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In my other post, I have mentioned some great external hard drives for Linux (HDD). They are good for taking backups, but they are not fast enough to boot an operating system.
SSDs have a great transfer speed that can help you boot your system faster. You can install your Linux distro on an external SSD to carry it around or you can choose to install it on an internal SSD.
I have already written a post for the best external SSD. So, in this post, I will focus on the best internal SSD for Linux systems.
Here’s the summary of the best internal SSD for Linux:
| Internal Linux SSD | Link to Product |
|---|---|
| SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD | See details at Amazon |
| Kingston A400 SATA 3 2.5″ Internal SSD | See details at Amazon |
| SAMSUNG 870 EVO 2.5 Inch SATA III SSD | See details at Amazon |
| Crucial P5 3D NAND NVMe SSD | See details at Amazon |
| Sabrent Rocket Q NVMe SSD | See details at Amazon |
Before you proceed:
Here are few things, I would like you to consider before proceeding with this post.
1. The SSD mentioned in this post are internal. Check out my other post if you are looking for a portable external SSD for Linux.
2. The cloning software or additional stuff that comes with these SSDs may not work with every Linux distro. So, you may not be able to use the encryption or other additional features of these internal SSDs on your Linux machine.
3. The transfer speed of these internal SSDs mentioned in this post is the maximum speed you can get. The actual performance of these SSDs may vary depending on SSD’s firmware version and host configuration.
Best Linux compatible SSD
These internal SSDs have many additional features that can be accessed using the proprietary software that ships with the internal SSD.
There is no guarantee of the software working with Linux distros. Therefore, I have only mentioned features that can be used on a Linux system.
For a full list of features and information, check the official websites of these SSDs.
1. SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD
The first on this list is Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe SSD. Samsung has the best SSDs in the market not only for Linux but for any operating system.
It is available in different storage capacities starting from 250GB and goes up to 2TB. This is also the fastest SSD on this list with the max sequential read speed of up to 3500 MB/s and write speed of up to 3300 MB/s.
The 970 EVO Plus also has great durability, thanks to Samsung’s Dynamic thermal guard that prevents overheating and minimize performance drops.
Although it’s a bit pricey compared to other Linux SSD on this list, this is also the best choice if you want an extremely fast and reliable SSD for your Linux system.
Features of SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus:
- Available in different storage capacities (250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB).
- Max Sequential read and write speed of 3,500MB/s and 3,300MB/s respectively.
- Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard prevents overheating and minimizes performance drops.
- Extremely fast and reliable PCIe NVMe SSD.
2. Kingston A400 SATA 3 2.5″ Internal SSD
Kingston A400 is a 2.5 inch SATA internal SSD. It ships with SATA 3 interface which is backwards compatible with SATA 2.
A400 is available in multiple capacities from 120GB–1.92TB. It has read speed of up to 500MB/s and write speed of up to 450 MB/s because of which it has incredible boot, loading and transfer times compared to mechanical hard drives.
If you want a cheap, reliable and durable SATA SSD to add some performance to your system then Kingston A400 may be the one you’re looking for.
Features of Kingston A400:
- Available in various storage capacities (120GB, 240GB, 480GB, 960GB, 1.92TB).
- SATA Rev. 3.0 (6Gb/s) interface with backwards compatibility to SATA Rev. 2.0 (3Gb/s).
- Up to 500MB/s Read and 450MB/s Write speed.
- Reliable and durable 2.5″ SATA Internal SSD.
3. SAMSUNG 870 EVO 2.5 Inch SATA III SSD
Another Samsung SSD on this list, however, this one is a 2.5 inch SATA SSD.
Samsung 870 EVO is available in a wide variety of sizes starting from 250GB and goes up to 4TB. It has a max sequential read and write speed of 560 MB/s and 530 MB/s respectively.
Moreover, it is also tested for compatibility by Samsung on major host systems and applications, including chipsets, motherboards, NAS, and video recording devices.
It is not cheap as the Kingston A400 SATA SSD mentioned above, but being a Samsung device you’ll also get a comparative performance gain.
Features of SAMSUNG 870 EVO:
- Available in multiple storage capacities (250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB).
- Up to 560MB/s sequential read and 530MB/s sequential write speed.
- Fast and efficient 2.5-inch SATA internal SSD.
4. Crucial P5 3D NAND NVMe Internal SSD
Crucial P5 is another great option when it comes to Linux SSD. It is available in multiple sizes ranging from 250GB to 2TB.
It has a max sequential read speed of up to 3400 MB/s and write speed of up to 3000 MB/s. Not only that, it has “Dynamic write acceleration” to optimize the performance of the drive.
As for durability, the drive uses adaptive thermal protection to ensure the SSD works without any heating issues.
It’s a good and reliable PCIe Gen3 NVMe SSD that you can install your Linux distro on and boot up almost instantly.
Features of Crucial P5:
- Available in multiple storage capacities (250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB).
- Max 3400 MB/s sequential read and 3000 MB/s sequential write speed.
- Dynamic write acceleration, error correction and adaptive thermal protection to optimize performance and durability.
- Good and Reliable PCIe Gen3 NVMe SSD.
5. Sabrent Rocket Q NVMe PCIe Internal SSD
The last on the list is Sabrent Rocket Q NVMe internal SSD. It comes in various sizes, offering up drives as small as 500GB or as large as 8TB.
Sabrent Rocket Q has great read and write speed clocking in at 3200 MB/s and 2900 MB/s respectively. It also has Advanced Wear Leveling, Bad Block Management, and Over-Provision to increase the performance and durability of the SSD drive.
If you want a large capacity internal SSD drive for a comparatively cheap price, then you can choose Sabrent Rocket Q internal SSD for your Linux system.
Features of Sabrent Rocket Q:
- Available in different storage capacities (500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB).
- Up to 3200 MB/s read and 2900 MB/s write speed.
- Power Management Support for APST / ASPM / L1.2.
- Advanced Wear Leveling, Bad Block Management, and Over-Provision.
- Large capacity NVMe PCIe Internal SSD.
Conclusion
This concludes the list of best Linux SSD. Although some SSD manufacturers mentioned in this list may not support Linux officially, even so, the SSD works fine with Linux.
However, you may need to disable encryption, disable any windows specific software installed on SSD, change some settings in BIOS or format the SSD to a Linux-compatible file system to make it work.
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