Black Friday SSD deals 2024: the fastest PC storage at the lowest prices
Black Friday week is now and if you're looking for the ultimate storage upgrade, here are all the best SSD deals around.
Jump straight to the deals you want...
1. Quick links
2. Up to 512 GB
3. 1 TB
4. 2 TB
5. 4 TB
6. External SSD deals
7. UK quick links
8. UK SSD deals
9. UK External SSD deals
Black Friday week is now on and the deals are rolling in thick and fast, as Amazon has decided that a weekend of deals just isn't good enough anymore. Naturally, that also means the other big retailers have already joined in with the massive tech sales bonanza, so you'll see lots of gaming SSD deals to peruse and ponder.
Since we regularly review the best SSDs for gaming, we already know which ones are worth your money, and we regularly track prices for the best SSD deals every week. That means we've already spotted plenty of discounts on speedy NVMe SSDs and external SSDs that you can be sure will be a perfect upgrade for your gaming PC.
One thing that's worth noting is that SSD prices have been pretty variable all year and certainly higher than they were in 2023. They're starting to fall a bit now and Black Friday could be the point where prices really begin to drop, though it may just be older models that get a really big discount.
If you're looking for a new SSD, then we recommend that you go with at least 1 TB of storage space, though 2 TB drives are the current sweet spot for price vs capacity. Generally speaking, the bigger they are, the better value they become, and with games ballooning in size, you'll want to get the largest capacity SSD you can afford.
👉We're curating all the best pre-Black Friday PC gaming deals right now👈
What does 'price watch' mean?
We've added a new "price watch" qualifier to all our individual deals, making it easy to see whether a price has gone up 🔼 or down 🔽 since we last checked it out. It's important to note that any deal in this guide (even if it's slightly risen in price) is still one of our top picks, as we only show you deals that are actually worth buying.
Black Friday SSD deals — Quick links
- 1 TB SSD - Lexar NM790 | $59.99 @ Amazon
- 2 TB SSD - Nextorage G-LE | $103.99 @ Newegg
- 4 TB SSD - Silicon Power UD90 | $189.97 @ Amazon
- Amazon - Money off internal and external SSDs
- Walmart - Deals on internal and external SSDs
- B&H Photo - Savings on NVMe SSDs
- Best Buy - Great prices on Samsung and WD SSDs
- Staples - Save on a range of SSDs, USB sticks, and external SSDs
- Newegg - Plenty of NVMe SSDs on offer
Black Friday SSD deals: Up to 512 GB
Price change: New deal!
Team Group MP44L | 500 GB | M.2 2280 | PCIe 4.0 | 5,000 MB/s read | 3,700 MB/s write | $49.99 $37.99 at Newegg (save $12)
The MP44L isn't a fast SSD but it is very good value-for-money. While we don't recommend anyone uses this size of capacity for a main storage drive, it's fine if you just want something to store important documents anyway from the boot drive.
Price check: Amazon $37.99
Price change: 🔼
HP FX900 Pro | 512 GB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s read | 6,700 MB/s write | $49.49 at Newegg
It's not flashy, but honestly, do you need anything more than a fast and reliable drive from a good brand at a great price? HP's FX900 Pro certainly fits all those parameters, and with these kinds of speeds on offer, this SSD is no slouch. It has all the specs you might want at this level, including 1 GB of DRAM for heavy workloads.
Price check: Amazon $59.49
Price change: ➖
XPG Gammix S55 M.2 2230 | 512 GB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 5,000 MB/s read | 3,700 MB/s writes | $50.99 at Newegg
Buy the cheapest Steam Deck you can find and then slap one of these into it for a welcome boost in storage capacity and performance. It's as basic as they come but in this case, that's a good thing as you're not paying for anything you won't need.
Price check: Walmart $50.99
Black Friday SSD deals: 1 TB
Price change: ➖
Team Group MP44L | 1 TB | M.2 2280 | PCIe 4.0 | 5,000 MB/s read | 4,500 MB/s write | $79.99 $56.99 at Newegg (save $23)
The MP44L is far from being the fastest SSD you can buy but for the money, you really can't complain. The read/write speeds are pretty low compared to others in our curated list, but they're still fast enough for most users and way better than a SATA SSD. If you avoid using it for heavy data transfers, you'll have no problems with it.
