I'm just curious if anyone has any recommendations for a 1-2 TB internal ssd, even if its just a preferred brand but mainly for gaming purposes. Even ones you're currently using or thinking about buying in the future. Thanks in advance for the responses.
SSDs are largely a commodity these days. Pick your desired form factor and capacity first, and that narrows things down a lot. What to buy beyond that depends heavily on what is on sale that day.
Samsung makes some nice SSDs, but tends to charge way too much for them. They used to have the top end performance, but others have caught up. Crucial and Western Digital tend to make good SSDs that are more affordable. Even the no-name brands will probably be fine, though.
If the SSD is PCI-E 4.0 x4, then you're guaranteed to at least get something modern. That and avoiding QLC NAND are the things to look for if you're willing to pay for a premium drive.
If you are talking M.2 then it's hard to beat the pricing of Samsung even though they are a shitty company as a whole. If you are talking 2.5 internal I would say Crucial.
Those are the main 2 retailers I use and some links so you can review the models. When I buy electronics from Amazon, I only buy if they or the hardware vendor themselves are the seller. May seem extreme and cut out some 'deals' but it's how I minimize issues.
I've been using solid drives as my only PC storage for years and I've used other brands and I like the quality, performance, and durability. I still have EVO 850 and 860 1TB SATA drives I use for extra storage, game installs, and VM clients. They are still going strong years later. Both were my OS drives at some point until I got the nvme.
Those are the main 2 retailers I use and some links so you can review the models. When I buy electronics from Amazon, I only buy if they or the hardware vendor themselves are the seller. May seem extreme and cut out some 'deals' but it's how I minimize issues.
I've been using solid drives as my only PC storage for years and I've used other brands and I like the quality, performance, and durability. I still have EVO 850 and 860 1TB SATA drives I use for extra storage, game installs, and VM clients. They are still going strong years later. Both were my OS drives at some point until I got the nvme.
But that's what I mean when I say that Samsung charges too much. You can get a plenty good 2 TB SSD for under $100.
Those are the main 2 retailers I use and some links so you can review the models. When I buy electronics from Amazon, I only buy if they or the hardware vendor themselves are the seller. May seem extreme and cut out some 'deals' but it's how I minimize issues.
I've been using solid drives as my only PC storage for years and I've used other brands and I like the quality, performance, and durability. I still have EVO 850 and 860 1TB SATA drives I use for extra storage, game installs, and VM clients. They are still going strong years later. Both were my OS drives at some point until I got the nvme.
But that's what I mean when I say that Samsung charges too much. You can get a plenty good 2 TB SSD for under $100.
Yeah Crucial is best bang for the buck tbh, and super reliable.
You get what you pay for. I have a few other SSDs across machines and they're fine and do the job. I stand by my recommendation though.
In this instance I think the quality is worth the extra $30 or $40, especially over the years of service they've provided. I don't buy the cheapest parts. I buy the best parts that fit in my budget range. If budget is tight, then sure, buy the cheap part. But for parts like this, that isn't a wide enough margin for me to justify the compromise, personally.
It's up to the OP of course. They asked for a recommendation and I still strongly recommend Samsung based on my experience with them so far in the hardware I've owned.
You get what you pay for. I have a few other SSDs across machines and they're fine and do the job. I stand by my recommendation though.
In this instance I think the quality is worth the extra $30 or $40, especially over the years of service they've provided. I don't buy the cheapest parts. I buy the best parts that fit in my budget range. If budget is tight, then sure, buy the cheap part. But for parts like this, that isn't a wide enough margin for me to justify the compromise, personally.
It's up to the OP of course. They asked for a recommendation and I still strongly recommend Samsung based on my experience with them so far in the hardware I've owned.
And what exactly do you get for that extra money that you wouldn't get from this:
Samsung hasn't quite kept up with the competition in recent years, but their prices haven't really reflected that. I think they are still a reliable brand name though, but that's all you are really paying for.
If I were buying an SSD today, I would go with Samsung, Crucial, or WD - whichever had the capacity/form factor I was looking for for the least amount of money. And that probably wouldn't be Samsung unless I happened to catch a sale.
