The fastest storage drives you can buy

NVMe drives are becoming increasingly popular. With the rise in popularity of PCIe Gen 4, they are getting faster and faster.

We have written A detailed guide on how to install these small drives to increase performance, and, if you are thinking about which car to buy, you may not know which one to choose. We’re here to help, covering the best drives you can find – whether you prioritize storage, speed or reliability. Some have RGB, because, as any good PC gamer knows, RGB lighting means better performance.

There’s a lot to understand about the different generations of NVMe, whether your devices are compatible and how much space you need to drive one, and we’ve asked these questions in the section below to help you choose the right drive.

However, for now, let’s dive into the top options we’ve tested.

If you’re on the edge and need high-speed NVMe, then the Crucial T700 is a great option. This is a PCIe Gen 5 NVMe that will need the latest motherboard technology to run at full speed but it’s great.

The T700 can handle speeds of up to 12,400/11,800MB/s sequential read/write making it twice as fast as Crucial’s own P5 gen 4 NVMe. It should be cool at least, because under heavy loads it can get hot. So we recommend choosing the model with a heatsink (which is big) to keep it running smoothly. You should also make sure that your machine has good ventilation. Otherwise it’s another winner from Crucial.

If you have a setup that can take a PCIe Gen 4 drive, there isn’t much out there that can do this better than WD_Black.

The SN850 is incredibly fast – read/write speeds can reach 7,000/5,300MB/s, so you’re looking at a huge leap from previous technology.

You can get it with or without a heatsink, too, if you’re a little worried about overheating your build. It may be a more expensive choice for larger devices, but this is a bleeding edge option.

Samsung has been one of the biggest names in the SSD space for a while now, and its latest drive is amazing.

With read/write speeds of up to 7450/6900MB/s, you’ll be blown away by its speed if you’re uploading, and even though it’s far from the cheapest option out there, Samsung’s pedigree makes it very durable.

The Kingston Fury Renegade is available in two different models, one of which includes a heatsink version.

This drive has up to 7,300 MB/s read speed. Which means faster acceleration.

We used this drive for both video files and games and found it to be fast and reliable. It also looks great when installed in a gaming PC.

The bigger ones are more expensive, but these are great drives.

The Crucial P5 Plus is a great alternative for those looking for a PCIe Gen 4 drive. It’s not as fast as the SN850, but it can handle a read speed of 6600MB/s.

One simple thing we liked about this drive was that it comes with the all-important M.2 slot – something that most drives don’t. But it’s fast, reliable and easy to use, too.

If you’re not too fussed about PCIe gen 4 speed or have an older motherboard then this Core Option is the right choice.

The Crucial P3 is available in sizes up to 4TB but is also surprisingly affordable at 2TB which is its main attraction.

For your money, you also get a speed of 3,500MB/s. It also has the most important building blocks included.

If you need a small form factor 2230 NVMe SSD to upgrade your storage then the Corsair MP600 Mini may fit the bill. This is a smaller drive than its size and is great for things like to upgrade your Steam Deck storage or put it in a little book.

Despite its small size, this is still a PCIe gen 4 drive that runs up to 4,800MB/s read/write speed. It’s not quite as fast as the standard hard drives out there, but it’s still pretty unimpressive and expensive.

How we chose these NVMe SSDs

We’ve tried and tested each of the SSDs on this list, making sure they have the advertised speed, as well as evaluating their build quality and ease of use. You won’t find any questionable no-names here, high-end SSDs from reputable manufacturers.

We consider many factors before adding an SSD to our list. These include performance, value for money, brand reputation and customer reviews. We also try to include a variety of options, from the cheapest to the highest quality beasts.

How to choose an NVMe SSD

Buying an NVMe SSD is not as simple as buying the best available. There are a few other things that you should consider first to ensure that you get accurate and cost-effective results.

Make sure your hardware is compatible

The first thing to do is make sure you have an M.2 slot on your motherboard. Modern laptops and desktops can support NVMe drives via the M.2 slot directly on the motherboard.

Sometimes you find your motherboard has one, two, three or four slots that can be filled with drives. Check your motherboard through the manufacturer’s website to see what’s available or the manual to see where it is. See our guide how to configure your PC to see examples, as well.

What generation do you want?

There are currently two generations of PCIe NVMe available, Gen 3 and Gen 4. Both will run in the M.2 slot, but they won’t be as fast.

If you have an older Intel or AMD box, for example, you may have a PCIe Gen 3 slot on your board and even if you put a Gen 4 drive in there, it may be smaller.

For example, Intel 10th generation CPUs on Z490 motherboards can support Gen 3 speeds – around 3,000MB/s. If you put something like the Crucial P5 Plus in there it can hit faster, but in a modern box – like Intel’s Z590 setup – it can hit twice that speed at 7,000mb/s.

You’ll also pay more for Gen 4 drives than Gen 3, so it’s important to know what your system can handle.

How much space do you need?

Another big question, and one that is very important in terms of cost, is how much space you need. Are you looking to install chunky games to your NVMe?

500GB drives are cheap to buy, but it’s easy to fill them up, especially if you consider the large size of games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Call of Duty: Warzone and more. On the other hand, the 2TB, 4TB and 8TB options will set you back less.

What are you running?

NVMe drives can be used for many purposes. You can, for example, use this method to match your Windows installation on one and therefore start your computer faster.

Installing games on these drives can also mean less time spent focusing on loading screens and better responsiveness. If you’re transferring large files around a lot – like video files for example – then the speed of a PCIe Gen 4 drive can make a difference and help improve your performance.

There’s a lot to consider before clicking the buy button, but hopefully, we’ve helped simplify the decision-making process.