Price check: Amazon $56.99
Price change: 🔽
Lexar NM790| 1 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s read | 6,500 MB/s write | $99.99 $59.99 at Amazon (save $40)
For anyone looking for a cheap, spacious drive offering serious performance, this is a genuinely brilliant SSD for the money. Our review of the 4 TB version clearly shows just how good it is.
Price check: Newegg $90.75
Price change: ➖
Nextorage NEM-PAB | 1 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s Read | 6,100 MB/s write | $149.99 $67.99 at Newegg (save $82)
Nextorage may be a relatively new name in NMVe SSDs but don't be fooled by appearances. This drive uses the ubiquitous Phison E18 controller, and the 1 TB version represents excellent price/performance value here. This version without a DRAM cache makes it less responsive than the DRAM-equipped NEM-PA model, despite having a slight advantage in stated straight-line performance. Check out our review of the NEM-PA for more.
Price check: Amazon $84.99
Price change: ➖
Crucial P310 | 1 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,100 MB/s read | 6,000 MB/s write | $171.99 $69.99 at Amazon (save $102)
This is a huge saving on a 2230 format SSD that performs pretty nicely, as we found when we reviewed the 2 TB version. Crucial's performance claims are very much peak values and the real-world numbers are generally lower, but at this price, it's a great way to boost your Steam Deck's storage and get a handy speed bump.
Price change: ➖
Crucial MX500 | 1 TB | 2.5" | SATA 6 Gb/s | 560 MB/s read | 510 MB/s write | $86.95 $79.98 at Newegg (save $6.97)
Not enough M.2 NVMe slots on your motherboard for more storage? No problem—you can still install a speedy SSD via a SATA port. The Crucial MX500 is pretty much the best out there, as nothing else offers the same blend of performance and value for money as the MX500. It's also available in 2 TB and 4 TB sizes, with the prices scaling on par with the storage capacity.
Price check: Best Buy $86.99
Price change: New deal!
Samsung 990 Evo Plus | 1 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,150 MB/s read | 6,300 MB/s write | $109.99 $79.99 at Amazon (save $30)
Samsung's relatively new 990 Evo Plus range has a lot going for it (check out our review) but its launch price was too high. This deal goes a long way to rectify that but for a DRAM-less SSD, it's still a bit pricey. One for Samsung's fans and its excellent Magician software.
Price check: Newegg $79.99
Price change: ➖
WD Black SN850X | 1 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,300 MB/s write | $93.99 $79.99 at Amazon (save $14)
This is still our favorite SSD for gaming, despite the strong competition and volatile prices. Unlike the cheaper SN770, the SN850X encapsulates the best PCIe 4.0 offers in terms of performance (check out our review). That makes it a great fit for a boot drive with space to spare for your game library, and at this price, we're happy to pay the premium for its higher speed.
Price check: Best Buy $129.99
Price change: ➖
Team Group Cardea Z540 | 1 TB | NVMe | PCIe 5.0 | 11,700 MB/s read | 9,500 MB/s write | $149.99 $129.99 at Amazon (save $40)
If you absolutely must have the fastest possible SSD, you need to get a Gen5 model. Team Group's Z540 is ridiculously quick in benchmarks but no game exists yet that takes advantage of that speed. As with all Gen5 SSDs, it's very expensive and runs really hot, so it's probably best to wait for the next round of PCIe 5.0 SSDs before taking the plunge.
Price check: Newegg $129.99
Black Friday SSD deals: 2 TB
Price change: ➖
Silicon Power UD90 | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 5,000 MB/s read | 4,800 MB/s write | $144.97 $89.97 at B&H Photo (save $55)
You might not know Silicon Power from Samsung, but this SSD is well-received by our friends at Tom's Hardware. It offers plenty of speed for a Steam library expansion but with a meager cost per gigabyte of just five cents. It's not the fastest SSD out there, though.
Price check: Newegg $92.97 | Amazon $92.97
Price change: 🔽
Team Group MP44L | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 4,800 MB/s read | 4,400 MB/s write | $139.99 $101.99 at Newegg (save $38)
There's no DRAM to boost sustained performance and the SLC cache isn't especially big, either. But the speed is good enough for most workloads and when 1 TB of storage costs this much, who cares that it's not flash or fancy? Not us, that's for sure.
