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Between gaming and creative pros, it is hard to decide which group of computer users needs a faster computer hard drive. Although I shared a range of drives for photographers and videographers in last week’s external hard drive post, this one also will include a few internal hard drives for gamers. Any gamer will tell you having a super-fast solid state drive (SSD) can make a difference in your game play, as in, whether you “live or die” (in game).
Here are six of the best SSDs for gaming:
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
Samsung dominates this list with internal and external SSD storage, for gamers, and just about everyone else, too. I use the 850 as only one internal example here of Samsung’s strength in gaming circles. At $94, it is inexpensive, fast and highly-rated.
Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD
All of my gamer buddies love the Crucial MX500. Starting at $108, with 1TB of space, this internal SSD is fast and stable. It has Micron 3D NAND technology and sequential read/write speeds up to 560/510 MB/s.
Intel Optane SSD 905P Series
Arguably the biggest brand name in powering computers, Intel is a powerhouse in gaming, too. At $1,130, this SSD is the most expensive on this list, but gamers report that it lasts longer than other drives. It also has the quickest random 4k read/write. And the “3D XPoint memory” is at a higher level when compared to NAND flash memory.
Samsung X5 Portable SSD 1TB Thunderbolt 3 External SSD
The best gamer SSDs are not only internal SSDs anymore. You can get excellent performance from the growing number of portable drives on the market. The Samsung X5 Portable SSD is a NVMe drive using Thunderbolt 3 to give you 2,800MB/s read speeds and 2,300MB/s write speeds. Plus, it looks fast with its full metal body. (In my Best Portable External Hard Drives Of 2019 post, I include the similarly-named SSD from Samsung, the T5, which, starting at $165 for 1TB, is also a worthy contender for an external drive.)
SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable External SSD
If you need portable and tough, this SanDisk unit is the solid state drive (SSD) for you. Clip it to your backpack or stuff it in your pocket. It may not be as fast as some of the other drives on this list, but sometimes you need to run over to a friend’s house for a quick gaming fix.
Seagate Game Drive for Xbox 2TB Gears 5 Special Edition SSD
This special edition unit is optimized for Xbox One, but it works for any storage use and can hold more than 50 games. At $100, this is a great deal, and as of press time, it currently comes with a bonus: one month of Xbox Game Pass Membership. It is lightweight, fast and is decked out in pretty cool artwork, too.
