SSDs have now shifted to PCIe 5.0 with some drives hitting insane speeds of 14,000MB/s. However, the reality is these speeds will never be utilized by 95% of PC users. While we're surrounded by Gen 4 and Gen 5 marketing, for the average user, these speeds will never actually be utilized and the speed they're craving actually comes from elsewhere - random 4K read speeds.

Unless you're moving large files daily, a high-quality PCIe 3.0 drive is indistinguishable from a Gen 5 flagship in daily use, even for gaming. Thanks to very similar random 4K read speeds despite much higher sequential speeds, you'll find that your loading times in game or when using applications are practically identical between Gen 3 and Gen 5 drives. Another bonus is that it runs significantly cooler, could last longer and will set you back a lot less cash.

Does speed matter?

Sequential speed probably doesn't but 4K random does

Marketing has led us to believe that newer flagship Gen 5 drives are significantly faster than previous generations, and while this is the case when it comes to sequential speeds (which is what the large 10,000 MB/s stickers on the box refer to), this is only referring to your SSD's ability to read one giant file.

The reality is that Windows, Chrome, and game assets actually rely on random 4K reads. This refers to how quickly a drive can read those small 4KB data chunks from random locations. This is fundamental for not only gaming performance, but also your operating system, app loading, multitasking, and pretty much the majority of apps you'll be using on your PC.

When it comes to random 4K reads, modern mid-range and flagship Gen 5 drives often deliver very similar speeds - typically somewhere in the tens of MB/s or hundreds of thousands of IOPS, and these differences rarely translate into meaningful load time improvements in games or when using applications.

A PCI.e 3.0 SSD drive like the Samsung 970 Evo has random read/write speeds that are within 10-15% of popular Gen 5 drives like the Crucial P510 or the Corsair MP700 Pro. While the sequential speeds have improved drastically from PCIe 3.0 to PCIe 5.0, the random 4K reads haven't followed suit, meaning that the snappiness of your PC will remain close to identical between these two drives.

Even more perks

There are a host of other benefits to opting for a Gen 3 drive

Alongside the lack of significant performance increase, there are other benefits to opting for a PCIe 3.0 drive instead of the newer Gen 5 editions. From heat to price point, there are a multitude of other reasons you may want to opt for a Gen 3 drive.

The first could be the heat problem. PCIe 5.0 drives often require active cooling, such as fans or massive heat sinks, to prevent thermal throttling, whereas Gen 3 drives run significantly cooler. Whilst opting for a heat sink is still a smart move, your heat sinks can typically be much thinner, making them the better choice for thinner laptops or small form factor builds where airflow can be limited. You can also just generally worry less about the heat of your SSD affecting your other components.

You may also get a drive that lasts a bit longer in terms of lifespan. A drive that runs at 40°C is likely to outlive one that regularly pushes 75°C, regardless of the generation.

Another thing to consider, and arguably one of the most important factors, is, of course, the price point. For the price of a 1TB PCIe 5.0 drive, you can often buy a high-quality 4TB PCIe 3.0 drive. For the majority of users, having 4x the storage capacity is infinitely more noticeable than having a drive that can theoretically move ginormous files you rarely encounter at exceptional speeds.

Even if you're not opting for a large capacity drive, the savings between Gen 5 and Gen 3 could be used elsewhere in your build, such as opting for a better CPU, GPU, or even more RAM.

Don't chase speed you're not using

Capacity is a much better investment

While marketing may lead you to believe that Gen 5 is a significantly faster drive, this is only the case when it comes to sequential speeds, which 95% of users won't be using often enough to justify the price difference. Sure, if you're an 8K video editor or a data scientist, Gen 5 will likely benefit you. But for the average user, even within the world of gaming, Gen 3 is typically a much better and more price-effective option.

Spend the money you save on a better GPU, a nicer monitor, or more storage capacity. These are things that will actually change how your PC feels to use, rather than providing you with minimal and indistinguishable loading speed differences.