Key Takeaways
- PCIe 5.0 SSDs offer virtually no added incentive compared to Gen4 SSDs as far as game loading times are concerned.
- DirectStorage has a long way to go in terms of industry adoption.
- Prices of Gen5 SSDs are yet to enter the realm of affordability as they still cost twice as much as Gen4 drives.
PCIe 5.0 SSDs started hitting the shelves early last year, and more than a year later, we have drives like the Sabrent Rocket 5 breaching 14,000 MB/s read speeds. While these blazing-fast SSDs are game-changing for productivity workloads that benefit from sequential read/write speeds, they still don’t make a good case for a gaming PC. Besides, they all run way too hot during sustained workloads, but that’s a topic for another day.
If you’re building a gaming PC in 2024 and considering a Gen5 NVMe drive for things like “future-proofing” or faster gaming performance, there are more reasons than one to skip this generation entirely.
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PCIe 5.0 SSDs don’t offer better loading times
Virtually identical to PCIe 4.0 drive stats
Hands down, the biggest reason not to bother with PCIe 5.0 SSDs right now is the identical loading time in games when compared to PCIe 4.0 or even PCIe 3.0 SSDs. Once you’ve moved from conventional hard drives to NVMe SSDs, the law of diminishing returns kicks in, and you don’t really see major improvements moving from Gen3 to Gen4 to Gen5 SSDs. Choosing which SSD to buy can seem complicated, but most gamers should simply get a reputable Gen4 drive with speeds of around 5,000-7,000 MB/s.
You can safely “miss out” on the fastest consumer SSDs for your gaming PC.
Our best gaming SSDs list rightly features Gen4 SSDs as the top picks, as that’s where you reach the peak of fast loading times in games. Things will eventually change as game developers begin to take advantage of the faster storage tech at their disposal, but that’s still years away. You can safely “miss out on” the fastest consumer SSDs for your gaming PC.
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DirectStorage is still largely irrelevant
Only a handful of games even support it
Microsoft’s DirectStorage technology was supposed to transform the way that games process data. Bypassing the CPU and establishing a direct link between high-speed storage and the GPU can deliver truly massive benefits to game performance. But even 3 years after its initial availability on Windows 10 and 11, barely any games have shipped with DirectStorage support. Titles like Forspoken, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden Westand Forza Motorsport are the only ones on the list utilizing it right now.
It has not delivered on the promise of increased GPU bandwidth and massive game worlds that were supposed to change the face of big-budget titles.
This slow adoption of DirectStorage isn’t just a let-down for loading times. It has also not delivered on the promise of increased GPU bandwidth and massive game worlds intended to change the face of big-budget titles. There’s a lot more waiting to be done before PCIe 5.0 SSDs become the new standard (or ideal) for peak gaming performance.
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Gen5 SSD pricing is still not competitive
Expect to pay twice as much for PCIe 5.0 drives
Besides the lack of any performance advantage in gaming, the price of PCIe 5.0 SSDs is another reason to stay away for now. When the first Gen5 drives launched, prices were naturally up in the stratosphere. But, even 2 years after the launch of the Gigabyte Aorus Gen5 10000 that started it all, PCIe 5.0 SSDs still cost at least twice as much as excellent PCIe 4.0 SSDs. There is no reason to waste your money this way.
It’s much better to spend the dollars saved on other components like a better CPU, cooler, RAM, or motherboard.
A solid 1TB Gen4 drive like the WD Black SN770 costs around $80, while even the cheapest Gen5 SSD like the Inland TD510 costs at least $150. I know those who want to have the fastest storage in their builds would gladly shell out the premium, but it’s really not worth it. It’s much better to spend the money on other components like a better CPU, RAM, cooler, or motherboard.
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PCIe 5.0 SSDs can truly benefit gaming, but we are still waiting to see the impact
Gen5 SSDs hold a lot of promise for the future of PC gaming, but gamers will have to wait a few more years before those benefits actually become a reality. As game developers slowly adopt technologies like DirectStorage that can take advantage of the superior transfer speeds of PCIe 5.0 drives and prices start becoming affordable, the market for these ultra-fast drives is sure to shift. Until then, you can focus instead on overpriced graphics cards to upgrade your gaming rig.