8 Best Hard Disk Drives for Gaming PC in 2024

While solid state drives (SSDs) are a must-have in most gaming PCs nowadays, hard drives (better known as HDDs) are still a need thanks to their price, efficiency, and storage. Although they don’t offer the lightning-fast speeds of SSDs, they do offer reliability and all the space you need for your games, files, videos, and everything in between.

In this article, we will be discussing the 8 Best Hard Disk Drive for Gaming PC while exploring all options and categories available. From budget 1 TB HDDs to HDDs with SSD-like speeds, let’s take a closer look at what the market has to offer.

But first: What is the difference between HDD vs SSD

SSDs are the rage nowadays in the tech and gaming world. With their fast read-write speeds and compact design, it’s hard to argue why an HDD would be even worth it in the first place. That is until we check their difference in price, efficiency, and storage size. For the uninitiated, here is a bird’s-eye view of the pros and cons between HDDs and SSDs:

From this table alone, we can already see the key differences between the two: speed, size, and most importantly, pricing.

1. HDD’s Storage Speed

Let’s talk about speed first. When it comes to speed, SSDs are undoubtedly on another level. However, you also have to consider what types of games you are playing to even take advantage of an SSD’s speeds. If you are a hardcore online gamer who likes playing e-Sports titles like VALORANT, Call of Duty, and Fortnite, then an SSD’s speed wouldn’t matter as much compared to, let’s say your internet speed. For gamers who are on the other side of the spectrum and love single-player, story-driven games with file sizes of up to 150+ GB, then an SSD will definitely be noticeable, shaving 2-3 minutes off your typical loading times with an HDD. If all of these time loading speed shenanigans aren’t a big deal to you, though, then an HDD is a no-brainer option because of the next two categories that we will be talking about: storage and price.

2. HDD’s Storage Size

When it comes to storage, an average HDD beats an average SSD pound for pound. Most HDDs nowadays are a minimum of 1 terabyte (TB), while SSDs are still typically around 256 GB to 512 GB only. This makes HDDs the superior option for storing your precious photos, videos, files, and big-sized games. Although 1 TB SSDs exist, one thing you should consider is their price.

3. HDD’s Price

Of course, one category where an HDD heavily outweighs the SSD is price. An average 1 TB HDD nowadays will only run you $45, while an average 1 TB SSD is double that, costing around $100. If price isn’t a deciding factor for you and you have all the money in the world to burn for SSDs, then it’s a no-brainer to always go for them as they offer superior read-write speeds. However, for most of us who are on a budget, HDDs are still a solid option for mass storage, cheap costs, and long-term use. If you’ve got a lot of files and games with only a strict budget in mind, then choosing any of the HDDs in this list is definitely the way to go.

5 Criteria To Consider When Choosing an HDD

As with everything that is tech, there are things and criteria you should look out for when buying an HDD. More expensive and bigger numbers aren’t exactly a tell-tale sign that an HDD is good, so it’s important that you at least know what you should be looking for before choosing any of the hard disk drive on this list.

1. Storage Size

First and foremost is storage size. For most people, this is the most important aspect of an HDD – and for good reasons. It’s no secret nowadays that most games are at least 30 GB in size, and with even triple-A titles being 60, 80, or even 100+ GB sometimes, storage size just becomes more of a need than a want. Because of this, an HDD’s storage size is something you should definitely check before getting one.

The minimum that you should get is 1 TB HDD. This much storage size should allow you to store plenty of games, videos, files, and more. However, if you love playing triple-A games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 which sits at around 150 GB in file size, then a 2 TB or even 3 TB HDD should be enough for future-proofing. For the average Joe though, 1 TB should be enough already for most of your games, files, and whatnot.

