Buying an SSD without getting burned
An SSD is one of the cheapest upgrades that makes an old machine feel new — but the spec sheets are a minefield. Here's what actually matters when a deal shows up.
Match the form factor first
Before anything else, check what your machine takes:
- 2.5" SATA — works in almost any laptop or desktop; the safe, slower choice.
- M.2 SATA — a stick, but still limited to SATA speeds. Easy to confuse with the next one.
- M.2 NVMe — the fast one. Make sure your motherboard or laptop has an NVMe-capable slot, and check Gen 3 vs Gen 4 if you care about peak speed.
A cheap NVMe drive in a SATA-only slot simply won't fit the use case. This is the most common buying mistake.
Don't overpay for peak speed you'll never feel
Headline sequential speeds (e.g. "7000 MB/s") look great on the box but rarely affect everyday use. For booting, apps and general work, random performance and a decent controller matter far more than the big number. For a boot drive, a solid Gen 3 NVMe is plenty for most people.
Watch for DRAM-less and QLC
- DRAM-less drives are cheaper but slow down under sustained writes. Fine for a secondary drive; less ideal as your only one.
- QLC flash is cheaper per gigabyte but wears faster and slows when its cache fills. For light use it's fine; for heavy writes, prefer TLC.
Capacity and endurance
Buy more than you think you need — 1TB is the current value sweet spot. Check the TBW (terabytes written) rating if you'll hammer the drive, and confirm the warranty (5 years is standard for good drives).
The short version
Right form factor, a reputable brand, TLC over QLC if you can, and enough capacity to last. When a drive that ticks those boxes drops in price, that's the deal — not whichever number is biggest on the box.