Computer SSD Buying Guide: Form Factor, Interface and Warranty Explained published: true

Buying a computer SSD sounds simple until you see 2.5-inch, M.2, SATA, NVMe, PCIe Gen3, Gen4 and Gen5 on the same page. This guide breaks it into the four questions that decide what you buy.

1. What form factor does your device take?

2.5-inch SATA: common in older laptops and desktops. It looks like a thin hard drive.
M.2 2280: a small stick that plugs into the board. The number means 22mm wide and 80mm long.
Portable (external): a USB drive for backup and carrying large files.

1. SATA or NVMe? An M.2 slot can be SATA-based or NVMe-based, and some slots only support one. Check your motherboard or laptop manual.

SATA: up to about 550MB/s
NVMe PCIe Gen3: about 3,500MB/s
NVMe PCIe Gen4: about 7,000MB/s
NVMe PCIe Gen5: 10,000MB/s class

1. How much capacity?

256GB: basic use
512GB: the comfortable starting point for most laptops
1TB: for large libraries, games and projects
2TB and up: for editing and heavy workloads

1. Which brand and warranty? Branded drives from Samsung, WD, Kingston, Crucial, Corsair, Lexar and others use tested controllers and offer proper warranty support. Check the warranty period, keep the invoice, and buy sealed.

Quick decision table

Your device Buy
Old laptop with 2.5" bay SATA III SSD
Newer laptop with M.2 slot NVMe M.2 SSD (check Gen support)
Desktop with spare M.2 NVMe M.2 SSD
Need portable storage Portable SSD

Mistakes to avoid

Buying NVMe for a board with no NVMe slot
Ignoring the thermal needs of fast Gen4 and Gen5 drives
Filling the drive to the brim
Buying unbranded or unsealed stock

For a full range of SATA, NVMe and portable drives, browse the computer SSD listing at Storage Hub.

Written by the Storage Hub team, a Kolkata-based store for genuine computer memory and storage.