2. Brand

Another factor to consider when looking for a reliable HDD is its brand. With a plethora of options and brands in the market, it can get overwhelming easily. But, worry not! Here are brands that are tried and tested in the HDD market and definitely the ones you should consider:

Based on our extensive testing though, Seagate and Western Digital are the best of the crop. Not only do they offer a variety of storage sizes, but they also have SSD options which you may want to consider for your OS drive. This is not to say that Toshiba and Samsung HDDs are not reliable, but it’s just worth taking note that Seagate and WD HDDs are the standards in 2024.

3. Read and Write Speeds

Speed is yet another factor to consider when shopping for your next gaming HDD. Since games nowadays have a lot going on in them, storing them in a relatively fast hard drive is important. This is to avoid performance hiccups down the line while also getting rid of pop-ups while you’re gaming (e.g. trees and cars coming out of nowhere). Basically, your HDD needs to keep up with the rest of your system, and an HDD with slow or average read/write speeds is simply not capable of doing this.

Besides gaming benefits, an HDD with fast read and write speeds will also make your gaming PC generally feel fluid. From opening programs and games to transferring files around, it’s something that you will notice once you have it. Of course, it won’t be as smooth as putting your OS on an SSD, but it’s still miles better than going for an HDD with slow read/write speeds.

So, how do you know if an HDD has above-average read/write speeds? It’s simple: check the numbers. An HDD’s read/write speed is usually measured using a metric called Rotations Per Minute (RPM). A higher RPM means better speed, so try to aim for at least 7200 RPM which is an above-average speed for HDDs nowadays. With a 7200 RPM HDD, you shouldn’t experience any slowdowns or pop-ins within your games and system. Seagate themselves wrote a very insightful article about RPM which you can read here.

4. Price

Last but not least is, of course, price. Although HDDs are relatively cheap compared to SSDs, you still need to know your baseline/starting price so that you don’t overpay for a low-quality HDD. For context, the average 1 TB HDD starts at $40 while a 2 TB HDD starts at $50. Anything higher for these storage sizes is definitely a red flag and shouldn’t be something you should consider.

Just take note that the prices listed above will vary from brand to brand, but no matter which brand you go for, their prices should not be that far from $40 and $50 for 1 TB and 2 TB HDDs respectively.

Now that you know the specifics of an HDD, it’s time that we discuss the 8 best hard disk drives, both internal and external (portable) for your gaming PC and gaming needs in 2024.

1. Best Internal Hard Drive for Gaming: Seagate BarraCuda

Best Internal Hard Drive for Gaming: Seagate BarraCuda

Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 256MB Cache – Frustration Free Packaging (ST2000DM008/ST2000DMZ08)

Seagate BarraCuda

• Available in a wide variety of storage options (1 TB, 2 TB, 3 TB, and even 14 TB!)
• Enough to store all types of games and files of any size
• Fast 7200 RPM read/write speeds

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Starting off this list strong is Seagate’s premiere option for HDDs: the BarraCuda series. Funnily enough, the Seagate BarraCuda Internal Hard Drive has already been our gaming PC’s HDD, so we didn’t even need to get one just to test it out in the first place.

This alone should already say so much about the BarraCuda, but if you’re still wondering how good it really is for its price, then allow us to elaborate.

We’ve had the 1 TB variant of the Seagate BarraCuda for around 2 years now, and suffice to say that it has proved itself as the best internal HDD for gaming PCs and just for PCs in general. This is all thanks to its wide variety of storage sizes, ranging from 240 GB up to an insane 14 TB, fast read and write speeds of 7200 RPM and very competitive pricing.

The 1 TB variant of the BarraCuda is currently sitting at $46, while the 2 TB variant is at $50. With this price, it’s a no-brainer to just pay the extra $4 and go for the 2 TB for more storage and peace of mind. 2 TB is more than enough for hundreds of games and files down the line, and if that’s not enough, there are still the 3 TB, 4 TB, and other storage sizes options that Seagate offers in their BarraCuda series.

