u/yeahthatsgoodforme

Tom's Hardware tested 11 games using SATA, PCIe 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 SSDs. The interesting part is that in most games, there was basically no difference in gaming performance — only 2 out of 11 titles showed measurable differences between SATA and PCIe.

Pretty interesting read for anyone wondering whether a Gen5 SSD actually makes a difference for gaming.

I'm looking at upgrading to a 2TB or 4TB SSD, but the prices for new ones are making me look at the used market.

I've found a few used drives that look pretty good on paper. Good SMART stats, reasonable TBW, etc.

Would you actually use one as your main/system drive?

I'm fine with cloning it, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable trusting a used SSD that I know nothing about.

How much cheaper would it have to be for you to take the chance?

PCIe 5.0 SSDs are honestly overkill for most people, making PCIe 4.0 drives still the best bet for the vast majority of users. Manufacturers have finally caught on to this trend and are shifting focus back to releasing budget-friendly Gen 4 options. What are your thoughts on this?

AI demand has driven SSD prices up by as much as 220%. The retail SSD market is nearly depleted as supply shifts to AI data centers and OEMs, severely impacting DIY PC builders with high costs and limited availability.

Samsung 990 2TB is a budget-friendly Gen 4 QLC SSD that delivers last-gen speeds and average power efficiency. It is considered a competent, yet unexceptional, entry-level storage option.

I've been using an external HDD for my Steam library for years, and it's finally starting to show its age. Older games are still fine, but anything newer takes forever to load, so I think it's time to upgrade.

I started looking at external SSDs, but there are so many options that I honestly have no idea what's actually worth buying. Every review seems to recommend something different.

I'm mainly after something that's reliable and fast enough for playing games directly from it. I don't really care about having the absolute fastest drive if the real-world difference is only a second or two.

What are you guys using? Anything you'd buy again, or anything you'd avoid?

While American and Taiwanese firms chase high-margin AI chips, Chinese suppliers leverage state support to secure local supply, gaining a major edge in the consumer DRAM and SSD markets.

A 16-year-old SATA II SSD exceeded its rated endurance by surviving over 1 petabyte of writes—about 25 times its official TBW rating—showing that some SSDs can far outlast their expected lifespan.

PCWorld highlights that while 256GB is the minimum for basic tasks, 1TB is necessary for gamers, and 2TB+ for power users. How much storage does your laptop have?

Hey everyone,

I just upgraded to a new NVMe drive and want to keep an eye on its health, read/write stats, and temperatures over time. What software do you all use for this? Is CrystalDiskInfo still the gold standard or is there something better/more modern now? I'm looking for something lightweight that doesn't bloat the system.

Thanks!

SATA SSDs are surging in popularity due to skyrocketing NVMe prices fueled by AI-driven component shortages. While a 2TB Gen4 NVMe drive has reached $400, equivalent SATA SSDs cost 37% less. They offer a practical, affordable budget alternative for everyday workloads, gaming, and home labs.

I've been looking at SSDs for some extra storage lately, and something surprised me.

I always assumed SATA SSDs were the cheaper option, but when I started comparing 2TB drives, a lot of SATA models were either very close to PCIe 3.0 NVMe prices or sometimes even more expensive.

I already have an NVMe drive for Windows, so this would mostly be for games, media, and random files. I don't really need crazy speeds, but if the price difference is only a few dollars, I'm struggling to see why I'd choose SATA.

At this point, are SATA SSDs mostly for older systems or people who have run out of M.2 slots?

If you were adding storage today, would you still buy a SATA SSD on purpose, or would you just go NVMe by default?

Interested to hear what everyone else is doing.

I've seen popular choices in this community are Macrium Reflect, Acronis True Image, DiskGenius, Clonezilla, Rescuezilla, EaseUS Disk Copy, Hasleo Disk Clone, Samsung Magician, etc, but how about some less-known cloning programs? How do you think about using it to clone a drive?

My PC is starting to run low on storage, and I'm debating whether I should buy a new SSD now or wait a little longer.

Right now I'm using a 500GB SSD as my main drive, and after a few years of installing games, storing photos/videos, and random downloads, I'm down to less than 50GB free space. It's not an emergency yet, but I'm definitely feeling the squeeze.

The thing that's making me hesitate is SSD pricing.

I remember seeing some pretty good deals not that long ago, and it feels like prices have gone up soaringly compared to the lows we saw in previous years. At the same time, I've also read that NAND prices can be unpredictable, so I'm not sure whether waiting will actually save money.

My options are basically:

• Buy a 1TB SSD now and stop worrying about storage
• Wait for potential sales later this year
• Hope prices come down again

For those of you who follow the SSD market more closely:

• Do you think current SSD prices are reasonable?
• Are there any signs that prices might drop in the next few months?
• If you were running out of space like I am, would you buy now or wait?

I'm curious what everyone else is doing. Are you buying SSDs at current prices or holding off for better deals?

I'm curious what everyone's experience has been with SSD brands over the years. There are plenty of benchmark charts online, but real-world reliability is often a different story.

Some people swear by Samsung. Others prefer Crucial, WD, Solidigm, Kingston, or SK hynix. And there are also newer budget brands that seem popular lately.

So I'd like to ask:

• Which SSD brand do you trust the most?
• Have you ever had an SSD fail unexpectedly?
• Which brand has given you the best long-term reliability?
• Are there any brands you would never buy again?

Feel free to share:

• How long you've been using the drive
• SATA or NVMe model
• Workload (gaming, workstation, NAS, daily use, etc.)
• Any failures, firmware issues, or positive experiences

I'm hoping this thread can become a useful reference for people choosing their next SSD.

Let's hear your experiences.