Storage prices have climbed to levels that make raw speed less of a priority for most gamers than it was a few years ago. We see older PCIe 3.0 drives costing more than newer PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 models in the current market. This shift means you should focus on capacity rather than chasing the highest possible read speeds for your gaming rig. Buying a smaller, faster drive often leaves you with insufficient space for modern game libraries.
Storage costs rise while rendering performance stays GPU-bound
Tom's Hardware recently analyzed the best PCIe SSD options for gaming PCs during this period of high storage costs. Their analysis highlights that SSD speed has a negligible impact on frame rates because rendering relies primarily on your GPU, VRAM, CPU, and system RAM. The drive mainly affects how quickly the system loads levels or streams assets. You can save money on speed without noticing a drop in in-game performance.
- HDD Average Read Speed: 100-150 MB/s
- PCIe 5.0 SSD Peak Read Speed: around 14,500 MB/s
- SSD Level Load Time: just a few seconds
- Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB Price: $339.99
- WD_BLACK SN850X 1TB Price: $229.99
The technical gap between storage generations remains wide, with PCIe 5.0 SSDs reaching peak read speeds of around 14,500 MB/s. In contrast, traditional HDDs average only 100-150 MB/s and may take 45 seconds to load a game level. An SSD cuts that load time down to just a few seconds. This difference is significant for immersion, but it does not translate to higher frame rates.
Current pricing for 1TB models reflects the volatile market conditions. The Samsung 970 EVO Plus costs $339.99 USD (around $340), while the WD_BLACK SN850X is available for $229.99 USD (around $230). The Samsung 990 Pro is priced at $239.99 USD (around $240), and the Samsung 9100 PRO sits at $249.99 USD (around $250). The Crucial T705 is listed at $301.19 USD (around $301). These prices illustrate that older drives are not necessarily the budget option they used to be.
We've been tracking PCIe SSDs closely — see our earlier coverage on Samsung 990 PRO 2TB SSD Gets. The source advises that capacity is the most important factor for storage decisions. You should base your purchase on how many games you want to store on your system. We recommend a minimum of 1TB, with larger capacities preferred for users with slow internet or extensive libraries.
The market reality is that storage prices are all over the place right now. Buyers should prioritize capacity to ensure their system can handle modern game sizes. Raw speed provides faster load times but does not improve rendering performance. Focusing on storage space offers the most practical benefit for most gamers today.
Discussion
0 comments
Log in to join the thread with a thoughtful take, question, or correction.