Besides these features and specs, the Seagate BarraCuda is also a solid gaming HDD. As mentioned, it is a 7200 RPM HDD which means it can run games, transfer files, and do day-to-day tasks with no problem. During our time with the Seagate BarraCuda, we did not experience any major hiccups, lags, or texture pop-ins while gaming. If anything, it performed flawlessly and is still a gaming beast up to this day. It’s also equipped with Seagate’s top-of-the-line security and data protection, meaning that hackers and data snoopers will have a tough time getting anything out of your Seagate BarraCuda HDD.

My only gripe with the Seagate BarraCuda is that it doesn’t come with a SATA cable out of the box, meaning that if you didn’t purchase a SATA cable beforehand or don’t have one in stock, you won’t be able to use the BarraCuda right away. For its price point, it’s something that should be bundled with already, but oh well.

For gamers who are planning to get higher storage options such as 3 TB, 4TB, etc., do take note that these models are only 5400 RPM. A 5400 RPM is notably slower than a 7200 RPM and may negatively affect your gaming experience. All of its models also do not come with any sort of warranty.. However, if you’re just going to play some light games but need the storage for your other files, then this shouldn’t matter at all.

If you’re looking for a high-quality internal HDD with fast speeds, a huge storage size, and a budget-friendly price that’s been the classic choice for people, the Seagate BarraCuda is the way to go.

Get your Seagate BarraCuda here!

2. Best Internal Laptop and PC HDD for Gaming: Western Digital Black (WD Black)

Best Internal Laptop and PC HDD for Gaming: WD Black

WD_BLACK 5TB P10 Game Drive – Portable External Hard Drive HDD, Compatible with Playstation, Xbox, PC, & Mac – WDBA3A0050BBK-WESN

Western Digital Black

• One of the fastest 7200 RPM HDDs in the market
• Transfers big files quickly
• Smooth gaming experience

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Next up on this list is Western Digital’s Black series which is known for its superior speed and optimization for gaming. Although it rocks the same 7200 RPM as the Seagate BarraCuda, WD has made under-the-hood optimizations that make their WD Black series stand out from the rest.

During our benchmark test, the WD Black was able to achieve a sustained load of 250 MB/s read and write speeds and up to a blazing fast 550 MB/s read and write speed when pushed to its limits. Of course, those are nowhere near SSD speeds, but the fact that a mass storage HDD is capable of such read and write speeds is awesome.

When used for real-life scenarios such as gaming, it’s what you would expect: it just flies through everything. Although we didn’t really notice anything special while gaming using the WD Black compared to the BarraCuda, it still performed well with no hiccups, lags, or any texture pop-ins. Where the WD Black truly shines and outclasses the BarraCuda is when transferring files on your PC. We tested this by transferring a 20 GB file onto the WD Black and Seagate BarraCuda, and the WD Black finished first, taking only 3 minutes to transfer the file 20 GB file. The BarraCuda didn’t lag as much, finishing at 5 minutes, but that 2 minutes of extra waiting time can easily snowball when you’re transferring much larger files. This fast read and write speeds will be much appreciated by gamers who are also creatives and professionals and need to transfer huge files regularly.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though. The 1 TB model of the BarraCuda starts at $50 while the 2 TB model is much more expensive, sitting at around $80. There are more storage options for the WD Black, of course, but it is very limited compared to the BarraCuda’s offerings. The WD Black can be purchased in 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB, 6 TB, 8 TB, and 10 TB models. Do note that the higher models (4 TB and above) start at $129, which in this case we would just advise that you get an SSD at this point. For the average gamer, however, this shouldn’t matter as the 1 TB WD Black should be more than enough for your gaming needs.

The WD Black isn’t also equipped with any sophisticated security features that the BarraCuda does, so if you’re someone who is susceptible to cyberattacks, then you may want to look elsewhere for a secure HDD.

If all of these cons are not a big deal to you and you’re just looking for an HDD that’s a beast in gaming, then the WD Black is truly a fantastic option. It also ones up the BarraCuda by offering a 5-year warranty and a SATA cable out of the box which is a huge peace of mind for gamers who don’t want to lose their files in case of damage. It’s fast, optimized for gaming, and will fly through anything you throw at it.

