Best SSD for Gaming & Productivity in 2024?

Hey everyone!

I'm looking to upgrade my PC's storage. My current setup is a bit dated, and I'm experiencing slow loading times for games and applications. I'm primarily looking for a drive that excels in both gaming performance (fast load times, minimal stuttering) and productivity tasks (quick file transfers, smooth multitasking).

My budget is around $150-$200 for a 2TB drive. I'm considering NVMe SSDs, but I'm open to suggestions. What are your current favorite SSDs that offer the best bang for the buck in 2024?

Any recommendations on specific models, brands, or even important specs to look out for would be greatly appreciated!

Great question, GamerGuru! For that budget and use case, you can't go wrong with a high-performance PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD.

My top recommendation right now is the **Samsung 980 PRO** or the newer **990 PRO** if you can find it on sale. They offer incredible read/write speeds, excellent endurance, and Samsung's reputation for reliability is top-notch. For 2TB, they usually hover around your budget.

Another strong contender is the **WD_BLACK SN850X**. It's known for its gaming prowess and sustained performance under heavy loads. It's often priced competitively with the Samsung drives.

When looking, pay attention to sequential read/write speeds (aim for 7000MB/s+ read and 6000MB/s+ write for Gen 4) and TBW (Terabytes Written) for endurance. For your usage, even 1200 TBW for a 2TB drive should be more than sufficient for years.

Echoing StorageKing's points. I've personally switched to a **Crucial T500** recently and have been very impressed. It's a PCIe Gen 4 drive that often performs neck-and-neck with the Samsung and WD drives in benchmarks, but it's usually a bit more budget-friendly.

For productivity, especially if you deal with large video files or complex 3D rendering, the sustained write speeds are crucial. The T500 holds its own very well there. Load times in Photoshop and After Effects have definitely improved.

Just ensure your motherboard has an M.2 slot that supports PCIe Gen 4 x4 for full speed!