Black Friday SSD and Storage Deals Live: Best Sales on Internal and External Drives
Find solid-state and spinning savings with these great Black Friday deals.
Forget the fact that Black Friday is actually November 29 in 2024, because the "Black Friday" deal-a-palooza is already underway right now. This is one of the best times of the year to find significant savings on SSDs and external storage drives. The Black Friday 2024 SSD deals are here and they could change your computing life.
The nice thing about storage devices — whether it's a new boot drive for your laptop, a second internal SSD for your desktop or a small USB Flash drive you can use to keep files in your pocket — is that you always need more of them. If you have a 1TB drive, going to 2TB helps and, if you have a 2TB, moving up to 4TB is a major improvement. And there's also the opportunity to get faster internal drives that speed up your application open times or external ones that connect via 10, 20 or 40 Gbps ports.
On this Black Friday SSD deals live blog, we're tracking all the best and latest deals of all kinds, throughout the holiday shopping season. If it's cheap, it holds your data and it's actually worth your money, we'll be highlighting it here, with updates many times per day.
Black Friday SSD Deals: Quick Links
- Samsung 990 Pro 4TB for $269 @Amazon
- WD Black SN850X 2TB for $123 @Amazon
- WD Black SN850P 8TB for $599 @Amazon
- Newegg: up to 43% off SSDs
- Amazon: Save up to 27% on Crucial SSDs
- Best Buy: Up to $100 off SSDs
- Best Buy: Up to $180 off hard drives
Our Favorite SSD and Storage Deals
Samsung 990 Pro (4TB) SSD: now $269 at Amazon (was $464)
The Samsung 990 Pro 4TB is among the fastest SSDs currently available on the market, with read and write speeds of up to 7450/6900 MB/s, maxing out the Gen 4 bandwidth.
WD Black SN850X (2TB) SSD: now $123 at Amazon (was $179)
2TB of fast storage for $89 represents the best of both worlds. Low price and high capacity storage. The SN850X is a speedy PCIe 4.0 SSD for PCs, laptops, and the PlayStation 5. The drive boasts a sequential performance that peaks at 7,300 MB/s reads and 6,600 MB/s writes. See our review of the WD Black SN850X for more information.
Silicon Power UD90 (2TB) SSD: now $92 at Newegg (was $119)
This SSD is suitable for casual and gaming use with impressively high speeds capping out at 5000 / 4800 Mbps. It uses an NVMe Gen 4 interface and has a 2TB storage capacity.
Live Black Friday SSD Deal Updates
MSI's PCIe 4.0 Spatium M482 SSD drops to just 4 cents per gigabyte
Don't expect it to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Samsung's 990 Pro. But if you're after a budget-priced PCIe 4.0 drive that doesn't scrape the bottom of the barrel in terms of specs, MSI's Spatium M482 looks like a decent option -- especially at its current sale price of $85.49 for the 2TB model after a 5% off coupon (IPC1124), direct from MSI. That puts it at a pleasing 4.3 cents per gigabyte.
MSI Spatium M482: now $85.49 after coupon at MSI (was $119)
This 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD is rated to read speeds up to 7,300 MB/s and write speeds up to 6,400 MB/s. It's a DRAMless drive, so don't expect it to perform with the best SSDs, but it does have a 5-year warranty.
We haven't tested this drive, so we can't say much definitively about its performance. However, the Spatium M482 lacks DRAM and uses Phison's low-power PS5027-E27T controller, so don't expect it to match or lead pricier drives regarding benchmarks. But it uses TLC flash, has a TBW rating of 1200 and a five-year warranty, and should be a good budget option for desktop or laptop users who don't need the absolute fastest PCIe 4.0 performance available.
You can still grab the Crucial 2TB P310 for $169 at Amazon
Crucial's P310 is our favorite 2TB QLC M.2 2230 SSD thanks to its strong all-around performance and power-efficiency, and while it seems to be sold out around the web at its all-time low price of $139.99, you can still grab it at a pretty solid discount on Amazon for $169.05 (was $214.99). The 1TB version is also on sale for $69.99, down from $114.99.
Crucial P310 2TB QLC M.2 2230 SSD: now $169 at Amazon (was $214)
Featuring a powerful DRAM-less controller with the newest QLC, with 7,100 MB/s read and 6,000 MB/s write speeds.
The P310 is QLC-based, which means it's not quite as fast or consistent as it could be, but it's more power-efficient than the TLC-based WD Black SN770M and has more throughput. It features 7,100 MB/s read speeds and 6,000 MB/s write speeds and can be extended up to M.2 2280 if needed. It's the fastest M.2 2230 SSD we've tested — and its 1TB variation is currently the same price as the Corsair MP600 Mini, so it's a great alternative.
Read our full review here: Crucial P310
Bulk storage: 2TB SSD now just 3.9 cents per GB
If you are adding a secondary drive to your desktop, you can save money by using a 2.5-inch SATA drive. If you're using the drive primarily for data and not for apps / games, the speed doesn't have to be blinding in order to matter.
Right now, Amazon has a 2TB SATA drive from Silicon Power, the A55, for just $79.99. That's a rate of 3.9 cents per GB, which is pretty impressive. We wouldn't expect read or write speeds much above 550 MB/s but considering the price, that's fine.
Silicon Power A55: was $87, now $79 at Amazon
This 2.5-inch SATA drive provides plenty of bulk storage for the price.
4TB SSDs start at just $0.05 per GB this Black Friday
If you want to get rid of some tech anxiety, get yourself a 4TB SSD. While 2TB is a solid amount -- and the sweet spot -- for many people, it will leave you wondering whether installing too many games or having too many media files could get you close to your space limit.
With 4TB, unless you're a professional videographer / photographer, you probably won't hit the limit for some time. And now, because of Black Friday sales, you can get a 4TB SSD for as little as $0.05 per GB. The cheapest model is the $189 Silicon Power UD90, but our favorite choice is the WD Black SN850X for $249, because the latter drive has a DRAM cache which helps it maintain performance. You can also score a PCIe 5 drive, the Crucial T700, for just $322 or $0.08 per GB for 12,400 MB/s.
