ZisaLog: Beginner’s Guide to Building a Custom PC 
Have you ever wondered what kind of SSDs other people choose for their custom-built PCs, or which specifications are considered important?
For this reason, various statistics have been compiled based on the parts selected in the “Custom PC Parts Estimation and Compatibility Check Tool” that is developed and managed by the author.
Graphs are provided to summarize the SSD popularity ranking, price range, manufacturers, and the selection rate by other specifications and features. This information can help to get an overall picture of SSD trends.
In addition to SSDs, analysis of other PC parts and custom PC builds is also available, so please refer to it as well.
– The data is based on information from the Custom PC Tool.
– Data period: From 2024/5/9 to 2024/08/09 (about 3 months)
– Number of data entries: About 5,000
– The vertical axis of the graphs shows the selection rate (percentage chosen by users)
– For better readability, the graphs focus on the main volume zone, so the total may not add up to 100%.
Select PC parts and online stores to instantly generate an estimate, check compatibility, and calculate power requirements. You can save up to five different builds, making it easy to try out multiple configurations.
≫ Tool：PC Parts Estimation & Compatibility Check Tool
Table of Contents
Basic Data on SSDs
First, the most important points such as popularity ranking, manufacturers, and price ranges will be introduced.
SSD Popularity Ranking
| 1 |  | キオクシア EXCERIA PLUS G3 SSD-CK1.0N4PLG3J |
4% | ||
| 2 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD Blue SN580 NVMe WDS100T3B0E |
3.8% | ||
| 3 |  | PNY CS2140 M280CS2140-1TB-CL |
3.7% | ||
| 4 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD_Black SN770 NVMe WDS100T3X0E |
2.9% | ||
| 5 |  | crucial P3 Plus CT1000P3PSSD8JP |
2.8% | ||
| 6 |  | Apacer AS2280Q4L AP1TBAS2280Q4L-1 |
2.4% | ||
| 7 |  | crucial T500 CT1000T500SSD8JP |
2.3% | ||
| 8 |  | crucial P3 Plus CT2000P3PSSD8JP |
2.1% | ||
| 9 |  | キオクシア EXCERIA G2 SSD-CK1.0N3G2/N |
2% | ||
| 10 |  | キオクシア EXCERIA PRO SSD-CK1.0N4P/N |
1.9% | ||
| 11 |  | crucial T500 CT2000T500SSD8JP |
1.8% | ||
| 12 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD_Black SN850X NVMe SSD WDS200T2X0E |
1.7% | ||
| 13 |  | Apacer AS2280P4X AP1TBAS2280P4X-1 |
1.6% | ||
| 14 |  | 旭東エレクトロニクス SUNEAST SE900NVG55-02TB |
1.5% | ||
| 15 |  | プリンストン EPHD-ISM2-1T |
1.3% | ||
| 16 |  | プリンストン PHD-ISM2G4-1T |
1.3% | ||
| 17 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD_Black SN850X NVMe SSD WDS200T2XHE |
1.3% | ||
| 18 |  | crucial T705 CT1000T705SSD3-JP |
1.3% | ||
| 19 |  | crucial P3 CT1000P3SSD8JP |
1.2% | ||
| 20 |  | Hanye HE80-2TGHS |
1.2% | ||
| 21 |  | MSI SPATIUM M461 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2TB |
1.2% | ||
| 22 |  | Corsair MP600 PRO NH CSSD-F8000GBMP600PNH |
1.1% | ||
| 23 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD_Black SN770 NVMe WDS200T3X0E |
1.1% | ||
| 24 |  | キオクシア EXCERIA PLUS G3 SSD-CK2.0N4PLG3J |
1.1% | ||
| 25 |  | Apacer AS2280P4X AP2TBAS2280P4X-1 |
1% | ||
| 26 |  | Hanye E30-2TBTN1 |
1% | ||
| 27 |  | crucial T500 CT1000T500SSD5JP |
1% | ||
| 28 |  | crucial T500 CT2000T500SSD5JP |
1% | ||
| 29 |  | Acer Predator GM7 4TB |
0.9% | ||
| 30 |  | Apacer AS2280Q4L AP2TBAS2280Q4L-1 |
0.9% | ||
| 31 |  | サムスン 990 PRO MZ-V9P2T0B-IT/EC |
0.9% | ||
| 32 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD_Black SN850X NVMe SSD WDS100T2X0E |
0.9% | ||
| 33 |  | ADATA LEGEND 800 ALEG-800-1000GCS |
0.8% | ||
| 34 |  | AGI AGI1T0G43AI818 |
0.8% | ||
| 35 |  | SK hynix Platinum P41 SHPP41-1000GM-2 |
0.8% | ||
| 36 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD for PS5 Consoles WDBBYV0020BNC-WRSN |
0.7% | ||
| 37 |  | crucial T705 CT2000T705SSD3-JP |
0.7% | ||
| 38 |  | Solidigm P41 Plus SSDPFKNU010TZX1 |
0.7% | ||
| 39 |  | MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 1TB |
0.7% | ||
| 40 |  | キオクシア EXCERIA PRO SSD-CK1.0N4P/J |
0.7% | ||
| 41 |  | キングストン NV2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD SNV2S/1000G |
0.6% | ||
| 42 |  | SK hynix Platinum P41 SHPP41-2000GM-2 |
0.6% | ||
| 43 |  | Corsair MP700 PRO CSSD-F1000GBMP700PNH |
0.6% | ||
| 44 |  | crucial P3 Plus CT500P3PSSD8JP |
0.6% | ||
| 45 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD Blue SN580 NVMe WDS200T3B0E |
0.6% | ||
| 46 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD Green SN350 NVMe WDS100T3G0C |
0.6% | ||
| 47 |  | Corsair MP600 PRO LPX CSSD-F1000GBMP600PLPW |
0.6% | ||
| 48 |  | WESTERN DIGITAL WD_Black SN850P NVMe SSD for PS5 Consoles WDBBYV0010BNC-WRSN |
0.6% | ||
| 49 |  | キオクシア EXCERIA PRO SSD-CK2.0N4P/N |
0.6% | ||
| 50 |  | キオクシア EXCERIA G2 SSD-CK1.0N3G2/J |
0.6% |
At a glance, it seems that the three manufacturers Kioxia, Western Digital, and Crucial are well-balanced at the top of the rankings.
