Wichtigste Punkte
The Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB is the best SSD for fast LLM model loading because its ~7,000 MB/s sequential read pulls a 14B Q4 model (~9 GB) into RAM in under 5 seconds. A SATA SSD doing ~550 MB/s takes more than 15 seconds for the same model. On a slow HDD, the wait is over a minute.
PCIe Gen4 NVMe is the sweet spot. The Samsung 990 Pro, WD Black SN850X, and Crucial T500 all sit near 7,000 MB/s sequential read at similar prices. Gen5 drives push higher peak numbers but the gain for model loading is small — and Gen5 needs a compatible motherboard.
Buy 2 TB or larger. Once you collect a handful of quantized models (7B, 8B, 13B, 14B at multiple quantizations), 1 TB fills quickly. 2 TB leaves room for the OS, frameworks, and a dozen models without rotating downloads. For current pricing, check retailer listings — NVMe pricing moves week to week.
Sequential read speed is the one number that matters for model loading. The table below shows how long each drive takes to load a 14B Q4 model (~9 GB) from disk to RAM — approximate, assuming no system overhead.
| Drive type | Sequential read | Time to load 9 GB model | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCIe Gen4 NVMe (e.g. Samsung 990 Pro) | ~7,000 MB/s | ~1.5 sec (theoretical), ~3-5 sec (real) | Best pick |
| PCIe Gen3 NVMe | ~3,500 MB/s | ~3-7 sec | Acceptable |
| SATA SSD | ~550 MB/s | ~17-25 sec | Slow — upgrade if possible |
| HDD (7200 RPM) | ~150 MB/s | ~60-90 sec | Avoid for LLMs |
