Most computers and storage drives still use the common SATA or PCIe 3.0 interfaces to sling your bits of data around, but if you’re lucky enough to own a relatively modern PC, you might be able to upgrade to a solid-state drive (SSD) built on the insanely fast PCIe 4.0 protocol.
We’ve tested several PCIe 4.0 SSDs and the best one to cross our labs thus far is the Solidgm P44 Pro in a field of tough contenders thanks to ferociously fast speeds only rivaled by next-gen PCIe 5.0 SSDs.
Read on to learn more, including what to look for in PCIe 4.0 SSD.
Why you should trust us: We’re not called PCWorld for nothing. Our reviewers have been testing PC hardware for decades. Our storage evaluations are exhaustive, testing the limits of every product — from performance benchmarks to the practicalities of regular use. As PC users ourselves, we know what makes a killer product stand out. Only the best SSDs make this list. For more about our testing process, scroll to the bottom of this article.
Updated September 23, 2024: If one SSD is good, two must be even better, right? We make the case for that in “Why two SSDs are better than one in your PC.” And if you want to see our most recent reviews of PCIe 4.0 drives that didn’t make this list, scroll down to below our picks..
Solidigm P44 Pro SSD – Best PCIe 4.0 SSD
Pros
- Fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD to date
- DRAM facilitates excellent random performance
- Synergy low-level Windows driver improves random performance further
Cons
- Inconsistent pricing on web
Price When Reviewed:
512GB: $79.99 I 1TB: $129.99 I 2TB: $219..99
The Solidigm P44 Pro is without a doubt the fastest PCIe 4.0 drive we have ever tested. In fact, it finished within the top five fastest drives in our tests, and was only beaten by three next-gen PCIe 5.0 drives. Plus, by installing the Solidigm Windows driver you can further improve random performance in small read/writes making it even faster during everyday use.
Not only is the Solidigm P44 Pro performance top-notch, but it also has a very reasonable price so long as you shop at the right place—we found that pricing varies widely online from retailer to retailer. This is not only the best PCIe 4.0 drive on the market, but also one of the best SSDs period. And despite stiff competition from a crowded field of other excellent PCIe 4.0 drives it holds its own at the top.
Read our full
Solidigm P44 Pro review
WD SN5000 NVMe SSD – Best budget PCIe 4.0 SSD
Pros
- Good everyday performance
- Very affordable
- Fastest NVMe SSD of any ilk we’ve tested writing 450GB
Cons
- Top performance requires HMB support
Price When Reviewed:
500GB: $80 I 1TB: $90 I 2TB: $150 I 4TB: $290
With PCIe 5.0 drives coming to market, we’re finally starting to see companies offering budget PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives at compelling prices. Our previous pick, the WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD, has just been supplanted by WD’s Blue SN5000. At just $75 for a 1TB model at the time of writing, and with speedy transfers, you won’t likely find a better value PCIe 4.0 drive.
In our testing, this drive proved to be among the fastest Host Memory Buffer (HMB) SSDs we’ve tested. And unlike the SN580 before it, the SN5000 didn’t falter at the 450GB transfer test, but instead tied the record among all SSDs.
Read our full
WD SN5000 NVMe SSD review
Crucial P310 (2230) – Best PCIe 4.0 SSD for Steam Deck
Pros
- Fastest 2230 SSD we’ve tested
- Available with up to 2TB of capacity
Price When Reviewed:
1TB: $115 I 2TB: $215
If you need a 2230 NVMe SSD for your Steam Deck or other size-constrained device, look no further than the Crucial P310. This is the fastest 2230 SSD we’ve tested, and by a rather large margin.
It bested our previous favorite 2230 drive — the WD Black SN770M — in every benchmark save for the 450GB transfer, where it lost steam at the 85 percent mark after running out of secondary cache. But large transfers are rare for most users.
The P310 is a little more pricey than the SN770M, too, but not by much more than $10 for both the 1TB and 2TB offerings.
If optimum speed is what you’re after, and you don’t foresee regularly moving large amounts of data, the P310 is the ticket.
Read our full
Crucial P310 NVMe SSD (2230) review
Seagate Game Drive – Best PCIe 4.0 SSD for PS5
Pros
- Very good overall performance
- Excellent 4K performance
- Low-profile heatsink
- Twice the TBW rating of the competition
Cons
- A bit pricey
- No 4TB model
Price When Reviewed:
1TB: $100 I 2TB: $150
The Seagate Game Drive is a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD that was made specifically for next-gen consoles—the PS5 in particular. And it doesn’t disappoint. It features DRAM for primary caching duties, which is a bit unique and almost essential for Sony’s console system. The PS5 doesn’t support HMB, so a drive such as this with DRAM cache is the optimal choice. The drive comes in 1TB and 2TB models, meaning you’ll have plenty of space to store all of your games should you need it.
