For savvy gamers, you may want to consider higher capacity like a 2TB SSD for your gaming experience. 250GB SSD is not enough for gaming enthusiasts.

Novice gamers can regard the 250GB SSD as their gaming exploration. Subsequently, they too should upgrade their SSD to a higher capacity for more exciting games.

We have listed here some considerations gamers can look at it before they decide what kind of SSD they want to purchase.

How Many Games Can Install On A 250GB SSD

Depending on the type of game you are playing. A game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 needs about 170 GB, this will use up almost 70% of the SSD storage space if your SSD only has 250GB.

In addition, you need to consider 10GB of storage space for an operating system like Windows 10/11. You left only 40GB for smaller games like Fallout 4 (requires 30GB storage), and Borderlands (needs 8GB storage). In total, you can only install 3 games on a 250GB SSD with these 3 games.

If you are into this kind of game, you should consider getting at least a 1TB SSD instead (the best is to go for a 2TB SSD). That will allow you to play more games, e.g. 6 games if your games are similar in storage size.

For an easy and simple game like Bubble Shooting, it will only need 12MB. With this kind of simple game, you can install more than 300 games in total. Plenty of game options for you to play.

How Much Storage Capacity Does A Game Require

It depends on what kind of game you wish to download on your computer. Games that have a lot of high-resolution graphics, textures data (especially 4K textures), and models will need more storage to save files and data.

Audio files also take up a big part of the storage on the SSD, like the player’s dialogues and talking scenes. Typically, 60 minutes of audio requires about 1GB of storage.

An extremely demanding game like Microsoft Flight Simulator requires 127 GB of disk space to play. An old game like Doom only needs 17MB of storage space.

Games That Require High Storage Capacity

The more complex the game is, the higher the storage capacity it requires. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War demand 250GB of disk space to install.

Images are getting very detailed in all modern games. You can find thousands of assets in an image, including 3D characters and their dialogues. You can feel and sense all kinds of cinematic scenes when playing the game. All these assets require higher memory space from your SSD storage device.

Here is a list of games with their required storage capacity for your reference:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, needs 231GB
• Quantum Break, needs 178GB
• Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, needs 165GB
• Red Dead Redemption 2, needs 150GB
• Final Fantasy 15, needs 148GB
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege, needs 131GB
• Microsoft Flight Simulator needs 127GB
• Halo: Master Chief Collection, needs 125GB
• Mass Effect: Legendary edition, needs 120GB
• Borderlands 3, needs 116GB
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, needs 113GB
• Gears of War needs 112.3GB
• Ark: Survival Evolved, needs 112GB
• Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, needs 112GB
• Hitman 2, needs 111GB
• Call of Duty: Infinite Warface, needs 101GB
• Middle Earth: Shadow of War, needs 95GB
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, needs 77GB

 

Highest SSD Capacity In The Market

The highest SSD capacity in the world right now is Nimbus Data 100TB ExaDrive introduced in March 2018. However, this is an enterprise SSD which will cost you US$40,000 in the past (currently they have a special price offer, do check with them).

The form factor for this 100TB SSD is a 3.5″ SATA SSD. This size allows it to put in more memory capacity as compared with m.2 SSD. In terms of speed, it is much slower than the m.2 SSD form factor.

For consumer-grade, 2TB SSDs are more commonly in use for m.2 SSDs and you should be able to get competitive pricing from most of the manufacturers.

4TB m.2 SSD is also getting popular, with more manufacturers offering it in their product lineup. As the NAND flash memory chip price gets lower, it will become mainstream in the SSD market.

Best SSDs To Consider

There are about 60 SSD manufacturers in the market, with some of them producing their flash memory chips. SSDs come in different types with various form factors and specifications.