Get your WD Black here!

3. Best Gaming Hybrid Hard Drive: Seagate FireCuda SSHD

Best Gaming Hybrid Hard Drive: Seagate FireCuda SSHD

Seagate (ST2000LX001) FireCuda 2TB Solid State Hybrid Drive Performance SSHD – 2.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s Flash Accelerated for Gaming PC Laptop

Seagate FireCuda SSHD

• The fastest read and write speed in an HDD
• Built using SSD technology
• Zero lag and hiccups gaming experience

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For gamers who are looking for a 3.5-inch gaming hard drive with the read and write speeds of an SSD, then this SSHD is for you. The Seagate FireCuda SSHD is a hybrid hard drive for gaming, meaning it combines the qualities that make an SSD better (its speed) and the qualities of an HDD that make it consumer efficient (its storage space). During our time and gaming session with the FireCuda SSHD, we just can’t help but notice how blazing fast an SSHD truly is.

Since it uses SSD technology, this means that it is capable of insane read/write speeds. As expected for gaming, this translates to a flawless experience in-game. We used Red Dead Redemption 2, a game that is notable for its texture pop-ins, as our benchmark for this SSHD and it was able to run it with 0 problems. We also transferred huge 20 GB files around the SSHD and it crushed the previous time set by the WD Black. If you thought that the WD Black’s 3 minutes was already fast, then try the FireCuda’s 1.5-minute transfer time.

We haven’t even mentioned the FireCuda’s insane boot-up times. Since it is basically an SSD, this means that your boot-up times with the FireCuda are near instantaneous. From pressing the power button on the desktop, it only took our FireCuda 7 seconds to boot up. This is unheard of for HDDs as it is practically impossible to pull off with these mechanical drives. The best boot-up time we got from the WD Black was around 1 minute, which isn’t too bad, but 7 seconds with the FireCuda is just another level.

As you may have already expected, it isn’t all positive with the FireCuda. As much as we had a solid choice and experience with this SSHD, it is difficult to recommend to budget-oriented gamers as its 2 TB model starts at an insane $120 asking price. Not only that but its storage sizes/models are only limited to the 2 TB we just mentioned. This means that gamers who want a cheaper 1 TB model may be left disappointed. Anything beyond $100 is not advisable for any HDD or SSHD as you are better off investing in a real, actual SSD that will be reliable and last you for years.

Speaking of reliability, SSHDs like the FireCuda are notorious for breaking after months or just a couple of years of use. While ours hasn’t broken yet (as it has been only with us for a short period of time), countless reviews from other people and gamers have said that their FireCudas just stopped working all of a sudden. Luckily enough, Seagate does offer a 5-year warranty for their FireCuda lineup, but that is still not an excuse for an expensive SSHD to just give up out of nowhere.

If reliability, peace of mind, and price aren’t an issue to you, then the FireCuda is an excellent gaming hard drive thanks to its speed and storage capacity. With 2 TB, you will have no problem storing all of your gaming library and other files in one drive. With its speed, you will also have no problem regarding lag time, texture pop-in, or transferring huge files around.

Get your Seagate FireCuda SSHD here!

4. Best External Hard Disk for Gaming: Seagate FireCuda Gaming

Best External Hard Disk for Gaming: Seagate FireCuda Gaming

Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hard Drive, 2TB, External Hard Drive HDD, USB 3/2, RGB LED lighting (STKL2000400)

Seagate FireCuda Gaming

• The fastest portable and external HDD in the market
• Fairly priced vs. other external HDDs
• Perfect for gamers and working professionals who want to bring their files on the go
• Has 2 TB storage for all your games and files
• Can play games off the HDD itself without the need of moving it to your PC

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Next is another FireCuda Gaming variant, but this time, an external hard drive. The Seagate FireCuda Gaming External Hard Drive Portable is for gamers who want to bring their files and games on the go. As it is external, this means that you don’t need to put it inside your PC or laptop. It’s something that you can carry with you everywhere you go, albeit in a bulky profile.

