Alan Wake 2 Punishes Your NVMe SSD at 2.7 GB/s

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Alan Wake 2 doesn't just require mesh shaders; it basically requires an NVMe SSD, too.

A screencap from Compusemble's YouTube video benchmarking Alan Wake 2's SSD bandwidth usage.
A screencap from Compusemble's YouTube video benchmarking Alan Wake 2's SSD bandwidth usage. (Image credit: Compusemble on YouTube)

Alan Wake 2 is the latest game from Remedy Entertainment, a developer whose prestigious output includes Control (2019) and the first two Max Payne titles on PC and PS2. As covered by Compusemble in the benchmarking tests embedded below, Alan Wake 2 boasts incredibly high NVMe storage use, peaking at 2.74 GB/s of throughput, particularly during the game's trippy Mind Palace sequences.

Like Control, Alan Wake 2 has become notorious as a test for modern real-time ray tracing-capable GPUs but takes it even further by requiring mesh shaders across the board, adding support for path tracing, and targeting an even higher degree of realism as a result.

Alan Wake 2's high-fidelity assets can clearly put a lot of stress on a storage drive, resulting in the Gen 5 NVMe drive used in testing consistently being on the higher end of its optimal temperatures, though fortunately not within range of proper thermal throttling. That's an unavoidable side effect of the 2.74 GB/s of read throughput peak during a scene transition. The game also consistently stresses the SSD with around 1.6 GB/s of throughput.   

Truthfully, Alan Wake isn't the only game of its kind to more-or-less require an NVMe SSD for a smooth experience. DirectStorage and RTX I/O titles are similarly built on top of next-generation storage as an expectation, not an afterthought. Recent major titles using these technologies include Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Portal Prelude RTX.

Fortunately for non-NVMe and especially non-SSD users, most titles don't require SSDs at all. However, even if the game isn't optimized for SSDs, using one will improve your load times significantly.

And if a game does come with DirectStorage support and recommends an SSD as a requirement...you most likely want to follow that advice. Below, I've embedded a Rift Apart benchmarking run from ShadowRomeo1784 on YouTube, demonstrating how severely an HDD can ruin the intended experience of these NVMe-intended titles.

In any case, those itching to find a proper use for their NVMe SSDs don't have to look much longer! Ratchet & Clank and Alan Wake 2 alike both go to show that we've properly entered the era of SSD gaming on PC, and judging by the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X, titles like these will only become more common over time.

Christopher Harper
Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • vehekos
    It doesn't delivers anything worth the stress it puts on the computer.
    Reply
  • txfeinbergs
    I disagree. Most photorealistic game I have ever played. Impressive.
    Reply
  • vinay2070
    vehekos said:
    It doesn't delivers anything worth the stress it puts on the computer.
    Probably it could have been more optimised, but it does look very nice though.
    Also you dont need SSD, even HDD does a good job of keeping good 1% - 52Kj6tamrzo:162View: https://youtu.be/52Kj6tamrzo?si=Ig7strrHLx7sHKoi&t=162
    Reply
  • UnforcedERROR
    vehekos said:
    It doesn't delivers anything worth the stress it puts on the computer.
    I simply don't agree. From a purely visual standpoint the game looks amazing, and when you're using cutting edge technology it's going to stress your components. I'm skeptical of if you could give us a quantifiable basis for what it should be doing to achieve your expectations.

    To be honest if it's using your SSD that much I'm actually a little impressed, since SSDs are more often underutilized in games.
    Reply
  • umeng2002_2
    Yeah, I actually wish more games would utilize nvme drives more. It's not like you need to pay $1000 for one - like GPUs.
    Reply
  • Pete Mitchell
    So the author admits that the SSD stayed within the manufacturer’s temperature range, as no throttling occurred. Reads do not “punish” SSDs. If anything would stress an SSD, it would be writes, which isn’t happening here. So, what was the point of this article?

    Both Anandtech and Toms Hardware used to be great sites. Anything Future Publishing touches goes in the toilet.
    Reply
  • Colif
    it looks amazing for a walking simulator. It can be both... impressive to look at but boring to play.

    Graphics don't make a game good, it needs more than just wow shiney....
    Reply
  • Order 66
    Thank goodness I have a PCIE 4 NVME drive.
    Colif said:
    it looks amazing for a walking simulator. It can be both... impressive to look at but boring to play.

    Graphics don't make a game good, it needs more than just wow shiney....
    I agree 100%. When will we get games with this level of graphical fidelity, but that is actually fun to play.
    Reply
  • Colif
    Order 66 said:
    When will we get games with this level of graphical fidelity, but that is actually fun to play.

    Never until they stop finding new ways to convince people they need new GPU/monitors

    I have been waiting for years for them to stop adding sparkly graphics and start making games more fun. I starting to think I will never see it in my life time. Although if we can have another ET moment and games industry has to restart again, maybe we get some good games then. But if the fail game is released by Bethesda, stupid modders would fix it and it wouldn't cause a cataclysm... that would be a shame.

    People buy broken games now, so I guess ET wouldn't be enough. They boiled that frog slow enough that now people still pre order broken games. The ET like event would have to be an amazing fail to bring down industry again.
    Reply
  • Order 66
    Colif said:
    Never until they stop finding new ways to convince people they need new GPU/monitors

    I have been waiting for years for them to stop adding sparkly graphics and start making games more fun. I starting to think I will never see it in my life time. Although if we can have another ET moment and games industry has to restart again, maybe we get some good games then. But if the fail game is released by Bethesda, stupid modders would fix it and it wouldn't cause a cataclysm... that would be a shame.

    People buy broken games now, so I guess ET wouldn't be enough. They boiled that frog slow enough that now people still pre order broken games. The ET like event would have to be an amazing fail to bring down industry again.
    I would say that there is still some hope in indie games where the graphics may not be the best, but they generally have good story.
    Reply