17/03/2026 12:10 pm
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Im finally building my 7900X system for video work next week and honestly the ssd choice is giving me a headache. I keep seeing people rave about Gen5 speeds since AM5 supports it but then I read threads saying they get stupidly hot and just throttle during long exports. I live in a tiny apartment in London and dont want more fan noise. My budget is around 200 quid and I really need:
- 2TB or more
- high endurance for constant writing
- something that doesnt need a massive active cooler
Is Gen5 actually better for Ryzen 7000 or should I just play it safe with a high-end Gen4 drive...
3 Answers
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17/03/2026 12:25 pm
Saw this and just had to chime in because I went through the exact same thing with my 7700X build last year. I almost fell for the Gen5 hype but man, those drives are basically toaster ovens if you dont have a dedicated fan for them. For video work, you're gonna be pushing those sustained writes, and if the drive throttles, your render times go to hell anyway. I ended up being really cautious and went with the SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB NVMe Gen4 after seeing how well it handles heat. It's super stable and doesn't get nearly as cranky as some of the other high-performance drives I've tested. Honestly, if you're worried about fan noise in a small flat, sticking with a solid Gen4 is the way to go. You might want to consider the Crucial T500 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe too. I've seen some benchmarks where it actually beats the more expensive drives in efficiency, which is what you really want for those long export sessions. I'd be careful with the Gen5 stuff for now... most of it feels like a beta test for early adopters. Make sure to check if your motherboard has a decent built-in heatsink tho. Even a good Gen4 drive like the Lexar NM790 4TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 can get a bit toasty if it's just sitting under a hot GPU. I'd suggest grabbing a 4TB if you can swing the price because video files just eat space like crazy. It's better to have that extra headroom and stay cool than to chase peak speeds that disappear the second things get warm.
10
17/03/2026 12:45 pm
> I really need: 2TB or more In my experience, Lexar NM790 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe is the most cost-effective choice. It stays remarkably cool during sustained writes and handles heavy 4K timelines without needing any fancy active cooling.
2
17/03/2026 12:11 pm
Skip Gen5, theyre basically space heaters tho... In my experience:
- Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe Gen4
- WD Black SN850X 2TB NVMe Gen4 Both work great and wont overheat.
