I'm gonna be blunt here. Amazon Prime Day is incoming, and the Prime Day gaming deals are starting to unfurl, but you aren't going to see discounts on the best SSDs for gaming any time soon. At least, not in the traditional sense.

The ongoing effects of the RAM storage are still taking their toll on drives, to the point where Nelson Duann, a vice president at Silicon Motion, told Tom's Hardware that "the retail SSD market has almost disappeared."

It definitely feels that way, as stock is dwindling, and any remaining SSDs on Amazon are listed for prices far beyond their MSRPs. Any 'discounts' you spot now and during this week's Prime Day shenanigans aren't proper savings off the drive's original prices. Instead, they're just marked down from whatever ridiculous price the SSD was just days before, which is as frustrating as it is demoralising. That being said, if you are desperate for some extra storage for your desktop gaming rig either way, these are the SSDs you need to look out for - and, while you're at it, keep your fingers crossed that they're as close to their launch prices as possible.

Remember, if you're looking for one of the best SSDs for PS5 in particular, you'll need to grab a 2280 form factor, Gen 4 drive with a compatible heatsink to fit into the console's M.2 slot.

I've also rounded up the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards, the best external hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X hard drives if you're on the hunt for more storage for your gaming platform of choice.

The SanDisk Optimus Collection finally launched on June 16, 2026, with the debut Optimus GX PRO 850P, a line of officially licensed PS5 drives. With the SSD prices continuing to rise, I typically fall back on recommending these kinds of SSDs to those in need of giving their Sony pixel-pusher a little boost, so I was eager to see this new line finally hit the online shelves. That was, until I caught a glimpse of the price for the 8TB model - it's $2,959.99.

Not only is this new PS5 SSD $2,959.99 (SanDisk), but the official SanDisk product page states that this is actually reduced from its $3,699.99 MSRP. Brand new drives typically have an introductory price that shaves some dollars off to make it more appealing to consumers, but I don't think almost $3K on a single SSD is going to be appealing to anyone, especially given it's more than the cost of three post-price-hike PS5 Pro consoles combined.

An 8TB SSD wasn't going to be cheap, whether we were living during a time with unprecedented and escalating SSD prices or not. However, if you take the 8TB WD Black SN850X SSD, it was sitting at around $543.99 in October 2025. It's still more than I spent on my PS5 at launch, but it's far easier to stomach than $2,959.99.

The drive has since risen to $1,309.72 (Amazon), but that's still far less than this new 8TB SSD. Not to mention, the specs are also pretty similar, so you aren't even getting faster speeds with this new extortionately priced drive. The 8TB WD Black SN850X boasts sequential write speeds from 7,000MB/s to 7,300MB/s, and read speeds from 5,300MB/s to 6,300MB/s. Meanwhile, this new Optimus GX PRO 850P SSD boasts it can achieve read and write speeds of 7,200MB/s and 6,600MB/s.

If you were on the market for a new 8TB drive, I'd be sooner to recommend you try and find the 8TB WD Black SN850X SSD as close to its launch price as humanely possible, than this new drive. However, the arrival of the SanDisk Optimus range could affect stock even further than the RAM Storage Crisis has so far.

The new range isn't just a new batch of products, but a rebranding of the pre-existing WD Black and WD Blue drives. With that in mind, once stock of the older WD Black and WD Blues is gone, it's likely you won't see them again outside of the SanDisk Optimus, SanDisk Optimus GX, and SanDisk Optimus GX Pro packaging, alongside these new eye-watering prices.

Remember, you at least don't have to grab an 8TB model. I have a 4TB SSD in my console's M.2 slot, and I struggle to fill it up even halfway, and I've got a PS Plus Premium subscription. Not to mention, the new Optimus GX PRO 850P NVMe SSD range is available in capacities including 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, starting from $379.99 (SanDisk), which is a lot more reasonable. It's still higher than these capacities were priced at before AI data centers started doing their worst, but at least you wouldn't have to fork out more than your PS5 in order to get more storage for your PS5 games.

At least the Prime Day PS5 deals are incoming, which could help drop older SSDs closer to their original prices. I wouldn't keep my hopes up to see the best bargains on storage, but there should hopefully be prices more realistically in line with your budget than this SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850P NVMe SSD.

• View all PS5 SSD deals at Amazon

For more storage options, check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards, the best Xbox Series X hard drives, and the best SSDs for gaming.

The World Cup officially kicks off on June 11, and many of you footie fans will likely be getting your strips prepared so you can support your favorite team. But what if you wanted to show your fandom by donning the best external drives with your colors of choice instead? Well, are you a fan of the Argentina National football team?

Lexar announced on May 19 that it has launched an official co-branded storage collection in partnership with the AFA (Argentine Football Association), which sees the team's white and blue colors decked out on a ton of portable solid-state drives. This new 'Elite Legends Series' includes three drive types in total, ranging from £59.99 at Amazon for a small flash drive to £359.99 at Amazon for 2TB worth of storage. I'm not a footie fan myself, but with SSD prices and availability continuing to spiral, witnessing the release of any new drives that are easily in stock without inflated prices is a win in my book.

External hard drives have been partially spared of the pricing debacle thanks to the RAM Storage Crisis and chip shortages, but not entirely. Some of the portable SSDs I used to regularly feature in deal round-ups like the Crucial X10 have gone from sitting at around £320 at Amazon, according to our CamelCamelCamel price checker, to reaching heights of £399.99 in the UK. That's why even though I haven't kicked a football around a field since primary school, I'm still happy to see a new line of World Cup-themed drives.

Would I have much preferred to see Scotland's colors now that we're finally part of this year's celebrations? Absolutely, but Argentina has three World Cup wins under its belt, so I get it. The team's strip is first found upon the new Lexar D500 Solid State Dual Drive, the cheapest of the set at £59.99, and one that sports dual USB-A & USB-C compatibility. Its small stature makes it ideal for transferring files between laptops and less so for gaming, but there's still 128GB worth of space in there if you need it for storing extra game screens or video clips.

The Lexar Elite Legend Series also incorporates the Air Portable SSD series, which offers up even more storage. Right now on Amazon, there's a 512GB and a 1TB model up for grabs starting from £129.99 (Amazon), which boast of up to 390MB/s read and 400MB/s write speeds. Should you be planning to play keepyups with your drive (though I don't ever recommend it), the Air Portable SSD also features Durable Drop Protection up to 2 metres, and you can easily back up its files via the Lexar app for extra protection.

The SL500 Portable SSD offers the highest capacity found from this collab. It's available in models up to 2TB, and is going to be your best option for gaming with its on-the-box 2000MB/s read, and 1800MB/s write speeds. Whether you pick up the rest of this new Elite Legend Series, each piece comes with a USB-C to C cable with a USB-C to USB-A adapter, and a collectible card as a little added bonus.

A panini sticker would have felt more on-brand, but that's just me.

• View all gaming SSDs at Amazon

Our team has also rounded up the best Nintendo Switch microSD Express Cards, the best SSDs for PS5, and the best Xbox Series X hard drives, so you can secure your goal of finding more gaming storage.

Seagate has given gamers a little bit of a liferaft with the release of the Firecuda X Vault Hard Drive - but it feels best suited to content creators and creatives rather than strictly gamers.

The drive is available in 8TB and 20TB capacities, and is one of those massive blocks that requires you to have the PC gaming desk space to facilitate it. While plenty of the best external hard drive for gaming are portable, this massive beast is not, but it can be as valuable. It doesn't require an additional power supply like so many massive hard drives before it, and its starting $269.99 / £279.99 MSRP makes it a far cheaper equivalent than an 8TB SSD alternative.

I just worry that many rigs might not be able to handle the 15W required to run the drive, and external hard drives are not ideal for running plenty of modern AAA games, or they simply can't. If a gamer and a content creator who needs plenty of storage to back up live-stream recordings, podcast recordings, or even art and photography, then this FireCuda X Vault might be your style, but it's not going to be a casual gamer's best bet.

Key specs

Design

The Seagate Firecuda Vault X Hard Drive is a chonky boy. The external drive stands at 7.795 inches by 2.094 inches by 5.197 inches and weighs a hefty 1290g. Throughout my entire two-week testing time, I was extra cautious not to drop the drive, as in the unlikely event that it were to fall on my big toe, it'd likely take the entire thing out.

While it's pretty big, it's not an eyesore at least. There's a strip of RGB lighting across the front, which glows once you hook it up to your gaming rig. This strip helps contrast against the all-black colorway, which completely covers the rectangular drive. I'm a bit partial to RGB lighting, so I'm definitely a fan of it, though I didn't ever see it once it was hooked up to my gaming rig.

Features

The RGB lighting in question doesn't require any lofty Seagate software when it comes to customization. You can control the strip directly via your Windows 11 settings, which was a relief when my PC is already full of proprietary software bloat. But it's not the lighting that stands out amongst the drive's small list of features, but the bus-powered USB-C.

You don't need to free up a spare plug socket to power up this massive drive, as the accompanying USB-C cable can transfer files and keep it powered up at the same time. However, you will need a USB-C port that can accommodate 15W, which could be a struggle if you're sporting an older rig. Not to mention, the cable provided is absolutely tiny, which you need to consider before investing in this drive. During testing, the only way I could hook it up to my PC was by sitting it on top of my PC tower, which partially covers a vent. I would not recommend you do the same, but the minuscule USB-C cable left me no option, especially as I was limited to only one compatible 15W port.

The external drive also includes support for Seagate's Rescue Data Recovery Services. Basically, should anything happen to your drive and your data, you can send it off to Seagate, and they can work their magic to try and recover your pressure games and files. Hopefully, you don't have to use it, but it's a nice inclusion nevertheless.

Performance

The marketing spiel around the FireCuda X Vault Hard Drive is less to do with speeds as you'd find with the best SSDs for gaming, but that's to be expected. Seagate shared during its April 23, 2026, press release that it's designed to provide "high-capacity desktop storage" so there's less emphasis on how fast games can run when stored on the drive, and more on how much storage there is to play with from the get-go.

While that left me with no on-the-box speeds to compare against, I still ran the external hard drive through my CrystalBenchMark tool on my PC rig, where the FireCuda X Vault was able to achieve average 215.4 MB/s read and 213.61 MB/s write speeds. To put that into perspective, the brand's Astro Bot Limited Edition Gaming Hard Drive achieved 144.41 MB/s read and 141.77 MB/s write speeds, and anything around the 200 MB/s mark is pretty much what I'd expect for a modern external hard drive.

It's naturally nowhere near the speeds you get with top-performing Gen 4 SSD like the Samsung 990 Pro, which can tout 7,462MB/s reads and 6,877MB/s writes, but that's always the case with this type of storage. If you're steadfast on finding a speedy solid-state drive alternative, I'd sooner recommend an external SSD over a traditional hard drive. Running modern PC games directly off an external HD can lead to frame rate issues and pop-in. Not to mention, as they require physically wiring into a spare USB port, your PC can also randomly disconnect, which would not be welcome if you're in the middle of a heated Marvel Rivals match or deep in a 10+ hour match of Talisman with your friends on Steam.

As my rig is not the most advanced of the hardware team, the drive disconnected fairly frequently during testing (likely a power supply issue), which is why I never ran games straight off the drive. However, I did use that testing time to see how fast the FireCuda X Vault could transfer data, including 26.8GB of 4K game clips. The large file was able to stick on the drive in 2 minutes 22 seconds, which I'd be more than happy with if I were regularly moving over files. Again, external SSDs are going to be a bit faster, but if you have a big bunch of data that needs to be moved around day in and day out as a gamer and content creator, the testing provided that there's value to be had in this Seagate drive.

Should you buy the Seagate FireCuda X Vault Gaming Hard Drive?

Having an abundant amount of PC gaming storage is always helpful to have at hand, but I wouldn't recommend the Seagate FireCuda X Vault hard drive to every type of gamer. A hefty $269.99 / £279.99 drive like this is best suited to those who play games and create ample amounts of art and content surrounding them - like VTubers, live-streamers, podcast hosts, and artists.

If you're after the best live streaming gear, then having 8TB or 20TB to spare would be ideal for backing up stream recordings, graphics that you might use for your OBS overlays and setups, and more. All those files can add up pretty fast, and it's always important to have backups. I think Seagate knows this, as despite being aimed primarily at gamers and coming with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate code, the drive also includes an Adobe Creative Cloud offer straight in the box.

If you fall under the "I game and also create stuff" category, then by all means, pick the FireCuda X Vault hard drive. You're not going to find an 8TB (or 20TB) SSD alternative for its $269.99 launch price, that's for sure. Just make sure you have a USB-C port that can support 15W, and have a rig that can accommodate the big, black block without covering up a vent or two.

How I tested the Seagate FireCuda X Vault Gaming Hard Drive

I spent a little over two weeks with the Seagate FireCure X Vault Hard Drive, where I hooked it up to my PC gaming rig via my spare USB-C port. In that time, I used the CrystalDiskMark benchmarking tool to test the average read and write speeds over three tests and calculated the average result. Additionally, I moved files on and off the drive to see how fast it managed to transfer data. To read more about the ways we test external hard drives and the rest of our gaming tech, have a look at how we test PS5 SSDs and hard drives, and our hardware policy.

If you're after even more storage, check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express cards, the best Xbox Series X hard drives, and the best SSDs for PS5.

Kingston has unveiled a 30.72TB solid-state drive, but as you can probably guess, it's not for us puny gamers and our storage-starved rigs. Unlike the best SSDs for gaming, the Kingston DC3000ME PCIe 5.0 NVMe U.2 SSD is instead a high-speed PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD that utilizes 3D eTLC NAND and is designed for a "wide range of server applications such as AI, HPC, OLTP, databases, cloud infrastructure and edge computing," aka, data centers.

The enterprise-level SSD on its own isn't technically new. But its brow-raising 30.72TB capacity, and its boasted sequential read speeds of up to 14GB/s, is a brand new addition to the DC3000ME line-up. Its speeds are so high that we're not even dealing with the typical MB/s (Megabits per second) that I'm used to when I review the latest SSDs, but it makes sense for something that's meant to power up a data center as opposed to letting you play Cyberpunk 2077 uninterrupted. Will it mean older gaming SSDs will finally be free from the data center hoard for the rest of us? I wouldn't keep my fingers crossed.

Versions of the Kingston DC3000ME PCIe 5.0 NVMe U.2 SSD have been around for a while now, just not to the extent of over 30TB. By the way, 30.72TB translates to 30,720GB, which is a mind-melting amount of storage. No matter how ridiculous my gaming backlog is, I don't think I even own that many digital games and documents on my gaming rig - even if you add my digital music and film collection in there too.

If you were hoping that the existence of an enterprise drive this dramatic would mean SSD prices would come back down again, I sadly don't think that's going to be the case. The Kingston DC3000ME enterprise SSD line launched in models up to 15.36TB back in 2025. Even as the cost of storage was just on the cusp of rising, these enterprise-sized solutions have existed.

They're not there as a steadfast alternative to run-of-the-mill gaming SSDs for data centers but instead exist to save space and lower power consumption. The higher the capacity you can get in a single drive, the fewer lower-sized SSDs you'll have cluttering up a rack. According to Sarfraz Khan at wccftec, they also offer "better cooling, and simplifying the cabling process" which would all be pretty handy when it comes to data centers, especially of the AI kind.

Don't worry, I'm disappointed too. Each and any time I see and report on a new SSD release, I only hope it'll mean good news for those of us in dire need of a storage boost. I'd have much rather seen Kingston release a new Gen 4 or Gen 5 gaming drive. That way, there would be a chance for many of us to grab a low to mid-range capacity model for its launch price, without having to give in to re-sellers or pay for double their MSRPs.

Instead, we have 30.72TB drives intended for use by the very culprits behind those price hikes. To make matters worse, Wccftech reported on April 23, 2026, that Kingston and Samsung have notified distributors that SSD prices will increase by at least 10%, so prices are likely only going to get worse from here on out.

I hate being the bearer of bad news, especially of the storage kind, but I am rounding up the best SSD prices each week. There aren't deals per se, but I am trying to gather a varying amount of storage options that are as close to being as reasonably priced as is possible in this day and age.

If you're still curious about the 30.72TB Kingston DC3000ME PCIe 5.0 NVMe U.2 SS, there's no release date or price information available quite yet. Though I did spot the 7.68 TB version for a staggering $3,429.99 at Insight, so I suspect it won't come cheap.

• View all SSD gaming deals at Amazon

Our guides to the best SSDs for PS5, the best Xbox Series X hard drives, and the best external hard drives for gaming are full of storage alternatives for your preferred platform of choice.

SSD prices are still sky-high. A drive that would have cost you $100 this time last year will now cost three or even four times that amount. Unfortunately, the reality is SSD rates aren't going to come crashing back down any time soon.

Analysts expect component markets to start stabilizing in a couple of years time, so if you're stuck for storage this weekend (and I mean really stuck for storage) there's a bullet to be bitten. Getting the right SSD price is more important than ever - and not all retailers are suffering the same. Newegg, for example, is generally running slightly cheaper on both storage and RAM prices right now, while Amazon has its moments outperforming its competitors as well.

I've scoured the shelves for the cheapest rates on all the best SSDs for gaming, and three stick out. I'm not saying these are great deals - but they're the best of a bad bunch and if you can't get by without another stick this weekend they're the way to go.

Quick list

• WD Black SN850X | $219.18 at Newegg
• Samsung 990 Pro | $297.95 at Newegg
• Crucial T700 | $245 at Amazon

WD Black SN850X

The WD Black SN850X is the cheapest SSD from our top tested picks this weekend. This is by no means a sacrifice of a drive, though. It's a jack of all trades, combining stability, speed, and versatility across both PS5 and PC. We managed to swing sequential read speeds of just over the maximum rated 7,300MB/s with a peak temperature of 58 degrees (C) in our testing (much cooler than the original SN850).

Samsung 990 Pro

We said the 2TB stick was "as good as it gets for a Gen 4 drive" in our Samsung 990 Pro review, and since then it's held onto the top spot in our guides for good reason. It's super fast (this side of the Gen 5 divide, anyway) and available in up to 4TB - though I'd recommend sticking to patch-fixes rather than storage heavy investments for the moment. If you're going it alone in Europe, make sure you're not buying one of the many fake Samsung SSDs caught doing the rounds this month.

Crucial T700

We put the T700 Pro to the test last year, with a slightly faster read/write speed than the base T700. Really, the Pro model is designed to boost higher capacity drives - once you start getting to 4TB things are going to be a lot more noticeable between the two. Still, it's difficult to get your hands on any Crucial SSDs these days, after the company effectively noped out of the consumer market altogether.

If your PC can support a Gen 5 stick, though, this weekend's prices aren't too far off Gen 4 options.

Do you actually need a new SSD?

Right now, I'd only recommend grabbing a new SSD if your existing stick has failed you or you really can't clear up any more space. It seems silly to say, but I have to for my own peace of mind - if you've run out of storage, go back through your files and make sure there's nothing you can do to free some up.

Are there files that don't require the speed of an SSD that you can transfer over to another storage solution?

Do you have non-game files that can be uploaded to cloud-based storage while we wait for this whole thing to blow over?

Do you really need GTAV installed on so many devices?

I know, I know. You've already looked, I had to tell you to drive safe though.

We're also rounding up the best SSD for PS5 and the best external hard drives for gaming, though even slower storage is seeing similar price increases right now.

Even the best external hard drives are starting to appear at highly escalated prices or are out of stock entirely, thanks to AI data centre demand. It's one of the reasons why I cling to any new storage releases in hopes a new drive will be available at its original MSRP for at least a moment, which is why I was pleased to hear about the Seagate FireCuda X Vault.

The FireCuda X Vault is a massive external drive that's available today starting from $279.99 (Seagate). It's available in both 8TB and 20TB capacities, and is designed to complement internal drives by providing extra storage for your ever-growing game library and other content. The best part? This chonky hard drive doesn't require wall power to keep it running.

The FireCuda X Vault relies on a simple plug-and-play system. You don't need to set aside a power socket to get it powered up, as it utilizes a bus-powered USB-C design, complete with some RGB lighting with Windows Dynamic Lighting support. You will have to keep a USB-C port free at least, and ensure that it supplies >15w to operate properly, but that should be fine if you have a modern PC gaming rig.

Talking of which, this 3.5-inich high gaming hard drive is designed exclusively for PC. While it has Xbox branding on the box and even comes packaged with one month of Game Pass Ultimate, it's not compatible with the Xbox Series X/S. That being said, you can use it as a destination to store your PC Game Pass titles, or use it as the storage location for your ever-growing Steam game library.

Unlike the best SSDs for gaming, you won't be able to run the games directly from the FireCudaX Vault. As an HD, it remains a high-capacity alternative to storing games, not playing them. I get that's disappointing, but at its starting $279.99 cost, it's a cheaper alternative to picking up an 8TB equivalent portable SSD. Especially when the likes of the Crucial X10 as as high at $800 and over at US retailers right now.

I'm currently testing the Seagate FireX Vault X external hard drive. While I'm not quite ready to write up my full-blown review, there's one thing I need to let you know before you go out and grab your own - the USB-C cable is on the smaller side.

This is a bit of an annoyance for me as my awkwardly large gaming PC sits under my desk, so I don't have many options when it comes to storing it. For now, I have to place it gently on top of my PC tower, which I don't recommend. If you're going to make the starting $279.99 investment, just make sure you have a setup that can accommodate the FireCuda X first.

• View all Seagate storage at Amazon

If it's extra storage you're after, check out our guides to the best Xbox Series X hard drives, the best SSDs for PS5, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express cards.

That's right, while the escalating prices of the best SSDs for gaming were already upsetting, there are now fake drives you need to be wary of - at least, if you're based in Europe, that is.

According to the website Computer Base, one of its readers named etoo received not one but two counterfeit Samsung 990 Pro SSDs from a retailer based in Austria. While the packaging looked like the real deal from the images Computer Base provided, opening the box revealed a drive with a blue PCB. The 990 Pro has a black PCB, so that was a bit of a giveaway that something was quite right, and it only got worse from there.

Once etoo looked further into the drive via CrystalDiskInfo, a similar benchmarking tool that I use to test SSDs, its true counterfeit ways became apparent. ComputerBase continued to explain that the drive showed it had an extra 1099.5 GB on top of the existing 1TB. Typically, when you pop a legitimate SSD into any benchmarking tool, it will show that you have slightly less of its on-the-box capacity, not more.

If it wasn't damning enough, Samsung Magician, a software designed to help manage and maintain Samsung SSDs, marked it as "Non-Samsung" and etoo wasn't even able to test its read and write speeds as the drive was unable to be formatted. The Computer Base reader shared that they had got in contact with the supplier (which has remained nameless) and were told that " the matter was being investigated," but if you're worried about receiving a fake, there are a few things you can do.

Firstly, make sure you're only buying from trusted retailers. That won't completely protect you from issues, as a wide variety of sellers can list their wares on the likes of Amazon and Walmart. However, if you are buying from Amazon, make sure you're buying directly from the brand's own stores. To be even safer, I recommend buying directly from a brand's online store. You won't get the best deal, but you will get an extra piece of mind. It's up to you which is more important.

Secondly, before you load up your SSD with your favorite games and other precious files, benchmark it first. Tools like Samsung Magician, which etoo used, will let you know if anything is up. Other brands have their own official accompanying software, which you can use to manage your drive and check if anything is fishy.

Lastly, in the case of the Samsung 990 Pro, be sure to check official marketing images of what your SSD should look like and compare it to your own. If yours has a blue PCB and it's not meant to, then obviously something is a little wrong.

Remember, while this happened in Europe, the US is not immune to counterfeit SSDs and tech. As the RAM Storage Crisis continues to shake up the best SSD prices, there's a chance more fakes could be afoot to make up for demand. Or, those behind these fakes could take advantage of those desperate to upgrade their PC gaming rigs or PS5 consoles.

If you're on the hunt for storage, please be safe out there. If you have any worries or concerns, you can always give me or the rest of the GamesRadar+ hardware team a nudge for help, too. However, buying from trusted retailers and even straight from the source is always your best bet.

• View all SSDs for gaming at Samsung

I've also rounded up the best Nintendo Switch microSD Express Cards, the best Xbox Series X hard drives, and the best external hard drives for gaming if you're on the hunt for some extra storage.

The knock-on effects from the RAM Storage Crisis and escalating SSD prices are being felt hard by Sony this month. Sony Japan has announced on its official website that "due to the global shortage of semiconductors (memory) and other factors "it is making the decision to temporarily suspend orders of its CFexpress memory cards and SD memory cards.

As of March 2026, any orders from "authorized dealers and from customers" haven't been accepted from any Sony stores. According to the original post, this affects CFexpress Type A and Type B memory cards, and Sony SDXC/SDHC memory cards, which isn't the best news if you depend on Sony cards to store and run games on your older Nintendo Switch handheld and other devices.

If you want to know the exact card types that have been affected, Sony Japan has thankfully included two lists with its announcement, which reveal that the cards are all part of the same "Tough" line. These cards are typically more aimed towards photographers and videographers, namely as they're designed to cope with copious amounts of data, like the shooting of many photos on a DSLR camera.

Yet, while this is not currently affecting the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express cards, it's still not a pretty sight to behold. If Sony is feeling the heat from the dwindling supply of DRAM and NAND storage for consumer products, what's to say brands like SanDisk and Samsung aren't feeling it too?

From a quick sweep of US retailers like Amazon, however, it's not all doom and gloom. Plenty of the affected cards are still in stock, like the Sony TOUGH-M series SDXC UHS-II (SF-M256T) card for $127.89 at Amazon, and orders for these cards could be reinstated in the future. In the same announcement, Sony states that "regarding the resumption of order acceptance," it will "monitor the supply situation" and will make a separate announcement when things change.

Unlike storage brands like Crucial, which have ceased selling its SSDs to consumers entirely, this is just a suspension after all. Hope just feels hard to come by when this is the second announcement from Sony that shows that the knock-on effects of the RAM-pocalypse have no signs of slowing down.

Just days before, Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced on the official PlayStation Blog that the familiar "pressures in the global economic landscape" are resulting in a price increase across the brand's PS5 consoles and the PlayStation Portal. So whether you play the best PS5 games, or just partake in some photography, no hobby is safe.

While storage brands like SanDisk, Samsung, and Lexar haven't made any similar announcements, and stock of Switch and Switch 2-compatible cards are still widely available, I'll be sure to let you know if and when that changes. For now, I recommend snatching up any Sony Tough Series SD cards you had your eyes on while stock lasts.

• View all Sony SD cards at Amazon
• View all microSD Express cards at Amazon

If it's storage you're after, check out our guides to the best SSDs for PS5, the best PS5 external hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X hard drives.

With SSD prices continuing to rise, a large percentage of us are struggling to afford even multiple-year-old Gen 4 drives. With that in mind, newer Gen 5 drives are likely the last thing on many of our minds, but that hasn't stopped TeamGroup from unveiling the new T-Create Classic H514 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD.

This is not a drive designed to be the best SSD for gaming and the bastion of our affordable drive prayers. however. Instead, Teamgroup states this new SSD is designed to "meet the growing demand for high-performance data storage in the generative AI era." While disappointing to read, it does make sense, as Teamgroup boasts this drive that's built on the PCIe Gen5 x4 interface can deliver blisteringly fast 14,200 MB/s read and 13,300 MB/S write speeds. Speeds that the average gaming rig doesn't even need to run some of the most recent and graphically demanding AAA releases.

The never-ending slop factor that I like to call generative AI requires a bit more power than your average solid-state drive. That's likely why TeamGroup states that the T-Create Classic H514 can "significantly enhance the efficiency of accessing large creative assets" and that it can enable "smooth and stable workflows for local AI model inference and training."

The brand, which is typically known for launching budget-friendly gaming SSDs and RAM like T-Force Delta RGB DDR5, states this SSD can also "empower professional creative output," though it feels like it's using the word "creative" liberally. Especially given generative AI's intellectual property rights risks. Releasing a new SSD specifically to target AI tech like this isn't exactly new, as the brand Kioxia just unveiled a new SSD designed specifically to support Nvidia AI workloads just days before TeamGroup's SSD unveiling, but it doesn't make this announcement any less disappointing.

As a storage reviewer and someone desperate to build their own gaming rig from the ground up, any new SSD release typically fills me with excitement. While I don't keep my hopes high that any new releases will be priced well from the get-go, it's just nice to see new storage solutions enter the market in the wake of brands like Crucial exiting the consumer market.

The disappointment continues from there. Especially when you consider the fact that it's the AI data centers hoarding up RAM and storage that have caused the prices of SSDS to rise exponentially, and caused brands to focus on the enterprise market rather than consumers. It's AI that's put this extra pressure on finding hope in new SSD releases, and yet new releases like this are designed for using AI.

However, while this SSD is tailored towards those running generative AI programs, there's nothing to say you can't add this to your rig. There's no release date or pricing information just yet, and even if its quoted, ultra-low read and write latencies of just 0.5ms and 0.015ms are going to be a bit overkill; it could still be an excellent gaming drive.

The product listing on the official TeamGroup website includes two versions, so you'll have one integrated with an ultra-thin patented graphene heatsink or a version made with a new matte-black aluminum heatsink to choose from. Both will be available in models from 1TB up to 4TB.

• View all Teamgroup gaming SSDs at Amazon
• View all SSDs for gaming at Amazon

Our guides to the best PC headsets for gaming, the best PC controllers for gaming, and the best gaming chairs are full of add-ons for your space that are suited for every type of budget.

If you thought the current rising SSD prices, thanks to the ongoing RAM-pocalypse were scary, the price of the brand-new Exascend Enterprise-Grade PE4 PCIe Gen4 SSD might put you in an early grave.

The drive is currently $15,935.00 at Amazon, and no, you're not reading that wrong. It's almost 16K for a single Gen 4 SSD, but it also happens to be the first M.2 SSD of its kind to feature up to 16TB worth of storage. That's more than the total sum my fiancé and I dropped on the deposit for our house, so paying that much for storage is something I can't quite fathom. However, obtaining this amount of storage through SSDs alone would normally require a mix-match of various different drives, so it's pretty unheard of to get it all in one compact M.2 2280 form factor.

Originally spotted online by Fanless Tech, the Amazon product listing states that the TLC 3D NAND Flash storage-powered SSD is equipped with "blazing-fast" sequential read speeds up to 3,270 MB/s and write speeds up to 2,980 MB/s, which is actually pretty abysmal where Gen 4 drives are concerned. That's because it's not a typical consumer-based SSD where speeds are a priority, but an enterprise-grade drive with a focus on storage space and endurance.

If you take the Samsung 990 Pro, one of the best SSDs for gaming and top-performing M.2 SSDs available today, the 2TB model has quoted sequential read speeds up to 7,450 MB/S and write speeds up to 6,900 MB/s. In our Samsung 990 Pro review, we were able to each 7,462MB/s and 6,877MB/s, which is pretty much what you'd actually expect for a fast Gen 4 drive.

It's not the speeds anyone with a spare up to $16K would be after however, but rather the whopping endurance (TBW) up to 16,640, as shown by the official Exascend product page for its PE4 Series drives. Consumer-based storage, like the Samsung 990 Pro I mentioned above, has a 600 TBW, to put that into perspective. That's a drive that should last you quite a while, which is important if you're running a business and have a lot of data to store and transfer over time.

Of course, to get access to that high endurance rate, you'll need to be able to cough up $15,935.00 for the privilege. But while it's that price now, a quick look through our handy CamelCamelCamel shows it hasn't always been that way. According to the price checker, the massive drive dropped on Amazon on November 3, 2025 where it was available for $4,299.99.

Up to 5 grand is still a lot to fork out over storage, but it's considerably less than what Amazon is expecting for it today. Less house deposit, more brand new bathroom, price-coded. It's not all too surprising, as it's likely even this already pricey 16TB drive was pushed to its price limit due to the current RAM Storage Crisis, which is affecting nearly all storage options out there. I just thought I'd seen the worst of the SSD price hikes when I first noticed the 4TB WD Black SN850P went from around $550 to $1,300 on Amazon in February.

I don't quite imagine anyone reading this will be at a place in their lives where they can easily part with $15,935.00 like it's nothing. However, if you can and you want 16TB of space for your horrendous Steam gaming backlog, it's there, and there's only 9 left of them in stock. Do with what you will - I'm gonna go look at my pitiful savings and weep.

• View all gaming SSDs at Amazon
• View all PS5 SSDs for gaming at Amazon

Our guides to the best PC headsets for gaming, the best PC controllers for gaming, and the best gaming chairs are full of add-ons for your space that are suited for every type of budget.

The Seagate Astro Bot Limited Edition Game Drive is cuteness personified, featuring easily one of the best external PS5 hard drives designs I've ever laid my eyes on. This officially licensed drive is based on the Astro Bot game, and features not just adorable art of my favorite PS5 mascot robot, but it even comes packaged with stickers for good measure.

Like the plain white Seagate Game Drive, this external HD provides extra storage at a cheaper cost than the best SSDs for gaming on the market. That's because it doesn't quite match the speeds of a solid-state drive, and it can only store PS5 titles and not run them. Still, this Seagate drive is full of value.

For $159.99 / £149.99, you get access to up to 5TB worth of space, which is an astronomically good deal at a time when game storage prices are in flux. I have spotted some retailers listing it for a higher $179.99, but you won't struggle to find it at both US and UK retailers for its launch price. Astro Bot fans and game storage hunters alike have plenty to gain from adding this HD to their PS5 setup.

Design

I never thought I'd be gleefully yapping on about the look of a storage but here we are. The Seagate Astro Bot Limited Edition gaming hard drive is an adorable sight to behold.

No crevice of this white block has been left free of adorable Astro Bot imagery. The top-facing side features art of Astro looking triumphant with his hands on his hips, with the planet sitting behind him. Each of the four corners of this side of the drive also include drawn on bolts, which give it the appearance of a piece of tech you'd collect in the TeamASOBI platformer - a detail I can't stop gawking over.

This must've been the plan all along. The edge of the HDD features two bright blue eyes that match up with the DualSense controller vehicle Astro rides in the game. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this Seagate drive one day made a cameo in a future update. What I adore specifically about the eyes is that they also happen to be found on the first limited edition Astro Bot DualSense PS5 controller. Not all licensed gaming accessories made by different brands (Seagate and Sony) have to match. Yet, when they do, it's hard not to be a fan.

Just below these eyes, there's a glowing blue strip of LEDs. This was already a design choice for Seagate's basic Game Drive, but it feels more at home with this version, which is inspired by Astro's blue and white coloring.

Even the back of the HDD, which you'll never see once it's hooked up to the PS5, has unique art of its own. It's not as elaborate as the front, but you can find a silver silhouette of Astro's face, and the Astro Bot and Seagate logos together underneath.

Features

The Astro Bot Limited Edition Game Drive includes the HDD, an 18-inch USB 3.0 cable, a pack of stickers, and a redeemable code for PlayStation Plus Premium right in the box.

The little white box also measures at 0.846in × 3.188in × 4.822in and only weighs approximately 266g. Additionally, like most external hard drives, it can also run PS4 games without having to resort to moving the game's location to the console's onboard storage.

Regretfully, the provided USB cable is far too short for those sporting a horizontal PS5 layout, and I found that out the hard way. My livingroom counter space is precious, and so I had to resort to resting the HDD on top of the Sony console at all times. I don't recommend anyone else do this, especially as the PS5 can get pretty hot. However, with zero room to change to a vertical setup, I was left to make do with what I had available to me.

Performance

The best SSDs for PS5 let you know of the PS5 benchmarked speeds the moment you boot up your PS5, but that's not the case with external drives like this. That being said, I did put the Seagate hard drive through the CrystalBenchMark tool on my PC rig to discover that it has average 144.41 MB/s read and 141.77 MB/s write speeds, which is pretty much expected for a drive of its caliber.

Speeds are always important, but less so with external drives like this one. As you can only store PS5 games, it's more about the capacity on offer. Even Seagate's marketing spiel is all tailored around the Astro Bot Game drive, providing "storage that shines" and doesn't list its average read/write speeds as a selling point. That being said, I still wanted to put it through its paces for this review, to see how it stacks up against the onboard storage of the current-gen Sony console.

I knew from the get-go this hard drive wasn't going to outmatch the speeds of the internal SSD. Yet, I was still surprised to discover that booting up the 40.88GB first-person shooter Prey loaded in an average of 34.96 seconds from the 'Play Game' button straight to its start menu. The onboard SSD was definitely quicker, coming in at 32.79 seconds, but it wasn't too far behind.

It was a similar situation with The Witch and the Hundred Knight Revival Edition, one of my favorite PS4 RPGs. It loaded up in an average of 26.62 seconds via the drive, and 25.30 seconds on the PS5 itself. If you were at all worried that grabbing a hard drive over an external SSD would make a dramatic difference in loading times, you'd be happy to know that the differences were barely noticeable in practice.

Additionally, transferring times weren't too bad either. I managed to transfer over 40GB worth of Prey from the Game Drive to the PS5 in 6 minutes, and the 3.33GB of The Witch and the Hundred Knight in as little as 34 seconds. After this review, my first step is to move them back, as I much prefer having all my PS4 digital games in one place. Not to mention, 5TB is plenty for them.

Seagate boasts that the HD can actually store "up to 60 epic game titles", which includes both PS4 and PS5 titles, but that will entirely depend on what games you like to play. AAA titles are going to be more storage-demanding than older indie darlings. As someone who's been cultivating more of a PS5 game library over the years, I did struggle to fill up the drive, but I do prefer to rely on internal Gen 4 drives like the Lexar PLAY 2280 SE PS5 SSD, which is currently in my console's M.2 slot.

Should you buy the Seagate Astro Bot Limited Edition gaming hard drive?

The ongoing RAM shortages have made game storage pricing pretty scary. As of the time of this review, the Seagate Astro Bot Limited Edition Game Drive has thankfully remained at its $159.99 / £159.99 MSRP, and that's a huge motivator as to why I highly recommend it to PS5 owners - particularly those privy to the Astro Bot game series.

You can't run PS5 titles straight from this drive, so it's not the best alternative to an M.2 SSD if that's what you're looking for. Yet, with similar capacity drives, like that of the 4TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD (heatsink model) costing upwards of $649.99 (as of February 2026), this Astro Bot Game Drive is a nice sight to behold. It's even only $10 higher than the cost of the non-limited edition Astro Bot version of this drive, which is a tiny markup where licensed gaming tech is considered.

Comparing this HD against the best SSDs feels a little silly, especially as I know those particularly on the hunt for an M.2 PS5 drive want to be able to run games, rather than just store them. Yet, it's one of the best alternatives you can find on the market right now, especially if you want extra storage and to up the cute factor of your PS5 setup at the same time. Let's just hope its price doesn't take an astronomically bad turn any time soon.

How I tested the Seagate Astro Bot Limited Edition gaming hard drive

I hooked up the Seagate Astro Bot Limited Edition gaming hard drive to my PS5 for two months while testing it for this review. In that time, any and all PS4 games from my existing game library and PlayStation Plus Premium were downloaded and stored directly on the drive, including Prey, The Witch and the Hundred Knight Revival Edition, and Power Rangers Battle for the Grid.

During the last few months, I also timed with a stopwatch how fast games like Prey loaded straight from the HD, and compared them to the loading times on my PS5's onboard storage, by taking an average from 3 tests in total. To read more about the ways we test PS5 SSDs and the rest of our gaming tech, have a look at how we test PS5 SSDs and hard drives, and our hardware policy.

Our team has rounded up the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express cards, the best Xbox Series X hard drives if you've got storage on the brain.

The best SSDs for gaming are still seeing significant price increases, and yet that hasn't stopped Sandisk from launching its next-generation portable range. The major storage brand unveiled its new line of portable SSDs, including the new SanDisk Portable SSD, SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD, and the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD this week.

These new external SSDs aren't aimed at gamers like you or me. Instead, the new range was released with "everyday users, creators, and professionals" in mind, as they can support larger file sizes, AI content, and digital workflows. However, there's nothing stopping you from grabbing any one of these new SSDs to store your favorite PC games or game clips. If you do, your secret will be safe with me - I track all the best SSD prices across the web, I know the struggle is real.

Only the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is available now, starting from $259.99 (SanDisk), with the full line-up planned to drop later this year. The drive boasts of read speeds of up to 2,000MB/s and the ability to transfer up to 1,000 high-resolution photos in under 60 seconds, according to the brand. The WD Black P40 is the best PS5 external hard drive our team has tested, and it also provides read speeds up to 2,000MB/s, so SanDisk's SSD is more than adequate for gaming too.

The Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD is available from 1TB up to 4TB, but if you want its 500GB variant or slightly faster speeds, you'll have to wait for the rest of the line to drop.

The Sandisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD will be available in models from 2TB up to 8TB and is expected to deliver transfer speeds of up to 4,000MB/s. Additionally, Sandisk states that it will also be able to "move 10 minutes of 12K video in just under a minute," which will make it handy for those after the best streaming gear where dealing with clips and highlight videos is commonplace.

The Sandisk Portable SSD is the last of the trio to make up this new line. It's designed for "students, office workers, and family archivists," according to the brand, and it delivers read speeds of up to 1,000MB/s. It's also the most compact of the set, making it ideal for storing in a backpack, whether you need to take your homework or backups of your favorite games on the go. Both are entirely valid reasons in my eyes.

Much like the previous generation portable Sandisk SSDs, these new drives feature a durable chassis to make them robust and long-lasting. The Sandisk Portable SSD features drop protection of up to two metres, while both the Sandisk Extreme and Sandisk Extreme PRO have resistance up to three metres and are equipped with password protection tech.

While external hard drive and SSD pricing have remained mostly unaffected by the knock-on effects of the RAM shortages, I'd definitely recommend grabbing any one of these drives as close to launch as possible to avoid future inflated prices. Sure, they aren't aimed with games in mind, but having a portable SSD in your setup is handy for backing up saves and screenshots, and game clips.

• View all SanDisk SSDs at Amazon
• View all external SSDs for gaming at Amazon

Our team has rounded up the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express cards, the best Xbox Series X hard drives, and the best SSD for PS5 if you're looking for extra game storage.

While gaming SSDs have been getting steadily more extortionate as the months go on, I've been blathering on about the best external hard drives and internal HDDs as a cheaper alternative to grab more storage. Yet, it appears that even those won't be safe from inflated prices for long.

Western Digital has revealed it's already allocated its HDD supply for 2026, during the company's latest earnings call. The storage brand has even been receiving orders for 2027 and 2028, even though we're only at the tail-end of February 2026. These orders aren't being swallowed up by everyday consumers like you or me, and instead are being made by large-scale AI companies that have already been snapping up the best gaming SSDs allocation and leaving very little for the rest of us. If you were planning to buy any digital storage in the not-too-distant future, I'd maybe recommend doing it sooner rather than later.

Originally reported by TweakTown, WD CEO Irving Tan stated during the company's Q2 earnings call that, " we're pretty much sold out for calendar 2026," and my fear for storage prices has only escalated. It was only a matter of time before those behind the RAM-pocalypse would be after any other storage devices to fuel their AI data centers, but it's still a disappointing blow to consider that even HDD pricing could get beyond ridiculous in the coming months.

I've been trying to keep track of the best SSD prices since the beginning of this year, and external hard drives have been my go-to cheaper recommendation. Most recently, I've been testing the Seagate Astro Bot Limited Edition Game Drive, which remains at $169.99 at PS Direct US, but provides 5TB of space for PS5 and PS4 owners. That's a pretty good deal, and it feels better when you take into account that a similar capacity internal SSD can be upwards of $600 right now.

The 4TB WD Black SN850P is sitting at $639.99 at Amazon, which is even more than the brand new PS5 Slim it's designed to slot into. According to my CamelCamelCamel price checker, it was just above the $250 price mark during November 2025, so that's a pretty massive $389.99 increase in just a few months.

While it and other SSD prices continue to make my eyes water, a quick scour of US and UK retailers has shown me that, luckily, this Western Digital news hasn't taken its toll on HDDs quite yet, which is why I'd recommend grabbing a few terabytes now before those prices even smell like they're going to increase.

Examples like the Crucial X10 are still sitting at just $117.02 (Amazon US) for its 1TB model, which remains good value for an external SSD for gaming and content creation. If you were hoping to grab it or one of the best external PS5 hard drives, it's one of the many options that still has a justifiable price point. Whether it'll stay that way for much longer, I have my doubts.

• View all gaming hard drives at Amazon
• View all gaming SSDs at Amazon

If storage is your game, we've also rounded up the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express cards and the best Xbox Series X hard drives for your space needs.

SSD prices are showing no sign of returning to what they once were in 2026. As a knock-on effect from the rising costs of RAM, rates are continuing to escalate, and what were once easy-to-recommend budget-friendly drives are now anything but.

While AI data centers continue to hoard up storage, leaving not a lot for the rest of us, we're not letting that bring us down. To ensure you can still give your PC and PS5 a well-deserved boost, we've scoured every inch of the internet to pick out the best SSDs for gaming at the lowest prices available right now. What's reasonable these days is a little different from this time last year, so there won't be any typical deals listed below. Instead, we've found the lowest SSD prices we can, given the circumstances.

If you'd prefer an external SSD instead, our roundup of the best external hard drives is the place to be. External drives will still typically run cheaper than NVMe drives, so they can be a great alternative amongst this RAM-pocalypse, especially if you're on the hunt for storage to store games, and some big files or two.

Where To Buy SSDS: US & UK

• US: Amazon / Best Buy / Newegg
• UK: Amazon / Currys / Argos

This week's best SSD prices in the US

This week's best SSD prices in the UK

FAQ

We've also rounded up the best external hard drives, the best PS5 external hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X hard drives if you're hunting for some gaming storage solutions.

It's a tenuous time to be testing contenders for the best SSDs for gaming. The rising costs of memory have had a troubling knock-on effect on SSD pricing and availability, and it's put extra pressure on the existence of low-cost drives like Seagate's FireCuda 530R.

The FireCuda F530R launched as a successor to the FireCuda 530 back in 2024, designed as a high-performance drive for both gamers and content creators. The PCIe Gen4 SSD was already a little bit aged before I was sent this 2TB model to review, so while you have the overinflated prices of most drives on the market to contend with, you also have the issue of finding this speedy SSD in stock. That’s a shame as it originally launched for $130, a more than reasonable price to pay for a speedy drive that may not have reached the peaks of its predecessor during my testing (as you'll see below), but was easy to install, and has revitalized my rig with its snappy loading speeds and smooth performance.

If you're in the market for one of the best SSDs for PS5, there is a heatsink model available. Stock isn't any easier to find, but it can depend on where you're hunting from. Those in the US are more likely to find the 4TB model available, whereas those in the UK can find the 2TB version a little easier. Both have yet to stray far from their MSRPs, so they're going to be your best bet to avoid filling the pockets of resellers and the inflated SSD market.

Design

The FireCuda 530R is an M.2 solid state drive with a 2280 form factor, and PCI-Express 4.0 x4 interface, and I was taken aback the first moment I removed the non-heatsink 2TB model from its packaging. Usually, that's because I'm blinded by the beauty of a piece of tech, but in this instance, I was left with nothing but a look of disdain when I noticed that the drive was plain, but a sticker was propped on the front.

The WD Black SN7100 has all its logos and model name on a set of two stickers (one on each side), but this one was barely hanging on for dear life. The edges were already starting to peel away while I was screwing it into place in my testing PC rig.

How an M.2 SSD looks isn't hugely important, and the FireCuda 530 looks almost identical, so I shouldn't have been surprised. Yet, it didn't instill a lot of confidence in me about the quality of the drive. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about.

Features

The FireCuda 530R is powered by the brand's 3D TLC NAND Flash tech, and Seagate specifically integrated the drive with 162-layer TLC NAND flash. To get the speedy 7,400 MB/s sequential read and 6,900 MB/s write speeds on the box, the drive utilizes pseudo-SLC cache and a PCI-Express 4.0 interface.

At launch, it was available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB models, along with heatsink versions which reached up to 4TB. Just like the rest of the 530R line, the 2TB version that I've had cooped up in my PC rig for a little over two weeks is designed for "demanding gamers, creators and professionals" and is equipped with Microsoft DirectStorage support, and as a whopping endurance rate of 5,050 TBW.

Performance

The FireCuda 530R's boldly colored black and orange box states it can achieve a "seamless gaming experience," and that shouldn't be difficult if its boasted 7,400 MB/s sequential read and 6,900 MB/s write speeds are accurate. I was provided with the 2TB variant to review, and quickly put its marketing spiel to the test via CrystalDiskMark.

I ran four read and write speed tests and calculated the average speed in MB/s of each, and you can see the results in the table below. The FireCuda 530R achieved an average 7085.79 MB/s and 5721.37MB/s read and write speeds, which was narrowingly lower than both its marketed speeds and those of the original FireCuda 530. In the FireCuda 530 review, the older SSD achieved "pretty much" the marketed 7,300MB/s for peak reads, and 6,900MB/s writes.

I fully expected that a newly refreshed version of an older SSD would be able to top the speeds of its predecessor, but that wasn't the result of my testing. However, its achievements are still reasonable for a Gen 4 SSD of its caliber. The Samsung 990 Pro SSD currently tops our best SSD buying guide, and that pulled in 7,462MB/s and 6,877MB/s read and write speeds, so it's not straggling too far behind.

Of course, numbers don't matter as much as real-world performance, so I installed some of my key games on the SSD to see how its loading times stacked up. Marvel Rivals, my favorite online hero-shooter, booted up in an average of 36.18 seconds from the launch menu to the start screen. This was a fraction faster than the 39.5 seconds it takes on average for it to load when the game files are stored on my rig's local PNY CS1030 drive. Marvel Rivals' load can be a bit of a slog where compiling shaders is concerned, so even that mere second difference was appreciated. Even better, the game itself ran smoothly from the drive, and I had zero issues with lag or crashes when gallivanting around as my mains, Invisible Woman and the Scarlet Witch. Unless you count getting my butt handed to me as an issue, but I've had a lot of practice with that.

Temperatures remained at 40% during my entire two weeks of testing. Without a DC meter at hand, this isn’t an exact science, and I relied on the properties details in Windows 11 to keep track of any temperature issues, but at least there were none.

Should you buy the FireCuda 530R 2TB SSD?

Recommending the FireCuda 530R would be a lot easier if availability weren't a big issue. It was shy of its boasted 7,400 MB/s sequential read and 6,900 MB/s write speeds, but that's still reasonable for a Gen 4 drive - especially one that's over a year old.

Gen 4 SSDs have reached a point where the limits of what can be achieved have been met, so it all comes down to affordability and availability. The 2TB FireCUda 530 launched for $130, but you're unlikely to find it for its MSRP, or even in stock at all. With my years of SSD deal hunting sleuthing, I struggled to find this model at US and UK retailers, and instead, found that you are more likely to stumble across the heatsink versions instead.

Personally, I prefer these as it spares you the burden of sourcing your own, and it means you can easily pop it in the M.2 drive of your PS5. Just expect to fork out at least $500 as the 4TB model is the easiest to come by, whereas those in the UK are more likely to find the 2TB heatsink model for £250 and above.

Some of the first chunky external storage I had growing up for my old family PC were Seagate-branded, and after testing the FireCuda 530R, it's nice to see that quality persists even to this day. If you can manage to find that quality in stock (and for a non-inflated price), it's worth a space in your rig.

How I tested the FireCuda 530R 2TB SSD

To give the FireCuda 530R its proper dues, I carefully added the M.2 drive to my gaming PC testing rig, where it became my drive of choice for two weeks. During that time, I ran the SSD through CrystalDiskMark over a series of four tests, and calculated its average read and write speeds against the on-the-box statements, and those of its FireCuda 530 predecessor. Afterwards, I downloaded Marvel Rivals, Counter Strike 2, Dispatch, and The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt via Steam and timed how long to load to their respective start screens, as opposed to on my on-board storage. To read more about the ways we test SSDs and the rest of our gaming tech, have a look at how we test SSDs and our hardware policy.

Check out our guides for the best SSDs for PS5, the best PS5 external hard drive, and the best Xbox Series X hard drive for more of our top storage picks.

You won't find a discount on the Crucial P510 SSD at the moment, but if you have a PC build that can accommodate a Gen 5 drive, I'd jump on the chance to add it to your rig while you still can.

The prices of the best SSDs for gaming are continuing to rise, and this could be your last chance to grab 1TB of speedy extra storage before stock runs out and Crucial packs up its travelling wares to go and make data centres. So far, it's staying put at $139.99 at Amazon, but there's a lot of cause for concern that that reasonable price won't be around for much longer.

Besides the increasingly worrying SSD prices across the board, Micron (Crucial's parent company) has chosen to put an end to its RAM and SSD consumer brand, so stock for it and the rest of the brand's low-cost drives won't be around forever. If you're in the market for a Gen 5 drive for your rig, you don't have long before you'll need to sell your soul to afford one. Crucial has always priced its SSDs pretty fairly for how well they perform, so you don't have long to make use of this brand's value for money.

As a word of warning, those after the best SSD for PS5 will want to make use of something else. While you can physically install a Gen 5 SSD in a PS5 if its dimensions fit in the M.2 slot, the interface won't work with your console, and you'll run the risk of damaging something. You'd be much better off grabbing the 1TB Crucial P310 SSD while it's available for $149.99 at Best Buy if you're looking to see Crucial's 30 years of service off with a bang.

The inflated SSD prices are mainly impacting top-performing drives due to their use of Nand cache tech - a result of AI production sapping the world's supply of computing memory. That much is true of the Samsung 990 Pros and the WD Black SN850X. For example, according to CamelCamelCamel's price-history data, the 4TB 990 Pro had been sitting just below the $350 price mark throughout October, November, and December of last year. The price of the 4TB drive then shot up to $450 and continued to climb until it reached $549.99 at Amazon, where it sits today.

It's a similar story with the 2TB WD_Black SN8100 SSD. The Gen 5 drive sat around $240 until its price began to rise as of December 2024. Right now, the drive is $510.60 at Amazon, which is an increase of over $270 in as little as a couple of months. IT's been similiar storry with the heatsink model, which rose from $299.99 late last year to its current $659.99 (Amazon) price point.

The rise in storage prices is a knock-on effect from the ongoing RAM-pocalypse, where the prices of memory has reached extortionate highs due to AI data centers hoarding all the stock that's out there. These data centers also rely on storage, and so SSDs are also being swallowed up too alongside their Nand components, leaving little stock for those of us who are just after some extra space to store and run our favorite games.

1TB models haven't been gobbled up and spat out at exorbitant prices as much as their 2TB and above counterparts, but it's only a matter of time before they follow suit. It's this reality that makes this Crucial P510 worth grabbing if your motherboard can facilitate a Gen 5 drive, and if 1TB is enough to get you by.

Micron Crucial is continuing to ship its consumer RAM and storage products until the end of February 2026, so I don't want to make you worry too much. Yet, with Crucial's decision to exit the consumer market and the rising costs of SSDs, it doesn't look good for ensuring that the Crucial P510 SSD and drives like it will stick at its current $139.99 price.

Before you head my words and eagerly add it to your basket, do remember that this is a Gen 5 drive. Its blistering read and write speeds of 11,000MB/s and 9,500MB/s may seem alluring, but you will need a rig that's set up to handle this next-gen storage. However, it's entirely valid to grab this right now if you're planning a new build just to keep your costs as low as you can, since prices are set to stay high until at least 2028. I can't promise your future build will be an affordable one, but gathering what you can (including an SSD) is a wise plan.

• View all gaming SSD deals at Amazon
• View all PS5 SSD deals at Amazon

Check out our guides to the best Xbox Series X hard drives, the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards, and the best SSDs for gaming if you're after some new storage for your platform of choice.

I wish I lying right now when I inform you that over the past couple of weeks, I've spotted PS5 SSDs like the WD BLACK 8TB SN850X for as much as $2,416.99 at some US retailers. While the sight of that price made my eyes water, there are at least alternatives out there.

The Seagate Astro Bot Limited Edition Game Drive launched late last year for $159.99 at Best Buy and PS Direct US, and has managed to stay at its launch price even amidst the rising costs of facing most internal M.2 SSDs. The best PS5 external hard drives don't share the same benefits as their internal counterparts, like the ability to run games straight off the bat. But I'd much sooner deal with their shortcomings than with prices that could pay off a chunk of my mortgage. And let's not forget, this limited edition drive is also one of the most adorable out there, so it's an even better choice for Astro Bot fans.

I get that it might be a bit egrecious of me to offer up an external hard drive as a cheaper solution to an internal SSD, but tough times call for tough choices. This limited edition drive from Seagate provides a huge 5TB of extra storage for PS5 and PS5 games, and the internal PS5 SSD equivalent cost of that would be upwards of at least $500 right now.

Internal drives don't typically come in 5TB models, but if you were looking for an example, Seagate's own FireCuda 530R SSD is currently listed as $671.95 at Amazon, and that only provides 4TB. Grabbing this adorable alternative can save you a huge chunk of change, and yet still give you all the space you need to store your PlayStation Plus downloads, your existing digital game library, and your favorite screenshots and game clips. I've got mine plugged into my chonky, launch-model PS5 right this very moment, and despite my ridiculously-sized digital backlog, I've barely managed to reach the 2TB mark.

Having that extra 5,000GB of space at just $159.99 (£149.99 at Currys in the UK) isn't just a relief at a time when storage costs are rising to the extremes of RAM pricing, but you get the added benefit of injecting the cute factor into your PS5 setup. Sure, not everyone actually cares about that, but I always find it pretty sad that PS5 SSDs cost so much and you never see them once you pop them in the M.2 slot on the back of the console.

The Astro Bot Game Drive, on the other hand, demands to be seen. The accompanying USB 3.0 cable is pretty small, so it needs to sit pretty close to your PS5. In the little over a month I've had it next to mine, I've been a-okay with that as an Astro Bot fan. There's a stunning blue strip of LED lighting that softly glows under the base of the drive when in use, and highlights the little blue eyes that peek across the edge. The entire thing is draped in adorable art featuring the TeamASOBI robo, which beautifully matches my official Astro Bot DualSense controller and makes me smile every time I see it - something internal M.2 drives never manage to muster.

Of course, adorable-ness aside, if I had to pick, I would always opt for an internal PS5 drive. It's much easier to run storage-demanding games like Marvel Rivals and Fortnite straight from the source than remember to transfer them back to the on-board drive each time you want to play. However, I was fortunate to grab the internal SSD for my PS5 before the prices started to rise, and not everyone can get hold of a time machine and do the same.

There are some remaining bastions of appropriate SSD pricing, like the Crucial P510 which provides its own heatsink and is still $139.99 at Amazon for now. It only provides 1TB, but you will be able run games straight from it without issue. If you need to have at least 4TB and beyond, that's when you're going to see those eye-watering inflated prices.

If you're desperate for more PS5 storage and don't quite have the budget prepared for the rising costs of PS5 SSDs, which could get worse in the months to come, this Seagate Game Drive should be on your radar. If you're not an Astro Bot fan, you can also grab the plain white Game Drive for $159.99 at Best Buy, but you will be missing out on a free pack of Astro Bot stickers. Just to let you know.

• View all PS5 external hard drives at Amazon
• View all PS5 SSDs at Amazon

Check out our guides to the best Xbox Series X hard drives, the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards, and the best SSDs for gaming if you're after some new storage solutions for your platform of choice.

As the overseer of all things SSDs and storage for the GamesRadar+ hardware team, I was excited to learn about any innovations in this space during CES 2026 this month. Instead, Sandisk announced that it is rebranding its iconic WD Black and WD Blue drives under the new 'Sandisk Optimus' name.

This rebranding transforms not just the overarching name of the storage company's SSDs for gaming, but the packaging and product designs of this new Sandisk Optimus Collection are also getting rebooted. For new drives, you will no longer see "WD" on the box, and instead, this new collection will encompass three new named product lines: Sandisk Optimus, Sandisk Optimus GX, and Sandisk Optimus GX Pro, which are rolling out as I type these very words.

It feels fitting, as much like the way Optimus Prime from the iconic Transformers 80s cartoon transforms from a firetruck into a massive robot (or autobot if you will), SSDs can transform your aging PC and give it a significant boost. I'm not sure if that's what Sandisk is trying to envision among its consumer base with this new name, but it works for this aging tech nerd who grew up watching far too many Saturday morning television blocks.

The rebranding doesn't seem to be inspired by an 80s cartoon icon, and instead, Sandisk states that it is "inspired by the company's pioneering brand heritage and relentless focus on delivering innovation," with Heidi Arkinstall, VP Global Consumer Brand and Digital Marketing at Sandisk, stating in a press release that the "with this change we are making it easier for consumers to find the right solution for their needs."

To make it easier for you to identify these upcoming changes, all you really need to remember is that the WD Blue SN5 line, which includes drives like the WD Blue 5100 SSD, is now under the Sandisk Optimus name. Meanwhile, WD Black SN7 drives, like the WD Black SN7100 SSD, are now under the SanDisk Optimis GX product line. Lastly, the Sandisk Optimus GX Pro line is the rebranding of the brand's premium drives, which are aimed at developers and those who need the fastest performance and speeds possible, and includes all previously titled WD Black SN8 drives.

The transition to this product refresh began with the announcement on January 5 at CES 2026, and the next time you go to update your PC, you might just catch the SSD's new name and packaging. Sandisk states that the new Optimus Collection SSDs are expected to be available to retailers worldwide during the first half of 2026, and older SSDs are expected to be available while inventory lasts.

I'd like to hope that this new rebrand will mean retailers will start to drop the prices of these older WD Black and WD Blue SSDs in an effort to clear out stock, but I have my doubts, especially in the wake of the price increases seen across RAM and GPUs when it comes to PC gaming. SSD pricing typically likes to bound all over the place, even without a new rebranding in the mix. However, 2026 is a new year, so if you want to keep an eye on the prices (and any helpful discounts) of older stock, I won't stop you.

• View all SSDs for gaming at Amazon
• View all PS5 SSDs at Amazon

If you're in need of some extra storage, I've also rounded up the best SSDS for PS5, the best PS5 external drives, and the best Xbox Series X hard drives on the market.

The Astro Bot Limited Edition Game Drive made me squeal with joy the moment I first stumbled upon images of its adorable design. It was a reaction I never thought I'd have with a PS5 external hard drive, especially as they're essentially just rectangular blocks that you plug into one of the USB ports of the console to give it more space for all your PlayStation Plus and digital game downloads - nothing too exciting, but it really is too cute.

I'm still not particularly a fan of external hard drives when the best SSDs for PS5 will actually run your favorite PS5 games, aswell as store them. That being said, the limited edition drive gave my PS5 an injection of overwhelming cuteness and a place for me to store all my PS4 games to free up more of my internal SSD without the extortionate costs that could come with a 5TB internal alternative. In the short week I've had it set up, I'm still not an external HD convert, but my PS5 is still better (and cuter) for it.

This Astro Bot version of the Seagate Game Drive contains 5TB worth of space, which has been plenty for all my PS5 and PS4 games in the short week I've had hooked up to my Sony console. But there are a few things you need to know first before you run out and grab one of your own.

Firstly, this bad boy can only store PS5 games, and not run them like your onboard storage or any internal M.2 drive you might have installed. If you're purely in need of a storage boost for your digital PS5 game library, you're better off grabbing an alternative like the WD SN850X, which is designed with the console in mind. This will, however, be monumentally more expensive than this $159.99 option, with the 2TB version currently $279.99 at Amazon at least, which is partially what makes this Astro Bot drive a lot more appealing besides its cute exterior.

Secondly, when hooking up the Seagate Game Drive, you'll need to ensure you're using one of the SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps ports. I have the chonky old launch model, so these are located on the back of the console. The shortness of the cable provided by Seagate made this a bit awkward as it cannot stretch that far. As a result, the drive is currently sitting on top of my PS5, as that's the only place I store it and still be able to see its cute design and blue strip of LED lighting. It's not the worst place for it, but it's not ideal.

Once I had set up and formatted the drive, it at least worked like a charm, and I can't wait to take it for a spin for a proper review in the new year. The PS5 automatically set it up so that any PS4 games I downloaded would automatically save to the Astro Bot Drive, whereas PS5 games would continue to install to my internal M.2 drive. I have the option to change this, but in the short week I've had it setup it's allowed me to offload any PS4 titles from my internal SSD and free up more of its 4TB worth of space. Better yet, this thing can run PS4 games, so it's nice to keep them all in one place, especially as I have an itch to play older games like Prey right now.

Most importantly, the limited edition Game Drive is one of the cutest I've laid my eyes on, and my living room console arrangement looks better for it. You don't get to see internal M.2 drives once you pop them in your PS5, so I'm really appreciating seeing the Astro Bot HD with its glowing blue light and its cute eyes that peek from out the edge of the device. It also came with a free set of Astro Bot stickers, which I'm ready to plaster all over my bare, white console covers until Sony and TeamASOBI decide to make some of their own.

I still have a few weeks to go to test the drive and see if its speeds are up to bar with my gaming needs, but it's been a nice addition to my PS5 setup. If you happen to be a big Astro Bot fan and happen to need some extra storage, it's a nice cheaper alternative to grabbing a 5TB internal drive. Plus, its the perfect PS5 accessory to match up with either Astro Bot DualSense controller if you have one.

• View all PS5 external hard drives at Amazon
• View all PS5 SSDs and storage at Amazon
• 2TB Seagate External HDD Game Drive  | $79.99 at PS Direct

Our guides for the best PS5 headset, the best PS5 controller, and the best PS5 accessories are full of more Sony gaming goodies.

It's a strange time for PC builders and console players alike. Both the prices of consoles and components have continued to climb in 2025, putting more pressure on budget-friendly Gen 4 drives like this WD Black SN7100 than ever before. That's because the reduced manufacturing costs of DRAM-less SSDs for gaming like this one can give your PC, gaming laptops, or PS5 a little boost and a new lease of life without the exorbitant price of newer Gen 5 alternatives, especially when the 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB models for the SN7100 retail for $69.99, $199.99, and $209.9,9, respectively.

I'm getting to this review a little late, so the costs have begun to fluctuate ever so slightly, but that's par for the course in the SSD market. Despite the passing of time, the 1TB SN7100 still provides great Gen 4 read and write speeds of 7,084.27 and 6,858.23 MB/s for $119.99, which is just shy of its quoted 7,250MB/s read and 6,900MB/s speeds on the box. Those times aren't revolutionary, nor are they the fastest available on the market today, but they get the job done, and I was able to still see faster loading times in a range of games from Marvel Rivals to Dispatch on my gaming rig.

The SN7100 has no heatsink model, so if you're after one of the best SSDs for your PS5, you'll need to grab your own, or you could spend a little more to grab an alternative like the WD Black SN850X if you can find it in stock. But the WD Black SN7100 still gets the job done and is worth integrating into your rig, and even if you wait a little longer, its pricing should remain okay as DRAM-less drives are typically more resistant to rising costs. Availability is still strong even this long after release - there's even a new 4TB variant available now too.

Design

The WD Black SN7100 is a PCIe Gen 4x4 DRAMless NVMe SSD designed with gaming laptops and smaller devices in mind, though it's also compatible with full-sized desktop gaming PCs, which is what I tested it in for this very review. As a drive with a M.2 2280 form factor, it looks pretty much as you'd expect - a small black rectangle, with Western Digital and Sandisk branding found throughout.

It's definitely part of the WD family, as it bears the resemblance of the WD Black SN770 range that came before it, and on the PCB, you'll find a single flash chip and a controller. There's no DRAM cache chip to be found, which may prompt you to look for a fancier, flagship option instead. This could be a wallet-friendly option though, especially in during the RAM wafer pricing apocalypse, which will cause a surge to more advanced SSDs.

If you're on the hunt for a new SSD for your PS5, you can, in fact, add this to your Sony console to give it a little storage boost. However, there's no heatsink model of this drive, so it will require you to provide one of your own that fits its 2280 sizing.

Features

The WD Black SN7100 SSD is powered by Sandisk’s TLC 3D NAND tech and is available in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. Western Digital boasts on the box that the 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB triad of DRAMless NVMe SSDs are equipped with read and write speeds up to 7,250 MB/s and 6,900 MB/s, and that they can provide a 35% performance boost over their predecessors, like that of the WD Black SN770M SSD. Meanwhile, the 500GB model can provide 6,800MB/s read and 5,800MB/s write speeds.

I'm a bit late to the game, but it feels worth including that the 4TB model wasn't available at launch. Fortunately, WD rectified its omission earlier this year, and if you find even 2,000GB worth of space limiting for all your game and content creation needs, you've at least got that 4TB option available. The 4TB option also happens to support endurance ratings of up to 2,400TBW (1,200TBW for the 2TB model) which in layman's terms, means that it can handle up to 2,400TB worth of data in its lifespan before it starts to act not up to par.

Performance

SanDisk states that the WD Black SN7100 can reach "level-conquering speeds" of up to 7,250MB/s read and 6,900MB/s write when it comes to the 1TB to 2TB models, and it's the 1TB model that I was provided with to review. As with every SSD that passes mine and the rest of our team's testing benches (aka, our PC gaming setups), I ran the drive through our benchmarking processes to put this marketing spiel to the test. In CrystalDiskMark, I performed four read and write speed tests and calculated the average speed in MB/s of each, which you can see for yourself in the table below.

When it comes to its average read and write speeds, the 1TB SN7100 is a tiny bit shy of its on-the-box specs, coming in at an average of 7,084.27 and 6,858.23 MB/s. To put those numbers into perspective, the SSD that currently tops our best SSD guide reached average speeds of 7,462MB/s reads and 6,877MB/s as seen in our Samsung 990 Pro review, which is nearing what's capable for Gen 4 drives. The SN7100 is just marginally behind, but its speeds are nonetheless impressive, especially when you consider that the 1TB version I've got my hands on retails for just $119.99 / £109.99, though you're likely to find up to $168 right now thanks to the ever-fluctuating SSD pricing.

Remember also, that the higher capacity you go for, the more likely you are to see slight increases in performance, so if you opt for the 2TB version of this drive, you may get even closer to those quoted speeds.

Those speeds aren't going to mean much until you test them in practice. To do just that, I fired up a bunch of games on my gaming PC of varying install sizes and compared how fast they loaded on the onboard storage while stored on the SN7100. My calculations aren't entirely precise, as this test is basically carried out via me loading up games and using the stopwatch function on my smartphone, but it can still provide a rough indication of how speedy the drive is in action.

The 105.39GB of Marvel Rivals took on average 39.5 seconds (over the space of three tests) to load from its launcher to the start menu from my PC's onboard PNY CS1030 500GB drive. After being moved to the SN7100, it took an average 35.77 seconds. Additionally, the 14.33GB of Dispatch took an average of 15.21 seconds to load to its menu screen from the onboard storage, and 13.4 seconds from the SN7100. The SN7100 was faster compared to the default storage of my PC, but the differences of a few seconds were barely noticeable in the grand scheme of things, and won't be to the average player. However, the general speediness of the drive will be, and it was nice to be able to fire into Marvel Rival matches and finish up the anniversary events in no time flat - well, 35.77 seconds to be exact. Quicksilver would be proud.

Now, I don't own a DC meter, so I couldn't directly test the power consumption of the SN7100 to put Western Digital's "100% more power efficiency at maximum speed" claims to the test. However, I never noticed any slowdown or issues with my rig when it came to playing games directly from the drive, or just working away on any given day. What I was able to additionally measure was the temperature, which reported back as 39° during most tasks, and that barely budged when I was playing more graphically intensive games, like Marvel Rivals, which was a nice sight to behold.

It's worth adding that while I was given a model without a heatsink, I made sure to combine it with one to ensure there weren't any overheating issues - and there were none. Whether it was testing the loading times of the games above, or going about my day-to-day workload with far too many Chrome tabs open, and apps like Discord and Spotify running in the background.

Overall - should you buy the WD Black SN7100 SSD?

The WD Black SN7100 isn't the fastest Gen 4 drive that we've tested here at GamesRadar+. That award is currently held by the Samsung 990 Pro, which achieved blistering 7,462MB/s and 6,877MB/s read and write speeds, which is up there with the Corsair MP600 Elite, the Seagate Firecuda 530, and the WD Black SN850X.

With Gen 5 drives like the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD out in the market, we're at a point where we're reaching the pinnacle of what Gen 4 drives can achieve, and the SN7100 isn't necessarily trying to reach the peak of the mountain with its 7,084.27 and 6858.23 MB/s average read and write speeds. With these kinds of DRAM-less drives, it's less about achieving the pinnacle of speed and more about value, and if you can find the SN7100 for as close to its US and UK MSRP as possible, I'd definitely recommend adding it to your rig for some extra space that still performs speedily.

It's not going to provide the pinnacle of futureproofing as opposed to a Gen 5 alternative, but with the 1TB version coming in at $119.99 / £109.99, you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. Sure, you wouldn't have to spend that much more to grab an alternative like the 1TB WD Black SN850X, and that solves the pain of having to source a separate heatsink. Yet, if your PC or PS5 just needs a little boost and you can't afford to budget for the scarily demanding costs of new consoles and updating your entire rig, this drive is still a worthy pick up.

How I tested the WD Black SN7100 SSD

To put the 1TB WD Black SN7100 to the test, I attached it to the SSD slot of my gaming PC, with a Corsair heatsink in tow. While it was part of my PC setup, I ran the drive through the benchmarking tool CrystalDiskMark, and over four tests took the average read and write speeds and compared them to the on-the-box speeds. Additionally, I downloaded games like Marvel Rivals, Dispatch, and Battle Suit Aces to the drive via Steam, and timed with a stopwatch app how fast they took to load to their respective start screens, by taking an average time over 3 tests for each. Afterwards, I deleted then reinstalled the games on the onboard storage of my rig and did the same, then compared the times to see how the SN7100 stacked up.

To read more about the ways we test PS5 SSDs and the rest of our gaming tech, have a look at how we test PS5 SSDs and our hardware policy.

If your consoles should use a boost, check out our guides for the best SSDs for PS5, the best PS5 external hard drive, and the best Xbox Series X hard drive for more storage picks.

PS5 SSD pricing can always be a bit funny. A ton of US and UK retailers like to state any given drive is on sale, but when I use my handy CamelCamelCamel price checker, it's actually been far cheaper over the last six months, which is a huge bummer.

Take, for example, the Samsung Pro 990, which is currently our team's go-to PS5 SSD. Retailers like Amazon state it's on sale as part of this week's Black Friday PS5 deals, but according to our price checker, its current $199.99 "deal" price is actually marginally more than the $170 it was averaging over the last few months. That's why I recommend that you grab the Crucial P310 SSD while it's down to $239.99 at Best Buy instead.

For just $40 more than the 'discounted' 2TB Samsung Pro 990 SSD, you're getting double its storage with 4TB to play with. That's more than plenty to download as many new PlayStation Plus Premium games as your heart desires, and I should know, as I have a 4TB SSD taking up the M.2 slot in the back of my Sony console this very moment.

Should you buy the Crucial P310 4TB Internal SSD for the PS5?

I actually needed 4TB worth of every space, so this drive was a perfect fit. If you prefer physical games online, don't play online games like Fortnite that take a nasty chunk of your onboard console storage with every update, and are not an active PS Plus member, you likely won't have the need to have 4000GB at your disposal.

For me, it's been a relief as I've been able to focus purely on what I want to play, and have been able to spend less time in my console settings picking out what games to delete. In fact, because of this drive, I reinstalled Fortnite as I finally had the over 90GB worth of space to keep it around, and as a result, I've been able to enjoy the latest Simpsons crossover, which is a big deal as I'm pretty obsessed with the residents of Springfield. I've enjoyed it so much that I rejoined Fortnite Crew too, something I'd not have bothered with had I been stuck with the storage-demanding needs of the game.

While its 4TB storage is all well and good, this drive is definitely not as speedy as the Samsung 990 Pro mentioned earlier, but it's not too bad either. According to its on-the-box specs, the Crucial P310 4TB Internal SSD can reach average sequential reads/writes up to 7,100 and 6,000MB/s, which is pretty much what you'd expect. The recommended sequential speed for a PS5 dive is at least 5,500 MB/s, so you're not going to have any issues loading or running games straight off the Crucial P310 SSD at least - it'll get the job done.

Of course, if money is no issue and you'd rather have the best of the best, you can still grab the 2TB Samsung 990 Pro for $199.99 at Amazon right now. Just don't come crawling to me when it drops back down to the $170 mark after Black Friday is over and done with.

• View all Black Friday PS5 SSD deals at Amazon
• View all Black Friday SSD and storage deals at Amazon
• 2TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD | $199.99 at Amazon

On the hunt for more Black Friday gaming deals today? Don't forget to check out our hubs for the best Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals and the best Black Friday Xbox deals.

Every time I see a game file size that's hundreds of gigabytes big, I have to do some math to work out how many of my other games I'll have to uninstall to enjoy it. But Xbox owners can skip the counting thanks to this new Black Friday deal on SSDs.

Currently, the entire range of Seagate Storage Expansion Card is discounted in Black Friday sales, letting you pick up the 1TB, 2TB or 4TB storage card at a reduced price. Given the high cost of these memory cards at MSRP, any discount is really welcome, and one of these deals has an extra perk thrown in to treat Xbox owners. Let's take a look at the best prices:

Should you buy the Seagate Storage Expansion?

If you've not faced any storage problems with your Xbox Series X or Series S, you don't need the Storage Expansion Cards. Keep on as you were. They also don't work for Xbox One or older consoles; only for the Series X or S.

But if you find yourself having to uninstall your favorite games to play new ones, or bumping up against the hundred-plus GB space of current titles, then you should seriously buying one of these cards. They can be plugged into your Xbox really simply, and games will run off of them just fine.

Admittedly, they're a little expensive at MSRP, especially the monstrous 4TB one, but that's what sales are for, right?

The Storage Expansion Cards will be particularly useful to owners of the Xbox Series X. Since that disc-free console can only play digital games, getting several terabytes of extra space will add so much space for new titles.

They'll also be great buys for people who use Xbox Games Pass, so you can download multiple titles from the subscription at once instead of juggling one or two at any time.

But many like them, just for the assurances that you won't need to constantly play Tetris with your storage space to make sure you can play new games when you get them.

• Seagate Portable 2TB hard drive | $79.99 $64.99 at Amazon
• Seagate FireCuda Gaming 8TB hard drive | $209.99 $159.99 at Walmart

If you want to find other discounted extras, we've got a guide to the best Black Friday Xbox deals, and other storage options in our list of Black Friday gaming PC deals. Or you can use our overall curated collection of Black Friday gaming deals to see the entire suite of discounts.

When I made my own PC, I bought a 4TB hard drive, thinking that was more than enough space. I was quickly proven wrong. Perhaps I should have bought one of the ludicrously-huge Seagate Expansion hard drives, like the one that's currently at its lowest-ever price.

You can currently buy Seagate's 26TB hard drive for $249.99 at Walmart, which equals less than $10 per terabyte. Since releasing its Black Friday deals on November 25, I've found loads of intriguing items discounted at the retailer, but this behemoth is the one that's drawing my attention most of all.

The Seagate Expansion range of hard drives range from 4TB to 28TB, with options at intervals of 2TB. However only the multiples of 4 are readily ranged by Seagate, so the 26TB model is a little bit harder to find. However it's exactly the same price as the 24TB model is at discount (and also the 12TB model, strangely).

Seagate Expansions are easy-to-use desktop expansions which grant your PC or Mac a huge amount of extra space. They're not designed for gaming per se, but would be better for storing files like videos, photos, documents and projects which you import to your computer when you need them. It connects via USB 3.0 to your computer, though you need to plug it into mains power too.

Should you buy the Seagate Expansion 26TB hard drive?

There's no beating about the bush: 26TB is more than many people will need, or will ever use on their computers. But the kind of people who could use it, might really make the most of a deal like this.

I quickly stuffed my 4TB hard drive with various video projects — apparently creating your own library of self-shot b-roll footage chomps up space — and I know more serious film-makers who need tens of terabytes of storage for each project they work on.

Likewise people who work on gaming, music or animated projects might find that 26TB is a nice amount of space to fit everything they need.

You could also buy it as a big back-up for all of your files, which sits alongside a primary hard drive so you can ensure you're covered in case anything goes wrong. Common logic is to keep all of your important files in two places at once, and the Seagate Expansion could be one such place.

Even with these things in mind, you might not need 26TB, but other sizes of hard drive from various brands are also discounted:

• See all Black Friday deals at Walmart
• Seagate FireCuda Gaming 8TB hard drive | $20.99 $159.99 at Walmart
• Seagate Portable 2TB hard drive | $79.99 $64.99 at Amazon

Looking to beef up your gaming set-up? We've got a guide to the best Black Friday gaming PC deals, as well as an overview to Black Friday gaming deals. And here's our round-up of the best external hard drives for gaming, so you know what your options are.

While many people spend Black Friday hunting for deals on big-ticket items like TVs, consoles and graphics cards, spare a thought for the less flashy but still vital part of a gaming set-up: storage. And if you can spare a thought you can spare a penny, because one of the biggest manufacturers is offering some pretty big discounts.

Over at the Samsung website, you can find big discounts on all kinds of products the company makes. This includes its storage options, ranging from the smallest flash drives and mid-sized microSD cards, to giant portable and internal SSDs.

In many cases, Samsung has the cheapest price on its own tech. When it doesn't, I've raised where you can get it cheaper, but it looks like Samsung's stock is a lot more reliable than that from other outlets.

• See all Black Friday deals at Samsung

To know which discounts to look for, we've got a guide to the Black Friday gaming deals, as well as specific primers for Black Friday gaming monitor deals.

I much prefer to pop an internal M.2 SSD into my PlayStation 5, as you can run games directly off the drive, and it doesn't take up any counter space - but I'm willing to look past my PS5 preferences when it comes to this limited edition Astro Bot Seagate Game Drive.

Available to pre-order for $159.99 at PS Direct, this external PS5 hard drive features adorable imagery of the TeamASOBI mascot and provides up to 5TB of extra storage for all your PS5, PS4, and PC storage needs. Like the rest of Seagate's Game Drives, it's equipped with LED lighting which glows blue and feels entirely on brand for everyone's favorite white and blue-colored Bot. If you need to store your extra PS Plus games, or like me, just want an accessory to match the Astro Bot DualSense controllers, the Astro Bot external drive is available from December 11, but you'll only find it on the US PS Direct store.

If you're eager for some extra storage you can check out the best Black Friday PS5 deals for savings on SSDs, including external drives, but you won't see any of Seagate's past limited edition Game Drives amongst the discounts. These fancy-looking blocks of storage tend to sell out fast, and after checking out this new, incredibly cute Astro Bot version, I can see why.

It feels bizarre calling an external drive cute, but it's hard not to when it comes to the design. The bottom edge of the drive features Astro Bot's adorable light blue eyes, just like the Astro Bot DualSense controller I use pretty much every day. While he's not making a little expression on the drive, the blue LED lighting that illuminates just underneath makes it feel as though he's tucked away inside the PS5 accessory, and I can already imagine how great this would look next to my own PS5.

Of course, it's not just about its looks. This limited edition drive can store up to 5TB worth of your PS5 games, and it's compatible with the older PS4 and gaming PCs too. Seagate states amongst its marketing spiel that thsi 5TB can store up to "60 epic game titles" but it's worth remembering that that will entirely depend on the kind of games you play.

I don't think there are over 60 storage-demanding AAA PS5 titles, so if you have a good mixture of both large AAA and smaller indie titles, you'll be able to cram a lot into that 5000GB. As an external drive, you won't be able to run games directly from the Astro Bot Game Drive, which is a bit of a bummer, but that's true of all external drives.

Given that a 5TB internal SSD alternative would cost you upwards of $400, having a large amount of spare space is still worthwhile, especially for just $159.99. Plus, you can easily transfer your games over to your internal storage when you want to actually play them- Astro Bot included.

The limited edition Astro Bot Seagate Game Drive is available to pre-order from the US PS Direct store and will launch on December 11 later this year. There's no indication on whether it'll be available in the UK, but I'll update this page as soon as that changes.

• View all Seagate PS5 Game Drives at Amazon
• View all PS5 external hard drive deals at Amazon
• Seagate PS5 Game Drive 2TB External Hard Drive | $79.99 at Amazon

If you're on the hunt for some gaming gifts, check out our guides for the best Black Friday gaming deals, the best Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals, and the best Black Friday Xbox deals for discounts on consoles, accessories, and more.

The best PS5 SSD we've tested so far is the Samsung 990 Pro. This speedy Gen 4 stick hits the heights of the PS5's limits while still coming with a slick and easy heatsink integrated into the design. That means a faff-free installation and console-grade loading times.

The 990 Pro is available with or without a heatsink attached, and it's also the best SSD for gaming we've tested overall. Its 7,462MB/s read and 6,877MB/s write speeds we achieved with the 2TB model are as good as it gets for a Gen 4 drive, but as great as it is, you're likely to struggle to find it for its original $110 / £110 starting price in 2026.

If you don't want to break past three figures, the Nextorage NEM-PA is your next best bet. This is a $90 / £90 1TB drive that still comes with a heatsink attached and impressive speeds for the price. You're not getting anything flashy here, though, and larger configurations can scale quickly. Just be warned that with the rising SSD prices, you might struggle to find the drive and the rest of the PS5 SSDs as part of this list, for their original MSRPs.

Straight down the middle, we have the Samsung 980 Pro. It's excellent value from a speed perspective and keeps up with the console's own SSD nicely, but its extra age means it's slightly more likely to see discounts compared to the newer 990 Pro at the top of our list.

The Quick List

The best PS5 SSD overall

The Samsung 990 Pro is the latest Gen 4 M.2 SSD from the brand and offers some top-contender performance for PS5 and PC. Unlike most SSDs at the moment, its price is holding pretty firm (since it's never exactly gone for cheap prices). It's also readily available, perhaps since Samsung makes a lot of its own parts. I use the 4TB version of this drive in my PS5, and I can thoroughly recommend it.

The 990 Pro is available with or without a heatsink, now in up to a 4TB capacity. Its heatsink is incredibly stylish and has some lovely red flashes that line its face. In an instant, you can recognize this drive's gaming chops just from its appearance.

On the box, you're told this drive can reach unearthly speeds for a Gen 4 drive - 7,450 / 6,900 MB/s. It has a new controller that hasn't been seen in other models, which is codenamed Pascal. Beyond that, we don't know all that much about the innards of this SSD, but its numbers do speak for themselves.

This is the gen 4 SSD maxed out - the 2TB model of this drive we tested for review nailed Samsung's quoted figures, scoring 7,462MB/s reads and 6,877MB/s writes. From extensively using the 4TB version of this drive in my own PS5, I've found much the same, and it's the fastest SSD Sony's own benchmark has ever recognized. In short, this is the pound-for-pound fastest Gen 4 drive on the market, and if you don't mind paying a bit more for it, it's an easy recommendation from us.

Read more: Samsung 990 Pro review

The best budget PS5 SSD

Nextorage is a relatively new brand on the scene in the storage market. It's a company made up of former Sony employees who have now broken off to start a very successful solo career. Sony, admittedly does own a share in its new solo act, but when looking for an SSD for PS5, that might actually be a good thing. Nextorage has been turning heads with its NEM-PA Series because as all the other cotenders have been getting more expensive, this lovely little drive has remained more affordable.

The design of the NEM-PA Series isn't as flashy as the big names on this list, but it's available with a really solid heatsink that will slot easily into the PS5's M.2 tray. It's all black in color, so aesthetically it isn't massively interesting, but the vent lines along its body will do the trick, and that's the main thing when the drive will be covered by a faceplate anyway.

Advertised speeds here are 7,300MB/s / 6,900MB/s read/write respectively, and the NEM-PA is available in 1, 2, 4, and 8TB shapes. Architecturally, there's a dynamic SLC cache, up to 2GB of DDR4 DRAM, and 4th Gen PCIe interface support. Those numbers, in particular, put it up there with the giants of the market, and are very comparable with the likes of the Samsung 980 Pro.

Like all Gen 4 options with the required read speed, this is compatible with PC and PS5, but its emphasis on PS5 specifically means it doesn't seem available without a heatsink. Luckily, its price is fair, so you shouldn't feel the need to look for a cheaper option anyway.

Inside the PS5, Nextorage's option scored a solid 6,539MB/s in Sony's formatting benchmark. This is actually up there with the highest internal PS5 numbers we've come across, which speaks to its quality against much bigger, much pricier brands. CrystalDiskMark showed us numbers that actually surpassed the advertised write speeds, clocking in an average of 6,924MB/s across three tests.

Transfer times were equally as impressive, as Alan Wake 2 moved from the internal stock SSD in the PS5 to the NEM-PA Series in only 30 seconds from an average of 3 tests. That’s 77.87GB in less than half a minute. In return transfers, Alan Wake 2 moved back to the internal SSD of the PS5 in 5 minutes and 20 seconds.

We noticed quicker-than-usual load times on the console as well, so it's safe to say we're thoroughly impressed by what Nextorage has made here. A lot of the time with products we award "best budget" labels to, the quality isn't quite up there with the others we review. It's usually a sign that for the money, that product is good, and does the trick. With this, however, you get something genuinely competitive with what is typically pricier.

Read more: Nextorage NEM-PA Series 5 review

The best value PS5 SSD

The Samsung 980 Pro is still one of the best PS5 SSDs on the market, especially considering that the heatsink model is now widely available, and frequently discounted, too. While this drive may no longer be the absolute fastest Gen 4.0 unit that you can slot into your Sony system, the all-star sequential rates of up to 7,000 MB/s read cannot be denied.

While Gen 4 drives running the likes of the Phison E18 controller are going to offer more consistent, and faster overall random performance, the Samsung 980 Pro matches the console's internal storage and is usually available substantially cheaper than newer drives on the market. The addition of a dedicated heatsink custom-made for the system is going to be ideal for anyone preferring the plug-and-play approach as opposed to having to go all DIY, too.

In terms of potential sizes here you get 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB models, and you can elect to get one with or without the heatsink.

Even if the 990 Pro is a bump up in terms of speed, the 980 Pro is still one of the fastest drives going, offering speeds of 6.7GB/s read and 4.9GB/s in our review tests. Since this is likely found discounted these days, the value for money here is pretty outrageous.

If you want faster, the SN850X and 990 Pro will give you that, but certainly, if you're waiting to buy until deals season, the 980 Pro will have you covered.

Read more: Samsung 980 PRO Review

The best PS5 SSD with a separate heatsink

The SK Hynix Platinum P41 is a great SSD in its own right, sitting just under the top dogs of the Gen 4 as a fast performer. Combined with its companion Haechi H01 and H02 heatsink, however, it's a perfect fit for PS5 if you want to futureproof yourself with a separate cooling device.

The idea of buying a separate heatsink might not make a lot of sense at first - with so many great options out there, why not just make your installation easier and buy something with a heatsink pre-attached? Well, it's well-known that buying drives without heatsinks is a bit more affordable. Buying a separate heatsink like this means you'll be able to swap out your drive and spend less money because you already have a perfect heatsink for your PS5.

The Haechi H01 is ideal for anyone with a launch PS5, but for any PS5 Pro owners or PS5 Slim owners, the H02's slightly smaller build will make it easier to fit your faceplates back on after installation.

The Platinum P41 itself has advertised sequential speeds of 7,000MB/s and 6,500MB/s, which is reflected in its middling price point, and comes with the 3D NAND cache tech we know and love from the latest drives - which is great for something that's now a few years old.

In testing, however, we actually found an increase in the P41's speeds from what was advertised. CrystalDiskMark showed us an average of 7,206MB/s for sequential read speed, which will be hard to notice but is still a decent score for a drive that, again, has had a lot of competition launch since it's been on the shelves.

Inside the PS5, the formatting test showed us 6,188MB/s, which is a tad more disappointing if you're looking for the fastest drive in Sony's console. Still, your mileage may vary, and it's the addition of the hefty separated heatsink we're really here for anyway.

Read more: SK Hynix Platinum P41 + Haechi Heatsink review

Editor's note:

If you go for another M.2 SSD, that's totally fine, but make sure it's in line with the PS5's internal SSD specifications. We've listed the most important ones below.

• PCIe Gen4 interface (not Gen 5, sadly)
• 250GB - 4TB capacity
• Minimum 5,500MB/s read speed or faster
• 22mm width (do not go for 25mm units)
• a heatsink is required (built-in or DIY)

Best Heatsinks for PS5 SSDs

While some SSDs that are specifically designed with the PS5 in mind come with a heatsink built-in, others do not. Either way, you will need to pair your PS5 SSD with one of the best PS5 heatsinks.

On the plus side, you can buy them separately from a wide range of manufacturers. They're very easy to fit and will stop your new SSD from overheating and being damaged as a result. It's usually fairly easy to see if an SSD doesn't have a heatsink already, because it will be very thin, and will most likely have elements of the circuit board on show. Products with a heatsink attached will usually say on the listing page, and will often be a little thicker, with vent-looking elements on one or both sides.

Sometimes built-in heatsinks drive up the cost quite a lot, so buying your own can save you a decent amount of cash. We've listed a few of our favorite options below.

How we test PS5 SSDs

You can find out the specifics of how we test SSDs in our full GamesRadar Hardware Policy, but it's worth going stating here, too. At GamesRadar, we utilize extensive testing methods when reviewing the latest SSDs and hard drives, either for standalone write-ups or in lists just like this one.

For PS5 SSDs, the biggest tests that we conduct are as follows:

• CrystalDiskMark benchmarking tests
• Sony's official benchmarking speed test (which happens after a device format)
• File transfer speed tests (from the console's internal storage and back again)
• In-game loading times (time clocked between menus and gameplay, etc.)

Value for money and price-to-performance ratio are paramount when considering what makes a PS5 SSD one of the best on the market. We do test each drive in full in both a gaming PC as well as a PS5 however, because sadly, the PS5's motherboard isn't capable of getting the full speed out of each one. That's why we use CrystalDiskMark to benchmark the PCs in an environment where they're more likely to show their potential. We'll then install an SSD inside a PS5 and look at the console's own formatting benchmark, which shows just how much you'll get out of one in Sony's machine.

Thereafter, it's all about showing you examples of how an SSD will impact your gaming time. PS5 loading tests aren't the most accurate tests in the world, but they will give you an idea of how long you'll need to wait between gameplay sections.

File transfer tests can be a nice example of the quality of life bonuses a drive will give you when moving game files around, or shifting capture clips and screenshots off the console. The types of games we move can differ depending on any given reviewer's access to certain releases. However, storage-demanding releases like Fortnite and Marvel Rivals are key games we use to transfer between the PS5 and the SSD, as well as any recent AAA PS5 titles, or any single-player games that the review or member of our hardware team may have access to.

How to choose the best PS5 SSD

The first step in choosing an SSD for PS5 is to think about how you'll use it. What's a priority for you with a storage device? Do you want more speed, or space? Will you use it for PS5 games, or will you use it for moving games on and off the console?

If you want some back up space for older games, and you want to shift files on and off the console's drive, then you may not even need an internal drive. An external SSD will probably be enough for you, especially since you can format one to act as additional storage for PlayStation games.

Then again, if you want more space for PS5 games, and a drive you'll be able to launch them off of, an internal SSD is what you want. These will basically act as an extension of your console's own storage space, and with them, you'll be less likely to be bothered by that annoying notification telling you you're out of room for installing new games. Modern SSDs can also out-perform the PS5 in terms of loading times, so if you want marginally quicker loading times than you already have, then one of these M.2 drives is for you.

Also tested

Best PS5 SSD FAQ

How big are PS5 games?

Knowing if updating your PS5 with another SSD is right for you can be easily surmised by what games you play, and how much space they take up on your system. Especially when games like Horizon Forbidden West can take up to 150GB worth of space on your console.

If you're regularly deleting games to make space for more, then grabbing an additional bit of storage is likely a wise idea. To give you an idea of the install size of major PS5 releases, we've listed some below:

(It's worth knowing that as games regularly get patches and updates, these download sizes are subject to change.)

• Astro Bot - 66GB
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 41GB
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - 145GB
• Final Fantasy XVI - 90GB
• Fortnite - 42.66GB
• Horizon Forbidden West - 150GB
• Lost Records Bloom and Rage - 38.56GB
• Marvel Rivals - 36.58GB
• The Last of US Part Two Remastered - 79GB
• Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - 52.56GB
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - 98GB
• Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart - 33.6GB
• Silent Hill 2 Remake - 50.5GB

What SSD speed is good for PS5?

The minimum requirement for PS5 SSDs is 5,500MB/second. Some of the picks on our list like the Samsung 990 Pro and Seagate Firecuda 530 even surpass that to the tune of over 7,000MB/s, so anywhere between those two figures is a solid SSD speed for the best PS5 SSDs.

For anyone keeping score, solid HDDs (like the ones used in the PS4) struggle to break read and write speeds of 200MB/s.

How to install a PS5 SSD

The installation process is a lot easier than it seems, and if you feel you need visual help, there's an official PlayStation tutorial video. Essentially, you'll need a flat surface to work on, a number one Philips screwdriver, and some light.

Start by putting the PS5 on its side, with the faceplate showing the PlayStation logo face-down. After removing the other faceplate, you should be able to see the SSD tray. Unscrew the bespoke PlayStation symbol screw, and remove the lid. You should now see a green slot with a few different measurement holes. With your SSD in hand, find the line that corresponds to your drive's size. Once you've taken a quick mental note of the number, unscrew the small fixing screw and spacer. Then place the spacer in the correct measurement hole for your new SSD.

Once that's done, you can line up one of the best PS5 SSDs for insertion into the console. If the room is well lit, you'll be able to clearly see which way up your drive should be by lining up the small gap in the insertion component with that of the PS5 M.2 port. Starting at a diagonal angle pointing down and into the port, make sure the ends of your SSD fit in without too much resistance. After that, you'll need to let the drive angle down a bit, and then be quite firm to ensure it's inserted all the way. Do not apply too much pressure diagonally down, or the SSD will break. Once it is, attach your heatsink if you need to, ensuring the thermal layer has had its tape removed. Then simply put the tray lid back on if you have the room, and screw into the spacer hole you prepared earlier to secure everything in place.

That's it! Put the faceplate back on by sliding the opposite way from when you took it off, and plug the PS5 back in. The software on the PS5 should recognise that a new drive is in place, and will ask you to format it.

Looking to upgrade your PS5 with more than just expanded storage? Check out our lists of the best PS5 headsets and best TVs for PS5 and Xbox Series X. Pairing your PS5, no matter the model, with one of the best PS5 controllers will also help elevate your Sony gaming sessions.

Black Friday is still days away, but some brands are eager beavers and are already dropping prices ahead of the big day, just like Crucial.

The storage brand behind some of the best SSDs for gaming has already slashed up to 45% off a range of storage options, including its new T705 2TB NVMe M.2 Gen 5 SSD, which is down to just $159.99 at Amazon, a return to its lowest ever price so far. That price alone is fantastic for one of the latest Gen 5 drives out there (assuring you have a compatible motherboard that can actually use it), but there's also only $5 separating it from the 1TB version.

If your gaming PC, or even your PS5, is in dire need of some extra storage this November, I've gathered all the best SSD Black Friday gaming deals I've spotted from Crucial down below. While they're active now, be sure to check back on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to take a look at the full wealth of storage deals, including price drops on more of the best external hard drives when the deals are officially underway on November 28.

• View all Crucial SSD Black Friday deals at Amazon
• View all SSD and storage deals at Amazon
• Crucial T705 2TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD | $198.95 $159.99 at Amazon

If you're after some extra storage for your Sony console, check out our Black Friday PS5 deals hub for savings on console bundles, PS5 games, and accessories too. There's also our Black Friday Xbox deals hub and Black Friday gaming laptop deals hub, which are full of big early bargains.

All is definitely not quiet on the PC gaming storage front, as Corsair has just announced that it's added two new drives to its Gen 5 PCIe NVMe M.2 lineup.

In an effort to give the best SSDs for gaming on the market a run for their money, the brand has launched the MP700 Pro XT and the MP700 Micro, two new NVME M.2 SSDs that offer something for both desktop PC players and "thin-and-light devices" like laptops and handheld PC gaming devices.

The MP700 Pro XT features sequential read and write speeds up to 14,900MB/s and 14,500MB/s, which is pretty fast even as far as modern Gen 5 drives go. To put that into perspective, the Samsung 9100 Pro, which our team's own Duncan Robertson reviewed, has on the box sequential read and write speeds of 14,800MB/s and 13,400MB/s, which it just came shy of during testing. However, Duncan still dubbed it "the fastest drive we’ve ever tested" at the time, so it'll be intriguing to see how the MP700 Pro XT stacks up to the fellow Gen 5 drive.

Corsair boasts that this new SSD is not only speedy but has support for Microsoft DirectStorage, so it can offer up "unbeatable gaming speed" and enable better load times and smoother in-game transitions. It's currently available in 1TB and 2TB models starting from $159.99 at Corsair, with more capacity options to become available during 2026.

If you're more privy to one of the best gaming laptops, or have the skill to open up and upgrade one of the best gaming handhelds, the newly announced Corsair MP700 Micro might be more your style. The compact M.2 drive with its 2242 form factor is thin enough to fit laptops and notebooks, as well as "dense small-form-factor systems", which I imagine is alluding to PC gaming handhelds, but Corsair doesn't get into specifics.

This tiny drive features sequential read and write speeds of up to 10,000MB/s and 8,500MB/s and is equipped is powered by 3D TLC NAND flash memory. Corsair states is available in both 2TB and 4TB models, but so far, only the 4TB version is live for $484.99 at Corsair right now.

The Corsair MP700 Pro XT and the Corsair MP700 Micro are available right now from the official Corsair website. However, before you run out and splash your cash on either SSD, be sure to check that you have a compatible rig first.

• View all SSDs and storage at Corsair
• Crucial T710 2TB Gen5 NVMe SSD | $229.99 at Amazon

If you're after a bit of a storage boost, our guide to the best SSDs for gaming is full of the best PS5 SSDs, or you can check out the best Xbox Series X hard drive, SSD, and memory card solutions if you're on the hunt for a new external drive instead.

SanDisk just unveiled the WD Blue SN5100 NVMe SSD, a brand-new Gen 4 drive and a follow-up to the brand's WD Blue SN5000 range aimed at content creators. Better yet, its starting price is only $56.99.

The older WD Blue SSDs have remained a fixture of our best SSD for gaming guide ever since we got our hands on one, with our hardware team's own Duncan Robertson stating its 4TB model was a "cheat code for gamers," looking for storage space without compromising on price or speed. However, SanDisk boasts that this newly upgraded model is "30% faster" than the previous drives, thanks in part to its up to 7,100 MB/s and 6,700 MB/s read and write speeds,

Just like most Gen 4 SSDs available today, this drive can be easily slotted into the M.2 drive of your gaming PC. Or, into the back of your Sony console like the best PS5 SSDs if you have a compatible heatsink at the ready. However, SanDisk has designed this drive not with just gaming in mind, but to "accelerate your AI-enabled workflow" and provide content creators with "blistering speeds" when dealing with large amounts of data.

These new impressive speeds are achieved thanks to the use of SanDisk's new nCache 4.0 tech. If that sounds like a bunch of gobbledygook, I don't blame you. It basically means that this new SSD has a different method of how it manages the way data is written to the drive.

As someone who doesn't dabble in AI applications and is strictly looking at the SSD from a gaming perspective, it's really the price that's alluring me most to this new drive.

SSDs can be pretty pricey, especially at launch, so it's a breath of fresh air to see a 500GB drive available for as little as $56.99 upon release, even if it's not a heatsink model. Grabbing just 500GB isn't personally enough for my gaming needs, especially as the storage demands of the latest AAA games are getting worse every day, but even the $82.99 MSRP for the 1TB version has caught my attention, especially given that other speedy drives have launched at over $100 at least.

The SN5100 is available today and starts from $56.99 at SanDisk for the 500GB model, $82.99 for the 1TB, $155.99 for the 2TB, and $299.99 for the 4TB model - the largest capacity the drive is available in so far. Even better, the official SanDisk website has lowered the prices to just $54.99, $79.99, and $149.99, respectively, so they're even cheaper for a limited time.

You'll have to wait a bit longer if you have your eyes set on the 4TB version, but you can sign up on the SanDisk website to be notified of its pending arrival at the online store.

• View all gaming SSD deals at Amazon
• Samsung SSD 9100 PRO 2TB: $199.99 at Amazon (Was $239.99)
• WD BLACK 1TB SN8100 NVMe SSD: $159 at Amazon (Was $179.99)

Prefer some portable storage? Our guides to the best PS5 external hard drives, the best Xbox Series X hard drives, and the best Xbox One external hard drives are full of speedy drives you can take on the go.

MicroSD Express Cards are almost as new as the Nintendo Switch 2, so any discount is worth making a fuss about - especially when it comes to a 1TB card like this one.

The 1TB Lexar Play Pro microSD Express Card is down to £209.99 at Amazon for a limited time today, shaving a massive £70 off its £279.99 MSRP in the UK. This Switch 2 microSD Express Card still isn't cheap by any means, as over £200 is a lot to ask for when it comes to a tiny accessory for your Nintendo handheld - it's more than half the cost of the console itself.

However, big deals on these speedier cards are not easy to come by. This current limited-time saving is the first I've spotted on this card, and I spend every day hunting for Switch storage deals.

If you're desperate for 1TB on top of the 256GB onboard storage of the new Ninty handheld (and you're based in the UK), this is the best deal I've spotted for the massive card so far. But you can always wait around, like US Ninty fans, to see what storage discount this year's holiday sales have planned for a better deal.

Do you need a 1TB microSD Express Card for your Switch 2?

If you want extra storage for your Switch 2, you have to grab a microSD Express Card, as only those have the speedier read and write speeds able to store and run games for the new handheld. Whether you need a 1TB version is entirely up to your budget and how you use your Ninty handheld.

Personally, I'd love to have the reassurance of 1,000GB worth of space at my fingertips. Both my older OLED Switch handheld and my OLED Steam Deck have 1TB SD cards, as it means I'm able to download as many digital games as I want, without worry about filling up my device's storage. However, I haven't yet grabbed a 1TB microSD Express Card like this Lexar model, as even its current discounted price is too much for my bank account to handle.

Instead, my Switch 2 is rocking a 256GB microSD Express Card by Samsung, which is currently £47.85 at Amazon ($59.99 in the US), as it still doubles the available storage without breaking the bank. If you're in a similar spot, you can always grab a smaller-sized capacity card instead, which is ideal if you're more privy to physical Switch 2 game carts over buying digital.

There's only a handful of Switch 2 games available right now, and even the biggest sized-game (Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild Switch 2 Edition) only requires 24.1 GB worth of space to install. A 256GB or 128GB microSD Express Card is more than enough to install a few of the newest games, while having space for the Nintendo Switch Online game libraries if you want to replay some retro classics.

Yet, if you have a huge existing Switch game library and you want access to it at all times, along with the extra space for plenty of screenshots and video clips, this Lexar 1TB card is always an option. Sadly, in the US, this card is out of stock for now, but the second it receives a major discount across the pond, I'll be the first one to let you know.

• View all microSD Express deals at Amazon
• SanDisk 128GB microSD Express Card: $53.99 at Amazon
• Samsung 256GB microSD Express Card: $59.99 at Amazon

Our ultimate Switch 2 starter pack is bursting at the seams with the best Switch accessories for your new handheld, including our top picks of the best Switch headsets and the best Switch controllers that are also compatible with Ninty's newest machine.