For what it's worth, the Solidigm SSD that I linked above might not be the most familiar brand, but they're not some no-name vendor, either. It used to be Intel, but then they sold their SSD business to Hynix, which renamed it as Solidigm. Hynix is one of the world's major NAND flash vendors, along with Samsung, Micron (Crucial), Western Digital, and Kioxia (formerly Toshiba).
For what it's worth, the Solidigm SSD that I linked above might not be the most familiar brand, but they're not some no-name vendor, either. It used to be Intel, but then they sold their SSD business to Hynix, which renamed it as Solidigm. Hynix is one of the world's major NAND flash vendors, along with Samsung, Micron (Crucial), Western Digital, and Kioxia (formerly Toshiba).
Toshiba changed its name?
I have a question of my own. I don't have space for a SSD. What to do?
For what it's worth, the Solidigm SSD that I linked above might not be the most familiar brand, but they're not some no-name vendor, either. It used to be Intel, but then they sold their SSD business to Hynix, which renamed it as Solidigm. Hynix is one of the world's major NAND flash vendors, along with Samsung, Micron (Crucial), Western Digital, and Kioxia (formerly Toshiba).
Toshiba changed its name?
I have a question of my own. I don't have space for a SSD. What to do?
Toshiba sold its NAND fabs and SSD unit to a private capital group. As it was no longer part of Toshiba proper, they had to rename it, and chose the name Kioxia.
It depends on what you mean that you "don't have space". Do you not have a free M.2 slot? Not have any M.2 slot at all? Or is this a laptop or other ultra small form factor where you literally don't have enough physical space for an SSD to fit?
If you have free SATA ports (and pretty much any desktop will), you can still buy SATA SSDs. They're low end as SSDs go, but still plenty fast for most consumer uses--and massively faster than hard drives.
We were talking about large capacity drives at work for the servers. Thought I'd share. That big Solidigm 61TB drive is only $62.30 per TB, but obviously isn't practical in a consumer rig. Crazy how cheap even large solid state storage is right now though.
For what it's worth, the Solidigm SSD that I linked above might not be the most familiar brand, but they're not some no-name vendor, either. It used to be Intel, but then they sold their SSD business to Hynix, which renamed it as Solidigm. Hynix is one of the world's major NAND flash vendors, along with Samsung, Micron (Crucial), Western Digital, and Kioxia (formerly Toshiba).
Toshiba changed its name?
I have a question of my own. I don't have space for a SSD. What to do?
Toshiba sold its NAND fabs and SSD unit to a private capital group. As it was no longer part of Toshiba proper, they had to rename it, and chose the name Kioxia.
It depends on what you mean that you "don't have space". Do you not have a free M.2 slot? Not have any M.2 slot at all? Or is this a laptop or other ultra small form factor where you literally don't have enough physical space for an SSD to fit?
If you have free SATA ports (and pretty much any desktop will), you can still buy SATA SSDs. They're low end as SSDs go, but still plenty fast for most consumer uses--and massively faster than hard drives.
Means that I don't have anywhere to put it. SATA ports etc are all fine, but I don't know where to put it.
For what it's worth, the Solidigm SSD that I linked above might not be the most familiar brand, but they're not some no-name vendor, either. It used to be Intel, but then they sold their SSD business to Hynix, which renamed it as Solidigm. Hynix is one of the world's major NAND flash vendors, along with Samsung, Micron (Crucial), Western Digital, and Kioxia (formerly Toshiba).
Toshiba changed its name?
I have a question of my own. I don't have space for a SSD. What to do?
Toshiba sold its NAND fabs and SSD unit to a private capital group. As it was no longer part of Toshiba proper, they had to rename it, and chose the name Kioxia.
It depends on what you mean that you "don't have space". Do you not have a free M.2 slot? Not have any M.2 slot at all? Or is this a laptop or other ultra small form factor where you literally don't have enough physical space for an SSD to fit?
If you have free SATA ports (and pretty much any desktop will), you can still buy SATA SSDs. They're low end as SSDs go, but still plenty fast for most consumer uses--and massively faster than hard drives.
Means that I don't have anywhere to put it. SATA ports etc are all fine, but I don't know where to put it.
At least I still can't tell what your problem is.
