The Big Gen4 SSD Roundup - Best SSDs for PC & Playstation 5 in 2022

Which of these 15 Gen4 NVMe SSDs are worth buying, and which are junk?
Lots of useful links below, click "show more" for a full overview.

Full list of SSDs in this comparison: (affiliate links)

Heatsink tips: (affiliate links)

If you want to support what I do, check these out:

Timestamps:
0:00​ - Introduction
1:04 - General Gen 4 SSD Advice - Thermals & Heatsinks
1:49 - General Gen 4 SSD Advice - Smaller Capacities kinda suck
2:56 - Test System Overview
3:36 - All drives have been tested with a heatsink
3:52 - XPG and Transcend bite the dust
4:36 - Performance - PC Mark 10 (Quick) - For Light Use
5:28 - Performance - PC Mark 10 (Full) - For Medium Intensity Use
6:04 - Performance - PC Mark 10 (Consistency) - For Extreme Use
6:34 - Performance - Sequential Read & Write Performance - For Marketing Numbers
7:09 - Buying Advice - Best Performing Gen4 SSDs
8:40 - Buying Advice - Best Value Gen4 SSDs
9:10 - Best Value SSDs for Europe
11:00 - Best Value SSDs for the US
12:01 - Why many great drives are left hanging...
13:04 - Buying Advice - Playstation 5 Owners
15:05 - Final Thoughts

Test Bench - (affiliate links)
Cooling - Corsair H150i Elite LCD

Disclosure:
- Some of these products were bought by myself, others were provided by their respective manufacturers for the purpose of testing. As per my own guidelines, no manufacturer gets any say about anything in this video or any of my other reviews. It's not sponsored by them, they also didn't get to preview this video beforehand, or any other nonsense like that. My reviews reflect my own views, nothing more, nothing less.
- Amazon links I provide are (typically) affiliate links. Using these does not cost you anything at all. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means they do provide me with a small commission when you decide to buy a product, at no cost to you.

#SSD #Storage #Techtesters

[TechTesters]

To clarify: SSDs go through a lot of different tests here, but showing all the data would make the video much longer than it already is. I know PC Mark 10 isn't the end-all of SSD tests, but it is a very balanced suite and the resulting rankings are very easy to understand even for folks that aren't really into SSDs. A lot of the background work gets cut for the video, and is often only used to write off some models that have problematic results somewhere (like the two SSDs I talked about). As always, if you have any questions, just ask!

[salmanul_fares]

Thanks for the work, I can't imagine how long this would have taken to make. 💐

[dangelo]

Great roundup! I took a chance on picking up a 2TB 980 on a ~20% discount last year on Prime day to use in my PS5, even though the update wasn't out yet. Couldn't pass it up for the price. The system measured the read speed at slightly above 5700 MB/s. I've installed all my games on the drive since the update came out and have had zero issues.

[wbedard]

I really enjoyed this slight change from your normal format to cover an entire "product category" in one video. I can imagine how much time and effort went into making this and I thought you did an excellent job of presenting your findings. As a Gen 4 "early adopter", I was glad to see my Sabrent Rocket 1TB drives are still a good value, even if newer tech is passing them by in performance. Keep up the great work!

[TheCoolkriss]

There is another factor I always look for on an SSD beside the price and performance, it's the warranty.

[id]

You are a real treasure!
Your videos are always extremely helpful and relaxing to watch.
Very easy to understand even from people who have no idea what to do.

[Antonis]

Very informative video. Appreciate all your hard work. For me personally the biggest downside of these new nvme drives is the hardware components lottery, i.e manufacturers like Adata changing nvme components after the release, without informing customers, thus affecting performance and reliability.

[piggradio]

Wow, this is a really terrific video. Your style is very concise, easy to follow, and has the perfect amount of detail for me. Thank you very much for taking the time to create it, well done!

[Sablespartan]

This is definitely the most comprehensive video comparison I've been able to watch. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you

[captainboreale]

Installed a new SSD on my old gaming PC, and the result is stunning. It really made a huge difference, felt like I newly bought that PC. A single piece of Hardware affected the whole computer positively.

[longmeistergaming]

Love the comparison of all of these drives. Appreciate all the hard work and effort that you put in to these videos. Informative and helpful as always! I am using the Sabrent Rocket 1TB currently in my PS5 and haven't had any issues of any kind, thus far.

[justmejustme]

Very happy with my 2TB WD Blank SN850 in my PS5! I was surprised to see how well it did in these tests since its one of the oldest drives here.

[SpuriousECG]

Definitely like my SN850 a lot, it's the drive I'd recommend the most as well. I almost picked up the Firecuda 530 on a really good Black Friday deal given how good it performs. My Sabrent Rocket 4.0 has been great since launch of 4.0 drives, but now shows its age. Another one I'd toss in for endurance is the Corsair Force MP600 2TB with its 3, 600 TBW rating and good sustained speeds during high workloads due to its beefy heatsink.

[JerryWoo]

One of the reason i bought the firecuda 530 because of its large TBW. TBW also plays a part in the cost of the ssd due to its durability.

[jimfisher]

Thank you for taking the time to put all of this can finally make up my mind for what i need on my ps5...Im only looking for 2TB atm because im waiting for the ps5 pro to come out in late 2023 or possibly 2024 because of the chip shortage....You're a true life-saver 👍 👍

[nachmanzion]

I'd go for the Samsung 980 Pro. Cause they've got their Data Migration Tool software that is free and easiest for migrating your data from one drive to another and it seems to perform very well on your tests. Thanks for the video!

[AlyxSharkBite-]

Thank you for this. I was honestly not expecting these results. Looks like I am snagging a SN850. I was initially looking for the Samsung 980 Pro but looks like the SN850 for gaming.

[arneapproved]

Good Video!
But what i miss in most SSD reviews:
Its important to differ between single and double sided ssds.
There are situations the lower side of a double sided ssd can not be cooled.
So in this case it may be the better decision to chose a single sided slower sdd than the faster double sided one.

[asmongoldsmouth]

I just got my 2 TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe M.2 SSD PCIe Gen 4 a week ago. Pretty satisfied.

[PrzemRS]

Thank you for this! This is a quick start guide on what to look for! Amazing work, for tech people that don't do daily work with the most modern HW, and want to upgrade the gear from time to time (in my case once per few years)! Really appreciated!