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What TechSpot’s game tests found
TechSpot’s August 12, 2025 comparison tested PCIe 5.0, 4.0 and 3.0 SSDs, SATA SSDs and hard drives. The system used an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, 32 GB of DDR5-6000 memory and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. Test drives were installed in the primary CPU-connected M.2 slot, while the operating system ran from a separate drive to isolate game performance. The PCIe 5.0 examples were the TeamGroup T-Force Cardea Z540 2 TB and GE Pro 2 TB; the PCIe 4.0 group included the Cardea A440 2 TB, and the PCIe 3.0 group included the MP33 2 TB. TechSpot’s full comparison reports results across multiple games.
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The broad pattern was that the PCIe generation label did not reliably predict game-loading performance. In modern DirectStorage titles, TechSpot’s summary found gains over PCIe 3.0 were rare and in the single digits. In Black Myth: Wukong, the initial load was 10% shorter when moving from the tested PCIe 3.0 QLC drive to the PCIe 5.0 TLC drive; TechSpot characterized the improvement as not significant. In Starfield, the difference between the tested PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 3.0 drives was under one second.
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Those comparisons are between particular drives, not a controlled measurement of PCIe generation alone: the NAND type and drive model differed too. In Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, for example, TechSpot found nearly identical portal-sequence performance on its PCIe 5.0 GE Pro and PCIe 3.0 MP33. SATA performed worse in some asset-streaming moments. Other game results were also close across PCIe SSDs, but loading behavior depends on the title and the specific sequence being measured.
#1 Best Overall
- BREAKTHROUGH PCIe 5.0 PERFORMANCE: Supercharge your workflow and gaming with PCIe 5.0, boasting up to 14,700/13,400 MB/s* sequential read/write speeds. Tackle massive files and power up your gaming with Gen5—twice as fast as the 990 PRO SSD.
- EVERY TASK, TURBOCHARGED: Speed past productivity limits. With random read/write speeds up to 1,850K/2,600K IOPS*, enjoy fast game loads, seamless AI apps, and efficient multitasking. Virtually no lag, no limits—just nonstop performance.
- THINK FAST, CREATE FASTER: With random read/write speeds of up to 1,850K/2,600K IOPS*, the 9100 PRO SSD fuels seamless AI content creation, swift loads, and smooth gameplay. Work, play, and create at lightning speed.
- SPEED, WHENEVER YOU NEED: From laptops to desktop PCs, experience blazing PCIe 5.0 speeds and up to 8TB of storage. Perfect for video editing, gaming, and creative tasks, with the compatibility to match your device.
- STAY COOL, RUN FAST: Push limits, not temperatures. A 5nm controller boosts power efficiency up to 49% over the 990 PRO SSD*, while advanced thermal control keeps performance smooth and reliable.
Why peak SSD speed does not equal faster game loading
A game load is a pipeline: the game requests data, the operating system and storage APIs handle those requests, data is read and decompressed, and assets are made available to the game or GPU. Peak sequential throughput describes how quickly a drive can move large, continuous blocks under suitable conditions. Game loading may instead involve many small requests, plus processing and decompression work that can limit how much raw storage bandwidth the game uses.
Microsoft’s DirectStorage overview describes how modern games can issue many small I/O requests and how API and decompression overhead can constrain performance. DirectStorage is intended to reduce some of that overhead and support more efficient I/O and decompression. Whether it shortens a particular game’s loading time depends on the game’s implementation and the rest of the system; it is not a feature that makes PCIe 5.0 mandatory.
Rank #2
- BREAKTHROUGH PCIe 5.0 PERFORMANCE: Supercharge your workflow and gaming with PCIe 5.0, boasting up to 14,700/13,300 MB/s* sequential read/write speeds. Tackle massive files and power up your gaming with Gen5—twice as fast as the 990 PRO SSD.
- EVERY TASK, TURBOCHARGED: Speed past productivity limits. With random read/write speeds up to 1,850K/2,600K IOPS*, enjoy fast game loads, seamless AI apps, and efficient multitasking. Virtually no lag, no limits—just nonstop performance.
- THINK FAST, CREATE FASTER: With random read/write speeds of up to 1,850K/2,600K IOPS*, the 9100 PRO SSD fuels seamless AI content creation, swift loads, and smooth gameplay. Work, play, and create at lightning speed.
- SPEED, WHENEVER YOU NEED: From laptops to desktop PCs, experience blazing PCIe 5.0 speeds and up to 8TB of storage. Perfect for video editing, gaming, and creative tasks, with the compatibility to match your device.
- STAY COOL, RUN FAST: Push limits, not temperatures. A 5nm controller boosts power efficiency up to 49% over the 990 PRO SSD*, while advanced thermal control keeps performance smooth and reliable.
Microsoft’s DirectStorage 1.1 demonstration illustrates why the whole pipeline matters: in Microsoft’s optimized sample, GPU decompression loaded a scene in 0.8 seconds versus 2.36 seconds with CPU decompression. Microsoft cautioned that performance varies by workload and hardware. Those figures describe a particular decompression technique and sample, not a PCIe 5.0-versus-4.0 game-loading comparison. The post’s expectation that DirectStorage-enabled games on NVMe could reduce load times by up to 40% likewise concerns DirectStorage and NVMe, not the benefit of upgrading SSD generations.
