Buying Guide
Best Storage for Gaming PCs
For gaming, NVMe PCIe 4.0 is the sweet spot — fast enough to load any game in seconds, widely compatible, and now priced competitively. DirectStorage on Windows 11 leverages NVMe bandwidth for texture streaming. These are the top picks ranked by value score.
Top picks — ranked by value score
| # | Product | Capacity | Read | Write | TBW | Warranty | Score | $/TB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  WD Black SN850X 2TB NVMe SSDBest value WD | 2TB | 7.3 GB/s | 6.6 GB/s | 600 TBW | 5 years | 78.5 | $77.50/TB | $154.99 | $154.99 |
| 2 | 4TB | 7.3 GB/s | 6.3 GB/s | 2400 TBW | 5 years | 72.8 | $150.00/TB | $599.99 | $599.99 | |
| 3 |  Samsung | 2TB | 7.5 GB/s | 6.9 GB/s | 1200 TBW | 5 years | 66.2 | $195.00/TB | $389.99 | $389.99 |
| 4 | 1TB | 7.3 GB/s | 6.9 GB/s | 1275 TBW | 5 years | 62 | $299.27/TB | $299.27 | $299.27 | |
| 5 |  Crucial | 1TB | 7.3 GB/s | 6.8 GB/s | 600 TBW | 5 years | 60.1 | $229.90/TB | $229.90 | $229.90 |
| 6 |  Samsung | 4TB | 7.5 GB/s | 6.9 GB/s | 2400 TBW | 5 years | 59.5 | $237.25/TB | $949.00 | $949.00 |
| 7 | 1TB | 7.3 GB/s | 6.3 GB/s | 600 TBW | 5 years | 57 | $249.99/TB | $249.99 | $249.99 | |
| 8 |  Crucial | 1TB | 5.0 GB/s | 3.6 GB/s | 220 TBW | 5 years | 36.1 | $288.01/TB | $288.01 | $288.01 |
Prices updated daily from Amazon. Value Score combines price/TB, speed, endurance, and warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much storage do I need for gaming?
Modern AAA games average 50–100GB each. For a primary gaming drive, 1TB holds 10–15 modern titles alongside Windows and apps. 2TB is the comfort zone for gamers with large libraries. With game pass and live service games, 2TB fills quickly — consider a 2TB NVMe or supplement with a secondary HDD.
Does PCIe 4.0 make games load faster than PCIe 3.0?
For most games, the difference is 1–3 seconds. However, games built for DirectStorage (newer titles) benefit significantly from PCIe 4.0 bandwidth. PCIe 4.0 drives are now priced similarly to PCIe 3.0, making them the default choice for new builds.
Is an SSD worth it for gaming over an HDD?
Absolutely. An SSD reduces load times by 5–10× compared to an HDD. Open-world games with streaming assets like Cyberpunk 2077 and Microsoft Flight Simulator show dramatic improvements. An HDD for game storage in 2026 is a noticeable bottleneck.