What makes an SSD good for gaming
Games are read-heavy, so what matters is a modern NVMe drive with a DRAM cache and a sensible capacity, not the highest headline speed. Any PCIe Gen4 drive loads games quickly and supports Microsoft DirectStorage; Gen5 adds cost for gains you rarely feel in play.
- Interface: PCIe Gen4 NVMe is the value sweet spot; Gen5 is optional headroom.
- DRAM cache: better sustained performance than budget DRAM-less drives.
- Capacity: 2TB for most, 4TB for large libraries, 1TB only on a tight budget.
- Warranty: the good gaming drives carry a 5-year warranty.
Three-tier recommendation
| Tier | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Lexar NM790 / Crucial P3 Plus | Great £/TB, fine for gaming |
| Balanced | Crucial T500 / WD_BLACK SN850X | DRAM, flagship Gen4 speed |
| Premium | Samsung 990 Pro / Gen5 T705 | Top speed, 4TB, future-proofing |
Honest trade-offs
Do not overpay for Gen5 to game: the real-world load-time gain over a good Gen4 drive is small, and Gen5 runs hotter. Spend the saving on capacity instead. A DRAM-less value drive is fine for gaming, but a DRAM drive holds up better if you also do heavy file work.