While massive 2TB and 4TB drives are becoming more common, the humble 1TB drive remains one of the most popular and important components in PC gaming. For many builders, the best 1TB SSDs for gaming represent the perfect choice for a primary boot drive. This capacity provides ample space for your Windows operating system, all your essential applications, and your top 2-3 most-played games, ensuring they all benefit from lightning-fast speeds.
A 1TB drive is the quintessential starting point for any new build or the perfect first upgrade for an older system still running on a hard drive. It’s a key component we recommend in our main guide to the best SSDs for gaming, and it’s an ideal match for a powerful, budget-friendly machine like those in our best pre-built PC under $1000 guide.
This guide will focus on the top 4 best 1TB SSDs for gaming, helping you find the perfect high-speed drive to form the foundation of your gaming rig.
Why a 1TB SSD is Still a Perfect Choice for Gaming
In an age of ever-growing game sizes, why are the best 1TB SSDs for gaming still such a fantastic option? It all comes down to their specific and strategic role in a modern gaming PC.
- The Ultimate Boot Drive: A 1TB NVMe SSD is the perfect size for your operating system and core applications. This guarantees a snappy, responsive system and near-instant boot times.
- Prioritize Your Favorites: By installing your most-played competitive shooters or your current single-player obsession on your primary 1TB drive, you ensure they get the fastest possible loading times. Less critical, older games can be stored on a larger, cheaper secondary drive.
- Incredible Value: 1TB NVMe drives offer some of the best price-per-performance on the entire PC market. As you’ll see from tech analysis by outlets like Linus Tech Tips, the real-world gaming performance difference between a mid-range and a high-end NVMe drive is often negligible, making budget-friendly 1TB models an incredibly smart buy.
Our Picks for the Best 1TB SSDs for Gaming
1. Crucial P3 Plus: The Best Overall 1TB SSD for Gaming
The Crucial P3 Plus hits the absolute sweet spot of price and performance, making it our top recommendation. As a PCIe Gen4 drive, it delivers read speeds of up to 5,000 MB/s, which is more than fast enough to handle anything a modern gamer can throw at it. It provides a massive, noticeable speed improvement over any older SSD or hard drive. For a gamer who wants a fast, reliable, and incredibly affordable NVMe boot drive, the Crucial P3 Plus is simply one of the best 1TB SSDs for gaming and is unbeatable in terms of value.
- Type: NVMe M.2 (PCIe Gen4)
- Read Speed: Up to 5,000 MB/s
- Write Speed: Up to 3,600 MB/s
- Best For: Budget-conscious gamers and first-time builders.
This drive proves you don’t need to spend a fortune to get elite-tier loading speeds. It is the best performance-per-dollar drive on the market.
2. Samsung 980 Pro: The Best Premium 1TB SSD for Gaming
The Samsung 980 Pro is a legendary drive for a reason. It offers top-tier PCIe Gen4 performance with read speeds of up to 7,000 MB/s and is renowned for its long-term reliability and endurance. While it comes at a higher price than our top value pick, it’s the choice for the enthusiast who wants a premium, high-endurance boot drive from one of the most trusted names in storage. If you’re building a rig with zero compromises, the 980 Pro is a fantastic foundation.
- Type: NVMe M.2 (PCIe Gen4)
- Read Speed: Up to 7,000 MB/s
- Write Speed: Up to 5,000 MB/s
- Best For: Enthusiast builders who want premium performance and reliability.
For those who want the peace of mind that comes with a top-of-the-line product, the Samsung 980 Pro remains an elite choice.
3. WD_BLACK SN770: The Best DRAM-less NVMe SSD
The WD_BLACK SN770 is a marvel of engineering. It’s a “DRAM-less” SSD, which is a design that typically helps to lower costs. However, through clever technology, WD has managed to make the SN770 perform so well that it often trades blows with more expensive drives that do have a DRAM cache. It’s an incredibly fast and efficient PCIe Gen4 drive that is purpose-built for gaming, offering fantastic value for its performance level.
- Type: NVMe M.2 (PCIe Gen4)
- Read Speed: Up to 5,150 MB/s
- Write Speed: Up to 4,900 MB/s
- Best For: Gamers looking for a mid-range drive with top-tier gaming performance.
The SN770 is a testament to smart design, delivering a fantastic, high-speed gaming experience at a very competitive price point.
4. Crucial MX500: The Best 1TB SATA SSD for Upgrades
Not every PC has a free M.2 slot. For older desktops or laptops that you want to breathe new life into, a 2.5-inch SATA SSD is the single best upgrade you can make. The Crucial MX500 has been the king of this category for years. It offers rock-solid reliability and the fastest speeds the SATA interface can handle. Swapping an old mechanical hard drive with this 1TB SSD will have a more profound impact on your day-to-day experience than any other component upgrade.
- Type: 2.5-Inch SATA
- Read Speed: Up to 560 MB/s
- Write Speed: Up to 510 MB/s
- Best For: Upgrading older desktops and laptops.
If you want to make an old PC feel brand new again, the Crucial MX500 is your ticket to a faster, more responsive machine.
Conclusion: The Perfect Foundation for Speed
Choosing one of the best 1TB SSDs for gaming is the smartest way to build a fast, responsive, and affordable gaming PC. This capacity provides the perfect amount of space for your most important files and games, ensuring they load in the blink of an eye. The sheer value offered by the best 1TB SSDs for gaming makes them an essential component for any savvy builder.
For its incredible blend of speed, reliability, and unbeatable price, the Crucial P3 Plus is our definitive top recommendation. It makes PCIe Gen4 speeds accessible to every gamer and is the perfect foundation for any new build or upgrade.