Best SSDs for Gaming in 2022
Tired of long loading times in your favorite game? A gaming SSD is the recommended solution for impatient gamers. Significantly faster than an HDD, a special gaming SSD saves fps thanks to fast data access and is quiet.
Discover the best gaming SSDs to optimize your gaming experience.
1. Best Gaming SSD in 2022: WD Black SN850 1TB
Adopting a PCIe 4.0 standard and stellar read and write speeds, the WD Black SN850 Gaming SSD seamlessly blends competitive pricing and excellent gaming comfort.
This Western Digital drive puts at your disposal a generous 1TB of capacity and a PCIe 4.0 expansion bus. So expect significantly reduced loading times during your games. In reading, the SN850 can reach 7,000 MB/s and 5,300 MB in writing during sequential transfers. Such performance is beyond the capabilities of most drives. Its PCIe 4.0 interface offers twice the theoretical bandwidth limit of PCIe 3.0 devices.
This gaming SSD really stands out from the crowd with impressive 4K write performance and great fighting game support. The SN850 anticipates your minor heating problems thanks to a heat sink. RGB lighting and dashboard software accompany the delivery of this Western Digital model. In short, the SN850 is the product for you if you're looking for an incredibly fast and affordable state-of-the-art unit.
2. Best Cheap Gaming SSD: WD Blue SN570 500GB
More efficient than its previous WD Blue SN550, this gaming SSD is still an affordable solution with fast sequential speeds and more reasonable capacity.
This new budget model from Western Digital offers decent data read speeds, ranging from 2400 to 3500 MB/s. This is a significant improvement over its big brother, the WD Blue SN550. Write speeds are also good, rising from 1,950 to 3,000 MB/s. WD's SN570 is based on TLC technology instead of QLC. Therefore, Western Digital can offer a warranty of up to 5 years on this product.
Although this model is no match for extremely fast PCIe 3.0 drives, it is an optimal choice for gaming storage. Exclusively designed for gaming and multimedia use, this gaming SSD does not include DRAM. Therefore, you find some difficulties in doing heavy tasks like video editing. Despite this, this drive is still a very cost-effective alternative thanks to satisfying gaming performance and decent capacity.
3. Best High-End Gaming SSD: Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB
Kingston FURY Renegade promises excellent write endurance and exceptional performance thanks to its PCIe 4.0 interface.
Despite its rather high price, this high-end gaming SSD is a very fast drive that can last for many years without failing. Its PCIe 4.0 expansion bus allows you to show impressive figures. Indeed, the Renegade can reach 7,300 MB/s in reading and 7,000 MB/s in writing, which translates into almost non-existent loading times. These incredible speeds allow you to adapt to other intensive tasks such as streaming and capturing videos.
This M.2 model shares the same 3D TLC chips found in the Kingston KC3000 SSD. This means that you are in the presence of a perfectly updated disk. If you're used to console gaming, you'll be pleased to know that this SSD is fully compatible with the PS5. Thus, you can enjoy competitive storage that will positively influence your gaming experience. Thanks to its thin aluminum-graphene heatsink, you won't experience temperature problems, even during intensive use.
4. Best Alternative: Seagate FireCuda 530 2TB
The 2TB version of this Seagate gaming SSD is preferred. In fact, it puts at your disposal the best direct performance, as well as an amazing level of resistance.
This is true, Seagate has taken its time to enter the world of gaming SSDs, especially in the PCIe 4.0 market. However, the brand is making a sensational debut with its FireCuda 530. Available with or without a heatsink, this 2TB drive is compatible with PlayStation 5. Meeting gamers' expectations, the FireCuda 530 boasts excellent read speeds. and write (7300 and 6900 MB/s respectively).
However, it is in terms of resistance that it stands out the most from the competition. This NVMe M.2 model features an endurance rating equivalent to 2550 TBW. This means that you will be able to optimize your gaming performance for several years without showing any signs of weakness. Using Micron's 176-layer TLC memory, FireCuda guarantees a 35% improvement in read and write latency. Due to its highly competitive performance and endurance, Seagate 530 is a safe bet to increase your gaming comfort level.