Computers can have place for two kinds of internal SSDs (assuming you're using a normal desktop PC).
Every motherboard has plenty of SATA connectors for 2.5 inch SSDs. You can normally connect at least 4 of them to a computer, usually even more, assuming that your PSU's cables have enough connectors for all of them.
New motherboards also have M.2 slots for M.2 SSDs. Those are newer tech. They don't need cables and instead just connect to the slot on motherboard, and most importantly those slots support PCIe transfer which is a lot faster than SATA's maximum speed.
If you have a free M.2 slot on your motherboard you should nowadays buy a PCIe SSD that goes to M.2 slot because those are a lot faster, and the price difference between cheap PCIe SSD and SATA SSD is really small. But motherboards usually have only 1 or 2 M.2 slots, and if you have old computer then it might not have M.2 slots at all. If you don't have (free) M.2 slot you should still be able to buy 2.5 inch SSD and connect that.
If you've got so many SSDs that you've managed to use up all your SATA connectors on motherboard then you should seriously think whether you really need that many hard disks.
If you have a spare M.2 slot, then I'd use that. If you don't, then you almost certainly have some spare SATA ports.
If the problem is that you don't have a good place to physically mount a SATA SSD rather than leaving it able to move around, then duct tape will work. Alternatively, you can just lay it on top of something else. Desktop cases tend not to move around too much.
For what it's worth, the Solidigm SSD that I linked above might not be the most familiar brand, but they're not some no-name vendor, either. It used to be Intel, but then they sold their SSD business to Hynix, which renamed it as Solidigm. Hynix is one of the world's major NAND flash vendors, along with Samsung, Micron (Crucial), Western Digital, and Kioxia (formerly Toshiba).
Toshiba changed its name?
I have a question of my own. I don't have space for a SSD. What to do?
Toshiba sold its NAND fabs and SSD unit to a private capital group. As it was no longer part of Toshiba proper, they had to rename it, and chose the name Kioxia.
It depends on what you mean that you "don't have space". Do you not have a free M.2 slot? Not have any M.2 slot at all? Or is this a laptop or other ultra small form factor where you literally don't have enough physical space for an SSD to fit?
If you have free SATA ports (and pretty much any desktop will), you can still buy SATA SSDs. They're low end as SSDs go, but still plenty fast for most consumer uses--and massively faster than hard drives.
Means that I don't have anywhere to put it. SATA ports etc are all fine, but I don't know where to put it.
At least I still can't tell what your problem is.
Computers can have place for two kinds of internal SSDs (assuming you're using a normal desktop PC).
Every motherboard has plenty of SATA connectors for 2.5 inch SSDs. You can normally connect at least 4 of them to a computer, usually even more, assuming that your PSU's cables have enough connectors for all of them.
New motherboards also have M.2 slots for M.2 SSDs. Those are newer tech. They don't need cables and instead just connect to the slot on motherboard, and most importantly those slots support PCIe transfer which is a lot faster than SATA's maximum speed.
If you have a free M.2 slot on your motherboard you should nowadays buy a PCIe SSD that goes to M.2 slot because those are a lot faster, and the price difference between cheap PCIe SSD and SATA SSD is really small. But motherboards usually have only 1 or 2 M.2 slots, and if you have old computer then it might not have M.2 slots at all. If you don't have (free) M.2 slot you should still be able to buy 2.5 inch SSD and connect that.
If you've got so many SSDs that you've managed to use up all your SATA connectors on motherboard then you should seriously think whether you really need that many hard disks.
It's physical space. I don't have anywhere to put it without it dangling or using glue etc.
Is it safe to just "pin it" to the case of MoBo with duct tape?
For what it's worth, the Solidigm SSD that I linked above might not be the most familiar brand, but they're not some no-name vendor, either. It used to be Intel, but then they sold their SSD business to Hynix, which renamed it as Solidigm. Hynix is one of the world's major NAND flash vendors, along with Samsung, Micron (Crucial), Western Digital, and Kioxia (formerly Toshiba).
Toshiba changed its name?
I have a question of my own. I don't have space for a SSD. What to do?
Toshiba sold its NAND fabs and SSD unit to a private capital group. As it was no longer part of Toshiba proper, they had to rename it, and chose the name Kioxia.
