As a gamer, I stumbled on a question is an SSD worth it for gaming? Will adding SSD to your computer can help to make an amazing gaming experience? I wanted to get a clear understanding of this so I have decided to dig dive and do research on this. I have tried to plot the answer in the below article for you to make a decision on getting SSD for your gaming experience.
So, Is an SSD worth it for gaming? Yes, SSD is worth it for gaming only if you want to get faster game loading screens, boot times, reliability, no hitching, and do not consider the storage capacity whereas SSD, in general, is costly and does not help in higher frame rates than HDD.
Making a decision whether to go for SSD or HDD could be crucial if you consider the performance in gaming. I have tried to explain the important factors to consider and how they will affect your gaming performance. Check out the other related factors too so that you can understand the whole concept and choose the best preference for yourself.
Factors to find out is an SSD worth it for gaming
We gamers at some point in our life picture ourselves with the dream gaming setup and imagine playing our favorite games in the best gaming experience that we could. Yes, that gaming setup looks very costly though but we will get it to live our dream. Since those dreamy days are still far away we have to look for the budget-friendly option that gives us the best gaming experience.
I have found these three factors to consider before you make a decision if SSD is worth for your gaming. Make sure to understand them so that you can relate to your preference and consider them when choosing the SSD or HDD type for your gaming.
Performance with SSD
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. Basically, SSD is flash storage with no moving parts. SSD storage is much faster in reading and writing as compared to HDD.
As a gamer, I want to have my game loading screens to be as short as possible so that my gaming experience is smooth and undisturbed. with SDD your games will have shorter screen loading times which will enable you to play games faster than anyone who uses HDD.
There is not much advantage with frame rates as SSD will not give you higher frame rates as compared to HDD. The frame rates are mainly depending on the GPU, CPU, RAM, and graphics card. Do not have higher expectations in terms of gaming with improved frame rates with faster loading screens.
Your boot times and shutdown times are much shorter with SSD than HDD. This will help you to save your time make it easy for you to take breaks in-between gaming sessions. SDD consumes between 2 – 5 watts whereas HDD consumes between 6 -15 watts. They are also much more reliable than HDD as SSDs have a failure rate of less than 0.5% as compared to 2-5% with HDDs.
Storage capacity with SSD
Since SSDs are comes with higher prices than HDDs hence the storage capacity will be a major concern while choosing one. I generally like to keep my games downloaded in my hard drive so that I can play with anyone when I want. Since limitations of the storage capacity will restrict you to keep certain games on the computer.
This factor totally depends on your personal preference where if you want to keep specific games on the computer while having the shorter loading screens as possible. You can also use external or additional HDD for extra games but make sure your OS and the steam games are on the SSD so that you will be able to take full advantage of your configuration.
Every benefit comes with a cost
Yes, That is right, If you want to get this benefit of shorter loading time, boot time, reliability, and performance then you will have to pay extra. I know this won’t be the best fit while you assemble your budget gaming PC. Though the investment made right can save you time and money in the long term, as SSDs are more reliable, and consume less energy.
SSD vs HDD
Here is the following comparison table for you to get an overview and consider these factors into account while choosing the best choice for your PC configuration. Make sure you also keep the factors into consideration such as compatibility and cost as well.
| Factors | SSD | HDD |
| Access Time | 0.1ms | 5.5-8.0ms |
| Performance | 15 Times Faster | 15 Times Slower |
| Failure Rate | 0.50% | 2-5% |
| Energy Consumption | 2-5 Watts | 6-15 Watts |
| Extra CPU Power Required | 1% | 7% |
| Backup Rate | 6 hours | 20-24 hours |
| Capacity | 1TB Max | 4TB Max |
Compatible SSD
Nowadays all SSD comes with 2.5 inches which are compatible with all the latest laptops. Hence, you can replace your laptop HDD with an SDD. When your laptop is the latest laptop in the market, you should not get any issues in replacing your HDD with an SSD.
Make sure you check the compatibility of the SSD for your laptop and desktop accordingly. Also, make sure to check whether you can use it as your primary disk for OS and a few favorite games and use HDD as an external drive. This way you will be having the best configuration with a low budget and good storage.
Best SSD for gaming
There are so many options available to choose from for the best SDD that fits your gaming PC or laptop. Please find below a few options which are the best SSDs for gaming that you can consider.
Add link S70 512GB – great value and endurance
Samsung 860 EVO 1TB – best transfer speeds and reliability at an affordable price
WD Black SN750 1TB – best 1TB SSD with high performance
Crucial MX500 – faster transfer speed and most reliable
Samsung 970 EVO 500GB – excellent real-world performance
Best SSD for laptop
Nowadays most of us get a gaming laptop and then want to replace HDD with SSD. We can definitely do this by selecting the best SSD for your gaming laptop to make the gaming experience amazing. The following are the best SSDs for the gaming laptops you can choose from.
Samsung 970 Pro
Adata XPG SX8200 SSD
Samsung 860 Evo
Seagate FireCuda 510
Toshiba OCZ RD400
SSD and HDD setup for gaming
The best setup is to use SSD and HDD is to use SSD as boot drive and HDD as storage. In this way, your PC will give you the best performance with shorter loading screens and you can also store many games on HDD. In this way, you will know the answer to the question is an SSD worth it for gaming.
Install your operating system and frequently used software and games on SSD, especially the games that you play often and steam games if you use it, and save all your personal files including other games, pictures, videos, music, and documents to the HDD.
Also Read: How Many CPU Cores Do I Need For Gaming And Streaming? 4 Best Ways
Other related questions to the question Is an SSD worth it for gaming
Now you know that if you want to use SSD for better performance your next questions need to be answered without any doubt. So, I have tried to compile them with the answers for your convenience.
How long will an SSD last for gaming
Some SSD can last for years based on the programs running, daily usage, and writing cycles. There are some SSD that can write safely up to 72TB without going corrupt. Some SSDs can write up to 3000 cycles of writing. The generic warranty is about 3-5 years from the manufacturers.
Does Fortnite run better on SSD?
SDDs help with faster loading screens in games but factors like higher frame rates are not guaranteed. Improvement of the game performance mainly depends on the CPU, GPU, and RAM of the computer. Games like Fortnite such as GTA V, PUBG, Overwatch, and other online multiplayer games may not get any significant advantage with only replacing SSD.
I hope you have considered all the factors mentioned above to choose the SSD over HDD for your gaming experience and found the answer to the question is an SSD worth it for gaming. I would be happy if you share your feedback in the comment box below.
