Best gaming SSD deals heading into the holidays
Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be behind us, but plenty of SSDs are still enjoying some serious savings as we head into the holiday season. That's great news if you suddenly find yourself tight for space after the smoke clears on the latest Steam sale.
Plenty of games are chunky beasts these days (looking at your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare) and as we head into 2022 I don't expect that to change much at all. If anything, with the introduction of DirectStorage in Windows 11 later in 2022, I expect that install sizes are only going to get worse.
The good news is that plenty of the latest PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs are enjoying savings, despite not being around for very long at all. This is great news, as the fastest drives do tend to command a premium, and saving a few dollars here and there can make them a much more appealing option for upgrading.
Whatever system you've got, you should find a drive below that can do wonders for your system's storage problems. Whether you're looking to upgrade to the latest tech or simply replace what you've already got with something bigger and faster. From speedy 512GB models up to massive 4TB monsters, there are some serious savings to be made.
WD_Black SN850 | 1TB | PCIe 4.0 | $229.99 $164.99 at Amazon (save $65.00)
Out of all the next-gen PCIe 4.0 SSDs we've tested, this is the one that stands out as offering the absolute best performance around. It runs a bit on the toasty side, so you'll need good airflow in your system, but once you've got that sorted you'll enjoy incredible performance in your games.
WD_Black SN850 | 2TB | PCIe 4.0 | $529.99 $319.99 at Amazon (save $210)
The fastest NVMe SSD you can buy today also happens to be a bit of a steal right now. With a massive 40% saving off its list price, you can enjoy speedy access not just for your OS, but for all of your games as well. This is the stuff dream machines are made of.
Samsung 980 Pro | 1TB | PCIe 4.0 | $229.99 $169.99 at Amazon (save $60)
Samsung's premium next-gen internal SSD may not top the charts, but it's still a great performer and has enjoyed some healthy price cuts since its launch. Strong 4K performance and solid real-world performance make for a quality option, particularly at this price.
Seagate FireCuda 530 | 1TB | PCIe 4.0 | $243.99 $189.99 at Newegg (save $54)
The FireCuda 530 is one of the fastest drives around but is held back somewhat by its high price. With the SN850 and 980 Pro offering roughly the same performance but for a lot less, it's been hard to unreservedly recommend Seagate's drove. This $60 saving helps on that front, and if you're looking for some super speedy storage, this won't disappoint.
Samsung 980 Pro with Heatsink | 1TB | PCIe 4.0 | $249.99 $219.99 at Amazon (save $30)
Samsung's premium next-gen internal SSD may not top the charts, but it's still a solid performer and has enjoyed some healthy price cuts since its launch. The heatsink adds PlayStation 5 compatibility and strong 4K and solid real-world performance make for a quality option, particularly at this price.
Samsung 980 | 1TB | PCIe 3.0 | $139.99 $99.99 at Amazon (save $40)
While there are faster drives out there, you're probably not going to notice much difference between this Gen 3 SSD and the speedier competition. Plus, 1TB of quality NVMe for under $100 is always worth considering.
Samsung 970 Evo Plus | 2TB | PCIe 3.0 | $329.99 $229.99 at Best Buy (save $100)
It wasn't that long ago that this was the overall best SSD you could get your hands on. While we've had faster PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs recently, this is still a decent buy, especially at this price. 2TB of speedy NVMe storage will cover you for a good chunk of your steam library, and it'll make Windows fly too.
SanDisk Ultra | 1TB | PCIe Gen 3 | $229.99 $83.99 at Best Buy (save $146)
If you're after the speed and reliability of an SSD at a bargain price then it doesn't get better than this. One terabyte is plenty for your PC's main storage but I use my SSD (albeit not this exact model) as secondary storage for games purely for the speed factor.
Western Digital Blue SN550 | 1TB | PCIe 3.0 | $124.00 $83.99 at Amazon (save $41)
A terabyte of fast SSD storage for a decent chunk under $100 makes this a tempting budget offering. You could switch this for the faster SN570 for another $10, but this drive makes a lot of sense as a secondary drive, as long as your motherboard has two M.2 slots.
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus | 4TB | PCIe 4.0 | $999.99 $749.99 at Amazon (save $250)
We loved this Sabrent 4TB NVMe SSD's speed and massive space in our review, but even at its lowest price ever, it's definitely a luxury purchase. Still, you're getting exactly what you pay for: lots of storage that doesn't sacrifice speed.
Samsung 870 QVO | 2TB | SATA | $229.99 $179.99 at Best Buy (save $50)
This is a pretty good price for a big ol' chunk of SSD storage. If you're looking to boot the hard drives out of your rig, then this is one of the more affordable ways of doing so. Samsung's a good brand, and while the 870 QVO is nothing to get excited about in terms of performance, it'll serve you well.
Western Digital Blue | 1TB | SATA | $189.99 $89.99 at Best Buy (save $100)
Best Buy may be pushing it a bit with that saving as this drive hasn't been that much for years, but this is still a 1TB SATA drive from a respected brand for under $90. It'll outperform a hard drive any day of the week, and it won't be as hot or noisy when doing so. Reads peak at 560MB/s with writes a little slow at 530MB/s, but both are close to the interface's maximum throughput.
SanDisk Extreme Portable | 1TB | USB 3.2 | $239.99 $129.99 at Best Buy (save $110)
This IP55 rated drive is dust-proof and water-resistant, is sturdy enough to survive being dropped, and features hardware encryption to keep the contents private too. With transfer speeds up to 1,050MB/s over USB 3.2 Gen 2 it's no slouch when it comes to throwing files around either. And hey, it looks pretty good too.
Our magic 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