SSD (Solid State Drive)
A storage device using flash memory chips instead of spinning platters. Dramatically faster than traditional hard drives, with NVMe SSDs offering the best performance.
What is an SSD?
An SSD (Solid State Drive) stores data on flash memory chips — the same type of memory used in USB drives and smartphones, but much faster. Unlike traditional hard drives (HDDs) that use spinning magnetic platters and a mechanical read/write head, SSDs have no moving parts. This makes them faster, quieter, more durable, and more power-efficient.
In 2026, SSDs are the standard for PC storage. HDDs still exist for bulk storage (large media libraries, backups) where cost-per-TB matters more than speed, but your operating system and games should always be on an SSD.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much SSD storage do I need for gaming?
1TB is the practical minimum in 2026. Modern AAA games are 50-150GB each, and with OS + apps taking ~100GB, 1TB fills up fast. 2TB is the sweet spot if budget allows. Add a second drive rather than replacing — NVMe Gen 4 1TB drives cost ~$60-70.
Do SSDs wear out?
Eventually, yes — flash memory cells can only be written a finite number of times. But modern SSD endurance ratings are extremely high. A typical 1TB NVMe drive is rated for 600-1,200 TBW (terabytes written), which would take 10-20+ years of normal use to reach.