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This post includes the best internal solid-state drives (SSDs) I've reviewed that are relevant and available to purchase.
Migrating your computer from a hard drive (if you still have one) to a solid-state drive (SSD) or a SATA SSD to an NVMe is the most gratifying upgrade.
So, getting the correct drive is naturally an important task, and you will be able to pick one today!
Dong's note: I first published this post on May 1, 2020, and last updated it on July 11, 2023.
Best SSDs: The lists
You'll find standard SATA and NVMe drives here, divided into two lists in reviewed order, with the latest on top.
NVMe and SATA are two different internal storage types -- more about them in this post on SSD basics.
Top five best NVMe SSDs (and alternatives): A must for a top-performing computer, server, or game console
Fast NVMe SSDs require a host with an M.2 slot. Most computers released in the past five years have at least one of these slots built-in, but you can upgrade to one on almost all desktop computers via a PCIe adapter.
The currently fastest NVMe drives use PCIe 5.0, available in the latest hardware. Alternatively, PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 3.0 counterparts are also viable in most cases.
With that, below are the top five drives among those I've tested and their worthy alternatives.
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| Name | WD Blue SN580's Rating | Crucial T700 PCIe 5.0 SSD's Rating | Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus-G and Rocket 4 Plus' Rating | Samsung 990 PRO SSD's Rating | Seagate IronWolf 525's Rating |
| Price | - | - | - | - | $0 |
| Rating | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Buy this product |
5. WD Blue SN580
This is the latest drive on this list. The number is not the rating.
The SN580 is the PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD in the WD Blue family and continues the tradition of affordability. The frill-free drive has an excellent combo of performance and cost.
Similar alternatives from WD:
- WD Black SN850: Review | Buy now
- WD Black SN850X: Review | Buy now
- WD Black SN770: Review | Buy now
- WD Blue SN570: Review | Buy now
- WD Blue SN550: Review | Buy now
WD Blue SN580's Rating
Pros
Excellent sequential performance
Affordable
Helpful Dashboard software
5-year warranty; run cool
Cons
Random access performance could be better
No security or user-accessible features
4. Crucial T700
The Crucial T700 is the first PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD, which screams speed. In return, the drive is not cheap and requires the latest and most expensive hardware to deliver top performance. It runs hot, too.
Alternatives from Micron:
Crucial T700 PCIe 5.0 SSD's Rating
Pros
Screaming performance with PCIe 5.0 or 4.0
Helpful Storage Executive software with useful settings and features
5-year warranty
Cons
Expensive
Runs hot
3. Sabrent Rocket 4 series
Sabrent's Rocket 4 series includes:
Both are excellent SSDs.
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus-G and Rocket 4 Plus' Rating
Pros
Excellent NVMe performance, Plus model available in up to 8TB, high endurance
Useful Dashboard software; valuable bundle backup software
Microsoft DirectStorage API support (Rocket 4 Plus-G model)
5-year warranty
Cons
Only a 2-year warranty without registration
No hardware encryption or user-accessible feature
2. Samsung 990 PRO
The Samsung 990 is Samsung's latest in its flagship NVMe SSDs with an incremental improvement to previous models, which remain to be excellent.
Similar alternatives:
- Samsung 980 Pro: Review | Buy now
- Samsung 980: Review | Buy now
- Samsung 970 Pro: Review | Buy now
- Samsung 970 Evo Plus: Review | Buy now
- Silicon Power XPower XS70 : Review | Buy now
- Silicon-Power A80: Review | Buy now
- SK hynix Gold P31: Review | Buy now
Samsung 990 PRO SSD's Rating
Pros
Excellent PCIe 4.0 performance
Reasonably priced
Helpful Samsung Magician software with lots of useful settings and features
5-year warranty
Cons
No PCIe 5.0 support
No new or break-through features
1. Seagate IronWolf 525
This is the oldest drive on this list. The number is not the rating.
The IronWolf 525 is an excellent PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for PCs and NAS servers with the best endurance rating.
Alternative:
Seagate IronWolf 525's Rating
Pros
High endurance
Excellent real-world performance and RAID support
Three years of data rescue services included
5-year warranty
Cons
Slower than PCIe 4.0 rivals
Limited NAS use
Three best SATA SSDs (and alternatives): Slow but still plenty fast and relevant
The SATA standard is much slower than the NVMe above but still significantly faster than any traditional hard drive.
A SATA SSD will fit in the place of any regular hard drive and, therefore, will make an easy and satisfying upgrade in any computer that still runs on a hard drive -- if you still have one today. On a fast, up-to-date computer, a SATA SSD makes an excellent secondary drive that holds data or backups.
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| Name | Samsung 870 EVO's Rating | WD Red SA500's Rating | Crucial BX500's Rating |
| Price | - | - | - |
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| Description | |||
| Statistics | |||
| Buy this product |
3. Samsung SSD 870 EVO: Arguably the best SATA drive to date
This is the latest drive on this list. The number is not the rating.
