It's time we admit it: SSD prices are bold-faced lies. This year especially, the listed prices of each model changes depending on the retailer, supply, and I guess the movement of stars with each new day. While that's true enough for 1TB drives, the problem only worsens as you move up the capacity scale. 2TB and 4TB drives can have these laughably high prices that go into the five and sometimes six hundreds. In other words, they're even harder to keep track of, and for that reason, I usually don't recommend them very often.
However, Prime Day has actually brought me a bit of hope, because one of the best 4TB drives I've tested is seeing a continued price drop at the moment. The Samsung 990 Pro is up there with the best SSDs for gaming ever made, and right now you can get its 4TB model for $291 at Amazon (the retailer says it was $464.99, but its average price at Amazon is actually $339).
For what I deem one of the best SSDs for gaming, that's all you can wish for during a Summer sale, but this deal has actually improved as time has gone on. Earlier in the week, this drive was at $299.99, and since then its price has been slashed further to $291. This is undoubtedly one of the Prime Day PC deals that's impressed me most, so it's great to see it age like a fine wine.
There are a few caveats you should know here. Firstly, while I use this enormous SSD in my PS5, the model in this limited-time deal doesn't have an integrated heatsink. That means that if you're planning on making the most of this price as a Prime Day PS5 deal, you'll need to grab one of the best PS5 heatsinks to place on top of it.
The second thing you should know is that while this doesn't appear to be a Prime-exclusive deal, it is a limited-time one, so if you're tempted to buy, don't wait too long. It's always possible that Prime Day gaming deals could force this drive's price down even further, but that relies on stock holding.
Prime Day gaming deals at a glance
- SSDs: up to $165 off Samsung
- CPUs: up to $110 off Intel 13th Gen
- GPUs: AMD cards from $93.99
- Mice: Razer pointers from $19.47
- Monitors: Acer starting from $109.99
- PCs: now starting from $699.99
- Gift cards: 20% off Roblox and more
Should you buy the Samsung 990 Pro 4TB?
Short of going for a Gen 5 SSD like the Crucial T700 Pro, which is even more expensive, you're not going to find a better SSD for gaming than the Samsung 990 Pro. The 4TB version specifically is one I use every day, so it's one I can recommend with ease.
When we reviewed the 2TB model (which is always a good testing point for the other sizes in a product range), we found sequential read speeds of 7,462MB/s and 6,877MB/s writes. The Seagate Firecuda 530 is probably the closest competitor to that, along with the likes of WD Black's SN850X, and Corsair's MP600 Elite. While any of those drives will give you the best loading times a Gen 4 drive can, Samsung's 4TB model is the one I'd choose because of its really solid random 4K performance.
Moreover, in terms of value for money, this deal comes in under the SN850X's 4TB size, which is up at $309 currently, and is claiming to be reduced from $699.99. The Seagate Firecuda 530 doesn't seem to be available in 4TB at the moment, which is par for the course for that very popular drive. And Corsair's MP600 Elite is all the way up at $399 at Amazon, still claiming to be discounted to that price.
Overall, this is a great SSD for a reasonable price, which is nice to see in 2024 when SSDs have been getting pricier.
For more Prime Day buying advice, check out Prime Day Meta Quest deals, Prime Day Kindle deals, and Prime Day gaming laptop deals.
