Best Gaming SSD of 2026

The NM790 is the drive we point to when someone wants maximum Gen4 speed without stepping up to a Gen5 platform. Its 7,400/6,500 MB/s rating is within a hair of the fastest Gen4 drives in this group, and the heatsink is in the box. That combination matters more than a benchmark number: it means the drive is ready for a PS5 bay and doesn't need a separate cooling purchase.

What sold us is the low-power design for a game drive that stays on for long sessions. Lexar rates it at up to 40% less power consumption than DRAM-equipped Gen4 drives, and the 1TB model carries a 1,000TBW endurance rating. Those are the figures that make it a sensible everyday pick rather than a niche speed toy.

The catch is capacity. One terabyte is enough to get started, but not enough to keep a large library installed without shuffling. If that's your situation, the 2TB fanxiang costs less per terabyte; if you want the higher-capacity route, the Samsung 990 Pro is the other direction.

A 14,700 MB/s read rating is the headline, and it's not marketing fluff: this is the only PCIe 5.0 drive in the group, and it sits well clear of the Gen4 pack on sequential transfers. For a game drive, that mostly shows up when you're moving a large library or loading a game with heavy asset streaming. The 13,400 MB/s write rating is just as far ahead. We think it's the one to beat if your motherboard can feed it.

The catch is the platform. You need a Gen5 M.2 slot to see those numbers, and the drive doesn't come with a heatsink; the listing specifically calls for an added heatsink in a PS5. On a Gen4 board it will still work, but you're paying for headroom you can't use. We don't recommend it for a Gen4-only build; the same money buys more capacity in the 990 Pro.

Heat is the other thing to plan for. The 5nm controller is more efficient than the previous generation, but a Gen5 drive under sustained load still wants airflow or a proper heatsink. If your board has a heatsink and a Gen5 slot, this is the fastest thing here; if not, the Gen4 picks are the smarter buy.

Four terabytes is the reason this drive is here. The 990 Pro's 7,450/6,900 MB/s ratings are right at the top of the Gen4 class, but the capacity is what changes the ownership experience: you can keep a large game library installed instead of rotating titles. For a PC that doubles as a game library and a work drive, that's a real convenience.

We choose it for the no-compromise build, not the value build. The 4TB model is the most expensive drive in this group, and some units have failed within a year, so backups are non-negotiable. That's not a reason to avoid it; it is a reason to buy it for the capacity you actually need rather than as a default.

The other cost is cooling. This is a bare drive, so a PS5 install needs a heatsink, and a desktop needs a board with a heatsink or an add-on. That's easy to budget for, but it's part of the real price.

Two terabytes for less than the premium 2TB drives is the pitch, and the S880ER delivers it without dropping into slow territory. The 7,100/5,300 MB/s rating is a genuine Gen4 spec, and the heatsink is included for PS5 use. That's the combination that makes it interesting: capacity first, speed second, but neither one is an embarrassment.

The lower write rating is the trade. At 5,300 MB/s it trails the 6,500-6,900 MB/s drives here, so large writes take longer. For game loads, read speed matters more, and 7,100 MB/s is in the same neighborhood as the mainstream Gen4 picks. This is a drive for a library, not a workstation scratch disk.

The heatsink install is the one place to slow down. The design is a separate piece, and getting it seated squarely takes a minute; if it sits too far forward, the drive can miss the PS5 bay's mounting point. Once it's in, the value is obvious. If you want a premium brand and a longer track record, spend more; if you want to maximize games per dollar, this is the pick.

The GM7 is the drive we reach for when the motherboard already has a heatsink and the budget is tight. It carries a 7,400/6,500 MB/s rating, which is right there with the fastest Gen4 drives here, and it does it for less. We like that it doesn't make you pay for a heatsink you won't use.

The catch is exactly that missing heatsink. In a PS5, you need to add one, and that eats into the savings. In a laptop or a desktop with a bare M.2 slot, you need to check clearance and airflow before you rely on it for long gaming sessions. The GM7's HMB and SLC cache help it feel responsive in everyday use, but this is a drive for a build that's already set up for cooling.

For a straightforward PC game drive, that's a good trade. The 1TB capacity is the same starting point as the other mainstream picks, and the five-year warranty is reassuring. If you need a PS5-ready drive out of the box, the Crucial P310 is the easier call; if you're building a PC and watching the budget, this is the one.

The GX 7100 is the low-power option in this group. It's a 1TB Gen4 drive rated at 7,250/6,900 MB/s, but the more important number for a laptop or handheld is the efficiency: Sandisk built it to use less power than the previous generation, which means less heat and less battery drain in a tight chassis.

That efficiency is why it's here. A fast drive that runs hot can turn a handheld into a hand warmer, and a laptop's M.2 slot often has less airflow than a desktop. The GX 7100's power-efficient architecture is the feature we care about most in that setting; the sequential speed is a bonus.

It's not the right pick for every PS5 owner. There's no heatsink in the box, and the PS5 bay needs one. If you already have a heatsink or you're installing in a desktop with a board heatsink, the drive is ready. If you want a console-ready package, the Crucial P310 or Lexar NM790 is simpler.

What we keep coming back to is the fit: this is a drive for a thin laptop or a handheld, where a little less heat and a little less power draw matter more than the last few hundred MB/s. If that's your machine, the GX 7100 is the one we point to.

The X7400's appeal is simple: 7,350 MB/s read speed and a heatsink for less than the mainstream picks. On a desktop or an original PS5, that's a useful combination. The drive is listed for PS5 expansion, and the install is the same M.2 2280 procedure as everything else here.

The compatibility caveat is the reason it isn't a stronger recommendation. PS5 Slim consoles can be a problem for this drive; it isn't always recognized. If you have a Slim, don't gamble on it; the Crucial P310 is the safer PS5 pick. If you have an original PS5 or a PC, the saving is real.

The included heatsink is the one part to check carefully. It does the job, but it's not the most refined mounting design, and a loose or misaligned heatsink undermines the whole point. Check that it's seated before you close the console. For a budget build where the drive is going into a PC with its own cooling, the X7400 makes more sense.

We treat the X7400 as a situational buy: good speed and capacity for the money, but only if the slot is known to play nice. The 1TB capacity is the other limit; it's a starter drive, not a library drive. For a first upgrade in a compatible machine, that's enough.