26/01/2026 12:08 pm
Topic starter
Notifications
Clear all
0
Hey everyone! I’m finally in the home stretch of putting together my dream high-end gaming build. I’ve managed to snag an RTX 4090 and an i9-14900K, so I really don’t want my storage to be the bottleneck that holds everything back. I’m moving away from my old SATA SSD setup, and honestly, the sheer number of NVMe options out there is a bit overwhelming.
I’ve been doing some digging, and I’m torn between going for the absolute bleeding-edge PCIe Gen 5 speeds or sticking with a top-tier Gen 4 drive. I’ve seen a lot of hype around the Samsung 990 Pro and the WD_BLACK SN850X, but then I see those Gen 5 drives like the Crucial T705 boasting insane read/write speeds. My motherboard supports Gen 5, but I’ve heard they can run incredibly hot and might even require those massive dedicated heatsinks, which I'm a bit worried about regarding clearance near my GPU.
My main priority is lightning-fast load times in heavy titles like Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077, but I also do a bit of 4K video editing on the side, so sustained write speeds actually matter to me. I’m looking for a 2TB or 4TB module because games are just getting massive these days. I’ve also heard mixed things about whether DirectStorage is actually making a difference yet, or if I should even factor that into my purchase.
I’ve got a budget of around $200-$350 specifically for the boot drive. Is the jump to Gen 5 actually noticeable in real-world gaming scenarios right now, or am I better off getting a higher capacity, top-of-the-line Gen 4 drive? What are you guys running in your high-end rigs, and have you noticed any thermal throttling issues with the newer drives?
3 Answers
7
26/01/2026 12:08 pm
Hey! Honestly, I’ve been there—building a monster rig and wanting every single component to be the absolute "best." But first, be careful with those Gen 5 drives. I've been building for over 15 years, and the one thing I've learned the hard way is that bleeding-edge tech often means being a beta tester for thermal issues. If you drop a drive like the Crucial T705 2TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD right next to a beastly NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, that SSD is gonna bake. I actually tried a Gen 5 setup recently and had to swap it out because the active cooling fan on the SSD heatsink was higher-pitched and louder than my entire case!
For your situation, I would suggest sticking with a top-tier Gen 4 drive. In real-world gaming—even with DirectStorage—the difference between 7,000 MB/s and 14,000 MB/s is basically imperceptible. Honestly, you won't feel it in Starfield. I'm currently running the Samsung 990 Pro 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD in my main rig, and it’s rock solid. If you want to save a few bucks without sacrificing performance, the Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850X 4TB NVMe SSD is another absolute tank that handles sustained 4K video writes like a pro.
That said, if you’re dead set on Gen 5 for the video editing side, just make sure your motherboard’s M.2 heatsink is actually beefy enough. Most aren't. Lesson learned: stability and high capacity always trump theoretical peak speeds in a daily gaming driver. I think? Don't quote me on that if you just love benchmarks, but for actual use, Gen 4 is the sweet spot. Hope this helps!
2
26/01/2026 12:20 pm
Hmm, I've had a different experience with those high-end drives lately. Respectfully, I'd suggest a different approach—don't get blinded by those Gen 5 speeds.
Unfortunately, I had some issues with thermal throttling on a Gen 5 drive even with a heatsink, and honestly, the real-world gaming difference was basically zero. I'd definitely grab the SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 instead. It's incredibly stable, runs much cooler than the 990 Pro, and the sustained writes for your 4K editing are top-tier. Save the cash for more storage! Anyway, hope this helps!
2
16/02/2026 8:15 pm
Works great for me