Depending on your usage and application, you would want to choose one that works optimally to your expectations. Below are some SSDs that we have surveyed and found to be efficient in use for your gaming:

(1) Samsung 980 Pro 2TB

For gaming, we recommend using NVMe m.2 SSD for faster booting and loading of games. Samsung 980 Pro 2TB is one of our favorite SSDs. The company Samsung has proven to be an extremely reliable manufacturer. 980 Pro has the following features which outshine many other SSDs in the market:

• 7000 MB/s read speed
• 5100 MB/s write speed
• 1200 TBW (Terabytes Written) -> The higher the longer it will last

(2) Crucial X6 Portable SSD 2TB

If you do not wish to dismantle your existing computer system, you may opt for a portable SSD for easy connection.

This Crucial X6 portable SSD comes with the newer USB C connector, allowing you to plug directly into your laptop computer. If you only have the older USB A port, just get the USB C-to-A adapter in the market.

Crucial website allows you to check whether your computer or motherboard works with their product like this portable SSD. Just input your computer brand and product details, and it will advise you whether the SSD is compatible with your computer.

(3) SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 2TB

This is an external SSD that provides portability if you are looking for one, allowing you to carry it wherever you go. It has the capability of SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps, utilizing its specification USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 to its full potential.

Get one of these SSDs, if you have the USB-C Gen 2×2 port on your computer.

(4) Samsung T7 SSD 2TB

This is a portable SSD developed by Samsung with a PCIe 3.0 interface and has the size of a credit card, making it a tiny and handy SSD to carry around. It has three colors for you to choose from (gray, blue, and red) and offers the following features:

• 1050 MB/s sequential read speed
• 1000 MB/s sequential write speed
• 3-year warranty
• USB newer C-port
• USB 3.2 gen 2 connection offering transfer speed up to 10Gbps
• bundle with a USB C-to-A cable allowing you to connect to a USB A-port

When you connect the T7 SSD to your computer, it will prompt you to install Samsung SSD Management software. It provides strong security to protect your data on the SSD.

It has been tested by gamers to work well for Xbox games. They are very impressed with the improved game load and new game install/download speeds on the Xbox console.

(5) Seagate One Touch SSD 2TB

This Seagate portable SSD has a sleek and stylish design, allowing it to slip inside your pocket. It comes with Seagate’s software for your backup usage and can support Windows, macOS, and even Android devices.

As in most SSDs, Seagate One Touch SSD provides the following features:

• 1030 MB/s sequential read and write speed
• three colors to choose from (black, blue, and silver)
• USB 3.0 C-port connectivity with USB 3.2 gen 2 interface
• offer warranty of 2 years

According to T3’s test performance, this portable SSD drive can transfer 10GB of data from a MacBook Pro to an external drive within 12 seconds.

(6) Western Digital P40 2TB

Western Digital is one of the experienced data storage manufacturers. The company acquired SanDisk in 2016 and has since developed a lot of new SSDs in the market.

WD Black 2TB P40 Game Drive is a Western Digital Portable SSD compatible with gaming devices like PlayStation, Xbox, and other computers. It was built with a shock-resistant structure and can survive a drop of up to 2m. The RGB lighting also adds a nice touch to the SSD, allowing you to show off your style of play personally.

It is equipped with a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface and with speeds up to 2000 MB/s. This allows you to take your gaming anywhere you want.

(7) SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB

This PCIe 4.0 SSD has the following features which make it one of the best SSDs for PS5 gaming recommended by Toms Hardware review:

• 7000 MB/s sequential read speed
• 6500 MB/s sequential write speed
• 1.4 million IPOS random read
• 1.3 million IPOS random write
• 1200 TBW
• m.2 2280 form factor
• PCIe 4.0 x4 interface with NVMe 1.4 protocol
• 5-year warranty

SK Hynix started its semiconductor business in February 1983 and is a global player in the memory storage business. You can be assured of their company’s product quality and reliability.

Final Thoughts

If you are a serious gamer, 250GB SSD is not enough. You need at least 2TB of SSD capacity to install a few modern highly powerful and exciting games. Moreover, you may want to invest in SSD which gives you a higher read/write speed.

NVMe SSD will give you the capabilities to handle all the latest, most challenging, and adventurous games. However, make sure your motherboard supports NVMe SSD before you get one.