It depends on what you mean that you "don't have space". Do you not have a free M.2 slot? Not have any M.2 slot at all? Or is this a laptop or other ultra small form factor where you literally don't have enough physical space for an SSD to fit?
If you have free SATA ports (and pretty much any desktop will), you can still buy SATA SSDs. They're low end as SSDs go, but still plenty fast for most consumer uses--and massively faster than hard drives.
Means that I don't have anywhere to put it. SATA ports etc are all fine, but I don't know where to put it.
At least I still can't tell what your problem is.
Computers can have place for two kinds of internal SSDs (assuming you're using a normal desktop PC).
Every motherboard has plenty of SATA connectors for 2.5 inch SSDs. You can normally connect at least 4 of them to a computer, usually even more, assuming that your PSU's cables have enough connectors for all of them.
New motherboards also have M.2 slots for M.2 SSDs. Those are newer tech. They don't need cables and instead just connect to the slot on motherboard, and most importantly those slots support PCIe transfer which is a lot faster than SATA's maximum speed.
If you have a free M.2 slot on your motherboard you should nowadays buy a PCIe SSD that goes to M.2 slot because those are a lot faster, and the price difference between cheap PCIe SSD and SATA SSD is really small. But motherboards usually have only 1 or 2 M.2 slots, and if you have old computer then it might not have M.2 slots at all. If you don't have (free) M.2 slot you should still be able to buy 2.5 inch SSD and connect that.
If you've got so many SSDs that you've managed to use up all your SATA connectors on motherboard then you should seriously think whether you really need that many hard disks.
It's physical space. I don't have anywhere to put it without it dangling or using glue etc.
Is it safe to just "pin it" to the case of MoBo with duct tape?
If you're going to tape it somewhere, I'd tape it to the case, not to the motherboard or any other electrical parts. But it's also safe to leave it dangling somewhere.
If you find that unsatisfactory, you can buy a mounting bracket to stick a 2.5" SSD securely in a 3.5" hard drive slot. For example:
Also, depending on how old your case is. Check the back side of case. Some cases have mounting spaces for SSD on the back side too.
And yes just just find a spot where SSD will not lay across any of your other cards, or MB. Dangling, laying on bottom of case, double sided sticky tape, any and all are fine for SSD.
Also, depending on how old your case is. Check the back side of case. Some cases have mounting spaces for SSD on the back side too.
And yes just just find a spot where SSD will not lay across any of your other cards, or MB. Dangling, laying on bottom of case, double sided sticky tape, any and all are fine for SSD.
Glue? Something like Loctite? I know it's most likely a bad idea, but I am curious.
And yeah, I had one of those brackets, but god damn I don't know how to use it!
Handy list I keep on hand, it's in two parts one for sata ssds and one for nvme. Each part has a low, mid and high end list. I tend to get what ever is on sale in the high end list. It's from april 2023 so may be getting a little out of date but good enough.
HIGH-END NVME High-End NVMe SSDs are ones specialized for certain tasks, for example content creation or workstation workloads. These drives will have unique characteristics to aid in this type of usage, or may simply offer high-performance through a Gen4 interface and the newest flash. As such, these drives tend to be more expensive.
LIST OF HIGH-END NVME DRIVES
ADATA Legend 960/Max ADATA S70/Blade Aorus 10000 (Gen5) Corsair MP600 Pro/Pro XT/LPX Corsair MP700 (Gen5) Crucial P5 Plus Crucial T700 (Gen5) Gigabyte Aorus 10/12K (Gen5) HP FX900 Pro Inland Performance Plus/GPP Inland TD510 (Gen5) Kingston KC3000/Fury MSI 570/570 Pro (gen5) Mushkin Gamma Netac NV7000 Patriot VP4300 Plextor M10P(GN) Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus/Plus-G Sabrent Rocket X5 (Gen5) Samsung 980/990 PRO Seagate FireCuda 540 (Gen5) SK hynix Plat. P41 Solidigm P44 Pro Team Cardea A440/Pro/SE Team Z540(Gen5) Team Z54A (Gen5) WD SN850/SN850X/SN850P
Having only got the new PC about three months ago I recommend a Samsung 990 Pro and a Seagate for your wired external drive. As I bought the PC so recently my knowledge is quite up to date, in a few months it will be out of date as I only gem up on this area when I am getting a new PC.
