Samsung is prepping PCIe 6.0 SSDs already but don't expect to get your hands on them without screw-you AI datacentre money

A Samsung 9100 Pro SSD in both 2 TB and 4 TB sizes. — (Image credit: Future)

They say the wheels of industry never stop turning, and it seems that's true even when the chassis on top has fallen off, because as current-gen SSD prices continue to climb, the next generation is already being spun up. According to ZDNet Korea's sources, Samsung is "embarking on full-scale preparations" for PCIe 6.0 SSDs, with the first orders being for R&D and mass production orders only expected in the second half of the year.

I suppose that's me looking at it from a consumer perspective, though, because Samsung is hardly going to be viewing the current demand-induced supercycle as the car falling off its wheels. Rather, for Samsung—as with all memory and storage makers—current high prices and extra demand is very welcome fuel for a growing fire. AI, which is fuelling the demand, really is "making memory sexy again", as Micron told us almost two years ago. And ditto storage, it seems.

Not that it would be worth spending the inordinate amount of money a bleeding-edge drive would surely cost anyway, even if it was a reasonably sized one for gaming. PCIe 4.0 drives are still perfectly fine for gaming, even now Gen 5 drives are finally worth considering alongside Gen 4 ones. The random read/write performance gains between SSD generations simply don't justify spending a bunch extra on the latest and greatest tech.

Samsung Electronics America Corporate office in Ridgefield Park, NJ, USA. - stock photo. Ridgefield Park, NJ, USA - August 23, 2022: Samsung Electronics America Corporate office in Ridgefield Park, NJ, USA. Samsung is a South Korean manufacturing conglomerate. — (Image credit: JHVEPhoto via Getty Images)

This won't be the first PCIe 6.0 drive out in the wild, either. We saw Micron launch one last July, three years after the Gen 6 standard was finalised. That one is for AI servers, too. AI, eh? It comes for us all.

At least it's not come for our gaming drives just yet... oh, wait. Yeah, scratch that, it's coming for us all. Let's hope those datacentres move over to Gen 6 before too long and leave some Gen 4 and 5 scraps for the rest of us.

Best SSD for gaming 2026

1. Best overall:
WD_Black SN7100

2. Best budget:
Biwin Black Opal NV7400

3. Best PCIe 5.0:
WD_Black SN8100

4. Best budget PCIe 5.0:
Crucial P510

5. Best 4 TB:
TeamGroup MP44

6. Best 8 TB:
WD_Black SN850X

7. Best M.2 2230:
Lexar Play 2230

8. Best for PS5:
Silicon Power XS70

👉Check out our full SSD for gaming guide👈

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Jacob got his hands on a gaming PC for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He swiftly realised the local PC repair store had ripped him off with his build and vowed never to let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Jacob the hardware junkie was born. Since then, Jacob's led a double-life as part-hardware geek, part-philosophy nerd, first working as a Hardware Writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working towards a PhD in Philosophy for a few years while freelancing on the side for sites such as TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly, PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the ruthless mercenary life to join the world's #1 PC Gaming site full-time. It's definitely not an ego thing, he assures us.

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