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MSI Debuts New SSD, Promises Record-Setting Speeds for Gamers

Can MSI break into the storage game and set new speed records at the same time?

 & Chris Stobing Senior Analyst, Security

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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MSI today took a step in a new direction with the release of its first-ever solid-state drive. Known simply as MSI SSD, it's aimed at gamers with PCs that can take advantage of the PCIe 4.0 interface.

The drives promise maximum throughputs similar to what Kingston says its new "Ghost Tree" drives will hit, though release dates or pricing details for both drives were not announced. We asked MSI if these new drives were in any way related to Kingston's Ghost Tree project, but the company declined to comment.

Until then the idea of a PCIe Gen 4 SSD hitting 7,000MBps will remain in the world of theory, as will the promise of a max write throughput of 6,900MBps. But it's still an exciting time nonetheless as both major gaming consoles and PCs gain new ways to reduce, and in some cases all but eliminate, load times for gamers and productivity hounds alike.

About Our Expert

Chris Stobing

Chris Stobing

Senior Analyst, Security

My Experience

I'm a senior analyst charged with testing and reviewing VPNs and other security apps for PCMag. I grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley and have been involved with technology since the 1990s. Previously at PCMag, I was a hardware analyst benchmarking and reviewing consumer gadgets and PC hardware such as desktop processors, GPUs, monitors, and internal storage. I've also worked as a freelancer for Gadget Review, VPN.com, and Digital Trends, wading through seas of hardware and software at every turn. In my free time, you’ll find me shredding the slopes on my snowboard in the Rocky Mountains where I live, or using my culinary-degree skills to whip up a dish in the kitchen for friends.

My Areas of Expertise

  • Privacy software, including VPNs and proxy services
  • PC building, and all the ins and outs of desktop PCs
  • Processors and motherboards
  • Graphics cards
  • PC cases
  • Networking equipment
  • Internal storage

The Technology I Use

As a former PC component reviewer and longtime gamer, almost every PC I use is one that I've custom-built. I use a system that runs an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor, along with an AMD Radeon RX 6800 graphics card in a black case. For mobile devices, I'm a longtime user of Apple smartphones and am deeply integrated into Cupertino's app ecosystem, and currently I have an iPhone 10X.

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