SSD | Best US Price | Price Per GB | PCIe Gen | Seq Read / Write | NAND |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Silicon Power UD90 | $189 | $0.05 | 4 | 5,000 / 4,500 MB/s | TLC |
Crucial P3 Plus | $194 | $0.05 | 4 | 4,800 / 4,100 MB/s | QLC |
Silicon Power US75 | $199 | $0.05 | 4 | 7,000 / 6,500 MB/s | TLC |
Crucial P3 | $204 | $0.05 | 3 | 3,500 / 3,500 MB/s | QLC |
TeamGroup MP44Q | $205 | $0.05 | 4 | 7,400 / 6,500 MB/s | QLC |
TeamGroup MP44 | $226 | $0.06 | 4 | 7,400 / 6,900 MB/s | TLC |
Corsair MP600 CORE XT | $239 | $0.06 | 4 | 5,000 / 4,400 MB/s | QLC |
WD Black SN850X | $249 | $0.06 | 4 | 7,300 / 6,600 MB/s | TLC |
Samsung 990 Evo Plus | $249 | $0.06 | 4 | 7,250 / 6,300 MB/s | TLC |
Kingston Fury Renegade | $254 | $0.06 | 4 | 7,300 / 7,300 MB/s | TLC |
Samsung 990 Pro | $269 | $0.07 | 4 | 7,500 / 6,900 MB/s | TLC |
Crucial T700 w/ Heatsink | $322 | $0.08 | 5 | 12,400 / 11,800 MB/s | TLC |
Crucial T705 w/ Heatsink | $449 | $0.11 | 5 | 14,100 / 12,600 MB/s | TLC |
The Silicon Power US75 is also a good choice as, though it lacks a DRAM cache, it has higher transfer rates than the UD90 and is only $10 more. For $199, you get sequential read/write rates of 7,000 and 6,500 MB/s.
WD Black SN850X (4TB): was $299, now $249 at Newegg
This drive promises read speeds of up to 7,300 MB/s and uses a sizable DRAM cache to keep the performance flowing.
Crucial T700 (4TB): was $369, now $322 at Amazon
This PCIe 5 drive is one of the fastest on the market, boasting read speeds of up to 12,400 MB/s.
Silicon Power US75 (4TB): was $204, now $199 at Amazon
This DRAMless drive boasts read speeds of up to 7,000 MB/s and uses TLC NAND flash.
Feel the need for extreme speed? The fastest SSD we've ever tested — out of thousands — is now only $119
If there were one SSD on the market that delivers face-melting data transfer rates, it would, without a doubt, be the Crucial T705 1TB SSD. This SSD is hands down the fastest drive we've ever reviewed — and we've reviewed thousands of them over the last decade — and as you can see in our benchmarks below, the contest isn't even close. That makes this all-time low pricing all the more impressive: The T705 debuted at $247, but now it's only $119.
Crucial T705 1TB SSD: now $119 at Amazon (was $247)
When we say this drive is super fast, we mean it. It can reach read/write speeds as high as 13,600/10,200 MBps. It's compatible with PCIe 5.0 x4 interfaces and is supported by a 5-year warranty from Micron.
We reviewed the 2TB Crucial T705 and rated it at 4.5 out of 5 stars, with our primary concern being the high pricing. Naturally, this deal does away with those concerns.
The other capacities of the Crucial T705 SSD are also on sale. The drives conform to the M.2 2280 form factor and leverage a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface. As with many of the fastest PCIe 5.0 SSDs on the market, the drive uses the Phison E26 controller and features 232-layer Micron TLC memory.
The 1TB T705 delivers up to 13,600/10,000 MB/s of sequential read/write throughput, along with up to an incredible 1.75 / 1.4 million random read/write IOPS, which is frankly astounding performance. It comes with a 5-year Micron warranty covering up to 600TB of written data.
As noted above, the competition isn't even close. It might be best to snag this deal fast while drives are still available.
A fast 2TB of Gen 4 goodness with only a $99 price tag.
Another good SSD deal hits us this Black Friday as we see this speedy drive from Corsair hit just $99 for 2TB of fast Gen 4 capacity. This is a no-brainer for a decent speedy M.2 SSD for your PC. Use it as a main drive for your operating system or even as an extra drive for your Steam games library. I know from personal experience how easy it is to fill up these drives with the latest AAA games easily soaking up 150GB.
You can find this Black Friday deal at Amazon, where the 2TB Corsair MP600 Pro NH is on sale for only $99. This is its lowest-ever price for this particular SSD on Amazon and a huge drop from its original $189 price tag. The MP600 Pro NH is a mid-range Gen 4 SSD, and although it doesn't have the bandwidth to match the top Gen 4 SSDs in read and write speeds, it's not far off, and with a large 2TB of TLC NAND capacity, the price-to-performance ratio is pretty excellent.
2TB Corsair MP600 Pro NH SSD: now $99 at Corsair (was $189)
The Corsair MP600 Pro NH 2TB SSD uses a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface and can reach read/write speeds as high as 7000/6500 Mbps. With a 2280 form factor, this M.2 drive offers a high capacity, especially on motherboards that support less M.2 connectivity.
The Corsair MP600 Pro NH delivers up to 7,000MB/s sequential read and 6,500MB/s sequential write speeds and is rated for up to 1,400TBW (Terabytes Written). This is one of the lowest prices I've seen for an SSD with these specifications.
Increase your Xbox Series X|S storage with this Black Friday deal on the WD Black C50 1TB expansion card.
Specifically designed to be compatible with the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S console’s proprietary expansion slot the WD Black C50 is the answer to your storage needs if you're looking to increase the storage capacity of your console. Although there are various capacities, this Black Friday deal is on the 1TB version.
Grab this deal at Amazon where you can pick up the 1TB WD Black C50 Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S for just $99 - its lowest-ever price. This expansion card normally retails for $149, but has dropped to this all-time low price as soon as the first Black Friday deals started appearing. How much longer this deal will last is another question though, especially with this deal being $30 lower than its previous best price.
The rugged protective cover is not only for looks as the C50 is intended to be a plug-and-play device that can transport your games and saves between consoles, so the cover provides a degree of protection for portability.
1TB WD Black C50 Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S: now $99 at Amazon (was $149)
An expansion card for the Xbox Series X|S. The Western Digital WD_Black C50 is a proprietary storage solution that's only compatible with the latest Xbox consoles. This card is 1TB in capacity and simply plugs into the expansion slot on the rear of the Xbox console.
The WD Black C50 has been designed with the Xbox Velocity Architecture in mind, and will perform as well as the internal storage of both of the Xbox consoles - so it won't affect your load times while gaming. Black Friday is the first time the WD_Black C50 has been under $100, and now is the perfect time to grab one while they are still available at this price.
MSI's PCIe 4.0 M482 SSD drops to just 4 cents per gigabyte
Don't expect it to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Samsung's 990 Pro. But if you're after a budget-priced PCIe 4.0 drive that doesn't scrape the bottom of the barrel in terms of specs, MSI's Spatium M482 looks like a decent option -- especially at its current sale price of $89.99 for the 2TB model, direct from MSI. That puts it at a pleasing 4.5 cents per gigabyte.
