreciate any insights!
3 Answers
Just a heads up, make sure to back up your important files! I had an SSD crash on me and lost a lot of data. Now I have two drives set up in RAID 0, but if one fails, I'll just swap it out. Also, if you use Microsoft Office 365, they offer 1TB of OneDrive for backups, which is a lifesaver!
For gaming, you have plenty of choices. The WD Blue series or the 990 Evo Plus are solid picks, and there are many other reliable options out there. Newer TLC DRAM-less SSDs with modern controllers work just fine for gaming. The performance boost from higher-end SSDs is often minimal in terms of load times in most games.
Gaming doesn’t require intense performance from SSDs. DRAM isn’t really necessary for NVMe drives because they can leverage system memory without a noticeable difference in speed. The Kioxia Exceria series are good value, especially outside the U.S. If you're just using a drive for gaming, you won’t feel much of a difference between DRAM and DRAM-less models, but avoid QLC flash if you can. Options like Kioxia Exceria Plus G3, WD Blue SN580, or TeamGroup MP44L are good recommendations.
Are you running RAID 0 or RAID 1? If it’s RAID 0, just be careful because losing either drive would take out all your data.