While the Seagate Game Drive is optimized for a PS5, it’s no slouch as a regular SSD either. In our speed tests it did remarkably well, earning the spot as the second-fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD with random ops that we’ve ever tested. Seagate also provides a generous five-year warranty with the drive and it has an astounding 1,275TBW rating—more than double the industry norm. PS5 owners simply can’t go wrong with the Seagate Game Drive.
Read our full
Seagate Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD review
Corsair MP600 Micro 2242 SSD – Best 2242 form-factor SSD
Pros
- Direct fit for Lenovo 2242 M.2 slots
- Good performance
- Priced affordably
Price When Reviewed:
1TB: $99.99
The Corsair MP600 Micro fills the niche of devices that can accommodate an SSD that’s larger than the 2230 form factor used by game consoles, but not as large as the standard 2280 modules that are most often found for PCs. We’re talking about the 2242 form factor — meaning 22mm wide by 42mm long.
Lenovo set off this trend with its Legion Go and Thinkpad portables. And owners of those devices should be pleased to know there are some respectable options for storage upgrades — the best of which is the Corsair MP600 Micro.
This isn’t the fastest PCIe 4.0 drive we’ve tested, but among the class of truncated drives we’ve tested, it turned out very competitive performance. Currently, you’ll only find the MP600 Micro in 1TB capacity. For shoppers who want more space, see the Crucial P310 above, which is a 2230 drive in up to 2TB — and which will require an adapter.
Read our full
Corsair MP600 Micro 2242 SSD review
Our latest PCIe 4.0 reviews
- Lexar Play 2280: This is an interesting drive. It’s marketed at PS5 users, but it features a Host Memory Buffer (HMB) design, which the PS5 doesn’t support. Still it’s a fine drive for PC, just very pricey currently.
- Kingston NV3: This PCIe 4.0 SSD is proof that DRAM-less drives — those use a Host Memory Buffer (HMB) as cache — can offer competitive performance, while also saving the consumer some money. The NV3 would be even better with a more generous warranty.
- Sabrent Rocket Nano 2242: Featuring a smaller form factor (22mm x 42mm), this good-performing drive was tailor-made for Lenovo’s Legion Go and Thinkpads — but it can also be used in a standard slot as well.
What to look for in an SSD
There are a few things to look out for, but most importantly you’ll want to focus on capacity, price, and warranty length. Three-year warranties are standard, but some nicer models are guaranteed for up to five years. And unlike the olden days of SSDs, modern drives won’t wear out with normal consumer usage, as Tech Report tested and proved years ago with a grueling endurance test.
Another crucial thing to watch out for is the technology used to connect the SSD to your PC. For more details and buying advice you can read our in-depth guide on which type of SSD you should buy.
- SATA: This refers to both the connection type and the transfer protocol, which is used to connect most 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives and SSDs to your PC. SATA III speeds can hit roughly 600MBps, and most—but not all—modern drives max it out. (More on that in the next section.)
- PCIe: This interface taps into four of your computer’s PCIe lanes to blow away SATA speeds, to the tune of nearly 4GBps over PCIe gen 3. Those sort of face-melting speeds pair nicely with supercharged NVMe drives. Both the PCIe lanes in your motherboard and the M.2 slot in your motherboard can be wired to support the PCIe interface, and you can buy adapters that allow you to slot “gumstick” M.2 drives into a PCIe lane. PCIe 4.0 drives are significantly faster, but require an AMD Ryzen 3000-series or Intel Core 11th-gen (or newer) processor, along with a compatible PCIe 4.0 motherboard.
- NVMe: Non-Volatile Memory Express technology takes advantage of PCIe’s bountiful bandwidth to create blisteringly fast SSDs that blow SATA-based drives out of the water. Check out PCWorld’s “Everything you need to know about NVMe” for a nitty-gritty deep-dive.
- M.2: This is where things get tricky. Many people assume M.2 drives all use NVMe technology and PCIe speeds, but that’s not true. M.2 is just a form factor. Sure, most M.2 SSDs use NVMe, but some still stick to SATA. Do your homework. Many modern Ultrabooks rely on M.2 for storage.
- U.2 and mSATA: You may also stumble across mSATA and U.2 SSDs, but both motherboard support and product availability are rare for those formats. Some older Ultrabooks included mSATA before M.2 became popular, and drives are still available if you need them.
Speed matters, of course, but as we said most modern SSDs saturate the SATA III interface. Not all of them, though.
How we test SSDs
We test SSDs using a variety of synthetic benchmarks (such as CrystalDiskMark 6’s various tests) and real-world tests, including 48GB transfers that showcase how a drive performs during common tasks, and also a demanding 450GB transfer test that pushes an SSD’s cache performance to the limit.
The PCIe 4.0 testing was done on an MSI MEG X570 motherboard socketing an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-core CPU, using the same Kingston DRAM, cards, and software. All testing is performed on an empty, or nearly empty drive. Note: performance will decrease as the drive fills up.
To learn more about our testing methodology see PCWorld’s article on how we test internal SSDs.