Also, depending on how old your case is. Check the back side of case. Some cases have mounting spaces for SSD on the back side too.
And yes just just find a spot where SSD will not lay across any of your other cards, or MB. Dangling, laying on bottom of case, double sided sticky tape, any and all are fine for SSD.
Glue? Something like Loctite? I know it's most likely a bad idea, but I am curious.
And yeah, I had one of those brackets, but god damn I don't know how to use it!
A glue is not the best idea, because once it's glued in it could be really difficult to get out.
If you have a mounting bracket but don't know how to use it, you can pretty much just place the SSD inside. Then if you get even one screw attached that's enough to hold it in there, or if you have duct tape you can tape it in place. SSDs do not have moving parts, and you don't need to get a solution that would hold it absolutely stationary. As long as the SSD does not accidentally fall from anywhere it's perfectly ok even if it moves around a bit.
By duct tape I mean something like the gray duct tape that's used for construction or something similar.
Double sided tape works well. Like the 3M tape or that newer "reusable" clear stuff. Or sticky tak used for putting up posters.
I have some computers where they just set in the bottom of the case, or on top of other hard drives, no screws or anything.
Scotch tape probably wouldn't work, but packing tape, masking tape, duct tape, electrical tape - any of that would stick a drive somewhere.
Even if you can't figure out exactly how to bolt into a bracket, just getting one screw in someplace would be more than enough so long as you aren't trying to ship it via UPS or anything.
SATA SSDS - fortunately - are pretty bulletproof and very forgiving.
Double sided tape works well. Like the 3M tape or that newer "reusable" clear stuff. Or sticky tak used for putting up posters.
I have some computers where they just set in the bottom of the case, or on top of other hard drives, no screws or anything.
Scotch tape probably wouldn't work, but packing tape, masking tape, duct tape, electrical tape - any of that would stick a drive somewhere.
Even if you can't figure out exactly how to bolt into a bracket, just getting one screw in someplace would be more than enough so long as you aren't trying to ship it via UPS or anything.
SATA SSDS - fortunately - are pretty bulletproof and very forgiving.
3M Command Hook tape would work as well. So would velcro, that way you can pull it out and stick it back in without having to reapply tape. But like others have already stated, you can just let it sit in the bottom of your case. The SSD will survive any moving around of the case, and even if you dropped the case other parts would break before the SSD took any damage.
Comments
Samsung makes some nice SSDs, but tends to charge way too much for them. They used to have the top end performance, but others have caught up. Crucial and Western Digital tend to make good SSDs that are more affordable. Even the no-name brands will probably be fine, though.
If the SSD is PCI-E 4.0 x4, then you're guaranteed to at least get something modern. That and avoiding QLC NAND are the things to look for if you're willing to pay for a premium drive.
Yeah Crucial is best bang for the buck tbh, and super reliable.
https://www.newegg.com/solidigm-2tb-p41-plus/p/N82E16820329022
Or even if you're willing to pay for something higher end (and avoid QLC NAND), this is still a lot cheaper than Samsung:
https://www.newegg.com/western-digital-2tb-sn770/p/N82E16820250218
I'd bet that if you had either of those or a 990 Pro, you'd never notice the difference.
If I were buying an SSD today, I would go with Samsung, Crucial, or WD - whichever had the capacity/form factor I was looking for for the least amount of money. And that probably wouldn't be Samsung unless I happened to catch a sale.
I have a question of my own. I don't have space for a SSD. What to do?
It depends on what you mean that you "don't have space". Do you not have a free M.2 slot? Not have any M.2 slot at all? Or is this a laptop or other ultra small form factor where you literally don't have enough physical space for an SSD to fit?
If you have free SATA ports (and pretty much any desktop will), you can still buy SATA SSDs. They're low end as SSDs go, but still plenty fast for most consumer uses--and massively faster than hard drives.
Computers can have place for two kinds of internal SSDs (assuming you're using a normal desktop PC).
