Choosing the SSD is not just about getting theoptimal performancefor thebest price. You should also consider thedrive’s capacityandtheoretical lifespan.

On top of that, you’ll find lots of SSD manufacturers in the market, and even more models from the same brand. So you must be extra careful before making a purchase.

Capacity

The total capacity for your SSD depends on your PC usage.

Thedrive needs to be enoughfor the system files, apps, personal data, and maybe games. Other than that, you need to leave appropriatefree space for future usage.

Here are some recommendations for various purposes:

Bus Interface and Compatibility

Mainly two types of SSDs are available in the market depending on the bus interface–M.2 NVMe and SATA SSDs.

NVMe SSDsrequirededicated M.2s slotsbut are faster and use less space. Modern motherboards all come with 2-5 slots depending ontheir form factor. So you should always get these whenever possible.

With later technologies all focusing on NVMe (such asDirectStorage, which boosts game performance), it is thefuture-proof option.

However, an NVMe SSD does use up 4 of your CPU orchipset’sPCIe lanes. So if you want toextend your storage, add SATA ones since you also need 16 lanes foryour GPU.

These SSDs do not use any PCIe lane. Also, all motherboards come with 4-10 or moreSATA ports, so you canadd as manyas you want.

SATA SSDs are the only options forolder motherboardswithout M.2 slots.

Performance

The performance of an SSD depends upon itsPCIe generation(for NVMe), flash cell memory level, and hardware architecture.

Higher gen SSDs are always faster, but they work best with the corresponding generation of PCIe slots on the motherboard.

For example, you may use PCIe 5.0 SSDs with PCIe 4.0 slots, but you’ll only get the speed of PCIe 4.0.

So, it’s best to get an NVMe SSD that is of the same gen as your motherboard’s PCIe slots.

Even within the same generation, different models of SSDs will provide different read/write speeds due to other factors. You cancheck the sequential speeds on their specification page.

However, it’s not exactly necessary to chase after higher speed numbers. You won’t notice a significant difference in real-life performance unless you aredealing with large files.

Even a SATA SSD will show comparable boot and app load times to the much faster NVMe SSDs.

Durability

Like performance, an SSD’s durability depends on its hardware components and flash cell memory level. In general, you should look for the following specifications:

All current SSDs have very high MTBF, so the only practical parameter is the TBW.

An SSD’s durability is also similar to its performance in that the numbers don’t accurately reflect the real-world scenario. You are far more likely tooutgrow your SSDlong before it starts failing.

An SSD with300-600 TBW is more than enough for most users. The most durable SSDs are only necessary for home servers or heavy read/write tasks like video editing, simulation, 3D graphics designing, and so on.

Budget

It’s usually a good idea toallocate about 4-8%ofthe total PC budgetto the SSD.

The price difference between SATA and NVMe SSDs is not that significant. So, the only factors that affect the price are performance and durability.

Also, keep in mind that you canuse cheaper HDDsto store media and other personal files. If you are under budget, it’s best to get a low-capacity SSD for just OS and maybe games.

Conclusion

Now you should have an idea of how to consider the various factors while choosing an SSD. To reiterate in brief,

Now that you’ve chosen your SSD, here are some more guides to help you with other components: