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The news that the latest instalment of Cyberpunk 2077 requires an SSD is not a surprise amidst the raised system requirements to play the game.
According to an official blog post from CD Projekt RED, the decision to stop supporting HDDs in favour of SSDs is because of the “faster loading times, improved streaming, and better overall performance”. We kind of welcome this decision, after all, modern games are chunkier than ever, and we’re not getting any younger with these load times. However, if you’re not pleased, the game will still work with the older system recs, only it won’t get “active support” from the makers when testing the game.
We’re personally excited to use Phantom Liberty as an excuse to give some of our older PC components a revamp. Finding the best CPU for Cyberpunk 2077 should be a priority in this CPU intensive game, plus a high refresh rate monitor to achieve the highest frame rates.
Best SSD for Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty 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
These SSDs are supremely speedy. We’ve opted for two Gen 5 picks and one all time favourite Gen 4 – the Kingston Fury Renograde. You may be tempted by the plummeting price of the Gen 4 SSDs – they do consistite a solid budget pick. However, technology moves fast, so if you can afford it, go for the Gen 5 option instead.
1. Seagate FireCuda 540 – Best overall SSD for Cyberpunk 2077
Seagate FireCuda 540
Capacity
2TB
Read/Write speed
10,000MB/s
Connectivity Technology
SATA
Interface
PCIe 5.0
- Five year warranty
- Three year data rescue plan
- Premium pricing
Our handsdown top pick for Cyberpunk 2077 and other gaming endeavours is the Seagate FireCuda 540. You can fully take advantage of its built-in M.2 cooling which keeps this SSD performing its best during long gaming sessions. It should fit well into whatever gaming system it has – since it comes without a heatsink, you won’t need to remove any pre-installed heatsink or waste money on buying one that you’re not going to use. Just make sure your motherboard has a cooling solution.
The SSD also boasts an excellent 2000 TBW endurance rating which makes this SSD an addition built to last. The price is a huge downside, but you’re paying for things like the three-year Rescue Data Recovery Service, meaning you can recover your data completely encrypted if your attempt is successful. The 2TB version delivers more than enough storage for both your gaming and professional needs.
Especially if you own a premium PC build, investing in a top tier, reliable SSD is probably worth it. It’s tricky to beat its super high endurance rating and warranty periods.
2. Kingston FURY Renegade – Best Gen 4 budget SSD for Cyberpunk 2077
Kingston FURY Renegade
Capacity
500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB
Drive type
SSD
USB type
USB 3.1
- Good TBW rating
- Excellent price to performance ratio
- Great for gaming
- Previous gen
A firm fan favourite, you’re not going to find a Gen 4 SSD much better than this bad boy. It should cater to most people’s needs by offering capacities of up to 4TB, and anyone looking to priorise their budget will be pleased with the fairly affordable 1TB and 2TB options. We’ve also seen this SSD regularly discounted too, though this is expected from Gen 4 SSDs.
You get the option of choosing between a standard or heatsink variant, with around a $10-15 price difference. Plus, it comes with a five year warranty period (matching our top pick) which tells you Kindston is confident in the durability of this SSD.
This SSD earns a spot amongst the best SSDs for PS5 thanks to PlayStation 5’s open M.2 slot. It’s performance lands well in loading titles, which should be music to your ears if you’re buying it for Cyberpunk 2077.
3. Corsair MP700 – fastest SSD for Cyberpunk 2077
Corsair MP700
Capacity
1TB
Read/Write Speed
10,000MB/s – 9,500MB/s
Connectivity Technology
M.2
Interface
NVMe 2.0 PCIe 5.0
- Good warranty period
- Very fast
- Ideal for gaming scenarios
- Not very power efficient
- Expensive
The MP700 boasts up to 10,000 / 9,500MB/s for sequential read and write speeds which is insane. This should be your go to card if you want to prioritise speed and load times for Cyberpunk 2077. Faster SSDs do exist of course, but we’ve selected the MP700 because of its DirectStorage-optimized firmware.
Make sure you have a decent heatsink and airflow if you end up going with this SSD. You know the saying – with great power comes great responsibility…
It’s also backwards compatible with Gen 4 which is great, though bare in mind you won’t get this SSD’s full throttle on a Gen 4 compatible PC.
Best SSD for Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty – FAQs
We’ve done our best to answer some FAQs on the subject on Phantom Liberty and SSDs.
Should you play Cyberpunk 2077 on SSD?
If you plan to play Phantom Liberty, then you’ll need to switch over to SSD. While you’ll still be able to play the game on lower specs, it won’t be acitvely supported by CD Projekt Red and you may run into performance issues further down the line. Any HDD fans may have noticed the sad phasing out of HDD in favour of SSD. A moment of silence please.
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