Introduction
Every PC needs some kind of storage to boot your OS of choice off, be that your new gaming rig or your dad’s old laptop. That’s why today we’ll be looking at various options to boot your PC off from 240gb to 4tb of capacity.
What To Look For
- DRAM cache: very useful to have on an OS drive because of many read/writes being done
- TLC NAND: higher reliability compared to QLC NAND, as well as more consistant performance under heavy writes
- HMB (NVMe only): very useful for NVMe drives, as it uses some of the system’s RAM to cache
- Formfactor: make sure you have a spare m.2 or SATA port before buying a drive. It would be sad finding out afterwards that your new SSD doesn’t fit in your system.
- Interface: SATA is sufficient for most gamers, but if you have a spare M.2 slot it might be interesting to look towards NVMe drives, as they can offer higher speeds at similar prices today.
What To Avoid
- QLC NAND: tends to drop heavily under heavier writes, not ideal as a primary drive
- DRAMless SATA: has a hard time recovering it’s cache once running out and has more latency in read/writes
- Common part swaps: this doesn’t include most mainstream drives like the SX8200 Pro, but will include cheap drives from TC Sunbow, Kindian and others that have questionable reliability because of swapping to completely different parts.
Overview
| Brand/Model | Link |
| Adata SU800 256gb | Amazon |
| Team MP33 256gb | Amazon |
| Team MP33 512gb | Amazon |
| Kingston A2000 500gb | Amazon |
| WD Blue 3D 500gb | Amazon |
| SK Hynix S31 500gb | Amazon |
| Team MP33 1tb | Amazon |
| WD Blue 3d 1tb | Amazon |
| Kingston A2000 1tb | Amazon |
| WD Blue 3d 2tb | Amazon |
| Team MP33 2tb | Amazon |
| Silicon Power P34A80 2tb | Amazon |
| WD Blue 4tb | Amazon |
240-256GB Capacity / 30-40 USD Budget
Option 1 – Adata SU800
Specifications
Interface: SATA
Size: 2.5″
Controller: SM2258
NAND: Micron 3d TLC
DRAM: yes
HMB: not applicable
Reasons to buy
Uses DRAM cache
Popular SM2258 controller
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
Value towards 500gb
Only capacity for OS + ~2 games
Option 2 – Team MP33
Specifications
Interface: NVME
Size: M.2
Controller: E13T/Sm2263XT
NAND: Toshiba 3d TLC
DRAM: No
HMB: Yes
Reasons to buy
Uses HMB to compromise for no onboard DRAM
Faster than most SATA SSDs
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
Value towards 500gb
Only capacity for OS + ~2 games
Needs an M.2 NVMe slot free
480-512GB Capacity / 50-60 USD Budget
Option 1 – Team MP33
Specifications
Interface: NVME
Size: M.2
Controller: Phison E13T/Silicon Motion SM2263XT
NAND: Toshiba 3d TLC
DRAM: No
HMB: Yes
Reasons to buy
Great value
Uses HMB to compromise for no onboard DRAM
Faster than most SATA SSDs
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
Requires M.2 slot
Slower than our next option for around 10 usd more
Option 2 – Kingston A2000
Specifications
Interface: NVME
Size: M.2
Controller: Silicon Motion SM2263
NAND: Micron 3d TLC
DRAM: Yes
HMB: No
Reasons to buy
Great value
Performs close to some of the best pcie 3.0 SSDs after recent firmware update
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
Not a massive difference in gaming workloads
Needs a spare M.2 NVMe slot
Option 3 – WD Blue 3d
Specifications
Interface: SATA
Size: 2.5″
Controller: Marvell 88SS1074
NAND: Sandisk 3d TLC
DRAM: Yes
HMB: Not applicable
Reasons to buy
Uses DRAM cache
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
More expensive than NVMe options above at the time of writing
Slower than budget NVMe drives
Option 4 – SK Hynix Gold S31
Specifications
Interface: SATA
Size: 2.5″
Controller: Hynix Quartz
NAND: Hynix 3d TLC
DRAM: Yes
HMB: Not applicable
Reasons to buy
Uses DRAM cache
TLC NAND
Best performer in it’s category
Reasons to avoid
Expensive
Slower than budget NVMe SSDs
960GB-1TB Capacity – 90-100 USD Budget
Option 1 – Team MP33
Specifications
Interface: NVME
Size: M.2
Controller: Phison E13T/Silicon Motion SM2263XT
NAND: Toshiba 3d TLC
DRAM: No
HMB: Yes
Reasons to buy
Amazing price/GB
Uses HMB to cover up for the lack of a DRAM cache
Faster than most SATA SSDs
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
Requires a spare M.2 slot
Not a top performer
Option 2 – WD Blue 3d
Specifications
Interface: SATA
Size: 2.5″
Controller: Marvell 88SS1074
NAND: Sandisk 3d TLC
DRAM: Yes
HMB: Not applicable
Reasons to buy
Uses DRAM cache
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
Slower than budget NVMe drives
Option 3 – Kingston A2000
Specifications
Interface: NVME
Size: M.2
Controller: Silicon Motion SM2263
NAND: Micron 3d TLC
DRAM: Yes
HMB: No
Reasons to buy
High performance
Great value
Reasons to avoid
Requires M.2 slot
No massive difference in gaming workloads compared to MP33
2tb – 180-220 USD
Option 1 – WD Blue 3D
Specifications
Interface: SATA
Size: 2.5″
Controller: Marvell 88SS1074
NAND: Sandisk 3d TLC
DRAM: Yes
HMB: Not applicable
Reasons to buy
Great value
TLC NAND
DRAM cache
Reasons to avoid
Not as fast as NVMe drives
Two more cables to manage away
Option 2 – Team MP33
Specifications
Interface: NVME
Size: M.2
Controller: Phison E13T/Silicon Motion SM2263XT
NAND: Toshiba 3d TLC
DRAM: No
HMB: Yes
Reasons to buy
Well priced
Uses HMB
Faster than most SATA SSDs
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
Not a chart-topper
requires M.2 on the motherboard
Option 3 – Silicon Power P34A80
Specifications
Interface: NVME
Size: M.2
Controller: Phison E12/Silicon Motion SM2262EN
NAND: Toshiba 3d TLC
DRAM: Yes
HMB: No
Reasons to buy
High performer
TLC NAND
Reasons to avoid
Expensive compared to the other 2 options
Not a massive difference in gaming workloads
4TB Capacity – 400 USD Budget
Option 1 – WD Blue 3D
Specifications
Interface: SATA
Size: 2.5″
Controller: Marvell 88SS1074
NAND: Sandisk 3d TLC
DRAM: Yes
HMB: Not applicable
Reasons to buy
Well priced at this capacity
Small package for a lot of storage
TLC NAND
DRAM Cache
Reasons to avoid
Multiple 2TB drives can offer a better value
Disclaimer: this guide contains Amazon affiliate links, we may receive small commission from purchases made through them, all images are directly from the Amazon listings