Price check: Amazon $101.99
Price change:➖
Nextorage G-LE | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s read | 6,400 MB/s write | $249.99 $103.99 at Newegg (save $146)
This DRAM-less Nextorage drive still has plenty of pace about it, and if you're just using it as an extra game library SSD to contend with your expanding library, but still need some storage speed, it's a great option. The extra cache can come in handy as a boot drive, increasing responsiveness for smaller write operations, but for games, this more affordable option can be a good way to save some cash on a new build or upgrade.
Price check: Amazon $134.99
Price change: ➖
Nextorage NEM-PAB | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,900 MB/s write | $249.99 $109.99 at Newegg (save $140)
You can expect top performance out of this drive, which is impressive for the price. This version without a DRAM cache makes it a little less responsive than the DRAM-equipped NEM-PA model, despite having a slight advantage in stated straight-line performance. Unfortunately, this drive's price is volatile, but it's still one of the better-value 2 TB drives with a heatsink right now.
Price check: Amazon $139.99
Price change: 🔽
Lexar NM790 | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s read | 6,500 MB/s write | $189.99 $119.99 at Amazon (save $70)
This SSD is a great deal right now and Lexar has put together a superb SSD in the NM790. Thanks to high-layer NAND and a low-power controller, you get tons of storage here on an energy-efficient and great-performing drive for not much cash and often much less cash than the competition. Read our Lexar NM790 (4 TB) review for more.
Price check: Newegg $149.99
Price change: 🔽
WD Black SN850X | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,600 MB/s write | $189.99 $124.25 at Amazon (save $65.74)
Our favorite SSD for gaming right now encapsulates the best PCIe 4.0 offers in terms of performance (check out our review). That makes it a great fit for a boot drive with space to spare for your game library but while it's super fast and reliable, prices are really volatile.
Price check: Newegg $124.75 | Best Buy $132.99
Price change: ➖
Team Group MP44S M.2 2230 | 2 TB | PCIe 4.0 | 5,000 MB/s read | 3,500 MB/s write | Steam Deck + ROG Ally compatible | $169.99 $134.99 at Newegg (save $35)
This Team Group drive isn't the fastest compact SSD you can stick in your Steam Deck, but it is one of the cheapest 2TB drives you'll be able to find for your wee handheld gaming PC. And it will also be a little quicker than the stock drive the Deck ships with, too.
Price check: Amazon $134.99
Price change: ➖
Silicon Power XS70 | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,800 MB/s write | $179.99 $144.52 at Amazon (save $35.47)
Prices for the XS70 are some of the most variable I've seen for an SSD, so it's perhaps worth waiting to see if the price dips again before picking one up. It packs rather a large bang for your buck with its fast read and write times, at least. While the software side of things may be a little lacking, we were impressed with this drive's overall performance and value proposition.
Price check: Newegg $230.60
Price change: New deal!
Samsung 990 Pro | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,450 MB/s read | 6,900 MB/s write | $249.99 $159.99 at Amazon (save $90)
Samsung's 990 Pro is a very solid SSD (read our review), albeit rather pricey for what it is. It's reputation was damaged due to a habit of dying unexpectedly but that's been resolved with firmware updates. If you really must have a Samsung SSD in your gaming PC then this one is pretty good, but there are better options to be found.
Price check: Newegg $169.99
Black Friday SSD deals: 4 TB
Price change: 🔽
Team Group QX | 4 TB | 2.5" | SATA III 6 Gb/s | 560 MB/s read | 510 MB/s write | $200.99 $185.99 at Newegg (save $15)
It's a fair chunk of cash for a slow SSD but if you're looking for lots of storage and don't need a blazing NVMe drive, then this is the cheapest way of putting a 4 TB SSD in your gaming PC. Just don't expect it to sustain full speed under heavy workloads and you'll be fine.
Price check: Amazon $185.99
Price change: 🔽
Silicon Power UD90 | 4 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 5,000 MB/s read | 4,500 MB/s write | $239.99 $189.97 at Amazon (save $50.02)
This Silicon Power might not be the fastest of drives, but it's difficult to argue with this much storage for this sort of money. With a sequential read/write of 5,000 MB/s and 4,500 MB/s, it's still not what you'd call slow and should be fine for gaming; plus it comes from a reliable brand.
Price change: 🔽
Team Group MP44 | 4 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s read | 6,900 MB/s write | $299.99 $228.99 at Amazon (save $71)
This Team Group boasts some mighty specs for the money, though it's actually the same hardware as in the Lexar NM790. The sequential read/write speeds are extremely high but it can only sustain them over short bursts. At this price, it's well worth putting up with that limitation.
Price check: Newegg $228.99
Price change: New deal!
WD Black SN850X | 4 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,600 MB/s write | $699.99 $249.99 at Amazon (save $450)
Ignore the non-sale price, as that's how much it cost at launch. Instead, focus on the fact you're getting 4 TB of our favorite gaming SSD (check out our review) for a very decent price.
Price check: Newegg $249.99 | Best Buy $264.99
Price change: ➖
Silicon Power XS70 | 4 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,200 MB/s read | 6,800 MB/s write | $309.99 $259.99 at Amazon (save $50)
High-performance 4TB SSDs are starting to rocket in price but if you absolutely must have one, this is an excellent choice. Mountains of storage and blistering speed—this XS70 has them both, but you'll be paying a pretty penny for it. At least it comes with a decent heatsink to keep temperatures under control.
Our state-of-the-art price-searching bots are all over the web, tracking down the best prices all the time. That means this list will be regularly curated multiple times each day.
Black Friday external SSD deals
Price change: 🔼
Adata SE810 | 1 TB | USB 3.2 Gen2x2 | 2,000 MB/s read | 2,000 MB/s write | $89.99 $79.99 at Amazon (save $10)
Small, light, and very fast in the right USB port, this little SSD might be all you need for your external storage requirements. While we didn't think it offered a great amount of drop resistance in our review, the SE810 is rated to IP68, so it'll fend off dust and water ingress nicely.
Price change: 🔽
Team Group PD20M | 1 TB | USB 3.2 Gen2x2 | 2,000 MB/s read | 2,000 MB/s write | $99.99 $78.99 at Newegg (save $21)
Not all external SSDs need to be big and bulky. This Team Group PD20M is just 40 g in weight and 8.2 mm thick, making it very portable. It's also MagSafe-compatible so you can attach it to the back of an iPhone and extend its storage, with an appropriate cable. As with all fast external SSDs, you'll need a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) port to get the full speed.
Price check: Amazon $79.99
Price change: ➖
Samsung T7 Shield | 1 TB | USB 3.2 Gen2 | 1,050 MB/s read | 1,000 MB/s write | $169.99 $99.99 at Amazon (save $70)
Samsung's external drives have a better recent history than its internal SSDs, so we've no hesitation in recommending the T7 for any professional looking for a large amount of storage that can be safely taken from place to place. They're designed to be rugged and fast, a potent combo. Oh, and they're available in three colors. Don't forget that you'll need to have a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port in your PC to get the best speed.
Price check: Newegg $99.99
Price change: ➖
Crucial X9 Pro | 2 TB | USB 3.2 Gen2 | Up to 1,050 MB/s read and write | $169.99 $109.99 at Best Buy (save $60)
Crucial is a big name in SSDs, and the Micron-owned brand is offering a small saving on this 2 TB external model. The drive comes in an anodized aluminium shell with a rubberized base and is just 65 x 50 mm big. There's an integrated lanyard hole too, if you want to wear it, which hides a drive activity light.
Price check: Amazon $109.99 | Newegg $109.99
Price change: 🔽
Samsung T7 Shield | 4 TB | USB 3.2 Gen2 | Up to 1,050 MB/s read and write | $499.99 $263.44 at Amazon (save $236.55)
You might think this is a lot of money for an external SSD, and you'd be right. But that's not to say it's a bad deal. In fact, it's one of the best deals in this list, at around $0.06 per gigabyte. You're paying less, for more. Now I sound like Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang... "the more you buy, the more you save."
Price check: B&H $264.99 | Newegg $269.80
Our state-of-the-art price-searching bots are all over the web, tracking down the best prices all the time. That means this list will be regularly curated multiple times each day.
Black Friday SSD deals — UK quick links
- 1 TB: Lexar NM790 | £67.99 at Amazon
- 2 TB: WD_Black SN850X | £119.99 at Scan
- 4 TB: Lexar NM790 | £219.98 at Scan
- Amazon UK - Save on HDDs, SDDs, and external drives
- Scan - SATA drives often as low as £20
- Box - Save on SSDs, including Western Digital's SN750 NVMe
- Ebuyer - SSDs starting from around £30
- Overclockers - Lots of SSDs to choose from
- Currys - Plenty of options from SATA to NVMe
- Laptops Direct - Surprisingly not just laptops, SSDs too!