Perhaps because there are many products, selections are spread out among various models rather than being concentrated on just one or two.
In the case of HDDs, the WD Blue model was overwhelmingly popular, so this result was unexpected and surprising.
≫ Related article: HDD Popularity Ranking and Selection Rate by Specification [Statistical Data]
SSD Manufacturers
As expected from the popularity ranking, Crucial, Western Digital, and Kioxia are the top three strong manufacturers.
After that, about 7 or 8 other manufacturers follow.
When the author buys an SSD, Crucial is often chosen for both M.2 SSDs and SATA SSDs, with ADATA also being a common choice.
SSD Form Factors
There are two main types of SSDs: M.2 SSDs (Type 2280) and 2.5-inch SATA SSDs.
Recently, the price per capacity has become about the same for both, so considering the advantages of faster data transfer speeds and no need for cables, it is natural that M.2 SSDs are becoming the mainstream choice.
For more information about the differences in form factors, please refer to the following article.
≫ Related article: How to Choose Storage (SSD/HDD) for Custom PCs [Performance / Features / Compatibility]
SSD Capacity
The main volume zone for SSD capacity is 1TB and 2TB, with 1TB being the most common.
Recently, a 1TB SSD can be purchased for around 10,000 yen, which is a standard price for storage.
Also, for capacities below 1TB (such as 256GB or 512GB) or above 4TB, the cost per capacity becomes less favorable, so the cost performance decreases.
Considering these points, choosing 1TB or 2TB if more capacity is needed is a natural choice.
SSD Price Range
In the 10,000 to 20,000 yen range, 1TB to 2TB SSDs are the standard.
This price range is affordable for many users and offers enough capacity for various uses.
Next, many people choose SSDs in the under 10,000 yen or 20,000 to 30,000 yen price ranges.
Those who want to keep costs low even with lower capacity, or those who want even larger capacity, tend to choose these ranges.
Data by SSD Specifications and Features
Next, the data is aggregated by specification and feature.
However, when choosing an SSD, capacity, price range, and manufacturer are usually the main criteria. Therefore, it is likely that the specification or feature was chosen as a result of prioritizing capacity, etc., rather than specifically seeking that feature.
In other words, it is difficult to distinguish whether the part was chosen for its specification or if it just happened to have that specification when selected based on the main criteria. Please keep this in mind when reviewing the data.
SSD Interface
PCI Express 4.0 is overwhelmingly the most common interface standard.
Although PCI Express 5.0 offers faster data transfer speeds, there are still few compatible motherboards and the price per capacity is high, so it is not yet a mainstream choice.
Still, there is a certain number of users who prioritize data transfer speed and choose PCI Express 5.0.
SSD Sequential Read/Write Speed
The main volume zone for sequential read/write speed is below 7,500MB/s.
This is the theoretical value for PCI Express 4.0 (Gen4), so it seems that the best speed available at a reasonable price is being chosen.
However, there are also SSDs with speeds below 5,000MB/s, so PCI Express 3.0 (Gen3) and SATA SSDs are still being used.
For theoretical data transfer speeds by interface, please refer to How to Choose an SSD.
SSD Random Read/Write Speed
Random read/write speeds are more varied compared to sequential speeds, but the main volume zone is around 600K to 1,200K IOPS.
SSD MTBF
MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) indicates the average time before an SSD fails.
Most SSDs have a specification of 1.5 to 2 million hours for MTBF.
Although 2 million hours is about 228 years if running 24 hours a day, based on the author’s experience, actual usable life is about 3 to 10 years depending on usage.
Therefore, even though the specification says millions of hours, in reality, it is not that long, so there is no need to worry too much about MTBF when choosing an SSD.
SSD TBW
TBW (Terabytes Written) means the total amount of data that can be written to the SSD before it reaches the end of its lifespan.
The main volume zone is below 1,500TB, which is typical for those looking for capacity, cost performance, and general use.
Users who are more concerned about lifespan and durability tend to choose SSDs with higher TBW.
SSD DWPD
DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day) means the number of times the entire drive capacity can be written per day during the warranty period.
For example, 1 DWPD means that the entire capacity of the SSD can be written once per day.
The main volume zone is around 0.2 to 0.4, which means it is safe to write 20% to 40% of the capacity per day.
For general use, this is not something to worry about, but for applications with very frequent read/write operations, it may be necessary to pay attention to this value.
Summary: SSD Statistical Data
The popularity ranking, price range, manufacturers, and selection rates by specification and feature for SSDs have been summarized in graphs.
SSD manufacturers include Crucial, Western Digital, and Kioxia as the main brands, along with about 10 other companies offering various products.
M.2 SSDs are mainstream, with 1TB and 2TB capacities and a price range of about 10,000 to 20,000 yen being the most popular choices.
For general use, it is likely that a good SSD can be found with these conditions.
In addition to SSDs, analysis of other PC parts and custom PC builds is also available, so please refer to it as well.
Select PC parts and online stores to instantly generate an estimate, check compatibility, and calculate power requirements. You can save up to five different builds, making it easy to try out multiple configurations.
≫ Tool：PC Parts Estimation & Compatibility Check Tool
