For a longer time, if you wanted to expand your PC's storage, you had to have hard drives, with its rotating disks and long transfer speeds. Fortunately, times have changed, and by 2018, the best SSDs or solid-state drives are fast enough to free you from the slow progress of the mechanical units with fast boot times and file transfers.
Fortunately, you can take advantage of these incredible benefits, even without one of the best PCs. The best Ultrabooks and the best SSDs are made for each other: the portability and the lightweight design of the ultrabooks perfectly complement the speed and durability of the SSD. Even if you are a console player, you can say goodbye to the long loading screens. Also, by 2018, SSDs are getting faster, bigger and cheaper each day, so there has never been a better time to buy one of the best SSDs.
If you look at Newegg or Amazon, you will see that there are large SSDs in the market, and they are available at all the price points you can think of, which is good if you have a tight budget. Here at TechRadar, we take this as a signal to create a list of the best SSDs on the market in 2018. And you can be sure that every SSD on this list will be worth your time and money. We have tried them ourselves.
Best SSD: Samsung 960 Evo
The undisputed king of SSD
Capacity: 250GB / 500GB / 1TB | Interface: PCIe | Warranty: 3 years
PCIe Interface
Variety of sizes
Variable price
As time passes and M.2 technology becomes more ubiquitous, it is easy to see through what the Samsung 960 Evo is still the best SSD you can buy in 2018. It is extremely fast, with read and write times of up to 3,200 Mbps and 1,900 Mbps, respectively. That's only thanks to its PCIe interface, which simply ejects SATA3 from the water. What is better is that it is spacious, with up to 1TB of space, and provides this space efficiently, reaching a maximum of 5.7 watts of power at full load.
Best Game SSD: Kingston HyperX Predator
Upgrade your game with this unparalleled SSD
Capacity: 240 GB / 480 GB / 960 GB | Interface: PCIe | Warranty: 3 years
M.2 form factor
Half height adapter available
Expensive
Kingston's HyperX lineup is aimed directly at players. Their headphones are known to be of a much higher quality than their price could imply, and HyperX customer service is excellent. Your SSD line for gaming computers comes in M.2 format, but they are also available with a half-height adapter that connects to your PCIe like any other expansion card.
Best NVMe SSD: Samsung 960 Pro
Capacity: 512GB / 1TB / 2TB | Interface: PCIe | Warranty: 3 years
Excellent speeds
Available up to 2TB
Incredible price for larger sizes
The NVMe standard is designed to maximize the power of solid state drives, and the Samsung 960 Pro takes full advantage. With a M.2 form factor and ridiculous read speeds of up to 3500 MBps, these SSDs are already tempting, but the fact that it is available as big as 2TB is incredible. All that storage is not cheap, but if you need many (and MANY) of fast storage, it's definitely worth it.
The best PCIe SSD: Toshiba OCZ RD400
The most flexible SSD installation
Capacity: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB | Interface: PCIe | Warranty: 3 years
Many sizes
Quick read / write
Not all sizes are available in all form factors
If you look for many options, the Toshiba The series of OCZ units RD400 comes in 4 sizes and three different form factors: M.2, M.2 2280 and complementary card (AIC). Not all sizes are in all formats, so if you are looking for a fast 1TB unit, make sure you have space in your computer's case.
- This product is only available in the USA. UU And the United Kingdom at the time of writing this article. Australian readers: check an excellent alternative on the Samsung 960 Evo
Best SSD M.2: WD PCIe SSD black
Capacity: 256 GB / 512 GB | Interface: PCIe | Warranty: 5 years
Great warranty
Good price
Limited size options
This M.2 WD SSD comes with a 5 year warranty and p
retty good reading / writing times, up to 2050 MBps reading and 800 writing on the 512 GB model. Ideal for installation or use of the operating system, but unfortunately the sizes available do not leave much flexibility in terms of storage.
