Substituting the traditional HDDs quickly, SSDs have captured people’s attention for their faster response and data transfer. They enhance the overall performance of your computer and do not lag, which makes people buy it even if it is a low-sized SSD instead of a hard disk. The advantage of storage drives is their upgradability. They can be upgraded in the future for larger sizes if you find your storage space to be not sufficient. Upgrading them are not costly or time-consuming, they can be done pretty conveniently. But the question of which type of SSD is best for you is something you have to consider before purchasing one. There are majorly 2 types of SSD drives available in the market namely SATA and NVMe drives with the former being the old model and the latter being the latest one. NVMe SSDs are faster than SATA SSDs and can show a better performance whereas SATA drives are known for their best value for capacity. M.2 is the form factor for NVMe drives and in this article, I’ll show you the top 5 M.2 SSDs to buy in 2023.
1, WD BLACK 1TB SN850X Gaming M.2 SSD
The WD Black SN850X Gaming M.2 SSD offer you a high reading speed of 7300 MB/s and a writing speed of 6300 MB/s in sequential transfer. It’s the best gaming SSD available in the market and it uses PCle 4.0 interface. Available in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities, the drive has an M.2 2280 single-side form factor, a DRAM chip, 2 flash packages and an NVMe controller. It also lets you have an optional heat sink to reduce heating as high-end drives like this are known to get a heater when it’s under heavy load. This drive also features Game Mode 2.0 (only on Windows) which reduces game loading time by performing load prediction. It also increases your storage performance by delivering an output which even approaches the limit of the PCle Gen4 interface. A 1 TB storage lets you store more games which can be played readily without performance lagging due to the highly built WD BLACK 1TB SN850X gaming SSD. The company also offers a 5-year warranty for this product. Overall it is an excellent choice for heavy gamers, due to its built-in quality, specs especially suitable for gaming and heavy performance.
2, Lexar NM800 Pro
Built for heavy gamers, the Lexar NM800 Pro M.2 2280 NVMe SSD offers an excellent reading and writing speed of 7500 MB/s and 6500 MB/s respectively for the 2 TB model. T his drive runs by PCle Gen4x4 NVMe 1.4 technology and is 2x faster than PCle 3.0 SSDs. A piece of happy news for PlayStation lovers as Lexar NM800 Pro supports PlayStation 5 and makes gaming quick and easy. This drive provides an enhanced battery life with its low power-consuming 12nm INNOGRIT 1G5236CAA controller. This SSD offers up to 2 TB storage space options letting you play heavy games and edit professional videos without any performance issues. During heavy workloads, the heat accumulated is eradicated by the integrated heatsink which Lexar claims to reduce 30% of heat. This ensures power efficiency and also makes installing this drive in fewer airflow devices like Sony PS5. The company offers a 5-year warranty for this product making this one of the best options for gamers and editors.
3, Samsung 990 PRO PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD
Samsung 990 Pro PCle 4.0 M.2 SSD is an excellent option for heavy gamers and video editors. With a read/write speed of 7450/6900 MB/s, this SSD provides the maximum performance of PCle 4.0. Compared to its predecessor 980 Pro, this model offers up to 40% and 55% increased read/write speed and also shows a 50% improved power performance perWatt thus proving it to be more power efficient. The SSD is available in 1 TB and 2 TB options with the 4 TB option to be released in 2023. Another notable feature is its thermal technology which ensures optimal temperature by using a nickel-coated controller and a cutting-edge thermal control algorithm. This SSD is also compatible with PS5 and ensures quick loading and a better gameplay experience. Samsung also offers a 5-year warranty for this product. Undoubtedly all these features make this SSD a great option for heavy gamers and professional creators for a hassle-free smooth workflow.
4, Crucial P5 Plus SSD
Another great option for professional creators and gamers is the Crucial P5 Plus M.2 2280 SSD. Available in 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB options, this SSD runs the latest Gen4 NVMe technology. With a read speed of 6600 MB/s for all of its models and a write speed of 5000 MB/s for the 1 TB and 2 TB options (the write speed is 4000 MB/s for the 500 GB option), this SSD offers advanced features like full hardware encryption and thermal protection to enhance power performance. Another thing worth notable is its compatibility with Gen3 systems, making it one of the best options for users with a heavy workload. Micron advanced 3D NAND and innovative controller technology ensures overall system reliability. The company also offers a 5-year warranty making it one of the sought out SSDs in the market.
5, Crucial P2 500GB 3D M.2 SSD
Unlike all the above models, this is a decent SSD at a very convenient price. If you want to save money and get a decently performed SSD to complete all your daily tasks, then this model will be sufficient for you. This 3D NAND M.2 2280 500 GB NVMe PCIe SSD offers a read/write speed of 2300/940 MB/s which is enough for doing most daily tasks or programming tasks conveniently. This Gen3 SSD is backed up by a 5-year warranty offered by the company. There is no dedicated heat sink for this model but it is no wonder compared to its price. Unlike the above models, this model best suits normal usages like programming and light editing and is not intended for gaming or professional editing.