Storage Drives - Internal

These new super-fast SSDs use cutting-edge 3D XPoint memory instead of the more usual NAND flash memory. Joint developed by Intel and Micron, 3D XPoint has around 10x less latency than NAND, so Optane drives can start reading and writing much faster than traditional SSDs. They also perform much better at low queue depths, resulting in much snappier performance.

Intel Optane SSDs using 3D XPoint memory are available as 2.5in drives which use a U.2 cable to connect to the motherboard or as expansion cards that slot directly into a spare PCI-E slot on the motherboard.

M.2 replaced the older mSATA standard. Available in 120, 128, 240, 250 and 256GB sizes the M.2 SSD Connects to your device via an M.2 Socket using the newer PCI Express NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) controller variant designed to fully utilize the capability of high-speed PCI Express storage devices to perform many I/O (in/out) operations in parallel. These SSD's can achieve Read speeds in Excess of 3000MB/s and Write speeds over 2000MB/s making them the fastest available.

M.2 replaced the older mSATA standard. Available in 480, 500 and 512GB sizes the M.2 SSD Connects to your device via an M.2 Socket using the newer PCI Express NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) controller variant designed to fully utilize the capability of high-speed PCI Express storage devices to perform many I/O (in/out) operations in parallel. These SSD's can achieve Read speeds in Excess of 3000MB/s and Write speeds over 2000MB/s making them the fastest available.

M.2 replaced the older mSATA standard. Available in 960GB, 1TB and 2TB sizes the M.2 SSD Connects to your device via an M.2 Socket using the newer PCI Express NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) controller variant designed to fully utilize the capability of high-speed PCI Express storage devices to perform many I/O (in/out) operations in parallel. These SSD's can achieve Read speeds in Excess of 3000MB/s and Write speeds over 2000MB/s making them the fastest available.

While the M.2 connector can be used for PCIe SSDs, the ones here are SATA 6Gb/s only, so the benefits over standard 2.5" SATA drives are to do with space-saving, not speed. Available in 120, 128, 240, 250, and 256GB sizes they're perfect for small form factor systems and laptops, but make sure your M.2 slot works with SATA devices, and that it supports the SSD's size, both in length (2280 means 80mm long) and thickness.

Available in 120, 128, 240, 250, 256, 275 and 480GB capacities these SATA III 6Gb/s SSDs may no longer be the fastest around thanks to emerging PCIe SSDs, but they're the most cost-effective and are still easily fast enough for most users. You'll need a spare SATA 6Gb/s port to get the most from them, and a 2.5" capable drive bay - an adaptor may need to be bought, but most cases have at least one. These drives are the highest capacity ones available, suitable for holding an operating system, as well as numerous programs and a healthy collection of media and games.

Available in 1.9TB, 2TB, 4TB and 5TB capacities these SATA III 6Gb/s SSDs may no longer be the fastest around thanks to emerging PCIe SSDs, but they're the most cost-effective and are still easily fast enough for most users. You'll need a spare SATA 6Gb/s port to get the most from them, and a 2.5" capable drive bay - an adaptor may need to be bought, but most cases have at least one. These drives are the highest capacity ones available, suitable for holding an operating system, as well as numerous programs and a healthy collection of media and games.

Hybrid hard drives combine a traditional, high capacity mechanical HDD section with a smaller, flash-based SSD section that acts as a cache, giving your system a boost in responsiveness. They won't be as fast as a pure SSD, but they're a great compromise between speed and capacity.

These 3.5" hard drives are available in 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB sizes and mostly utilise the newer SATA III 6Gb/s interface, ensuring as high speeds as possible with their mechanical technology, especially when using them in RAID. They're the most popular drives for today's desktop PCs, thanks to high spindle speeds, lots of cache and huge capacities.

These 3.5" hard drives are available in 2TB, 3TB, and 4TB sizes. They utilise the newer SATA III 6Gb/s interface, ensuring as high speeds as possible with their mechanical technology, especially when using them in RAID. They're the most popular drives for today's desktop PCs, thanks to high spindle speeds, lots of cache and huge capacities.

These 3.5" hard drives are available in 5TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, & now even 14TB sizes. They utilise the newer SATA III 6Gb/s interface, ensuring as high speeds as possible with their mechanical technology, especially when using them in RAID. They're the most popular drives for today's desktop PCs, thanks to high spindle speeds, lots of cache and huge capacities.

2.5" drives are significantly smaller than standard 3.5" ones, making them great candidates for upgrading the storage of your laptop or games console, especially as they're available in capacities of 500GB, 750GB and 1TB. Remember to check the height of the drives, as most portable or console systems only have bays which support 9.5mm drives or less. Also pay attention to the spin speed in rpm; while most drives here use the latest SATA III 6Gbps interface, faster spinning drives will read and write data faster.

2.5" drives are significantly smaller than standard 3.5" ones, making them great candidates for upgrading the storage of your laptop or games console, especially as they're available in capacities of 2TB, 3TB, 4TB and 5TB. Remember to check the height of the drives, as most portable or console systems only have bays which support 9.5mm drives or less. Also pay attention to the spin speed in rpm; while all drives here use the latest SATA III 6Gbps interface, faster spinning drives will read and write data faster.