- CCL - SSDs for bargain prices
Black Friday internal SSD deals in the UK
Price change: ➖
Crucial BX500 | 480 GB | 2.5" | SATA 6 Gb/s | 550 MB/s read | 500 MB/s write | £49.99 £29.99 at Amazon (save
£20)
For just storing documents, this small SATA SSD is a lot faster than a traditional HDD and Crucial has an excellent reputation for reliability and quality. You're still better off getting an NVMe M.2 SSD for games and your operating system, though.
Price change: ➖
Lexar NM790 | 1 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s read | 6,500 MB/s write | £71.99 £67.99 at Amazon (save £4)
You'll only find a few 1 TB SSDs going cheaper than this Lexar drive, and none are as good value. We really liked what this drive had to offer in our review, delivering performance right at the top end of what PCIe 4.0 is capable of, all for a low price.
Price change: New deal!
WD Black SN850X | 1 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,300 MB/s write | £157.99 £69.95 at Amazon (save £88.04)
This is one of our favourite SSD for gaming right now. Unlike the cheaper SN770, the SN850X encapsulates the best PCIe 4.0 offers in terms of performance (check out our review). That makes it a great fit for a boot drive with space to spare for your game library, and at this price, we're happy to pay the premium for its higher speed.
Price check: Scan £72.98
Price change: 🔽
Crucial MX500 | 1 TB | 2.5" | SATA 6 Gb/s | 560 MB/s read | 510 MB/s write | £71.64 at Amazon
If you don't have enough M.2 NVMe slots on your motherboard for more storage, don't worry; you can still install an SSD via a SATA port. The Crucial MX500 is pretty much the best one out there, as nothing else offers the same blend of performance and value for money as the MX500. It's also available in 2 TB and 4 TB sizes, with the prices scaling on par with the storage capacity, though it is much slower than an NVMe drive.
Price change: ➖
Lexar NM790 | 2 TB | PCIe 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s read | 6,500 MB/s write | £123.99 £119.99 at Amazon (save £4)
Lexar has put together a superb SSD in the NM790, and the best part is that it's surprisingly cheap. Thanks to high-layer NAND and a low-power controller, you can get tons of storage here on an energy-efficient and great-performing drive for not much cash and often for much less cash than the competition. Read our Lexar NM790 (4 TB) review for more.
Price change: 🔽
WD Black SN850X | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,600 MB/s write | £149.99 £119.99 at Scan (save £30)
This is one of our favourite SSD for gaming right now. Unlike the cheaper SN770, the SN850X encapsulates the best PCIe 4.0 offers in terms of performance (check out our review). That makes it a great fit for a boot drive with space to spare for your game library, and at this price, we're happy to pay the premium for its higher speed.
Price change: ➖
Silicon Power XS70 | 2 TB | NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,800 MB/s write | £127.99 at Amazon
Prices for the XS70 are some of the most variable I've seen for an SSD, so it's perhaps worth waiting to see if the price dips again before picking one up. It packs rather a large bang for your buck with its fast read and write times, at least. While the software side of things may be a little lacking, we were impressed with this drive's overall performance and value proposition.
Price change: ➖
Lexar NM790 | 4 TB | NVMe | PCIE 4.0 | 7,400 MB/s read | 6,500 MB/s write | £219.98 at Scan
It's a lot of money to spend on a storage drive but it's actually great value for money. Trying to find a high-quality 4 TB SSD around £200 in the UK is pretty impossible right now but this Lexar is well worth the extra money. There are cheaper SSDs with the same capacity but they won't have anywhere near the same performance or longevity.
Our state-of-the-art price-searching bots are all over the web, tracking down the best prices all the time. That means this list will be regularly curated multiple times each day.
Black Friday external SSD deals in the UK
Price change: 🔽
Crucial X9 Pro | 1 TB | USB 3.2 Gen2 | Up to 1,050 MB/s read and write | £80.76 £67.99 at Amazon (save £12.77)
Crucial is a big name in SSDs, and the Micron-owned brand is offering a small saving on this 1TB external model. The drive comes in an anodized aluminium shell with a rubberized base and is just 65 x 50 mm big. There's an integrated lanyard hole too, if you want to wear it, which hides a drive activity light. If this isn't enough storage for you, the 2 TB version is only £91.99 on Amazon.