MSI Spatium M482: now $89 at MSI (was $119)
This 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD is rated to read speeds up to 7,300 MB/s and write speeds up to 6,400 MB/s. It's a DRAMless drive, so don't expect it to perform with the best SSDs, but it does have a 5-year warranty.
We haven't tested this drive, so we can't say much definitively about its performane. But the Spatium M482 lacks DRAM and uses Phison's low-power PS5027-E27T controller, so don't expect it to match or lead pricier drives when it comes to benchmarks. But it uses TLC flash, has a TBW rating of 1200 and a five-year warranty, and should be a good budget option for desktop or laptop users who don't need the absolute fastest PCIe 4.0 performance available.
Our fastest SSD ever, the Crucial T705, is now only $119
We're super excited to come across the Crucial T705 1TB SSD this Black Friday because not only is it the fastest SSD we've ever reviewed, it's also discounted to its lowest price to date according to Camel Camel Camel. It debuted with a price tag of $247 but right now it's only $119. We had the opportunity to review the 2TB model of the Crucial T705 and rated it at 4.5 out of 5 stars because we were blown away by its performance. Our biggest concern was the high MSRP but this deal completely resolves that issue.
Crucial T705 1TB SSD: now $119 at Amazon (was $247)
When we say this drive is super fast, we mean it. It can reach read/write speeds as high as 13,600/10,200 MBps. It's compatible with PCIe 5.0 x4 interfaces and is supported by a 5-year warranty from Micron.
This offer is for the 1TB Crucial T705 SSD but other capacities are available, as well. All of the drives in this line feature an M.2 2280 form factor and are compatible with PCIe 5.0 x4 interfaces. They're built around the Phison E26 controller and feature 232-layer Micron TLC memory. The 1TB edition can reach impressively high read/write speeds of 13,600/10,000 MBps. It comes with a 5-year warranty from Micron that voids when the drive reaches 600TBW.
Visit the Crucial T705 1TB SSD product page at Amazon for more details and purchase options.
This 2TB Crucial X9 External SSD is only $109 at Amazon
We're on the eve of Black Friday but you can already find some pretty good deals on namebrand hardware like this offer on the Crucial X9 2TB external SSD. It usually goes for around $148 but right now it's marked down to just $109. This is the lowest price we've seen for the drive so far this year.
Crucial X9 2TB External SSD: now $109 at Amazon (was $148)
This SSD has dropped to its lowest price we've seen for it this year. It has a 2TB capacity and can reach read speeds as high as 1050 MBps. It's backed up by a 3-year warranty from Crucial and is drop proof up to 7.5 feet.
The Crucial X9 2TB External SSD can reach read speeds as high as 1050 MBps. It's compatible with USB 3.2 Gen-2 interfaces with 10GBps support and is drop proof up to 7.5 feet. It's backed up by a 3-year warranty from Crucial as well as Amazon's 30-day return policy.
Spec | Crucial X9 2TB External SSD |
Size | 2TB |
Read Speed | 1050 MBps |
Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2 |
Drop Proof | 7.5 Feet |
Warranty | 3 Year |
Visit the Crucial X9 2TB external SSD product page at Amazon for more details and purchase options.
Our favorite PS5 SSD, the WD_Black SN850X 2TB, is now $123 at Amazon
The WD_Black SN850X has topped our list of the best SSDs for the PS5 for quite some time, and it's just as popular for use with PCs, too. Today, you can get the 2TB model at a steep Black Friday discount of $123, far lower than its original $199 price point. This model comes without the heatsink, but you can get the heatsink-equipped model for an additional $10. You can also find this model in a 4TB variant for $249.
WD_Black SN850X 2TB SSD: now $123 at Amazon (was $199)
The WD_Black SN850X can reach read/write speeds as high as 7300/6600 MBps. It has an M.2 2280 form factor and is backed up by a 5-year warranty from Western Digital. This SSD is compatible with PCIe 4.0 x4 interfaces.
This SSD communicates over a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface to deliver up to 7,300 / 6,600 MB/s of sequential read/write throughput. It is also exceptionally snappy, with up to 1.2 / 1.1 million random read/write IOPS. The drive has a custom WD SSD controller painted with 112-Layer BiCS5 TLC NAND, all wrapped in a standard M.2 2280 form factor. The drive has plenty of endurance, too, supporting up to 1,200 terabytes of data written over its 5-year warranty period.
As you can see above, the SN850X delivers impressive performance in the PCMark 10 storage performance test, outperforming all but the SK hynix Platinum P41. The SN850X also has a handy game mode that optimizes the drive's performance profile specifically for gaming in the PC.
Overall, the WD_Black SN850X is a solid SSD backed by a leading memory manufacturer, and this price, it's a steal.
4TB Predator PCIe 4 SSD drops to 5 cents per gigabyte, its lowest price this year
We didn't exactly love the Predator GM7000 SSD when we tested it in 2022, as it wasn't quite the fastest performer and it felt overpriced. But now the 4TB GM700 is down to its lowest price since last December, just $219 at Amazon. The PCIe 4.0 drive is rated to a decent 7,400 MBps reads and 6,700 MBps writes, and our testing found it delivers "good all-around performance," so it's certainly no slouch in the speed department.
This isn't the fastest PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD, but the GM7000 performed well overall in our testing, doesn't use a lot of power, and at the 4TB capacity it will save you $30-$50 over competing drives from Samsung and WD.
Competing drives like the WD SN850X or Samsung 990 Pro are faster in benchmarks, but you won't likely notice the difference between any of these drives without a benchmark. And the Samsung and WD drives cost $30-$50 more at the same capacity. Acer's predator drive comes with a 5-year warranty and is rated for 1300TBW.
As you can see in our DiskBench test result chart above, the Predator GM7000 wasn't among the fastest PCIe 4.0 drives we've tested, but its real-world performance isn't far behind rivals like the SN80X, and it managed to beat the older Samsung 980 Pro, at least in the 2TB model we tessted.
You can still grab this 2TB Steam Deck SSD for $109 on Newegg
The Corsair MP600 Core Mini dropped to $109 a couple of days ago on Amazon and is currently sold out there. Good news: you can still grab this 2TB Steam Deck-friendly SSD for that price over on Newegg if you use the promo code BFEDY2A97.
The MP600 features up to 5,000 MB/s reads and 3,800 MB/s writes, and delivered 43,589 Random IOPS at QD1 on our real world tests. Its compact M.2 2230 size means it's compatible with the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, making for an affordable and surprisingly easy upgrade to your handheld gaming PC.
Corsair MP600 Core Mini: now $109 with code at Newegg (was $139)
Compact 2TB 2230 SSD compatible with Steam Deck or ROG Ally. Features 5,000 MB/s sequential read speeds and 3,800 MB/s sequential write speeds. Use code BFEDY2A97 to take $30 off.
The Best 4TB SSD Remains at Just 6.5 Cents Per GB
Samsung's SSD have a reputation for offering great performance, and the 990 Pro is no exception. At $269 at Amazon for 4TB of high-performance and high-endurance flash, this drive stands out from the crowd as one of the best deals for Black Friday.
The Samsung 990 Pro SSD tops our list of Best SSDs, and for good reason — this PCIe 4.0 SSD delivers impressive performance with up to 1.6 / 1.55 million read and write IOPS, ensuring fast and snappy response times for even the most demanding applications.
The drive is also plenty fast if you do lots of file transfers or heavy video editing, with 7,450 and 6,900 MB/s of sequential read/write throughput available. It can take a beating, too, with its ability to absorb 2,400 terabytes of write data within its five-year warranty period, courtesy of its 236-layer TLC V-NAND flash.
The drive uses a PCIe 4.0 connection, and while faster PCIe 5.0 drives are on the market, those tend to have higher cooling requirements and command a premium.
Samsung 990 Pro (4TB) SSD: now $269 at Amazon (was $464)
The Samsung 990 Pro 4TB delivers 7,450 MB/s reads and 6,900 MB/s writes, making it one of the fastest and best PCIe 4.0 SSDs on the market.
The Samsung 990 Pro also supports hardware-based TCG/Opal 2.0 encryption, so you can encrypt your data and not lose any performance.
Product | 4TB |
---|---|
Pricing | w/HS | $344.99 | $354.99 |
Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
Interface / Protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
Controller | Samsung Pascal |
DRAM | LPDDR4 |
Flash Memory | 236-Layer (V8) V-NAND TLC |
Sequential Read | 7,450 MBps |
Sequential Write | 6,900 MBps |
Random Read | 1,600K |
Random Write | 1,550K |
Security | TCG/Opal 2.0 |
Endurance (TBW) | 2400TB |
Part Number | w/HS | MZ-V9P4T0BW | MZ-V9P4T0CW |
Height | w/HS | 2.30mm | 8.88mm (Single-Sided) |
Warranty | 5-Year |
The 990 Pro also offers stout performance in our benchmark suite, with the 3DMark Storage bandwidth test below being just one example of the many areas where it outperforms competitors.
Only $54 for 1TB of PCIe Gen 4.0 M.2 SSD storage from Western Digital
It's certainly not the fastest SSD on the market and not the most exciting, but what it lacks in prestige it more than makes up for in price and capability. This is a PCIe Gen 4.0 NVMe SSD that comes in a 2280 form factor and builds favorably upon the previous SN570 release. The WD Blue SN580 is a safe pick for a single-sided SSD for use in laptops or devices with limited space, its low price makes the drive that much more attractive for the purpose.
You can find this SSD deal at Amazon where the WD Blue SN580 is available for just $54, it is only a small discount from its usual price of $59. An already inexpensive drive, but with this Black Friday offer it just gets better. See our review of the WD Blue SN580 for more details and benchmarking date.
With speeds of up to 4,150 MB/s in sequential read and write, the WD Blue SN580 is no slouch, and perfectly acceptable in a budget gaming rig as a storage drive for your games library. It does fall a little short of the recommended speeds by Sony for use in a PlayStation 5 console though.
WD Blue SN580 1TB SSD: now $54 at Amazon (was $59)
It's only a small saving, but it does lower the price to near its all-time low. $54 for a PCIe Gen 4.0 drive is a pretty good deal for this single-sided 2280 M.2 drive. With speeds of up to 4,150 MB/s in sequential read and write, this drive is ideal for a small laptop upgrade or a spare games storage.
The WD Blue SN580 uses 112-Layer Kioxia TLC (BiCS5) flash memory along with SanDisk's proprietary controller. The SSD drive is single-sided with a 600TBW, a random read of 600K, and a random write of 750K. The drive also comes with a 5-year manufacturer warranty from Western Digital.
The Crucial P3 2TB SSD is $104 at Amazon—plenty of storage on a budget
One of our top-rated budget SSDs has dropped to its lowest price since April—the Crucial P3 2TB SSD is marked down to just $104 over at Amazon. It usually goes for around $154, saving you $50 off the asking price. This isn't exactly the newest SSD but it's a great option for anyone who's looking for storage space on a budget with a sacrifice of performance. We reviewed the Crucial P3 SSD when it first came out and ultimately rated it at 3.5/5 stars.
Crucial P3 2TB SSD: now $104 at Amazon (was $154)
This SSD can reach speeds as high as 3500/3000 MBps and is compatible with PCIe 3.0 x4 interfaces. It's supported by a 5-year warranty from Micron that voids when the drive reaches 440TBW.
This offer is for the 2TB model but it's offered in a range of capacities. All of the drives in this line have an M.2 2280 form factor, work with PCIe 3.0 x4 interfaces and are built around the Phison E21T controller. This version can reach speeds as high as 3500/3000 MBps which definitely isn't the fastest on the market but on a budget can be worth the sacrifice. The purchase is backed up by a 5-year manufacturer's warranty from Micron that voids when the SSD hits 440TBW.
Visit the Crucial P3 2TB SSD product page at Amazon for more details and purchase options.
The super fast Sabrent Rocket 5 2TB SSD is at an all-time low price of $288
If you're looking for a super fast SSD without breaking bank, you should take a look at this offer fom Amazon on the Sabrent Rocket 5 2TB SSD. This SSD usually goes or around $339 but it's currently marked down to just $288, its lowest price to date. When we say this SSD is fast, we mean it. It easily made its way to our list as the top alternative for the fastest SSD currently on the market, earning a rating of 4.5/5 stars when we reviewed it.
Sabrent Rocket 5 2TB SSD: now $288 at Amazon (was $339)
This SSD from Sabrent can reach read/write speeds as high as 14,000/12,000 MBps. It comes with a 5-year warranty that voids should the drive reach 1200TBW.
This offer is for the 2TB model but it also comes in 1TB and 4TB capacities. All of the drives in the Rocket 5 line have an M.2 2280 form factor and are built around the Phison E26 controller. The Sabrent Rocket 5 features 232-layer micron TLC memory and is compatible with PCIe 5.0 x4 interfaces. It's supported by a 5-year manufacturer's warranty from Sabrent and also Amazon's 30-day return policy.
Visit the Sabrent Rocket 5 2TB SSD product page at Amazon for more details and purchase options.
One of the fastest 4TB Drives is now $322
The Crucial T700 is one of the fastest PCIe 5 drives on the market, thanks to its Phison E26 controller, LPDDR4 cache and 232-layer Micron TLC Flash. The 4TB capacity of this drive is rated for 12,400 / 11,800 MB/s sequential reads and writes, along with 1.5 million read and write IOPS.
Normally, this drive goes for well over $350 -- it started out at $449 -- but today you can get it for an all-time low of $322 at Amazon. With the exception of its sibling, the $449 T705, you can't get faster than this. Most people wouldn't even notice the difference between the two in real-world use.
Crucial T700 4TB with Heatsink, PCIe 5.0 SSD: now $322 at Amazon (was $369)
The Crucial T700 was the fastest SSD around in 2023, and it remains one of the top performers today, with up to 12.4/11.8 GB/s read/write speeds. If you need plenty of fast storage for your games and AI models, this gets you 94% of the faster T705 for 71% of the cost.
This drive has some impressive specs and the version on sale has a heatsink, which is helpful for keeping it cool under load.
Product | 2TB | 4TB |
---|---|---|
Variants | Bare, Heatsinked | Bare, Heatsinked |
Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
Interface / Protocol | PCIe 5.0 x4 | PCIe 5.0 x4 |
Controller | Phison E26 | Phison E26 |
DRAM | LPDDR4 | LPDDR4 |
Flash Memory | 232-Layer Micron TLC | 232-Layer Micron TLC |
Sequential Read | 12,400 MBps | 12,400 MBps |
Sequential Write | 11,800 MBps | 11,800 MBps |
Random Read | 1,500K | 1,500K |
Random Write | 1,500K | 1,500K |
Security | N/A | N/A |
Endurance (TBW) | 1200TB | 2400TB |
Part Number | CT2000T700SSD3/5 | CT4000T700SSD3/5D15 |
Warranty | 5-Year | 5-Year |
When we reviewed the T700 4TB back in December 2023, we gave it an Editor's Choice award, thanks to its amazing speeds. It beat the pans off of the Samsung 990 Pro 4TB, our favorite PCIe Gen 4 drive, on 3DMark's Storage benchmark, for example.
If you're looking for a ton of speed in a high capacity, this is the deal to get.
The super fast Crucial T700 1TB SSD is now only $116
This was recently considered our fastest SSD we've ever reviewed and today it's on sale for its lowest price to date. The Crucial T700 1TB SSD usually goes for around $144 but it's currently discounted to $116 at Newegg when using promo code BFEDY2A223 at checkout. When we reviewed the Crucial T700 SSD in 2023, we were blown away by its performance giving it a rating of 4.5/5 stars.
Crucial T700 1TB SSD: now $116 at Newegg (was $144)
The Crucial T700 is an incredibly fast drive, sitting among the top of our charts with read/write speeds at 11,700/9,500 MBps. It's backed up by at 5-year warranty from Crucial that voids if the drive reaches 600TBW.
The Crucial T700 1TB SSD has an M.2 2280 form factor and is compatible with PCIe 5.0 x4 interfaces. It can reach impressively high read/write speeds of 11,700/9,500 MBps. It's built around a Phison E26 controller and features 232-layer Micro TLC memory. The purchase is supported by a 5-year manufacturer's warranty from Crucial that voids should the drive reach 600TBW as well as a 30-day return policy offered by Newegg.
Visit the Crucial T700 1TB SSD Product page at Newegg for more details and purchase options.
The Best SSD Enclosure for Most People is Now $19
If you work with SSDs at all, you need to own an external enclosure you can use to connect any M.2-based drive to a port on your PC. That way, if you want to clone an old disk to a new one because you're upgrading your C drive, you can do it before you open up that laptop or desktop chassis.
Better still, if you have a bunch of old drives in a drawer, you can plug them into your computer to see what data is on them. You can also turn your old SSDs into external drive you can use for backup.
The market is flooded with SSD enclosures that allow you to connect an SSD over USB, but our favorite -- and the best choice for most people -- is Sabrent's EC-SNVE. Now available for just $19, the EC-SNVE is tool-free so you can pop it open with a button and easily install a drive or remove a drive, without touching a screw driver. It also supports both NVMe and SATA M.2 drives at sizes of 2280, 2260, 2242 and 2230 so, whatever stick-shaped drive you have, it should work in this enclosure.
Sabrent SSD Enclosure (EC-SNVE): was $23, now $19 at Amazon
This dead-simple USB enclosure allows you to connect M.2 SSDs that are either SATA or NVMe to a USB-C port on your PC. It's tool-free so you can easily swap drives in and out and it operates at up to 10 Gbps.
There are faster enclosures on the market -- the speed of the Sabrent EC-SNVE tops out at 10 Gbps -- but most people don't have 20 Gbps ports and, even if you have a 40 Gbps Thunderbolt port, the cost of Thunderbolt-enabled or USB4 enclosures is much, much higher.
For most people, this is, by far, the best SSD enclosure you can get. And now, it's less than $20.
Our favorite PS5 SSD, the WD_Black SN850X 4TB SSD, is just $249 at Amazon
We're excited to share this deal on the WD_Black SN850X 4TB SSD which usually goes for around $299 but is discounted to just $249 today at Amazon. This SSD topped our listed of best PlayStation 5 SSDs and stood out for its remarkable performance when reviewing it back in 2022. ThIs offer is for the edition without a heatsink but that option is available—its just not in stock at Amazon right now.
WD_Black SN850X 4TB SSD: now $249 at Amazon (was $299)
The WD_Black SN850X can reach read/write speeds as high as 7300/6600 MBps. It has an M.2 2280 form factor and is backed up by a 5-year warranty from Western Digital. This SSD is compatible with PCIe 4.0 x4 interfaces.
This SSD comes in a variety of capacities including 1TB, 2TB and 8TB but today's discount is for the 4TB version. All of the drives in the WD_Black SN850X line use PCIe 4.0 x4 interfaces and have M.2 2280 form factors. It's driven by a proprietary WD controller and uses 112-layer BiCS5 TLC memory. The 4TB speeds can get as high as 7300/6600 MBps. When testing the performance, it almost topped our charts coming in second only to the SK hynix P41 Platinum SSD.
The purchase is supported by Western Digital's 5-year manufacturer's warranty that voids when the drive reaches 2400TBW. It can also be returned within 30 days using Amazon's return policy. Visit the WD_Black 4TB SN850X product page at Amazon for more details and purchase options.
Grab a fast, versatile modern flash drive for as little as $25
When I tested the TeamGroup X1 Max flash drive recently, it didn't quite make our list of the best flash drives, mostly because it wasn't quite the fastest or the cheapest. But its performance was good, and I like the utility of its dual-end USB-C and USB-A design. Now the drive is on sale at Newegg for as low as $25 for the 128GB model, but most people should probably at least splurge for the 256GB version, which is on sale for $29.99. For the record, the capacity I tested was the top-end 1TB, which is also on sale for $73.99.