Just like the BarraCuda, the FireCuda Gaming External HDD is actually something we own and use daily. We have been using the 2 TB model for about a year now, and so far it has been an amazing choice. We use it to store our other games and files that we’d like to bring with us on the go, and luckily for us, the FireCuda is capable of playing and reading files from the HDD itself—no need to transfer your files to your PC or laptop first.

However, since this is still an external HDD, this means that it isn’t optimized as well as the internal storage device/HDDs that you put inside your PC. From time to time, we have experienced some hiccups in-game when the FireCuda can’t keep up with the rest of our PC. Fortunately, though, this has only happened two times in our one-year ownership of the FireCuda. It’s also fantastic for moving and transferring files around.

Of course, it won’t be as fast as the other HDDs or SSHDs on this list, but it still gets the job done. On pricing, we can say that it’s fairly priced for an external drive. Its storage capacity/models start at 2 TB which will cost you $64.

It also uses USB 3.2 Gen 1 for its connection which is top-of-the-line when it comes to USB connection technology. What this means is that for day-to-day use, it is smooth, fast, and reliable. And yes, with the right adaptor, you can also hook this up to your Mac, PS4, PS4, Xbox, Android Phone, and even iOS devices!

Seagate also equipped the FireCuda with RGB lights which you can sync with your other RGB accessories and a 3-year data rescue protection feature which can recover deleted data on the offchance of breakage or accidental deletion. It’s the magic and appeal of portability that makes the FireCuda a fantastic HDD to bring along wherever you go.

Get your Seagate FireCuda Gaming here!

5. Best Budget Internal Hard Drive for Gaming: WD Blue

Best Budget Internal Hard Drive for Gaming: WD Blue

Western Digital 1TB WD Blue SN570 NVMe Internal Solid State Drive SSD – Gen3 x4 PCIe 8Gb/s, M.2 2280, Up to 3,500 MB/s – WDS100T3B0C

WD Blue

• Very cheap and budget friendly
• Comes in a variety of storage sizes
• Decent gaming choice and performance

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The WD Blue is our budget entry for gamers who want to squeeze out every penny they have for their gaming PC. Western Digital’s Blue series has always been known to be affordable, reliable, and efficient. Although it isn’t as fast and cutting edge as the Black series, WD Blue still offers a lot to the table especially when pricing is brought up.

But first, let us talk about our experience with WD Blue first. With our 1-month testing and experiments with the WD Blue, we can attest that it is reliable and efficient. It gets the job done and it is probably enough for budget and casual gamers.

While gaming, it can run most games without any hiccups, problems, or texture pop-ins. We mostly tried eSports titles like VALORANT, Dota 2, and CS:GO, as we’ve figured that most gamers who are getting a budget HDD like the WD Blue will be playing games as such. As expected, the WD Blue cruised through these eSports titles with no problem.

However, when we tried playing games like GTA 5, God of War, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Red Dead Redemption 2, we noticed some major texture pop-ins here and there. This translated into a rather frustrating gaming experience where random objects would just pop in front of us while playing. Although this didn’t happen frequently, it still occurred a handful of times that we couldn’t ignore it.

This is because of the WD Blue’s meagre 5400 RPM read/write drive speed, which compared to its rivals like the Seagate or BarraCuda, or its big brother the WD Black, it just struggles with big tasks. We also transferred huge files to the WD Blue and the results were below average, taking around 7 minutes to transfer a 20 GB file.

It’s available in 1 TB, 2 TB, and even 8 TB models, but we would recommend getting the 2 TB model as it brings a much greater value to cost. It also comes with a 2-year warranty from WD (although warranty details are not clear) which should give you ample time of security and peace of mind. Ignoring the cons we just mentioned, we still think that the WD Blue is a great buy for casual gamers who aren’t looking to spec out their PCs with the best of the best.

Get your WD Blue here!

6. Best Internal Hard Drive for Security and Mass Storage: Seagate IronWolf Pro

Best Internal Hard Drive for Security and Mass Storage: Seagate IronWolf Pro

Seagate IronWolf Pro 4TB NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 128MB Cache for RAID Network Attached Storage, Data Recovery Service – Frustration Free Packaging (ST4000NEZ01)

Seagate IronWolf Pro

• Most secure gaming HDD in the market
• Catered to working professionals who also game on the side
• Fast 7200 RPM read/write speeds
• Perfect choice for storing all kinds of games, videos, and files with 20 TB storage size

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Security and having the ability to store a lot of files is something that working professionals may look for in an HDD, and if you’re one of these working professionals who also happen to be a gamer, then look no further than the Seagate IronWolf Pro.

The IronWolf Pro is Seagate’s lineup equipped with the most security features and storage that you can find for gaming PCs. With 20 TB of storage, you no longer have to resort to storing your files in an external HDD or uploading them to the cloud for keepsake. It’s also got 7200 RPM which means that gaming performance is solid and transfer speeds are fast and smooth.

During our gaming sessions with the IronWolf Pro, we didn’t encounter any issues or texture pop-ins. In fact, it performed about the same as Seagate’s BarraCuda lineup, and we’re not surprised as the BarraCuda and IronWolf Pro are both from the same brand and made from the same foundation, just for different purposes. It’s also equipped with some of the highest MB of cache available in an HDD at 256 MB cache.

Besides these amazing features, we can’t forget to mention its plethora of security features which makes it tough for hackers to get anything out of your HDD. For starters, it’s got what Seagate calls “AgileArray” which makes the IronWolf Pro sturdy against heavy workloads and tasks. This means that besides being able to sustain huge file transfers, it will also survive hacking attacks that send a lot of files to your HDD in order to gain access.

It is also capable of multi-user and multi-network setups, giving the people around you access to your IronWolf Pro for work and other purposes. Finally, it comes with a 5-year warranty and a 3-year Data Rescue Protection which means that you don’t have to worry about losing your data accidentally.

Our only issue with the IronWolf Pro is its pricing. For the 20 TB model that we are testing at the moment, we paid a staggering $360. That is almost as expensive as a brand-new GPU or even a whole PC. There are multiple storage options available, of course, but its smallest one (4 TB) will still cost you around $125. If you are a casual gamer who doesn’t really prioritise security, mass storage, and multi-user access, then the IronWolf Pro is hard to recommend.

However, if all of these things are important to you, then there is really no competition here: the IronWolf Pro is the most secure, reliable, and fastest HDD to get for your gaming PC.

Get your Seagate IronWolf Pro here!

7. Best Internal Hard Disk Drive for PS4 Users: Western Digital 1TB 2.5″ Playstation 4 Hard Drive (PS4)

Best Internal Hard Disk Drive for PS4 Users: Western Digital Playstation 4 Hard Drive (PS4)

Western Digital 1TB 2.5″ Playstation 4 Hard Drive (PS4)

Western Digital Playstation 4 Hard Drive (PS4)

• Perfect upgrade for PS4 users
• Cheap and affordable
• 1 TB storage space leaves a ton of room for games and files
• Excellent gaming performance

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Since we are already on the topic of gaming PCs, we might as well mention HDDs for the PS4. Although the PS5 is selling like hotcakes right now, there are still millions of gamers who are still on the PS4, hence why HDDs like the Western Digital PS4 Hard Drive exist. If your PS4 is running low on space and storage, then getting one of these should be your next move.

The Western Digital PS4 HDD is the perfect replacement for the PS4’s rather slow and underwhelming base HDD, so we decided to get one of these for our PS4 to test it out. After an hour of transferring the data from our old PS4 File System and HDD to the Western Digital PS4 HDD, it was game time.