Price change: New deal!
Samsung T7 Shield | 2 TB | USB 3.2 Gen2 | Up to 1,050 MB/s read and write | £162.49 £125.99 at Amazon (save £36.50)
Samsung's external drives have a better recent history than its internal SSDs, so we've no hesitation in recommending the T7 for any professional looking for a large amount of storage that can be safely taken from place to place. They're designed to be rugged and fast, and they're available in three colours. Don't forget that you'll need to have a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port in your PC to get the best speed.
Price change: ➖
Crucial X10 Pro | 2 TB | USB 3.2 Gen2x2 | Up to 2,100 MB/s read | Up to 2,000 MB/s write | £229.99 £139.99 at Scan (save £90)
If you need a small external SSD but don't want to sacrifice capacity or performance, then Crucial's X10 Pro is a great choice. It's the same size as the X6 model but has double the read/write performance, though you will need to plug it into a 20 Gbps USB port to reach full speed.
Our state-of-the-art price-searching bots are all over the web, tracking down the best prices all the time. That means this list will be regularly curated multiple times each day.
Q&A
When is Black Friday 2024?
Black Friday 2024 is hitting November 29, this year, though you can expect to see discounts starting around the start of November as retailers put effort into making sure that people part with their cash as early as they can encourage it.
The main event, however, will be around that Thanksgiving Thursday and into Black Friday itself, with deals lasting throughout the weekend, and then into Cyber Monday and further on into Cyber Week. Essentially, it's not just one day, there will be shops fighting for your attention all around Black Friday itself.
What should I look for in a Black Friday SSD deal?
It's easy to get carried away at this time of year, but if you know how much you want to spend and what sort of SSD you're after, you'll be in good stead.
Capacity is a good starting point. At the moment, we're looking at some excellent 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB offers. A 512 GB SSD will still afford you a lot of speed storage for a boot drive, with enough space for a handful of games, depending on the size, but this capacity is very slim nowadays.
Then think about the interface. Chances are, if you've been rocking a PC for the last five years, you'll have an M.2 slot in your motherboard with NVMe support. However, it's worth digging into the specifics of your motherboard to ensure it can support booting from such drives as not all can. Check out the manufacturer's pages and maybe forums too.
It's also worth thinking about which version of the PCIe interface your storage slots operate on. On the AMD side, from the Ryzen 3000-series and up you should expect to have PCIe 4.0 slots on your motherboard, and from Intel's 11th-Gen Rocket Lake chips the same should be true. PCIe 4.0 drives are the more mainstream option today, which are widely supported, whereas the faster PCIe 5.0 standard is only just entering the market. These are expensive and not necessarily worth it for gamers just yet.
There are some things to look out for, however. Some budget PCIe 3.0 drives only operate at x2 speed, which means they're half as fast as the standard x4 NVMe SSDs. These are pretty rare nowadays but it's worth double checking. It's also worth ensuring your M.2 SSD is an NVMe drive. There are some M.2 SSDs that still operate over the SATA interface and can only reach a maximum theoretical speed of 600 MB/s, while even a PCIe 4.0 drive can hit over 7,000 MB/s.
Will prices drop any lower?
There are always reasons to hold off on making a new purchase whenever you are thinking about making one. Whether it's the potential for a new generation of techie goodness on the horizon—either cutting prices on existing models or delivering tangible higher performance—or because there might be an imminent sale looming.
When picking out SSD deals we take all of this into consideration, and where we think prices on something might significantly drop on the big day itself we simply won't recommend it. But all of the products here we either believe won't significantly drop much further in terms of their pricing, or are just good deals that we wouldn't hesitate recommending if you wanted to make a purchase today.
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Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog. From there, he graduated to professionally breaking things as hardware writer at PCGamesN, and would go on to run the team as hardware editor. He joined PC Gamer's top staff as senior hardware editor before becoming managing editor of the hardware team, and you'll now find him reporting on the latest developments in the technology and gaming industries and testing the newest PC components.
- Dave JamesEditor-in-Chief, Hardware