The Samsung 980 Pro is a leading M.2 SSD, suitable for high-end PCIe Gen4-capable PCs. This NVMe memory features Samsung's Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0, which offers fast burst performance. This is perfect if you are transferring large files often.

Compared to the Samsung 980 Pro's predecessor, the 970 Pro, the 980 Pro writes at slightly lower rates over a long time. However, it delivers some of the fastest response times from a flash-based SSD.

For booting up an OS quickly and running apps or games, the Samsung 980 Pro is one of the best options. This kind of speed and performance does come at a price, of course. But, if you invest, you will be pleased with its stellar performance.

The WD_Black 1TB SN850 builds upon Western Digital's well-known brand and delivers a high-performance SSD. It boasts impressive read and write speeds, all of which can be managed using the WD_Black dashboard.

The WD_Black 1TB SN850 comes head-and-shoulders above the rest for PC gamers, loading high-performance games in seconds. For productivity users, day-to-day tasks are easily handled by the SN850. Compared to the Sabrent Rocket, write speeds are only slightly lower.

The only real flaw with the WD_Black 1TB SN850 is the temperature when put under load. If your motherboard doesn't have a heatsink and you want to use this SSD in your PC, it's worth investing in one.

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus features 96-layer V-NAND technology, which offers faster performance than the 970 Pro and the WD Black SN750. It performs well when transferring files and data.

Considering the Samsung 970 EVO Plus is thought of as a value SSD, it often outperforms its rivals in the PCIe 4.0 market. It also comes with a generous five-year warranty across all available capacities (250GB - 2TB).

Although the Samsung 970 EVO Plus performs well in sequential data transfer tasks, it can fluctuate under load, making it hard to maintain a solid 3,500MB/s write speed.

However, if you plan to move your operating system across to the Samsung 970 EVO Plus, you'll notice a substantial improvement in boot performance.

The Sabrent 1TB Rocket comes in an M.2 2280 form factor, boasting high endurance and performance. You can expect a sequential speed of up to 5/4.4GBps and up to 750,000 IOPS.

Although this SSD is backward-compatible with PCIe 3.0 boards, it struggles to max out speeds above 3GBps across read/write transfers. However, with a compatible PCIe 4.0 motherboard, the Sabrent 1TB Rocket delivers almost 20 times the rates offered by HDDs.

While it may not be a priority for some users, it's hard not to appreciate the Sabrent 1TB Rocket's aesthetics. Its slim build can easily fit underneath a motherboard's heatsink, keeping temperatures low in your PC.

The Seagate Firecuda 520 has proven itself a fierce contender when pitted against other robust SSDs in copying files, booting an OS, and launching games. This is a solid choice to store your OS on, outranking most of the competition.

When transferring large files, the Seagate Firecuda 520 maintains sequential read and write speeds, petering between 4,200MB/s to 5,000MB/s. Unlike other SSDs, fluctuation with the Seagate Firecuda 520 is low, which is also the case with random read/writes.

Against other PCIe 4.0 SSDs, this drive puts on the pressure and offers high-performance gaming and productivity. However, compared to high-end PCIe 3.0 SSDs that are almost as quick as the FireCuda, it costs nearly 50 percent more.

The XPG GAMMIX S50 is a stylish PCIe 4.0 SSD with plenty of power behind it. It's one of the fastest ADATA SSDs, reaching sustained speeds of 5,000MB/s. Unlike some other high-performance SSDs, the XPG GAMMIX S50 includes a built-in heatsink to keep the component cool under pressure.

Random read/write speeds are around 750K IOPS, making the XPG GAMMIX S50 ideal for gamers and transferring files. Loading an OS like Windows 10 takes a little longer than other competitor's SSDs, but this is designed for gaming, and ADATA position it in this way.

If you want to keep an eye on your SSD, you can use the bundled software that comes with the XPG GAMMIX S50. The ADATA SSD ToolBox gives you drive information, diagnostics, and firmware updates. You'll also get a free copy of Acronis True Image HD, as well as a five-year warranty.

The Patriot Viper VP4100 is an efficient SSD while offering high-performance read/write speeds. The built-in heatsink keeps it cool even under load, with lower power consumption during large transfers.

Although highly-priced, the Patriot Viper VP4100 offers capacities of up to 2TB. For gamers, this large storage capacity can house and run top-end games very quickly.

Everyday users also benefit from the high read/write speeds as well as the large write cache. If you need to perform a system restore, the Patriot Viper VP4100 can write the system image at almost double the speed of an HDD.