The Team Group X1 Max is a fast flash drive rated (and tested) to deliver speeds up to 1000 MB/s. It's a great drive if you need both USB-C and USB-A ports on your drive for moving between devices. At its current $29 sale price, this is a great time to ditch that old flash drive you've been holding onto and get something much faster, with modern ports.
When I tested the 1TB version of the TeamGroup X1 Max, its performance was often close to our favorite flash drive (actually an SSD on a stick), the SK hynix Tube T31. But while hynix drive has just a USB-A port, the X1 Max has USB-A on one and and USB-C on the other, making it a lot more versatile for modern devices, like slim laptops and smartphones.
If you've been holding on to an ancient flash drive and been at all frustrated by its slow speed and / or lack of USB-C, the TeamGroup X1 is a great upgrade and a handy tool to have around to quickly install operating systems or move files between devices. At just $29.99 for the 256GB model, it's easy to recommend, for yourself or someone you know who still needs some speedy offline storage.
The Ultimate 2TB Steam Deck SSD Upgrade Hits Its Lowest Price
The Steam Deck and competitors like the ROG Ally series bring PC gaming to a convenient, Nintendo-Switch-like form factor. It’s a blast to be able to play your favorite titles from Steam or other game platforms on a handheld console, but when you buy one of these systems, you pay a hefty price for more than the minimum storage.
The base model Steam Deck has just 256GB of storage – we have USB Flash drives bigger than that – and it costs $399. To go up to a more reasonable 1TB of storage, you must opt for the $649 OLED model. But there’s good news. It’s relatively easy to upgrade the SSD on your Steam Deck whether you already own one or are planning to buy it.
The bad news is that you can’t use just any SSD on the market to upgrade a Steam Deck or Ally. Most SSDs are 2280 sized, but these consoles require the shorter, 2230 length which is harder to come by and more expensive. Today, however, our top-rated Steam Deck SSD is at its lowest price ever. You can grab the Corsair MP600 Core Mini 2TB for just $109, reduced from $139 at Amazon right now. That matches its all-time low price from about a month ago.
The Corsair MP600 Core Mini boasts up to 5000 MB/s reads and 3,800 MB/s writes. On our real-world tests, it delivered 43,589 Random IOPS at QD1 (the toughest test), besting competitors such as the Silicon Power UD90 2TB (2230) and the WD SN740 2TB, both of which cost more right now.
Those numbers wouldn’t be impressive for a PC SSD or even one for your PS5, but for your Steam Deck or ROG Ally, they are excellent. And, at this price, it’s a great time to pull the trigger.
Budget PCIe 4.0 SSD with capacity and performance to spare
Not everyone needs the fastest SSD. Sometimes, you need an affordable but spacious drive to house your information. If the latter is what you're looking for, the Crucial P3 Plus could be the answer. While the drive normally retails for $274.99, it's currently on sale for $212.99, 23% below its street price.
Crucial P3 Plus 4TB SSD: now $212.99 at Amazon (was $274.99)
The Crucial P3 Plus 4TB is an M.2 2280 SSD that finds its home in a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. The SSD provides sequential read and write speeds up to 4,800 MB/s and 4,100 MB/s, respectively. The Crucial P3 Plus has an endurance rating of 800 TBW and a limited five-year warranty.
The Crucial P3 Plus combines the Phison E21T controller and Micron 176-layer QLC NAND into a single package. While the drive can't compete with more modern offerings, it's still a capable PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD, primarily if you need a lot of space for your programs or information storage.
Micron rates the Crucial P3 Plus 4TB with a sequential performance of 4,800 MB/s reads and 4,100 MB/s writes. The numbers may not sound impressive; however, the drive shows decent read and write performance in our 4K QD1 benchmarks, which are the most relevant metrics for daily usage.
The Crucial P3 Plus 4TB drive costs $212.99, or 5 cents per GB. It's a good option if you just need a budget SSD for mundane tasks but don't want to spend a small fortune.
Samsung's 980 Pro drops to its lowest price of 2024 and is $40 cheaper than its newer 990 counterpart
Samsung's 980 Pro may no longer have a spot on our list of the best SSDs, but it's still a great PCIe 4 drive, especially now that the 2TB model is down to its lowest price this year on Amazon, at just $119. That's down substantially from its recent price of around $200, and $40 less than the newer 990 Pro at the same capacity.
Samsung's 980 Pro is an older PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD that's rated for up to 7,000 MB/s reads and 5,100 MB/s writes. The 2TB model has a 1200 TB endurance rating, and Samsung backs it with a 5-year warranty.
Sure, the newer 990 Pro model is a better drive, rated for 450 MB/s higher read speeds and 1,800 MB/s sequential writes. But in most common use cases, like gaming and just running your OS, you aren't likely to notice the difference. So if you're looking to save some money, there's little real-world reason not to opt for the cheaper 980 Pro -- unless you want more capacity, because the older drive tops out a 2TB.
When we reviewed the 980 Pro in 2021, it was one of the fastest drives. And while several faster drives have arrived since, the 980 Pro still hangs in with many of the newer, faster models, especially when it comes to read speeds.
In our real-world DiskBench transfer test, the newer 990 Pro was only 12-14% faster than the more affordable 980 Pro. And both drives come with the same 5-year warranty and endurance rating. So if you don't need the newest and and the best but would rather keep $40 in your pocket, the Samsung 980 Pro is a great drive for your new PC or upgrading an older rig.
This 4TB SSD is Just 5 Cents Per GB, Offers Solid Specs
If you're shopping for a new, internal SSD, 4TB is the ideal size while 2TB is the new mainstream size. Unfortunately most 4TB drives cost way more than $200, often closer to or over the $300 mark. And if you find a cheap 4TB drive, usually you're talking about an SSD without DRAM cache and / or one with slower, QLC NAND Flash.
However, right now, HP's FX900 Pro 4TB is just $199 at Amazon. This drive has a DRAM cache and TLC NAND Flash, which gives it solid, mainstream performance at just 5 cents per GB.
HP FX900 Pro 4TB SSD: was $269, now $199 at Amazon
This 4TB drive boasts sequential read speeds of 7,400 MB/s and writes of 6,300 MB/s, along with random read / write s of 1.3 and 1.1 million IOPS.
We reviewed and tested the 2TB version of the HP FX900 Pro and found its performance solid and mid-range. We can expect to see fairly similar numbers from the 4TB capacity because both use the same InnoGrit IG5236 controller, DDR4 DRAM cache and 176-layer Micron TLC NAND Flash.
For example, on PCMark 10's Storage benchmark, the FX900 Pro 2TB came in just behind the WD Black SN850 and Crucial P5 Plus and bested the speedy Kingston KC3000.
At $199, you're getting really good performance at a really good price.
Our favorite external SSD returns to its lowest price since last year for the 4TB model
Despite our testing the 2TB model way back in late 2022, SanDisk's Pro-G40 portable SSD remains our overall pick for best portable SSD, for its excellent all-around performance, rugged design, and support for both Thunderbolt 3 and USB 10 Gbps. It stands out in particular for its impressive sustained write performance, making it a great drive for professional users who often fill and dump drives full of video footage, RAW images, or other data.
The roomier 4TB version of this excellent drive is currently selling for $324, down from its usual price around $380 for most of this year. This is the lowest price we've seen this drive sell for since this time last year, when it also dropped to the same $324.
With rated read speeds f up to 3,000 MB/s reads and 2,500 MB/s writes over Thunderbolt, this is an extremely fast portable drive that also delivers excellent sustained performance. It also has a rugged metal shell that doubles as a heatsink, and supports both USB 10 GBps and Thunderbolt. 3 speeds
As you can see in the chart above, the SanDisk Pro-G40 maintained a write speed of roughly 1,500 MB/s in our testing for a full 15 minutes. It also beat out other Thunderbolt drives like Sabrent's Rocket XTRM-Q in our sequential Crystal Disk Mark test, as well as our real-world file transfer test. If you're after a fast, roomy external drive, this SanDisk Pro model is the best we've tested, and today it's available at its lowest price in at least a year for the 4TB model.
Our favorite 20 Gbps portable SSD, Crucial's X10, Pro drops to its lowest price this year
Crucial's 20 Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2 2x2) X10 Pro has been on our list of best external SSDs since we reviewed it more than a year ago. While we've tested several direct competitors since then, none have bested it in overall performance, and particularly in sustained write speeds. And while its price has mostly gone up in 2024 thanks to the whims of flash storage demands, the X10 Pro 2TB is now back down to its lowest price this year, of $146.99 at Amazon.
Crucial's top-end external SSD boasts speeds as high as 2,100 MB/s and sports a premium-feeling metal exterior. It's small, fast, and a great buy for backups or bulk file transfers at its lowest price of 2024.
The X10 Pro was prices as low as $129.99 around this time last year, but that was before the storage market as a whole saw price increases. Since July, the drive has hovered below or above $200, and we don't expect it to hit last year's low in today's market, so this is likely the best time to buy it if you've been waiting for a price drop.
The X10 Pro's performance in our test was great overall, but it stands out in particular in our sustained write test, where it was able to maintain near-peak speeds for well over 10 minutes. Note that the other 20 Gbps drives here fall off and become much slower much sooner. For this reason, the X10 Pro is a great drive for professional use, and it's super-fast for more casual data storage as well. Just make sure your system has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 2x2 USB port if you want to get the most from this drive. With most other ports, including over Thunderbolt, this drive will top out at 10 Gbps speeds.
Black Friday at Best Buy sees this 20TB WD Easystore external HDD hit $249
Always useful, external storage solutions are a very convenient way to backup or transfer your data. Create redundancy and save your most important photos and videos on multiple devices, or if you want to cannibalize the drive you can "shuck" the HDD out of the enclosure if you don't mind voiding the warranty.
Head to Best Buy where you can pick up the 20TB WD Easystore for just $249. This is a fantastic Black Friday deal offer and one of the cheapest 20TB external drives that we've spotted so far.
WD Easystore 20TB External HHD: now $249 at Best Buy (was $449)
This Black Friday Best Buy bargain sees the 20TB WD Easystore external HDD reduced by $200 from the original MSRP. This USB 3.0 enclosure connects via USB and is powered by an included AC adapter.
The WD Easystore thanks to USB 3.0 can offers data transfer rates up to 5 Gbps in the USB 3.0 mode and even speeds up to 480 Mbps in the USB 2.0 mode. Sure its not the fastest form of storage, but you aren't going to get 20TB SSDs anytime soon, and certainly nowhere near this price.
The Fastest USB Stick Around is at an All-Time Low
I absolutely love the SK hynix Tube T31 and have two of them which I use on a regular basis. These have the drive-on-a-stick form factor of a USB Flash drive, but the company touts this as an "external SSD" because of its blazing fast performance.
Whatever you call it, the Tube T31 is the external SSD to get if you want great speeds and a ton of convenience. It has a built-in USB Type-A port that can use a 10 Gbps (USB 3.x Gen 2) port or a regular USB 3 port. It's rated for up to 1,000 MB/s and now it's just $59, reduced from $84 for the 1TB model.
SK hynix Tube T31 1TB: was $84, now $59 at Amazon
This external SSD, which is in the form factor of a USB Flash drive, plugs right into your USB Type-A port and delivers speeds of up to 1,000 MB/s read and write.
When we reviewed the T31, we were impressed with its performance on PC Mark10 where it dominated the competition, coming within just a few points of the Kingston DataTraveler max and Transcend ESD310C.
And we were even more impressed with how it performed on DiskBench, during a 10GB transfer.
What I like about the SK hynix Tube T31 is just how easy it is to carry around and deploy for important tasks. I've used it to install Windows on a number of machines or transfer large files from one PC in my home to another. It's always quick. It feels very sturdy and it just works.
The Best 4TB SSD is Just 6.5 Cents Per GB
Samsung's 990 Pro is our favorite PCIe 4.0 SSD, thanks to its industry-leading performance and great Samsung software. Other PCIe 4.0 drives like the WD Black SN850X are neck and neck with the 990 Pro, but it's a perennial favorite, not only because it's fast, but because people love Samsung.
The 4TB Samsung 990 Pro offers really strong performance; it's rated for sequential reads and writes of 7,450 and 6,900 MBps along with 1.6 / 1.55 million read and write IOPS. It also promises 2,400 TBW of endurance to go with its 5-year warranty.
Normally, you'd pay $300 or more for the 990 Pro 4TB, but today it's just $269 at Amazon. That's a strong 6.5 cents per GB. Sure, there are slightly cheaper 4TB drives out there, but they don't dominate our benchmark tests.
Samsung 990 Pro (4TB) SSD: now $269 at Amazon (was $464)
The Samsung 990 Pro 4TB delivers 7,450 MB/s reads and 6,900 MB/s writes, making it one of the fastest and best PCIe 4.0 SSDs on the market.
If you take a closer look at its specs, you see that the Samsung 990 Pro also provides TCG/Opal 2.0 encryption. And it uses an LPDDR4 DRAM cache to back up its 236-layer V-NAND TLC memory.
