Best Gaming SSDs for 2026: What Malaysian PC Gamers Should Actually Buy
If your gaming PC still feels slow even after a GPU upgrade, your storage might be the real culprit. PCGamesN has updated its 2026 gaming SSD recommendations, and the takeaway is pretty clear: you do not need to chase the most expensive PCIe 5.0 drive just to make your games feel faster.
For most players, the current top pick is the WD Black SN850X. It is a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD with quoted read and write speeds of 7,300MB/s and 6,600MB/s, giving it the right mix of speed, reliability, and value. More importantly, it is fast in the areas gamers actually notice — Windows boot time, game loading, and moving big files around.
That matters for Malaysian and SEA gamers because SSD prices are not exactly friendly right now. PCGamesN notes that prices are inflated due to the ongoing AI-related chip crunch, so buying smart is more important than flexing specs. If you are building a PC in Malaysia, where Shopee, Lazada, and local shops can swing wildly on pricing, the practical move is to compare RM-per-GB instead of just buying the highest number on the box.
The fastest drive PCGamesN tested is the WD Black SN8100, a PCIe 5.0 monster available in capacities up to 8TB. But that 8TB model is listed at a painful $2,599 — roughly RM12,000+ before local differences — so yeah, this is not the SSD most gamers should be throwing into a normal rig. It is impressive, but unless you constantly move huge files or use your PC for heavy creator work, the gaming benefit is small.
For budget builds, the WD Blue SN580 is highlighted as a strong low-cost option. It goes up to 2TB and has 900TBW endurance, with PCGamesN calling it a top choice under $100. For Malaysia, that is the kind of SSD you watch during 9.9, 11.11, or payday sales — not the flashiest, but very sensible if you are building a mid-range Valorant, Dota 2, Genshin, or Monster Hunter machine.
Samsung still appears heavily in the list too. The Samsung 980 Pro remains a good buy when discounted, hitting 6,866MB/s in PCGamesN testing despite Samsung rating it up to 7,000MB/s. The Samsung 990 Pro is the faster PCIe 4.0 choice, reaching 7,198MB/s in testing, though it runs hot enough that a heatsink is recommended. Basically, if your motherboard has an M.2 heatsink, use it. Malaysian rooms can already be warm enough, bro — do not make your SSD suffer inside a cramped case with bad airflow.
For older PCs, the Samsung 870 EVO is still the SATA recommendation. PCGamesN is clear that modern builds should use M.2 drives instead, but SATA SSDs still make sense for older desktops, NAS setups, or consoles that accept them. If you are upgrading from a hard drive, even a SATA SSD will feel like a massive quality-of-life jump.
On the PCIe 5.0 side, the Corsair MP700 Pro stands out because it includes an active cooler. PCGamesN says its fan kept temperatures under control, peaking at 65°C in testing. That cooling matters because PCIe 5.0 SSDs can run seriously hot, and thermal throttling kills the whole point of buying an ultra-fast drive.
Laptop users get a different recommendation: the Samsung 990 Evo. It is positioned as a balanced upgrade because it does not need a heatsink and offers up to 5,000MB/s reads and 4,200MB/s writes. For gaming laptops common in Malaysia — especially thinner models with limited airflow — that efficiency is more useful than chasing peak desktop performance.
Handheld gamers are covered too. The TeamGroup MP44S is a 2230 M.2 SSD suitable for Steam Deck-style devices, with PCGamesN recording 5,089MB/s reads and 3,702MB/s writes. The Steam Deck itself cannot fully use all that speed due to its PCIe 3.0 interface, but it is still a strong upgrade and could be useful for newer handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally X.
The simple conclusion: if you are buying for a gaming PC in 2026, a good PCIe 4.0 SSD is still the sweet spot. Spend the savings on more capacity, better cooling, or a GPU upgrade. Faster loading is nice — but wasting RM on speed your games barely use? That one memang sus.
Source: PCGamesN
