If you’re like most PC gamers, you know the struggle of never having enough storage for all your games. It’s especially true these days, with games like “Baldur’s Gate 3” requiring 150GB of available storage. As the gaming industry continues to push the limits of graphics and detail, there is no end in sight. The only solution is a bigger storage drive. But not just any old HDD will do. They’re too slow, that’s why the PS5’s high-speed SSD has made loading screens a thing of the past. What you need is a large-capacity SSD that can deliver both on storage and speed.
Technically, you could go out and buy the biggest SSD on the market. There’s nothing stopping you, except for the eyewatering price, of course. The Solidigm is a 122.88TB PCIe 4.0 SSD that retails for $15,500, though it can be found on sale for as little as $14,500. While this is catered to the data center market, anyone with enough zeroes in their bank account can buy one. The only hiccup is that, because of its size and PCIe connector, it’s not compatible with anything else besides a PC — it won’t work on a laptop, PS5, or Steam Deck. But, hey, if you’ve got the money and a PC, why not? You can download every game of the year nominee for the past five years and still have space leftover.
The largest M.2 SSD for your PC, laptop, and gaming console
An M.2 NVMe SSD is a thin, rectangular-shaped drive that is very common among current electronic devices with expandable storage. NVMe SSDs are fast, small, and widely available, but they don’t come in very large sizes. While you may find HDDs with storage capacities of up to 30TB, the largest M.2 NVMe SSD available tops out at 8TB. It’s not 122.88TB, but 8TB is still plenty for most PC users, and buying isn’t considered a risky financial decision. Western Digital’s WD_Black 8TB NVMe SSD retails for $599. While it’s not as fast as the first PCIe 5.0 SSD, it reaches speeds of up to 7,200MB/s, making it ideal for downloading storage-hungry games and other large files. The best part is you can buy it straight from Amazon.
Samsung just announced the 8TB 9100 Pro, which isn’t yet available for purchase. This drive uses PCIe 5.0, resulting in sequential read speeds of up to 14,800MB/s and write speeds of up to 13,400MB/s. That puts the WD_Black 8TB SSD to shame, and that’s because the Samsung 8TB 9100 Pro is designed for the most demanding users. This SSD was made with PS5 in mind, so it can fit in the console, even with the heatsink installed. For all that performance and storage, Samsung is selling the 8TB 9100 Pro for $1,019.99. With Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 update reportedly “killing” some SSDs, first ensure you’re on the right update before buying and installing this drive.
The largest external SSD for on-the-go creatives
If you’re the type to offload camera files to an external drive and edit at a coffee shop or on the plane, then a portable, high-capacity SSD is what you need. The Glyph Blackbox Plus U.2 comes in several storage sizes, ranging from a modest 7.6TB to a gargantuan 30.72TB, which is enough for hours of Apple ProRes RAW footage. While this external SSD is not as fast as the one in your PC, it has a respectable speed of 1,050MB/s. It’s made out of an aluminum shell that dissipates heat. The rubber exterior helps the drive withstand drops, though it’s not rated for dust or water.
One downside of this drive is that it requires a power supply. You can’t power it via USB like most other drives. Additionally, it’s formatted for macOS, but it can be made to work with Windows by reformatting the drive. Finally, it’s incredibly expensive. The 30.72TB version costs $4,995. Flaws aside, if you’re looking for a drive that can hold everything you need while traveling or away from the office, the Glyph Blackbox Plus U.2 Enterprise Class NVMe SSD is worth looking into.