Best SATA 3 SSD: Samsung 860 Pro
Capacity: 250GB / 512GB / 1TB / 2TB / 4TB | Interface: SATA | Warranty: 5 years
4TB model available
Higher security
SATA 3 limits performance
SATA 3 might not be the most popular SSD technology in the world, but with Samsung 860 Pro, Samsung shows that, after all, there is life in the form factor of aging. With storage of up to 4TB and transfer speeds approaching the theoretical maximum of SATA 3 connection and first-line reliability and security, the Samsung 860 Pro is the best SSD for anyone who still clings to SATA 3. [19659002] Read the full review: Samsung 860 Pro
Best U.2 SSD: Intel 750 Series
Capacity: 400GB / 800GB / 1.2TB | Interface: PCIe | Warranty: 5 years
Great warranty period
Huge capacities
Not as fast as other PCIe drives
The U.2 standard allows higher SSD capabilities and uses the computer Slot PCIe x4 to send all that data back and forth. The Intel 750 series includes a cable so you can mount the unit in the bay of your box and still plug it into the PCIe slot on your motherboard.
The best economical SSD: Samsung 860 Evo
Amazing speeds at a great price
Capacity: 250GB / 500GB / 1TB / 2TB / 4TB | Interface: 2.5 inches, mSATA, M.2 | Warranty: 5 years
Remarkable Speed Improvement
Impressive Resistance
Potential SATA3 Limit
The Samsung 850 Evo was an extremely successful and popular SSD when it was launched in 2014, due aa its fantastic performance that was affordable and achievable by the masses, so Samsung had a difficult act to follow, succeeded. Although limited by the SATA3 interface, the Samsung 860 Evo offers performance that is repeated in its predecessor with improved read / write speeds and a variety of form factors, while maintaining its excellent price. The 860 Evo is without a doubt the best SSD for anyone looking to dip their toes at extremely fast loading speeds without having to open their piggy banks.
Read the full review: Samsung 860 Evo [19659059] Best Resistance SSD: HP S700 Pro
Resistant to anything you throw at it
Capacity: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB | Interface: SATA | Warranty: 3 years
Works forever
Variety of capabilities
Relatively slow
If you need an SSD that will last through several computers, the HP S700 Pro is exactly what want. Your life will greatly exceed your warranty, offering up to 2 million hours of use and up to 650 terabytes written. This is one of the best SSDs you can buy if you need something that lasts, but the SATA interface can slow down a bit in the read / write department, which technically helps it last longer.
- This product is only available in the USA. UU And the United Kingdom at the time of writing this article. Australian readers: check a good alternative on the Samsung 860 Evo
Best SSD boot unit: Intel 760p SSD series
Incredible performance at an even better price
Capacity: 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB | Interface: PCIe | Warranty: 5 years
Fast read speeds
Affordable price
Slightly slow writing speeds
For years, NVMe SSDs have been too expensive. However, with its 760p SSD, Intel is trying to change the world of SSDs. The 760p has superior performance that is slightly behind the Samsung 960 Evo, reaching speeds of 3,056 MB / s of reading and 1,606 MB / s of writing. But what makes the Intel 760p one of the best SSDs you can buy is the fantastic price / performance ratio of this disc. Sure, there are faster NVMe units, but you'll pay a premium that, frankly, is not worth it. This unit excites us for the future of the best SSD.
Read the full review: Intel 760p SSD series
The best external SSD: Samsung SSD T5 laptop
Worth the premium for USB-C fans
Capacity: 250GB / 500GB / 1TB / 2TB | Interface: USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 2 | Warranty: 3 years
Incredibly fast
Highly compact
Expensive
Unless your laptop or desktop uses the USB Type-C Gen 2 interface, you may want look elsewhere for an external disk. Otherwise, with read / write speeds of up to 540 / 515MBps, respectively, the Samsung Portable SSD T5 can keep up with some of the more modest PCIe players, resulting in one of the best SSDs for anyone who has to work while traveling.
Read the full review: Samsung Portable SSD T5
Gabe Carey has also contributed to this article
