Microsoft's AI vulnerability detection results in record-breaking Patch Tuesday, addressing 974 security flaws

OLED gaming monitors are slowly but surely becoming more affordable, and this AOC is a good example. With a 240 Hz QD-OLED panel beaming games, movies, and dare I say even spreadsheets at your eyeballs, I reckon you'd be pleased to call this your own—although you'll need to use the DisplayPort 1.4 connection to make the most of it. Key specs: 27-inch | 1440p | 240 Hz | OLED | 0.03 ms Price check: Newegg $547.99

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 fast NVMe drive, then this is the cheapest way of putting a 1 TB SSD in your gaming PC. Just don't expect it to sustain full speed under heavy workloads and you'll be fine. Key specs: 2.5-inch | 560 MB/s read | 500 MB/s write

With 6,000 MB/s read speed and 5,000 MB/s write speed, this is slower than the best but not as slow as the rest. It's still going to feel plenty fast for most use cases, particularly if you're replacing a Gen3 drive or using it as some extra backup space. Great for the cash, I reckon. Key specs:NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 6,000 MB/s read | 5,000 MB/s write

Okay, so our tests demonstrate it's slightly slower than the advertised speeds, but the actual sequential performance still isn't bad. Couple that with a very reasonable price point, plus its practically frosty temps, and you might well be looking at your next upgrade. Key specs: NVMe |PCIe 4.0 |7,400 MB/s read | 6,500 MB/s write

This DRAM-less drive is well-suited for stashing your operating system alongside a few games from your ever-growing Steam backlog. This is the version without a heatsink, which means you can slot it straight into a console, too. Key specs: NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,100 MB/s read | 6,000 MB/s write Price Check: Newegg $184.00

This SSD is no slouch and still offers some of the best-in-class 4K read performance (read our full review here). Though this drops the DRAM cache and opts for a single-sided design, it's still a quality drive for a gaming PC. Key specs: NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,250 MB/s read | 6,900 MB/s write Price check: Amazon $189.95

This may not be the fastest drive, but in the midst of the memory supply crisis, it is at least relatively cheap compared to some. Key specs: NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 4,500 MB/s read | 5,000 MB/s write ***11/09/2026 - OOS***

Yes, this is a pricey 1 TB drive, but it's also a relatively affordable PCIe 5.0 SSD. Just get a load of those read/write speeds! If you're still not convinced, be sure to have a read of Zak's review. Key specs:NVMe | PCIe 5.0 | 14,700 MB/s read | 13,300 MB/s write Price check: Amazon $249.99

The US75 might not technically have the fastest read and write speeds of all the Gen 4 drives on the market, but it's absolutely no slouch either, and would make a seriously brilliant games storage drive. Or anything else, for that matter. Key specs: NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,000 MB/s read | 6,500 MB/s write ***31/07/2026 - OOS***

It'll be a long time before SSDs drop back to early 2025 prices, so buying the largest amount of storage you can afford will help to keep your gaming PC going through the memory crisis. Key specs: NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | Up to 5,000 MB/s read | Up to 4,500 MB/s write Price check: Newegg $169.99 **August 7, too slow for the money**

This is still a great example of a high-performance PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD—check out our review. Key specs:NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300 MB/s read | 6,300 MB/s write Price check:Amazon $248.99 | Walmart $248.00 | Best Buy $292.99 ***Not a great deal***

Though this is definitely slower than its newer SN5100 model, it's 1 TB of space for what is these days a 512 GB kind of price. If you're looking for a no-frills SSD for a budget PC build, then this is the one to go for. Key specs:NVMe | PCIe 4.0 | 5,150 MB/s read | 4,850 MB/s write speed Price check: Walmart $194.99 ***22/05/2026 - not really a budget drive right now :/***