Product | 4TB |
---|---|
Pricing | w/HS | $344.99 | $354.99 |
Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
Interface / Protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
Controller | Samsung Pascal |
DRAM | LPDDR4 |
Flash Memory | 236-Layer (V8) V-NAND TLC |
Sequential Read | 7,450 MBps |
Sequential Write | 6,900 MBps |
Random Read | 1,600K |
Random Write | 1,550K |
Security | TCG/Opal 2.0 |
Endurance (TBW) | 2400TB |
Part Number | w/HS | MZ-V9P4T0BW | MZ-V9P4T0CW |
Height | w/HS | 2.30mm | 8.88mm (Single-Sided) |
Warranty | 5-Year |
The 990 Pro not only has great specs, but great performance on our benchmarks. For example, it had the highest score of its competitors on the 3DMark Storage bandwidth test.
Great performance, great brand and great price. This is a tough deal to beat.
8TB of Speedy SSD at an Epic Low Price
For most people, even a 4TB SSD seems luxurious. But, if you need more storage and you don't want (or aren't able to) combined multiple drives in the same system, an 8TB drive is ideal. There aren't many 8TB drives on the market, but WD Black's SN850X is available in this spacious capacity and its now on sale for just $549 at Amazon, reduced from $694.
WD_Black SN850X 8TB: now $549 at Amazon (was $879)
A huge capacity M.2 SSD, the 8TB version of the popular WD_Black SN850X has sequential read and write speeds of 7,200 MB/s and 6,600 MB/s respectively. With a TBW endurance of 4,800TB. This is one of the fastest and largest capacity PCIe Gen 4.0 M.2 SSDs available.
The SN850X 8TB is a PCIe Gen 4 drive that's rated for 7,200 MB/s sequential reads, 6,600 MB/s and 1.2 million IOPS for read and write. It has a five year warranty and write endurance of 4,800 TBW (terabytes written).
Product | 8TB |
---|---|
Pricing | $549.99 |
Form Factor | M.2 2280 DS |
Interface / Protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 |
Controller | Proprietary (Triton MP16+ B2) |
DRAM | DDR4 |
Flash Memory | Kioxia 162-Layer TLC (BiCS6) |
Sequential Read | 7,200 MB/s |
Sequential Write | 6,600 MB/s |
Random Read | 1,200K IOPS |
Random Write | 1,200K IOPS |
Security | TCG OPAL 2.01 |
Endurance (TBW) | 4,800TB |
Part Number | w/HS | WDS800T2X0E WDS200TXHE |
PS5-Compatible HS | Yes |
Dimensions w/HS | 80mm (L) x 24.46mm (W) x 10.31mm (H) |
Warranty | 5-Year |
The WD Black SN850X is also the fastest 8TB drive we've tested, easily outpacing competitors on both latency and bandwidth tests.
In short, this is a high-performing, high-capacity drive at an epic low price.
The WD_BLACK 2TB SN850X was priced at $90 July 2023, & mostly priced cheaper than the $124 listed now from July to December 2023.
Currently, it is what it is.
https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B0B7CMZ3QH
This happens a LOT. I've bought devices for less money in July than on BF.
I paid $319 for mine a few months ago.
Well not really. It was $90 during Prime Day 2023, and during those events there's always some product priced at a blowout deal. Also remember over the last year fabs have slashed production in order to dry up the supply and increase prices.
I got some really great deals on SSDs, during 2023. I bought as much as I could justify, since I was well aware that prices would be going back up. This "story" was well-covered on this site, at the time. Granted, it was mixed in with all the other news, so if you weren't following tech news regularly, you could've missed it.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/34ytt6/samsung-990-pro-2-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-mz-v9p2t0bw?history_days=730
It's an awesome drive, but there's just one thing that bugs me more on a conceptual level than actually a practical one. Look at the plateau of the thick red line:
Source: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-990-pro-4tb-ssd-review/2
The way its QD1 sequential read performance just stops scaling with larger transaction sizes from 128k to 1M is just so weird! Sequential reads are a relatively easy thing for SSDs to do well, as you can see by how smoothly the majority of the other drives scale.
Now, I've done some digging and it seems all you need is to use QD2 to avoid that plateau. So, if you believe your game is doing enough overlapped reads, during startup or while loading levels, then it shouldn't be an issue.
The other thing to know about these drives is that they have two power modes. In some benchmarks, the full power mode performs markedly better, while it makes no difference in others. This was well-covered, during the 2TB review:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-990-pro-ssd-review
I believe the heatsink version ships with full-power enabled by default, while you have to explicitly enable it in the Samsung Magician software, for the non-heatsink drives. I could be wrong about that. For my main desktop PC, I opted to leave my 2TB drive (no-heatsink version, since my motherboard already has one integrated) at the default setting. For the low-intensity stuff I do on it, I prefer efficiency and longevity over some extra performance I might not even notice.
It may be a not really to you, to me that's a greed induce rip off.
How else do you explain lets reduce supply so I can increase demand & increase prices.
That nothing more than pure greed.
Here's the real heinous part of this, that it was a collusion act by the industry to reduce MFGing so prices could increase.
If any one believes that the industry was losing money because it was reported as a story by tech news as stated by MGFers that they were stating I'm losing money cause I'm not maximizing my profits, then believe as you will with your eyes closed & head in the sand.
You can believe that if you want, but I never will believe that they were selling at a loss.
What I believe is that demand was down & the industry wanted to increase profits, so they cut supply & increased prices.
I am glad that you were able to get good deals on SSDs.
I seen the news coverage that the industry was crying about supposedly losing money, when they were only trying to increase profits.
If all investors had to go on was simply trusting the word of companies, with absolutely no consequences for the companies telling lies, then the stock market would've utterly and irrecoverably collapsed, long ago.
They had to reduce production, because production costs money. When you're losing money, you have to cut costs. If you can't sell as many widgets as you're making (or you're losing money on each one), then it's an easy decision to cut production capacity.
In the face of strong demand, the only way that production cuts can be a winning strategy is if there's price collusion (which is illegal) or a monopoly. Otherwise, one producer will happily replace the demand not addressed by their competitor and prices won't rise (or, at least by enough to make up for the reduced sales volumes of the one who cut production).
Finally, independent industry analysis shows the NAND industry was way down, from the end of 2022 through 2023. It's not just the producers' word we're going by. These market research firms actually poll the customers, to see how much they're buying and how much they expect to buy in the future. It's on the basis of this information that they make their projections.
https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20221123-11467.html
Companies always act in profit maximizing ways, including by increasing production to meet demand, within a competitive market. Only in a monopoly or cartel situation does it make sense to do otherwise. Outside of China, there are four dominant NAND producers, based in the US, Japan, and South Korea. So, there's no monopoly and all of those countries have laws against price-fixing.