The 870 EVO is the latest SATA SSD from Samsung and might be the company's last drive of the standard.
Similar alternatives from Samsung:
- Samsung 870 QVO: Review | Buy now
- Samsung 860 EVO: Review | Buy now
- Samsung 860 QVO: Review | Buy now
Samsung 870 EVO's Rating
Pros
Top-notch SATA performance
Useful software with an excellent feature set
Relatively affordable
5-year warranty
High endurance
Cons
No 8TB capacity
No M.2 version
2. WD Red SA500: A versatile SATA NAS SSD that’s also great for PCs
The WD RED SA500 is unique since it's available in M.2 and SATA form factors. It's an excellent choice for a NAS server or a budget PC.
WD Red SA500's Rating
Pros
Affordable with extended warranty
Excellent performance
2.5-inch and M.2 form factors
High capacity
Cons
Relatively low endurance when compared to competing drive
No NVMe version, 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch mounting bracket not included
1. Micron Crucial BX500: The low-cost replacement SSD for a budget computer
This is the oldest drive on this list. The number is not the rating.
The Crucial BX500 is an excellent alternative to any hard drive.
Crucial BX500's Rating
Pros
Inexpensive
Good performance and endurance
Useful software and features
Cons
No encryption, bare-bone specs
Short 3-year warranty
No higher capacities than 960GB
Best SSDs: The takeaway
The solid-state drive has become the norm in computer storage. It's not impossible to buy a new computer that doesn't use one as the main storage unit.
Still, not all SSDs are created equal. Picking the right one will ring in the performance you need and the right bang for your buck.
Once you've got the one you need, these posts on how to migrate a hard drive to an SSD or do an MVMe upgrade on your Windows machine will come in handy.
I am surprised there was no mention or inclusion of a single Sabrent-branded SSDs. I’ve been using a couple 2TBs for well over a year and no problems. I have an unopened 2TB NVMe v4.0 ready to deploy when I get my Lenovo X1 Extreme Gen 4. You might want to check them out. Here’s one link to a Black Friday special at Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TLYWMY
Hi Dong,
My daughter has a ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop. About a year ago, I upgraded its SSD from Intel Pro 6000p 256GB (SSDPEKKF256G7) to Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB (MZ-V7S1T0B/AM).
We found out that the 970 EVO Plus runs quite a bit hotter than the Intel Pro 6000p.
I think it might be useful to your readers, if you could include some temperature measurements, especially in ultra-portable laptops.
Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
When you need larger capacity drives, there is no competition for old mechanical hard drives. I would rather pay $200 for a 10TB mechanical drive than $1000+ for a SSD. Put 8 of them into a Synology DS1819+ and you really have a lot of $ put out in drives.
That’s true, Steve. These mostly are for the boot drive of a computer. You can use SSDs with a NAS though, you’ll be amazed how much faster your system is especially when you want to run VMs. More in this review of the DS1621+.
I know. I have an Alienware m17 r3 with 2x 2tb m.2 NVMe SSDs, and 1x 512GB m.2 NVMe SSD. On the 1819+. I have 8x 10tb HD (shucked WD EasyShares) and 2 Seagate Iron Wolf drives for caching
I’m impressed, Steve! On the shucked ones! It takes guts. 🙂
Not really. They are white label HGST drives. Most of the Seagate 10TB or larger are now IronWolf drives now. You have access to my email so if you want to email me, feel free.
Noted, Steve. Thanks. 🙂
Maybe this is insensitive (or plain ole back woods ignorance), but are spindle/platter drives still common in everyday computing? I purchase computers semi-regularly (I work in IT) and don’t think you can configure devices with anything but SSD for the primary (the Dell models we buy anyway).
I can’t even begin to fathom how long it must take for Windows 10 to do anything on a 7200RPM (or even 5400RPM, ouch!) drive.
There are still a lot of new (cheap) computers that use HDD on the inside, Lance. Not to mention existing old computers. But SSDs are taking over for sure. And you can also upgrade to a larger one.
consider ADATA XPG SX8100 512GB 3D NAND NVMe Gen3x4 PCIe M.2 2280 Solid State Drive R/W 3500/3000MB/s SSD (ASX8100NP-512GT-C)
I’ll check it out, Ron. Thanks for your suggestion.
Why no SanDisk SSD? Great budget SSD and good performance options. I have two 960GB Ultra IIs that are going strong 4-5 years now.
They haven’t made new ones for a long time, WP. The one you mentioned I reviewed in my past life at CNET, not on this site.
Please include WD SN850 NVMe Gen 4.0 drives as it narrowly beats Samsung 980 Pro while being little cheaper. It is also NVMe 1.4.
Noted, D. I’ll see to it. 🙂