Best SSDs for Home Servers in 2026
Quick Recommendation
For your OS + Docker boot drive: Samsung 980 (500 GB, ~$35) or WD Blue SN580 (500 GB, ~$30). Both are reliable TLC NVMe drives with more than enough endurance for home server use.
For NAS cache (TrueNAS SLOG/L2ARC, Synology cache): Samsung 970 EVO Plus (500 GB, ~$35) or WD Red SN700 (500 GB, ~$45). The WD Red SN700 is specifically designed for NAS write-caching with higher endurance.
For bulk SSD storage (all-flash NAS): Crucial MX500 (2-4 TB SATA, ~$120-230) or Samsung 870 EVO (2-4 TB SATA, ~$130-250). SATA is fine for NAS arrays — the drives won’t bottleneck a HDD-speed network share.
SSD Types Explained
NVMe (M.2)
Connects via PCIe. 2,000-7,000 MB/s sequential. Used for boot drives and NAS cache. The standard for any new build.
SATA SSD (2.5” or M.2)
Connects via SATA III. Max 550 MB/s sequential. Used for bulk SSD storage in NAS drive bays or as a budget boot drive. Perfectly fine for serving files over a 1-2.5 GbE network.
Key Specs
- TLC vs QLC: TLC (Triple Level Cell) is more durable and faster for writes. QLC (Quad Level Cell) is cheaper but slower for sustained writes and has lower endurance. Prefer TLC for server use.
- DRAM cache: SSDs with a DRAM cache maintain consistent performance. DRAMless SSDs slow down during sustained writes. For a boot drive that’s mostly read-heavy, DRAMless is fine. For NAS cache, get a DRAM drive.
- TBW (Terabytes Written): The manufacturer’s rated endurance. 300-600 TBW for a 1 TB drive is standard. Home server workloads typically write 5-20 TB/year — decades of lifespan.
Top Picks
Boot / OS / Docker Drive (NVMe)
| Drive | Capacity | Speed (seq R/W) | TBW | DRAM | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung 980 | 500 GB | 3,100/2,600 MB/s | 300 TBW | No (HMB) | ~$35 |
| WD Blue SN580 | 500 GB | 4,150/3,600 MB/s | 300 TBW | No (HMB) | ~$30 |
| Samsung 970 EVO Plus | 500 GB | 3,500/3,300 MB/s | 300 TBW | Yes | ~$35 |
| Kingston NV2 | 500 GB | 3,500/2,100 MB/s | 160 TBW | No | ~$25 |
Recommendation: WD Blue SN580 for best value. Samsung 970 EVO Plus if you want DRAM cache for consistent performance.
For a home server boot drive, 256-500 GB is plenty. The OS, Docker images, and container volumes rarely exceed 100 GB unless you’re storing significant data locally.
NAS Cache Drive (NVMe)
| Drive | Capacity | Speed (seq R/W) | TBW | DRAM | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD Red SN700 | 500 GB | 3,430/2,600 MB/s | 1,000 TBW | No (HMB) | ~$45 |
| WD Red SN700 | 1 TB | 3,430/3,100 MB/s | 2,000 TBW | No (HMB) | ~$70 |
| Samsung 970 EVO Plus | 500 GB | 3,500/3,300 MB/s | 300 TBW | Yes | ~$35 |
| Samsung 970 EVO Plus | 1 TB | 3,500/3,300 MB/s | 600 TBW | Yes | ~$60 |
Recommendation: WD Red SN700 for NAS write-caching (SLOG, Synology cache). Its 1,000 TBW endurance at 500 GB is 3x the Samsung 970 EVO Plus — important for write-intensive cache workloads. For read-caching (L2ARC) where writes are minimal, the cheaper Samsung 970 EVO Plus is fine.
Bulk SSD Storage (SATA)
| Drive | Capacity | Speed (seq R/W) | TBW | DRAM | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crucial MX500 | 2 TB | 560/510 MB/s | 700 TBW | Yes | ~$120 |
| Samsung 870 EVO | 2 TB | 560/530 MB/s | 1,200 TBW | Yes | ~$130 |
| Crucial MX500 | 4 TB | 560/510 MB/s | 1,000 TBW | Yes | ~$230 |
| Samsung 870 EVO | 4 TB | 560/530 MB/s | 2,400 TBW | Yes | ~$250 |
Recommendation: Crucial MX500 for best value. Samsung 870 EVO for maximum endurance. Both are TLC with DRAM cache — the right combination for NAS array use.
Avoid for NAS arrays: Samsung 870 QVO and Crucial BX500. These are QLC drives with lower endurance and slower sustained writes. Fine for desktop use, not ideal for NAS workloads.
How Much SSD Do You Need?
| Use Case | Recommended SSD Size |
|---|---|
| OS + Docker (boot only) | 256-500 GB NVMe |
| OS + Docker + small app data | 500 GB - 1 TB NVMe |
| Synology NVMe cache | 2x 500 GB NVMe (mirrored) |
| TrueNAS SLOG | 16-64 GB NVMe (small but fast) |
| TrueNAS L2ARC | 500 GB - 2 TB NVMe |
| Unraid cache pool | 500 GB - 2 TB NVMe |
| All-flash NAS (small) | 2-4x 2 TB SATA SSD |
Power Consumption
SSDs use significantly less power than HDDs:
| Drive Type | Idle | Active | Annual Cost ($0.12/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVMe SSD | 0.5-2W | 3-8W | $0.53-2.10 |
| SATA SSD | 0.5-1W | 2-3W | $0.53-1.05 |
| 3.5” HDD (7200 RPM) | 5-8W | 7-10W | $5.26-8.41 |
An all-SSD NAS with 4 SATA SSDs idles at ~3W for the drives. The same NAS with 4 HDDs idles at ~24W. Over a year, that’s $22 in electricity savings — meaningful but not enough to offset the SSD price premium for large capacities.
FAQ
NVMe or SATA SSD for my home server?
NVMe for boot/Docker drive (it’s in the M.2 slot anyway). SATA for bulk SSD storage in NAS drive bays. NVMe’s speed advantage over SATA only matters for boot drives and cache — file serving over 1-2.5 GbE can’t saturate even SATA speeds.
Will my SSD wear out?
Extremely unlikely for home server use. A 500 GB TLC SSD rated at 300 TBW lasts 15+ years at 50 GB/day of writes. Most home servers write 1-10 GB/day. Monitor SMART data (smartctl -a /dev/nvme0) to check remaining lifespan.
Do I need enterprise SSDs?
No. Consumer TLC NVMe and SATA SSDs have more than enough endurance for home use. Enterprise SSDs (Intel Optane, Samsung PM9A3) are designed for write-heavy datacenter workloads at 100x home server volume.
Should I mirror my NAS cache SSDs?
For Synology: yes, Synology recommends mirrored NVMe cache. If one cache SSD fails without mirroring, cached data may be lost. For TrueNAS SLOG: a single SSD is acceptable — SLOG only buffers sync writes temporarily. For Unraid cache: depends on your risk tolerance and what data lives on cache.
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