Best value
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Various
PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, 2 TB
The correct default for a gaming build. Around 7,000 MB/s sequential, excellent random performance, cool enough to ignore, and priced where 2 TB is affordable. This is the drive that goes in almost every quote we write.
- Best for
- The boot drive and game library in any build.
- Watch out
- Check that it has its own DRAM cache. The cheapest drives at this speed do not, and they slow down badly once you fill them past about seventy percent.
Launch MSRPVaries by model
Specs
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4, M.2 2280 |
|---|---|
| Sequential read | Around 7,000 MB/s |
| Cache | Look for DRAM cache, not host memory buffer |
| Good capacity | 2 TB. Modern installs are 100 GB and up |
| Tier | Midrange - The sweet spot. High refresh 1440p, comfortable 1080p, workable 4K with upscaling. |
Reviews
5.0 / 5
Lake Effect Rigs editorial score
Our take, in one number: this is what the verdict above averages out to. We score what we would put in a real build, nothing else.
Verified owner reviews
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