Gone are the days of hard disks! For storage, SSD is now the standard in music production. The only downside to SSD is the price and that is coming down too. In this post, we’ll check out the best SSD for music production in 2022. We’ll assume you have the latest motherboard that incorporates M.2 slots supporting PCIe Gen4.
Best SSD for Music Production in 2022
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is the best and fastest SSD you can buy in 2022 for music production. It is an M.2 NVME PCIe 4.0 TLC SSD that comes in four variants: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB. The blazing fast sequential read and write speeds of this SSD will allow you to load the heaviest sample libraries in no time.
All of the four variants are capable of reaching a max sequential read speed of up to 7000 MB/s. However, the max sequential write speed differ according to the model (1TB = 5500 MB/s, 2TB = 6850 MB/s, 4TB = 6850 MB/s, 8TB = 6000 MB/s).
With Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, you’ll be able to open DAWs, new projects, plugins, and sample libraries almost instantly. The rendering time of files will reduce drastically allowing you to focus more on creativity. At the time of this writing, Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is the fastest SSD for music production in 2022.
While there’s nothing bad about Rocket 4 Plus, you’ll see some other lower-priced SSDs surpassing this SSD in terms of IOPS which is important for music production. (Check out the next SSD in this list boasting higher Random IOPS read/write speeds at a lower price)
Have a look at the Sequential and Random IOPS speeds of this SSD below:
| 1TB (Amazon) | 2TB (Amazon) | 4TB (Amazon) | 8TB (Amazon) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe Gen4 x4 | PCIe Gen4 x4 | PCIe Gen4 x4 | PCIe Gen4 x4 |
| Max Sequential Read | 7000 MB/s | 7000 MB/s | 7000 MB/s | 7000 MB/s |
| Max Sequential Write | 5500 MB/s | 6850 MB/s | 6850 MB/s | 6000 MB/s |
| Random IOPS (Read) | 350K | 650K | 650K | 700K |
| Random IOPS (Write) | 700K | 700K | 700K | 1000K |
| Endurance | 700 TBW | 1400 TBW | 3000 TBW | Undisclosed |
| Warranty | 5 Years | 5 Years | 5 Years | 5 Years |
| Current Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price |
WD Black SN850
WD Black SN850 is also an M.2 NVME PCIe 4.0 TLC SSD but it comes in 3 capacity variants as of now. You’ll see many professionals claiming SN850 as the best SSD for music production in 2022. Unlike Sabrent Rocket Plus, the SN850 only offers up to 2 TB capacity. This SSD may not beat the Rocket 4 Plus in terms of Sequential Write speeds, it offers similar Sequential Read speeds.
When it comes to Random IOPS, the SN850 outshines the Rocket Plus boasting up to 1000K IOPS Read Speeds. Random IOPS matters a lot in music production when you’re fetching small files from different locations.
The WD Black SN850 is currently on discount so grab the deal before it ends!
| 500GB (Amazon) | 1TB (Amazon) | 2TB (Amazon) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe Gen4 x4 | PCIe Gen4 x4 | PCIe Gen4 x4 |
| Max Sequential Read | 7000 MB/s | 7000 MB/s | 7000 MB/s |
| Max Sequential Write | 4100 MB/s | 5300 MB/s | 5100 MB/s |
| Random IOPS (Read) | 810K | 1000K | 1000K |
| Random IOPS (Write) | 700K | 700K | 700K |
| Endurance | 680 TBW | 720 TBW | 710 TBW |
| Warranty | 5 Years | 5 Years | 5 Years |
| Current Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price |
If you’ll be frequently writing heavy amounts of data to the SSD, it’s worth checking out the endurance of each of these SSDs. In this case, you might want to choose the Sabrent Rocket Plus over the WD Black SN850.
Note: Please do not expect the exact same Sequential and Random IOPS speeds (mentioned above) from your system. This information varies according to the system configuration and software.
Looking for the best CPU for music production in 2022 as well? Check out this article:
