Best SSDs for Gamers: Boost Your PC Performance

Staring at loading screens is the worst. For any South African gamer, upgrading from an old hard drive to a Solid State Drive (SSD) is one of the biggest performance boosts you can get. Games load faster, your whole PC feels snappier, and you get into the action quicker. But with terms like NVMe and SATA flying around, which one is right for you? This Q&A breaks down everything you need to know about choosing the best SSD for your rig. 🚀

Your Top SSD Questions Answered

Kingston Fury Beast RGB 32GB (2x16GB) 6400MT/s DDR5 CL32 Desktop Memory / AMD Expo/Intel XMP / Plug N Play / Kit of 2 / KF564C32BBEAK2-32

R2999.00In Stock

KLEVV CRAS V RGB 32GB Kit (16GB x2) 7200MHz Gaming Memory DDR5 RAM XMP 3.0/AMD EXPO High Performance Overclocking / KD5AGUA80-72B340G

R2799.00In Stock

SEAGATE 2.5" HDD External Expansion Portable - 2TB / USB 3.0 / STKM2000400

R1799.00In Stock

Kingston Fury Beast 64GB (32GB x 2) 6000MHz DDR5 CL36 Desktop Memory / Kit of 2 / Intel® XMP 3.0 & AMD EXPO™ Certified / Low-Profile Heat Spreader / KF560C36BBEK2-64

R4599.00In Stock

Corsair Vengeance DDR5 16GB (1x16GB) 5600MHz C40 Intel Optimized Desktop Memory (Onboard Voltage Regulation, Custom XMP 3.0 Profiles, Compact Form-Factor, Solid Aluminum Heatspreader) Black - CMK16GX5M1B5600C40

R1199.00In Stock

CORSAIR Dominator Titanium RGB DDR5 96GB – Black / (2x48GB) / DDR5 7000MHz / CL40 Intel XMP / iCUE Compatible Computer Memory / CMP96GX5M2B7000C40

R9999.00In Stock

Q: What's the real difference between an SSD and a Hard Drive (HDD) for gaming? A: It all comes down to speed. A traditional HDD has a spinning platter and a physical arm that reads data, like a tiny record player. An SSD uses flash memory with no moving parts. This means near-instant access to data. For gamers, this translates to drastically shorter game load times, faster map loading in-game, and a much smoother experience in open-world titles that constantly stream assets from the drive.

Q: I see "SATA" and "NVMe" SSDs. What's the difference? A: Think of SATA as the reliable sedan and NVMe as the F1 car. SATA SSDs are the older standard, connecting to your motherboard via a cable, and they're still much faster than any HDD. NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is the modern standard, plugging directly into a special M.2 slot on your motherboard for blistering speeds. For your operating system and main games, a top-tier PCI Express (NVMe) SSD is the undisputed king of performance.

Q: Is an NVMe drive really that much faster in the real world? A: On paper, NVMe drives are many times faster than SATA. In real-world gaming, the jump is most noticeable in initial game load times. While it is faster, the leap isn't as massive as going from an HDD to a SATA SSD. Where NVMe truly shines is in file transfers and content creation. Great brands like Kingston offer a fantastic range of both NVMe and SATA drives, so you can find one that fits your specific needs and budget.

Corsair Vengeance DDR5 16GB (1x16GB) 5600MHz C40 Intel Optimized Desktop Memory (Onboard Voltage Regulation, Custom XMP 3.0 Profiles, Compact Form-Factor, Solid Aluminum Heatspreader) Black - CMK16GX5M1B5600C40

R1199.00In Stock

XPG 4TB GAMMIX S70 Blade PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 Internal Gaming SSD Up to 7,400 MB/s - Works with Playstation 5 / AGAMMIXS70B-4T-CS

R6999.00In Stock

KLEVV CRAS C930 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 Internal Gaming SSD with Heatsink / Compatible with PS5 / up to 7400MB/s with DRAM Cash / K01TBM2SP0-C93

