Adding or replacing an SSD is the easiest upgrade on almost any mini PC. Nearly all of them, from $300 Ryzen boxes to Ryzen AI Max machines, use M.2 2280 slots at PCIe 4.0 x4. A mini PC is also a harsh place for an SSD: there is little airflow, often no space for a heatsink, and sometimes no room for chips on the back of the drive. So the right drive is not the fastest one on a chart. It is one that runs cool, sips power and fits.
These four picks meet that bar. Prices were checked on Amazon on October 10, 2026.
First, a word on 2026 prices
SSDs cost far more than a year ago. Tom’s Hardware’s price tracker shows a 2TB Samsung 990 Pro at $389 against a lowest-ever $119, and a 2TB WD SN850X at $348 against $89. NAND flash prices have more than doubled since early 2026, and Micron has closed its Crucial consumer brand, so Crucial drives are leftover stock. If your mini PC already came with a 1TB drive that works, there is no rush. If you need space now, buy the capacity you need, not the next one up “just in case”.
Quick comparison
| # | SSD | Best for | Read / write (MB/s) | Endurance | Amazon (Oct 10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WD_Black SN7100 | Best overall | 7,250 / 6,900 | 1,200 TBW (2TB) | $319.99 (2TB) |
| 2 | Biwin Black Opal NV7400 | Best value at 1TB | 7,400 / 6,500 | 1,000 TBW (1TB) | $174.99 (1TB) |
| 3 | Samsung 990 EVO Plus | Single-sided up to 4TB | 7,250 / 6,300 | 1,200 TBW (2TB) | $366.50 (2TB) |
| 4 | WD Blue SN5100 | Cheapest brand-name 4TB | 6,900 / 6,700 | 1,200 TBW (4TB) | $479.99 (4TB) |
1. WD_Black SN7100: the best SSD for most mini PCs
Why it’s good: Tom’s Hardware calls the SN7100 “the power efficiency king”, and that is exactly what a mini PC needs. It reaches 7,250 MB/s reads and 6,900 MB/s writes on the 1TB and 2TB models, using SanDisk’s own Polaris 3 controller and 218-layer TLC flash. The 2TB is single-sided, so it fits slots with no clearance underneath. PCWorld measured 62°C in sustained writes with no heatsink at all. Endurance is 600TB written per terabyte, with a 5-year warranty.
👤 Ideal for: almost anyone upgrading a mini PC: gaming libraries, Windows plus apps, local AI model files.
Keep in mind: it has no DRAM cache. PCWorld saw long writes slow to 3,800 MB/s when the drive was 80% full, so leave some free space. It is also being renamed SanDisk Optimus GX 7100; both names are the same drive.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
2. Biwin Black Opal NV7400: the best value at 1TB
Why it’s good: Tom’s Hardware’s current “best budget M.2 SSD” is single-sided at every capacity and rated for 1,000TB written at 1TB, more than any other drive here at that size. It reads at up to 7,400 MB/s and writes at 6,500 MB/s, with a Maxio controller and Micron 232-layer TLC. Tom’s describes it as “efficient and cool-running”, and the warranty is 5 years. At $174.99 for 1TB, sold by Biwin’s own Amazon store, it is the cheapest TLC drive among our picks.
👤 Ideal for: a 1TB upgrade on a budget mini PC, or a second drive for a box with two M.2 slots.
Keep in mind: at 2TB it costs more than the SN7100 right now, so the value case is at 1TB.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
3. Samsung 990 EVO Plus: single-sided even at 4TB
Why it’s good: Samsung keeps the 990 EVO Plus single-sided at 1TB, 2TB and 4TB, which matters in thin mini PCs where the M.2 slot sits flat against the board or a fan. It reads at 7,250 MB/s, uses Samsung’s own controller and 236-layer TLC, and is rated for 1,200TB written at 2TB, with a 5-year warranty and TCG Opal hardware encryption. It also works in the PCIe 5.0 x2 slots that a few newer machines use.
👤 Ideal for: buyers who want a Samsung drive, need encryption for work, or have a tight slot.
Keep in mind: the 2TB was $366.50 from a third-party seller on Amazon when we checked, and the 4TB price on Amazon varied widely between listings. Compare before you buy.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
4. WD Blue SN5100: the cheapest brand-name 4TB
Why it’s good: at $479.99 for 4TB, sold by Amazon itself, the SN5100 is the least expensive way we found to put 4TB from a major brand in a mini PC. It reads at up to 6,900 MB/s at 4TB, it is single-sided at every capacity, and it is rated at just 4.3W of power at 4TB. Tom’s Hardware calls it the best QLC drive it has tested. Endurance is 1,200TB written at 4TB, with a 5-year warranty.
👤 Ideal for: large game libraries, media servers, and storing many local AI models on a mini PC with one M.2 slot.
Keep in mind: it uses QLC flash. Everyday use feels as fast as the others, but very long writes (copying hundreds of gigabytes at once) slow down after the cache fills. It is also sold as SanDisk Optimus 5100.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
How to choose an SSD for a mini PC
- Check the slot first. Look up your mini PC’s spec page for “M.2 2280” and the PCIe generation. A few models use the shorter M.2 2242 size or SATA for a second slot. Gen4 drives also work in Gen3 slots, at Gen3 speeds.
- Prefer single-sided drives. Many mini PCs have no room for chips under the drive. All four picks are single-sided at the capacities we recommend.
- Do not force a heatsink. If your case has a thermal pad over the slot, use it. A tall heatsink can stop the lid from closing.
- DRAM-less is fine for a mini PC. Drives that use a slice of system memory (HMB) run cooler and use less power. The difference only shows in sustained heavy writes.
- Leave 15 to 20% free. Every SSD slows down when it is nearly full.
Drives we left out
- Samsung 990 Pro: excellent and single-sided even at 4TB, with a DRAM cache, but $389 for 2TB today. Worth it only for heavy, sustained writes.
- Kingston NV3: inexpensive, but Tom’s Hardware notes that its parts change between batches, so the drive you get may not match the reviews.
- Crucial P310: still on sale, but Crucial’s consumer business has closed and the 2TB is rated for far less endurance than the SN7100.
Have a mini PC with a PCIe 5.0 slot? See our guide to the best PCIe 5.0 SSDs for mini PCs that support them. Related: the best external drives for mini PCs and why consumers are paying for the RAM crisis.
Prices checked on Amazon on October 10, 2026. SSD prices are changing quickly in 2026.