You are wasting your money

Consideration: 1TB SSDs are good for some people, but not for most people. No more.

There are several reasons why you wouldn’t go beyond 1TB and choose a 2TB SSD instead. I’ll go over them below, highlighting the rare occasions where a 1TB SSD might still make more sense in your situation.

SSDs fill up faster than you think

Where is all this space going?

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Let’s say you just bought yourself a 1TB SSD. That’s great, but you’re not actually getting a terabyte of storage capacity.

SSD vendors define 1TB as a trillion bytes, but most operating systems display storage in binary units, so a 1TB drive shows around 931GB after formatting. On top of that, most SSDs reserve extra space for what’s called overprovisioning (usually around 7%). SSD manufacturers save that extra 7% for important SSD functions, such as write amplification control, garbage collection, bad block replacement, and background management.

That still doesn’t mean you have 930GB left to use.

A common SSD error that can affect your performance is filling your drive to capacity. Once you reach around 80-90% SSD utilization, the SSD has a lot more work to do in the background to write new data, because it has to copy valid data into new blocks, erase the old ones, and then write — this is a process called garbage collection. This extra work causes an amplification of the writing and can slow everything down.

Let’s say you keep it below 80% to be safe; that 930 GB dropped to around 740 GB.

Things like your operating system, drivers, updates, and various utility applications can easily add up to 50-100 GB over time. In this scenario, that leaves you with about 650 GB of free space, or 830 GB if you don’t care about keeping your SSD below 80%.

From that point on, it’s just a matter of installing a few games or software before you find yourself glancing at the remaining space with a bit of uncertainty. Modern games can be real monsters, but software and heavy files, such as videos, also add up.

The price per terabyte just doesn’t add up

2TB is the best choice right now

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I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that 2TB SSDs are cheaper than their 1TB counterparts. That wouldn’t make any sense. But when you think about pure value, or in this case price per terabyte, it absolutely makes more sense to buy 2TB SSDs.

I took a look on Amazon and searched for 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs. I saw deals ranging from $90 to $150.

2TB SSDs come in a wide range of prices, but some of the cheapest models cost between $130 and $150, with some high-end drives going for as much as $190.

There’s a clear choice here, and it’s the 2TB. Even if you buy one of the faster SSDs (which you probably don’t need), you’ll pay less per terabyte than if you bought a 1TB drive.

Upgrading to 4TB is expensive, but still better than 1TB; I find 4TB PCIe Gen 4 SSDs for as little as $279, which works out to about $70 per terabyte.

Are larger SSDs worth buying?

There’s no easy answer

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In terms of pure value, yes, large SSDs (4TB and above) are worth buying. But there’s more than just value to consider, and for most users, 4TB is excessive. Just like buying an overpriced GPU, you can often do better things with your PC and your tech budget.

4TB SSDs are expensive, but cost less per terabyte than their smaller counterparts. They also last longer due to their higher terabytes written (TBW). SSD endurance values ​​tend to increase linearly with size. For example, the Samsung 990 Pro has 600TB at 1TB, but 1200TB at 2TB. That sounds like a lot (and it is), but in reality you’re unlikely to ever reach the point where TBW becomes a limiting factor. Either other things will fail on your drive, or you’ll replace your SSD for unrelated reasons before using those 1200 TBW.

That said, some people benefit from a larger drive. If you’re a content creator or frequently work with large files, a larger SSD may be useful, although it may be better to get a separate drive for storage or build a NAS.

When a 1TB SSD still makes sense

Not everyone needs more, and that’s fine

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Not sure about getting a 2TB SSD? 1TB SSDs still have their uses. Here are some scenarios where I would recommend sticking to 1TB:

• If you mainly use your PC for browsing, watching Netflix and working in the office without resource-intensive programs, 1TB will be enough.

• Thin and light laptops often come with less than 1TB. These aren’t really gaming machines, so don’t let that capacity stop you from buying one.

• A 1TB SSD still works well if you only use it for Windows and various applications, plus a second drive for storage.

• If upgrading to a 1TB SSD means you’ll have to compromise on something else in your PC build, you can use the 1TB as a starting point for now.

Be careful, though, as SSD prices can increase over time, so buying one today might be cheaper than buying one in a month or two.

How to choose the right SSD capacity for your needs

First step: anticipate

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When choosing an SSD, your main goal should be to think ahead. Things like faster speeds are nice, but unless you work with large files every day, you’ll benefit more from higher capacity than faster speeds.

Gamers, in particular, should aim for 2TB. AAA games can take up well over 100GB, and with additional patches, DLC, or mods, that number only increases.

Also consider the type of data you usually process. If most of your SSD usage is for software, choose a larger SSD for your primary drive so everything can run smoothly. If you primarily deal with files, a smaller drive will do as a daily driver, with a larger drive for pure storage.

Fortunately, storage is easy to expand when you need it, so a 2TB SSD isn’t essential, but if your budget can afford it, go for 2TB. It’s a much better deal and, for many, it’s a smart baseline.