First is older 2.5 inch SSDs, like this:
https://www.newegg.com/orico-h100-512gb/p/0D9-004U-00007?Item=9SIA1DS9XY5600
Second is newer M.2 SSDs, like this:
https://www.newegg.com/kingspec-2tb/p/0D9-000D-00151?Item=9SIB1V8HP68401
Every motherboard has plenty of SATA connectors for 2.5 inch SSDs. You can normally connect at least 4 of them to a computer, usually even more, assuming that your PSU's cables have enough connectors for all of them.
New motherboards also have M.2 slots for M.2 SSDs. Those are newer tech. They don't need cables and instead just connect to the slot on motherboard, and most importantly those slots support PCIe transfer which is a lot faster than SATA's maximum speed.
If you have a free M.2 slot on your motherboard you should nowadays buy a PCIe SSD that goes to M.2 slot because those are a lot faster, and the price difference between cheap PCIe SSD and SATA SSD is really small. But motherboards usually have only 1 or 2 M.2 slots, and if you have old computer then it might not have M.2 slots at all. If you don't have (free) M.2 slot you should still be able to buy 2.5 inch SSD and connect that.
If you've got so many SSDs that you've managed to use up all your SATA connectors on motherboard then you should seriously think whether you really need that many hard disks.
If the problem is that you don't have a good place to physically mount a SATA SSD rather than leaving it able to move around, then duct tape will work. Alternatively, you can just lay it on top of something else. Desktop cases tend not to move around too much.
Is it safe to just "pin it" to the case of MoBo with duct tape?
If you find that unsatisfactory, you can buy a mounting bracket to stick a 2.5" SSD securely in a 3.5" hard drive slot. For example:
https://www.newegg.com/phanteks-ph-sdbkt-02-2-x-2-5-drive-to-3-5-bay/p/N82E16817987002
And yes just just find a spot where SSD will not lay across any of your other cards, or MB. Dangling, laying on bottom of case, double sided sticky tape, any and all are fine for SSD.
And yeah, I had one of those brackets, but god damn I don't know how to use it!
High-End NVMe SSDs are ones specialized for certain tasks, for example content creation or
workstation workloads. These drives will have unique characteristics to aid in this type of usage,
or may simply offer high-performance through a Gen4 interface and the newest flash. As such,
these drives tend to be more expensive.
ADATA Legend 960/Max
ADATA S70/Blade
Aorus 10000 (Gen5)
Corsair MP600 Pro/Pro XT/LPX
Corsair MP700 (Gen5)
Crucial P5 Plus
Crucial T700 (Gen5)
Gigabyte Aorus 10/12K (Gen5)
HP FX900 Pro
Inland Performance Plus/GPP
Inland TD510 (Gen5)
Kingston KC3000/Fury
MSI 570/570 Pro (gen5)
Mushkin Gamma
Netac NV7000
Patriot VP4300
Plextor M10P(GN)
Sabrent Rocket 4.0 Plus/Plus-G
Sabrent Rocket X5 (Gen5)
Samsung 980/990 PRO
Seagate FireCuda 540 (Gen5)
SK hynix Plat. P41
Solidigm P44 Pro
Team Cardea A440/Pro/SE
Team Z540(Gen5)
Team Z54A (Gen5)
WD SN850/SN850X/SN850P
InnoGrit IG5666
Phison E18
Phison E26
SMI SM2264
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
If you have a mounting bracket but don't know how to use it, you can pretty much just place the SSD inside. Then if you get even one screw attached that's enough to hold it in there, or if you have duct tape you can tape it in place. SSDs do not have moving parts, and you don't need to get a solution that would hold it absolutely stationary. As long as the SSD does not accidentally fall from anywhere it's perfectly ok even if it moves around a bit.
By duct tape I mean something like the gray duct tape that's used for construction or something similar.
I have some computers where they just set in the bottom of the case, or on top of other hard drives, no screws or anything.
Scotch tape probably wouldn't work, but packing tape, masking tape, duct tape, electrical tape - any of that would stick a drive somewhere.
Even if you can't figure out exactly how to bolt into a bracket, just getting one screw in someplace would be more than enough so long as you aren't trying to ship it via UPS or anything.
SATA SSDS - fortunately - are pretty bulletproof and very forgiving.