R1899.00In Stock

ORICO e7400 M.2 NVMe SSD - 1TB / PS5 Compatible / PCIe Gen4.0 x4 / Up to 7,400MB/s Read and 6,600MB/s Write Speeds / ORICO-e7400-1TB-GD-BP

R1,499In Stock

ADATA SE920 1TB External Solid State Drive / Up to 2000 MB/s Read Speed / Up to 3,700 MB/s Write Speed(3,200 MB/s with Thunderbolt 4) / USB4 USB-C Interface (Backwards Compatible with USB 3.2/2.0) / SE920-1TCBK

R2999.00In Stock

KingSpec XG7000 1TB NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD / TLC NAND flash memory / PCIe Gen 4.0, M.2 2280, Up to 7400MB/s/6600MB/s Read/Write Speeds / XG7000-2280-1TB

R999.00In Stock

Q: How does my PC's RAM affect my SSD's performance? A: They are a critical team. Your super-fast SSD's job is to load game assets from storage into your computer's RAM. If your RAM is slow or you don't have enough of it, the SSD is feeding data into a traffic jam. Your PC will still be much faster than with an old hard drive, but to get the best possible performance, pairing a fast SSD with sufficient, speedy computer RAM is crucial for overall system responsiveness.

Q: So, what kind of RAM should I be pairing with a modern SSD? A: For any gaming PC built in the last few years, you're looking at either DDR4 or DDR5 memory. If your rig is running on a still-powerful AM4 or Intel 10th/11th-gen platform, a quality kit of DDR4 Memory is the perfect partner for a new SSD. If you're building a brand-new PC with the latest CPUs, you'll need the incredible bandwidth of DDR5 Memory (RAM) to truly unlock the full potential of your system.

Q: How big of an SSD do I need for gaming in 2025? A: Game sizes just keep getting bigger... we're looking at you, Call of Duty. While 500GB can work in a pinch, 1TB is really the new baseline for a main gaming drive. This gives you enough space for your operating system and a healthy handful of your favourite titles. If you have a large Steam library, jumping to a 2TB drive is becoming the comfortable standard to avoid having to constantly uninstall and reinstall games.

Corsair MP600 PRO NH 4TB PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD – High-Density TLC NAND – M.2 2280 – DirectStorage Compatible - Up to 7,000MB/sec - No Heatsink - Black / CSSD-F4000GBMP600PNH

R7499.00In Stock

Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 480GB External SSD | FIPS 197 | XTS-AES 256GB Encrypted | Touch Screen PIN | Secure Data Protection | IKVP80ES/480G

R4199.00In Stock

Kingston XS1000 1TB SSD | Pocket-Sized | USB 3.2 Gen 2 | External Solid State Drive | Up to 1050MB/s | SXS1000/1000G

R1899.00In Stock

ADATA XPG Mars 980 Pro 1TB NVMe 5.0 Internal Solid State Drive / Up to 14,000MB/s Read Speed and Up to 10,000MB/s Write Speed / SMAR-980P-1TCI

R2199.00In Stock

Orico X7000 4TB NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD / Versatile storage for multiple platforms / PCIe Gen 4.0, M.2 2280 / Up to 7100MB/s Read Speed / Up to 6500MB/s Write Speed / ORICO-X7000-4TB-RD-BP

R4,699In Stock

Corsair MP700 Elite 2TB PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD – Included Aluminum Heatsink – Up to 10,000MB/sec – High-Density 3D TLC NAND – M.2 2280 - DirectStorage Compatible – Black / CSSD-F2000GBMP700EHS

R5999.00In Stock

Key Takeaways

• Any SSD is a Win: Upgrading from a mechanical hard drive to any SSD is the single biggest speed improvement you can make to a PC.
• NVMe is the Future: For the best possible performance, choose an NVMe M.2 SSD for your operating system and most-played games.
• Size Matters: With modern game sizes, 1TB is the recommended minimum for a primary gaming SSD, with 2TB being ideal for large libraries.
• Balance Your Build: A fast SSD works best when paired with enough fast RAM. Ensure your memory isn't creating a bottleneck for your new storage.