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With the best SSD for Cities Skylines 2, you can finally say goodbye to those long wait times.
As you spend hours building your dream city, the last thing you need is to waste your time waiting for your massive project to load. That would be quite frustrating, wouldn’t it? Well, the fix is simple: all you need is the best SSD for Cities Skylines 2, and you will be blown away by how quickly the game loads.
To help you out, we contacted Sebastian Kozlowski, our in-house storage expert, who loves to take high-performance SSDs for a spin and review them. We also researched several SSDs that are perfect for a game like Cities Skylines 2. After careful consideration of the best SSDs and Cities Skylines 2 system requirements, we were able to round up our recommendations, ranging from the best budget to the speediest SSD.
Best SSD for Cities Skylines 2 at a glance
Seagate FireCuda 540
Capacity
2TB
Read/Write speed
10,000MB/s
Connectivity Technology
SATA
Interface
PCIe 5.0
Kingston FURY Renegade
Capacity
500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB
Drive type
SSD
USB type
USB 3.1
Corsair MP700
Capacity
1TB
Read/Write Speed
10,000MB/s – 9,500MB/s
Connectivity Technology
M.2
Interface
NVMe 2.0 PCIe 5.0
For all the fellow Cities Skylines fans, we’re here to make sure you’re completely equipped to build the best city as possible. Whether its finding you the best laptop for Cities Skylines 2, the best monitor for Cities Skylines 2 or even the best PC for Cities Skylines 2, we’ve got you covered.
Best overall SSD for Cities Skylines 2
Seagate FireCuda 540
Capacity
2TB
Read/Write speed
10,000MB/s
Connectivity Technology
SATA
Interface
PCIe 5.0
- High read and write speeds
- Very durable
- 3 years of Rescue Data Recovery Services
- Pricey
The best overall SSD for Cities Skylines 2 has to be the Seagate FireCuda 540. Available in two capacities, 1TB and 2TB, the FireCuda 540 is the go-to option for gamers looking to give their PC a much-worthy upgrade.
Apart from its 10,000 MB/s read and write speed for the 2TB model, which gives the SSD an excellent boost in performance and overall load times, its endurance is also just as impressive. It has a TBW rating of 2000TB, a very good number. This means you can write 1TB of data on the 2TB SSD for 5 years straight and have zero performance issues. Make sure you pair the FireCuda 540 with the best GPU for Cities Skylines 2 so that you can max out on the graphics.
The 10,000 MB/s read and write speed also means your city will load way faster than before, which is a major plus point. While the SSD is intended for PCIe Gen 5 motherboards for the best performance, it is also backward compatible with Gen 4 motherboards. You also get a 5-year limited warranty and 3 years of Rescue Data Recovery Services for added support. Overall, the Seagate FireCuda 540 is the perfect choice for the best overall SSD for Cities Skylines 2.
Best budget SSD for Cities Skylines 2
Kingston FURY Renegade
Capacity
500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB
Drive type
SSD
USB type
USB 3.1
- Affordable yet solid performance
- Comes with a heatsink
- Looks hardcore
- No AES hardware encryption
When it comes to the best budget SSD for Cities Skylines 2, the Kingston Fury Renegade takes the crown. With capacities ranging from 500GB to a whopping 4TB, the SSD has got your back regardless of how much storage you need. Plus, its PCIe Gen 4 M.2 interface means you get to enjoy some pretty good speeds. Take a look at the breakdown of the PCIe 5.0 vs PCIe 4.0 to see why the 4th gen still provides brilliant, timeless speeds.
Speaking of which, the 4TB variant has 7,300 MB/s and 7,000 MB/s of read and write speed, respectively. All other capacities have the same read speed, but the write speed varies as you go down the total storage. For instance, the 1TB variant has 6,000 MB/s, and the 2TB variant has 7,000 MB/s of write speeds. If you’re upgrading your set-up but prioritising affordability then why not check out the best budget 4K monitors?
Given the low price tag, the durability of this Kingston Fury Renegade is also quite impressive. It has a 4.0PBW endurance rating for the 4TB variant. Plus, for smooth performance, you can also opt for the heatsink variant and enjoy gaming without any worries. In short, if you’re low on budget and want the best SSD for Cities Skylines 2, the Kingston Fury Renegade is for you.
Speediest SSD for Cities Skylines 2
Corsair MP700
Capacity
1TB
Read/Write Speed
10,000MB/s – 9,500MB/s
Connectivity Technology
M.2
Interface
NVMe 2.0 PCIe 5.0
- Top-notch performance
- 5-year Corsair warranty
- DirectStorage
- A heatsink is recommended for optimal operations
Looking for the speediest SSD for Cities Skylines 2? The Corsair MP700 PCIe Gen 5 has got you covered. Thanks to its PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 interface, it can achieve a jaw-dropping speed of 10,000 MB/s – just make sure to have a solid SSD heatsink to prevent any thermal throttles.
Thanks to its high-density 3D TLC NAND, the SSD has a 1400TBW endurance rating, which is more than enough to last you for several years to come. You also get a 5-year warranty, and we all know Corsair has one of the best after-sales support, so you don’t have to worry about your new SSD breaking down. If you’re upgrading your set-up to guarantee the speediest gameplay, why not find the best motherboard and CPU combo whilst you’re at it?
All in all, if you don’t want to waste a second waiting for your city to finish loading, the Corsair MP700 PCIe Gen 5 is your best option. Plus, it doesn’t even cost that much, making its price-to-performance ratio surprisingly tempting. Pair it with the best 850W PSU, and you’ll be seen into seamless, speedy gaming.
Does Cities Skylines 2 need an SSD to run properly?
While you can technically run Cities Skylines 2 on an HDD. It is highly recommended to go for an SSD because of the performance boost. You will notice significantly shorter load times with an SSD.
Can you run Cities Skylines on an external hard drive?
Yes, you can run Cities Skylines on an external hard drive. However, the load times will be very long, and the overall game performance will be degraded.
