A Budget Friendly Gen 4 SSD Worth Noticing
Black Friday is always a great time to upgrade your gaming PC or everyday rig, and fast storage is one of the best value upgrades you can make. The Crucial P310 PCIe Gen 4 SSD is being highlighted as a bargain this season, and for good reason. It offers sequential read speeds of up to 7,100 MB per second, which puts it firmly in the high performance Gen 4 territory.
For gamers, creators, and anyone tired of slow loading times, this kind of speed can make your system feel much snappier. While it is not the only fast SSD on the market, the P310 aims to balance strong performance with an attractive sale price, making it a solid option if you are shopping during Black Friday.
Why SSD Speed Matters For Gaming And Everyday Use
The main stat that stands out for the Crucial P310 is its sequential read speed of up to 7,100 MB per second. In simple terms, this is how quickly the drive can pull large chunks of data off the SSD. For many everyday tasks you will notice this performance in several ways.
- Game loading times can drop significantly compared to a standard SATA SSD or a hard drive.
- Large game updates and installs can complete more quickly.
- Level transitions and texture streaming in modern games can feel smoother.
- Windows boot times and app launches can feel almost instant.
While random read and write speeds and latency also matter, a PCIe Gen 4 drive with this level of sequential speed is already a major step up from older SATA and PCIe Gen 3 drives. If you are coming from a mechanical hard drive, the jump will feel massive.
For content creators, such as those editing 4K video or working with large project files, this kind of throughput can greatly reduce waiting times when scrubbing timelines, copying footage, or exporting finished work. Fast storage is not just about benchmarks. It directly affects how responsive your system feels when you are working or playing.
Is The Crucial P310 Right For Your PC Build
Before grabbing any PCIe Gen 4 SSD, you need to confirm that your system can actually use it at full speed. The Crucial P310 uses the PCIe Gen 4 interface, which is supported on most modern desktop platforms and many newer laptops.
- Desktop users with AMD Ryzen 3000 series or newer and Intel 11th Gen or newer typically have at least one PCIe Gen 4 M.2 slot.
- Many gaming motherboards offer multiple M.2 slots but not all of them run at Gen 4 speeds. Check your manual to see which slot is the best for a high speed drive.
- Laptop users should confirm that their device supports PCIe Gen 4 and physically fits an M.2 2280 drive, which is the most common size.
Even if your system only supports PCIe Gen 3, a Gen 4 drive like the P310 will usually still work but it will be limited to Gen 3 speeds. You will still get strong performance, but you will not reach the advertised 7,100 MB per second read speeds.
Another point to consider is how you plan to use the SSD. A fast 1 TB or 2 TB drive is ideal as a primary game library and OS drive. You can install Windows, your most played games, and your frequently used apps on the P310 and then use a secondary SSD or hard drive for bulk storage such as older titles and media files.
Black Friday pricing is what makes the Crucial P310 especially interesting. High end Gen 4 drives with similar speeds can often be more expensive. If this model is significantly discounted, it becomes a strong value pick for gamers and power users who want performance without paying top tier flagship prices.
Final Thoughts For PC Gamers And Upgraders
In the world of PC upgrades, storage is often overlooked in favor of GPUs and CPUs. However, a fast SSD like the Crucial P310 PCIe Gen 4 can dramatically improve how your system feels every single day. Faster level loads, quicker system boots, and smooth application launches all add up to a better overall experience.
If you are building a new gaming PC, refreshing an older rig, or just tired of waiting on load screens, watching for Black Friday deals on drives like the Crucial P310 is a smart move. Just make sure your motherboard supports PCIe Gen 4, pick a capacity that fits your game library, and enjoy a noticeable performance bump without blowing your entire upgrade budget on one part.
Original article and image: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/this-gbp59-99-1tb-crucial-p310-might-be-the-last-truly-cheap-ssd-for-a-while-fast-gen-4-speeds-make-this-the-perfect-upgrade-for-your-gaming-pc