First, we tried playing GTA 5 Online on the WD PS4 HDD, and surprisingly enough, it performed really well. We didn’t expect much from the WD PS4 HDD as it is only 5400 RPM, but it was able to keep up with our PS4 and play the game without pop-ins. It even loaded GTA 5 Online faster than the base PS4 HDD.

The same can be said for the other games that we tried like God of War and CoD: Warzone. Thanks to its 1 TB of storage space, we were also able to transfer our whole library of digital PS4 games and have a lot of space to spare for other files.

The WD PS4 HDD doesn’t cost a lot, and is only available in 1 TB models. If you’re looking for more, say a 2 TB or 4 TB PS4 HDD, you’ll be expecting to spend more for that upgrade, which for us is not recommended considering that for that price, you may as well get an SSD instead for your PS4.

Get your Western Digital 1TB 2.5″ Playstation 4 Hard Drive (PS4) here!

8. Best SSD for Gaming PC: Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD

Best SSD for Gaming PC: Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD

SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Hard Drive, V-NAND Technology, Storage and Memory Expansion for Gaming, Graphics w/ Heat Control, Max Speed, MZ-V7S1T0B/AM

Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD

• One of the fastest SSDs in the market
• Insane read/write speeds at 3500 MB/s
• No moving parts; can last longer than most HDDs
• Transfers 20 GB files in under 30 seconds
• Exceptional gaming performance

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If you really want the best of the best for your gaming PC, then there is really no debate that an SSD will be the one to choose over an HDD. Besides the advantages that we talked about during the introduction of this article, SSDs are also the norm now in the tech world. They’re in most gaming PCs, smartphones, gaming consoles, you name it. So if you’ve decided to just go straight to SSDs instead of high-performance HDDs like the WD Black, then the Samsung 970 EVO Plus is the one for you.

We got the 2 TB model of the 970 Evo Plus for testing, and with our 1 month of use, we can confidently say that it blew all expectations out of the water. Our hopes for this SSD were already high, but once we actually got to use it for gaming and work, we were just stunned by its performance. Since we were testing HDDs before trying the 970 Evo Plus, we were shocked by how fast SSDs really are.

During gaming, it played all types of games with flying colors. No lag, no hiccups, no texture pop-ins, and no crashes—all while we were multitasking with it. In one instance, we were playing God of War (PC) while we were on Discord, Chrome with 20 tabs open, and transferring files from a USB to the 970 Evo Plus. open. For most HDDs, this would be a slow and unpleasant experience. With the 970 Evo Plus, however, it was as smooth as butter.

Transfer speeds were also out of this world, thanks to its 3,500 MB/s read/write speeds. This meant that our 20 GB transfer test only took under 30 seconds with the 970 Evo Plus! For the geeks, it’s also equipped with impressive cache sizes (varying on storage tiers) and what Samsung calls ‘Dynamic Cache Technology’ which contributes to its overall speed.

When it comes to pricing, we were also pleasantly surprised that the 1 TB model of the 970 Evo Plus is very wallet-friendly while the 2 TB model is rather expensive! The 970 Evo Plus also comes with heat control, gaming optimizations, and a 5-year warranty. For gamers who aren’t on a budget and are willing to dish out money for a quality SSD, then the 970 Evo Plus is our top pick.

Get your Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD here!

Conclusion

That wraps up our list of the 8 Best HDD (Internal & External) for Gaming PCs in 2024! This was honestly a fun test as we were able to compare and contrast most of the popular HDDs in the market.

In summary, we would pick and recommend the Seagate BarraCuda as the overall best HDD to get right now. This is thanks to its plethora of features, such as its 7200 RPM speed, huge variety of storage tiers from 1 TB up to 14 TB, and overall reliability. Seagate has been in the HDD market for a long time now, and their HDDs, especially the BarraCuda lineup, have been the standard for gaming PCs. If casual gaming and storing files without breaking the bank is all you really care about and want, then you will be hard-pressed to find any flaws with the Seagate BarraCuda.