As we stand on the precipice of a new era in gaming, the air is thick with anticipation. The gaming community is abuzz with the impending launches of cutting-edge hardware, and for those looking to build or upgrade their gaming PCs, these innovations bring forth a world of possibilities. Notably, the desire for high-performance components feeds into the search for the optimal solid-state drive (SSD). With AMD’s Zen 5 architecture and the new Intel Arrow Lake CPUs on the near horizon, as well as the rumored Nvidia Blackwell graphics cards, interest in building new gaming rigs is at an all-time high. Gamers are heavily investing their time and resources into crafting machines that will support these powerful next-generation components.
Historically, there has been a considerable push towards the latest technology, with players eager to adopt every cutting-edge component as it becomes available. However, one aspect of the PC gaming experience that doesn’t necessarily need to fall in line with this trend is storage. With systems like the Lexar NM790 in the market, gamers can embrace a robust combination of performance and affordability without compromising other areas of their builds. While many gamers may gravitate towards the latest and greatest components for every slot in their PCs, it’s essential to recognize that certain elements—like SSDs—can deliver outstanding performance without breaking the bank.
When considering which SSD to choose for a gaming setup, the Lexar NM790 stands out as a noteworthy contender at an accessible price point. Priced at approximately $75 for the 1TB variant and $140 for the 2TB version during sales events, this SSD offers gamers a true value proposition. These price points, representing discounts of roughly 25% and 26% respectively, place the NM790 among the most appealing choices in the market for budget-conscious builders.
The Lexar NM790 operates on the PCIe 4.0 interface, delivering impressive speeds of 7,400 MB/s for read operations and 6,500 MB/s for writes. This performance is more than sufficient for day-to-day gaming needs, as most gamers engage in read-heavy activities where direct access to stored data is crucial. While the NM790 lacks a dedicated DRAM cache, it compensates effectively with a part of its TLC NAND serving as a pseud-SLC cache. Such attributes make it a viable option, notably since contemporary gaming scenarios rarely push SSDs to their full capacity for sustained write operations.
Choosing the right SSD often comes down to balancing performance and price. Budget travelers looking to build their gaming setups shouldn’t feel pressured to leap into the fray with PCIe 5.0 drives right away; these options remain largely unnecessary for the vast majority of players. In contrast, the Lexar NM790 presents a well-rounded combination of speed and affordability. Many users will find that the performance specifications meet or exceed their gaming requirements without hardship, and it diplomatically sidesteps the bottlenecking issues commonly associated with SSDs, especially for those not equipped with the most recent CPU and GPU technology.
Furthermore, the 2TB version of the NM790 could provide essential headroom for those gamers who relish an extensive library of titles. With modern game sizes ballooning, having additional storage makes a practical difference. While some enthusiasts may initially support a minimalist 1TB approach, dedicated gamers who appreciate diverse game genres should re-evaluate this choice to avoid potential difficulties down the road.
Ultimately, as the gaming landscape evolves and new technologies emerge, the choice of components for a gaming rig becomes increasingly crucial. Gamers can feel confident in their decision to invest in quality SSDs like the Lexar NM790, which aligns perfectly with new CPU and GPU releases while still being reasonably priced. Whether scaling up to the 2TB model or starting out with the 1TB version, it’s clear that the NM790 meets the high-performance expectations of the modern gaming community without imposing prohibitive costs. The next-generation gaming experience awaits, and with the right components, players can dive in headfirst.