When an SSD upgrade can make a bigger difference
If a game is on a hard drive or SATA SSD, moving it to an NVMe SSD may matter more than moving from one PCIe NVMe generation to another. In TechSpot’s tests, SATA and especially hard drives could be substantially slower in some titles even though several PCIe NVMe generations performed similarly. The size of the difference still varies by game and loading task.
Rank #3
- This product has been replaced by our latest generation. Please search for the SANDISK Optimus GX PRO 8100 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD.
- EXPERIENCE PCIe Gen 5: Drastically enhance your gaming and content creation experience with this PCIe Gen 5.0x4 NVMe M.2 SSD.
- BREAKNECK SPEEDS: Your drive reaches sequential read speeds up to an astonishing 14,900MB/s, sequential write speeds up to 14,000MB/s (2TB-4TB model), and over 2,300,000 IOPS (2TB-4TB Models) of random performance.
- AN INDUSTRY-LEADER IN POWER EFFICIENCY: Enjoy over 100% more power efficiency (1TB – 4TB models) than our PCIe Gen4 drive at an average operating power of 7.5W or under. Experience astonishing speeds without any added stress to your system.
- ROOM FOR REVOLUTION: Hold your biggest projects and still have room for OS updates, models for AI-powered applications, and your game library thanks to immense capacities up to 8TB. SANDISK SOFTWARE: Help maximize your drive’s performance, monitor its health and keep it up to date with SANDISK Dashboard (Windows only). Plus, effortlessly migrate your data with Acronis True Image for Sandisk.
A faster drive can also be more useful when copying or verifying large game files than when loading gameplay. For frequent large transfers, sustained write performance and cache behavior matter; a drive’s peak read-speed figure alone does not describe that workload.
How to decide whether PCIe 5.0 is worth it for your gaming PC
- Check what drive you have now. If games already run from a capable PCIe NVMe SSD, the available game tests do not make a strong case for replacing it with Gen 5 just to shorten loading screens.
- Check motherboard and slot compatibility. Confirm which PCIe generation the M.2 slot supports and whether the drive will fit your board and system. A Gen 5 SSD does not deliver Gen 5 link speeds in a slot limited to an earlier generation.
- Compare the right workload. For game loading, look for tests in the games you actually play, rather than relying on advertised sequential speeds. For large installs, file copies or other heavy transfers, compare sustained write behavior as well.
- Weigh capacity and cost alongside speed. A roomier SSD may be more useful for a game library than paying extra for a faster interface that does not materially change loading in your titles. Check current prices and product availability at the time you buy; they are not established by the cited comparison.
PCIe 5.0 can still make sense for workloads that benefit from large sequential transfers. That is a separate reason to choose one, not proof that games will load substantially faster. The tested Cardea A440 and Cardea Z540 are examples of PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 drives in TechSpot’s comparison, not purchase recommendations.
Rank #4
- This product has been replaced by our latest generation. Please search for the SANDISK Optimus GX PRO 8100 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD.
- EXPERIENCE PCIe Gen 5: Drastically enhance your gaming and content creation experience with this PCIe Gen 5.0x4 NVMe M.2 SSD.
- BREAKNECK SPEEDS: Your drive reaches sequential read speeds up to an astonishing 14,900MB/s, sequential write speeds up to 14,000MB/s (2TB-4TB model), and over 2,300,000 IOPS (2TB-4TB Models) of random performance.
- AN INDUSTRY-LEADER IN POWER EFFICIENCY: Enjoy over 100% more power efficiency (1TB – 4TB models) than our PCIe Gen4 drive at an average operating power of 7.5W or under. Experience astonishing speeds without any added stress to your system.
- ROOM FOR REVOLUTION: Hold your biggest projects and still have room for OS updates, models for AI-powered applications, and your game library thanks to immense capacities up to 8TB. SANDISK SOFTWARE: Help maximize your drive’s performance, monitor its health and keep it up to date with SANDISK Dashboard (Windows only). Plus, effortlessly migrate your data with Acronis True Image for Sandisk.
How much to generalize from the results
TechSpot’s comparison is a useful real-game test, but it reflects the games, drive models and system tested in 2025. Its results do not establish how every current or future game will behave, or how later software changes may affect loading. Because the cross-drive comparisons also involve differences in NAND and drive models, they should not be read as a precise, universal estimate of PCIe generation’s effect.
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Microsoft’s separate GDK documentation describes DirectStorage design goals for Xbox Series X|S, including 50,000 I/O operations per second while using 5–10% of a single CPU core. Those are console API goals, not PC benchmark results, and do not predict the loading time of a PC game on a PCIe 5.0 SSD.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- PCIe 5.0 Performance: Delivers up to 14,100MB/s read and 12,600MB/s write speeds for quicker game load times, bootups, and smooth multitasking
- Spacious 4TB Capacity: Store AAA titles, 8K+ video, and creative assets with blazing-fast Gen5 NVMe throughput
- Platform-Optimized Compatibility: Designed for Intel 13th/14th Gen and AMD Ryzen 7000 in M.2 Gen5 slots
- Heatsink-Compatible Design: Install with a compatible heatsink for optimal performance in sustained gaming sessions and demanding workloads
- Trusted Micron Quality: Engineered for tech enthusiasts and hardcore gamers with Micron TLC NAND and a 5-year warranty
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