I've owned a Steam Deck from day one, but I've managed to avoid a distracted boyfriend meme scenario with the best gaming handhelds. That's largely thanks to various mods and tweaks that have kept Valve's portable powerhouse pulling punches in the ring, but out of all the upgrades I've made so far, modding the tiny rig with a larger SSD has made the biggest difference.

Last year, I upgraded my original LCD Steam Deck with a WD Black SN700M SSD, ramping up its storage from 512GB to a massive 2TB. Even the priciest handhelds out there cap out at 1TB, so while Valve's portable is rocking an older custom RDNA 2 AMD Ryzen APU, it's already beating the Asus ROG Xbox Ally when it comes to capacity.

I want to hammer home that this Steam Deck SSD mod isn't technically 'plug and play', meaning you'll have to crack your handheld open to install the drive. If you're not used to tinkering around inside compact tech, you might want to ask someone more experienced to give you a hand.

That said, I'd still say this is one of the simplest mods you can carry out on your Steam Deck, largely because you won't have to rip out the main board or any front-facing components. The job boils down to removing the back shell and metal shielding surrounding the M.2 slot, disconnecting the battery, then unscrewing the SDD just like you would with a gaming PC.

The one additional step that might catch you out is making sure to retain the original Steam Deck drive's metal shielding. It can be removed gently with a pair of tweezers and applied to the new SSD, and while it might feel unnecessary, it'll prevent interference from the handheld's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals.

Once you've got the Deck buttoned back up, you'll also want to re-image SteamOS, as your new drive will be completely blank. Valve actually provides instructions for this since it comes in handy even if you aren't upgrading an SSD, but the process will effectively boot into the operating system just like you'd get with a box-fresh handheld.

It's worth noting that while I chose to upgrade Valve's original Steam Deck, you can arm virtually any handheld with a '2230' M.2 SSD with this beefier drive. That includes the Steam Deck OLED and the OG Asus ROG Ally, and I feel like the latter will appeal to anyone hoping to buy the portable instead of the cheapest incoming Xbox flavor.

I want to stress that the SN770M is far from being the only Steam Deck-compatible SSD out there. You'll find plenty of 2230 M.2 drives at Amazon, and you can grab the likes of Teamgroup's MP44S for $75.99 at Amazon. You'll be stuck with PCIe 3 Gen 3 speeds on Valve's handheld regardless, and while the ROG Ally will leverage any PCI 4 drive you throw at it, the WD Black boasts slightly higher read speeds.

By and large, most 2230 SSDs are going to provide the same handheld benefits, but Western Digital does go the extra mile with a five-year warranty. I wouldn't value that benefit if the drive tapped out after a year, and the one within my Deck is providing reliable. But, in the instance that something catastrophic does occur, it's nice knowing I won't have to fork out for a new drive to get the portable back on the ground.

I'm not saying upgrading your Steam Deck SSD is going to save you from thinking about new handhelds, and it probably shouldn't. New contenders are set to emerge that will change the performance bar, and Valve's iconic portable could look pretty puny by comparison. However, I'm also wary that prices are getting astronomical, so if you'd rather hold on to your Deck for a while longer, a drive swap can make all the difference.

• More ways to mod your Steam Deck at Amazon
• GuliKit Hall Effect joysticks | $29.70 at Amazon
• Jsuax transparent back shell | $29.99 at Amazon

Upgrading your handheld setup? Check out the best Steam Deck accessories and best Steam Deck docks for great add-ons. Alternatively, take a peek at the best retro consoles for ways to emulate the classics and use your physical old games.

When I was first contacted to take the new Lexar Play 2280 SE PCIe 4.0 SSD out for a test drive, I was ecstatic as my launch model PS5 is in desperate need of a storage boost. The best PS5 SSDs aren't rare by any means, but 4TB worth of space to store all my online games at once is the dream - it's enough to never really need to think about running out of space again, but that luxury doesn't normally come cheap.

The eye-watering cost of some 4TB drives, especially when a heatsink is involved, is why I've been hesitant until now, and it'd be understandable if throwing money at the problem just meant buying a PS5 Pro for some folks. But this Lexar SSD has proven itself to be a better alternative to buying entirely new hardware, and one that would give me 2TB more space than a PS5 Pro would anyway.

For the foreseeable future, this PS5 SSD is available for $224.99 at Costco, and is exclusive to the US. That leaves UK PS5 players in a bit of a pickle, but there are alternatives like the Lexar NM790 4TB SSD available from UK retailers in its stead. On the US side of things, this SSD doesn't require a Costco membership, and even better, it comes with an integrated heatsink and a screwdriver to save you from grabbing your own.

Design

The Lexar PLAY 2280 SE SSD is, surprisingly enough, a 2280, M.2 form factor drive that uses the PCIe Gen 4 interface. Its design isn't exactly something we haven't seen before. The Lexar Play drives have existed for a while now, and this new SE variant, designed with the PS5 in mind, encompasses the exact same sleek look. It's simple, but I'm actually pretty fond of the strips of metallic silver, with the logo sitting in the centre of it all.

Unlike other PS5 SSDs, like the WD Black SN850P, there's no PlayStation branding to be found here. That makes sense, given it's not an officially licensed PS5 SSD, but its lack of over-the-top branding works in its favor as it keeps its design minimal and pleasing to the eye.

An SSD that's going to be hidden in the M.2 drive of your Sony console can be as ugly as sin, as you're never going to see it until you swap it out for something bigger, anyway. But at least Lexar has ensured that this heatsink model keeps a professional and subtle, sleek-looking appearance.

Features

Like any NVMe drive these days, it's also compatible with the best gaming PCs, so long as you have a slot going spare that supports a Gen 4 drive. The drive weighs 51.5g and has dimensions of 80 x 24 x 10mm, which fit perfectly within the M.2 slot at the back of the PlayStation 5, and this model comes with a heatsink attached, so you don't need to source your own. It's also packaged with a small Lexar-branded screwdriver in case you don't have a Philips screwdriver at your disposal for installation.

Through my experience, you will be better off sticking to a Philips. The included screwdriver was awkward to use, and even my muscle-bound 6'4 fiancé wasn't strong enough to make it useful. However, Lexar's decision to include a spare was still appreciated.

For this review, I was provided with the 4TB version of this drive. The previous non-SE iterations of the Play 2280 are available in 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB versions, but this is the first Lexar PLAY 2280 SE PCIe 4.0 SSD of its kind, which comes with an integrated heatsink designed for PS5 usage.

My only tiny annoyance with this drive is with the way it's been advertised to be able to hold "up to 100+ AAA games" based on an average 38GB game size. To be honest, I'd be surprised if many recent AAA games took less than 40GB to install. If we're looking at recently released PS5 games in particular, Death Stranding 2 On the Beach, which launched on June 26, requires 92.80GB worth of space, meanwhile, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 which dropped on July 11 was 43.89GB at the time of release, which is considerably less but still more than that average shared.

If you're after this drive as you need to have at least 100 games installed at once, you'd be better off looking at 8TB SSDs instead, in all honesty. I've most definitely been able to squeeze in far more games than the 825GB of my launch model Sony console could muster, but over 100 AAA titles is not going to be easily achievable when the storage size of the biggest PS5 releases is getting more demanding by the day.

4TB was more than enough to store (and run) my favorite hefty-sized online games like Sea of Thieves (89.47GB) without having to worry about any incoming updates. Fortnite, which used to take up 88.95GB worth of my onboard storage, now sits comfortably on the Lexar SSD, and I no longer have to put up with the influx of error notifications on the system as there's enough room for its updates and then some.

Performance

Lexar advertises that the Play 2280 SE SSD can achieve 7,000MB/s max read and 6,000MB/s max write speeds, but my PS5 formatting benchmark showed that it had a read speed of 6,387 MB/s. That's not a bad speed by any stretch of the imagination, and is par for the course for any Gen 4 SSD slotted into Sony's console. It's always slightly disappointing when an SSD can't make full use of its quoted speed, but the blame really lies at the feet of Sony's console architects for that one.

When it came to trying the Lexar Play SSD in our testing PC, however, CrystalDiskMark, gave it an average 7,105.6 max read speed across a series of three benchmarking tests. This is even better than the advertised speeds of 7,000MB/s, and the same can be said for the average write speed, which was 6,624.9 MB/s across three tests.

For comparison, the Corsair MP600 Elite SSD achieved a max read speed of 6,486MB/s when our hardware team's own Duncan Robertson popped it in his PS5 for his review. When put through its paces via the CrystalDiskmark benchmarking tool on a gaming PC, it reached max 7,038MB/s and 6,587MB/s read/write speeds, which isn't too dissimilar from this new Lexar drive. There are plenty of slightly speedier drives than the Lexar Play out there, like the MP600 Elite, but that slightly improved performance will cost more.

This SSD is aimed at PS5 players, so how do these speeds translate when it comes to running games on the Sony console? When it came to transferring speeds, it got the job done. Marvel Rivals (62.35 GB) took only 29.44 seconds to transfer to the drive; meanwhile, Fortnite (88.95 GB) took 33.11 seconds to transfer, and Sea of Thieves (89.47 GB) took 41.17 seconds in total. As was to be expected, the larger the file, the longer it took, but the drive was still lightning fast when it came to moving over my digital game library.

Throughout my testing, the load times were slightly faster than if I were running my games straight off the onboard drive. For example, Marvel Rivals (the version before the new 3.5 season update) loaded to the start screen in 32.02 seconds on average, as examined over 5 tests via the onboard storage of the launch model PS5. After transferring the hero-shooter over to SSD, it instead took an average of 30.308 seconds.

Fortnite, one of my other go-to online games, which suffers from a bloated install size, loaded up in 20.62 seconds normally. However, after being transferred to the Lexar SSD, it instead took 20.29 seconds. These minutely faster load times might not be noticeable by the average PS5 player, but the fact that the games were able to run faster on this budget drive won it more favors in my book, especially as I'm a pretty impatient player.

With this SE model being a more budget-friendly alternative to the existing Lexar Play PS5 SSDs already on the market, it's really the amount of storage that's the best selling point for this drive, rather than its slightly improved performance. Having an extra 4TB at my fingertips has totally revolutionized the way I play the PS5, cementing it as my current-gen gaming platform of choice.

I'm a PS Plus Premium member too, so having a large amount of storage to play around with is a must. Is the ability to just delete games to make way for the latest monthly PS Plus additions always there? Yeah, not only is it incredibly tedious to do, but it takes up a lot of time that could be spent gaming instead.

With 4TB, I've been able to keep all my favorite online games installed, my main current single-player game of choice, Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus, and frequently try out the latest PS Plus titles to see if they're up my street, without having to delete a thing. It's practically solved my biggest qualm with the launch model PS5, its measly onboard storage, and prevented me from having to fork out more for a PS5 Pro without the over $300 cost associated with 4TB SSDs.

During benchmarking, our testing PC showed that the drive was sitting at a temperature of 38 degrees, which feels pretty on-par with Lexar's advertised operating temperatures of 0° to 70°C (32°F to 158°F), and a storage temperature of -40° to 85°C (-40°F to 185°F). After safely removing it from the PC to pop back into my PS5, it did feel hot to the touch, but not to the point where I'd be concerned about its temperature over time.

Should you buy the Lexar PLAY 2280 SE PCIe 4.0 SSD for PS5?

The Lexar PLAY 2280 SE PCIe 4.0 SSD has rejuvenated my aging PS5 console, and so long as you're based in the US and able to purchase the Cosco exclusive in the first place, it's a great drive if you're looking for 4TB worth of space while keeping costs on the down low.

I got my Sony pixel-pusher shortly after launch, and now that it's been almost 5 years since the start of this generation, I've been constantly mulling over whether or not to pick up the PS5 Pro, mainly as I want the improved 1TB and 2TB onboard storage the newer models have to offer. However, this Lexar PS5 SSD has brought a massive 4TB that no base model PS5 can rival, and has sped up the loading times of my favorite games in the process, all the while launching at a price way below the $300 mark.

Its $224.99 MSRP means you're getting 17GB per $1, and while there are plenty of other PS5 SSDs out there that circle around a similar price point, it usually takes discounts or big sales even shortly after release to get 4TB that closer to the $200 sweet spot. Even though its speeds were a bit less than expected in the PS5 itself, it still managed to run my most-played PS5 games, from Marvel Rivals to Fortnite, faster than the onboard storage, which is exactly what you want from a drive designed to "enhance your PS5 gaming experience."

How I tested the Lexar PLAY 2280 SE PCIe 4.0 SSD

I tested the Lexar Play 2280 SE PCIE 4.0 SSD by popping it into my launch model PlayStation 5, and spent days transferring big file games, from the onboard storage to the SSD and back again. During the process, I timed how long it took to transfer big files like the 88.95GB worth of Fortnite, or the 89.47GB worth of Sea of Thieves. I also spent days timing how long it took to load up games from the onboard storage, compared to how long it took to run the same titles from the SSD, and compared the results.

I then installed the Lexar Play 2280 4TB SSD in our testing PC and used CrystalDiskMark to take more detailed speed benchmarks for reference.

To read more about the ways we test PS5 SSDs and the rest of our gaming tech, have a look at how we test PS5 SSDs and our hardware policy.

If you want to give your PS5 a well-needed makeover, our guides to the best PS5 headsets, best PS5 controllers, and the best PS5 accessories are full of gadgets that can level up your Sony gaming sessions.

Lexar has unleashed the PLAY 2280 SE PCIe 4.0 SSD, bringing with it 4TB worth of storage for anyone with a PlayStation 5.

The drive is designed to "match and enhance the PS5 experience," and just like the best PS5 SSDs out there, it comes with a heatsink already attached, so it can be popped straight into the M.2 slot in the back of the console without any overheating woes.

The SSD is a Costco exclusive, so anyone with their eyes set on owning 4,000GB worth of storage for their launch PS5, PS5 Slim, or even the PS5 Pro will only be able to pick it up for $224.99 at Costco online, making this one for the US Sony fans. However, after my own brief time with the Lexar SSD, it's worth it if you want to give your older, chonky launch model a makeover, without forking out the $699 needed for the PS5 Pro's bigger onboard storage.

When it comes to the best SSDs, never mind the ones designed with the PS5 in mind, the rule is typically the larger the storage, the more expensive they get. Yet, Lexar has provided 4TB worth of extra PS5 storage with the PLAY 2280 for just $224.99 from the get-go, which is the first big thumbs up from me. That's not far off the WD Blue SN5000 4TB, which we currently call the best value 4TB drive on the shelves.

Other drives, like the 4TB Samsung 990 Pro have an MSRP of $384.99, and even though it occasionally comes down in price, it usually sits at around $295.99 at Walmart and other retailers.

Sure, that Samsung drive is one of the best Gen 4 drives you can get your hands on. Through our team's own testing, we know it can achieve 7,462MB/s reads and 6,877MB/s write speeds, which are faster than the Lexar PLAY 2280's boasted 7,000MB/s max read and 6,000MB/s max write speeds. However, Lexar's 4TB drive can reportedly reach read speeds of up to 6,387 MB/s, according to my PS5. That isn't as grand, and I'll be seeing if that's truly the case in my upcoming review, but it's pretty normal given the motherboard of the console can't produce the lightning speeds that a PC can.

Either way, 4TB worth of storage in a heatsink model, well under $300 at launch, is still pretty impressive.

I've been lucky enough to be sent a sample of this new Lexar drive, and besides its price, I was instantly a fan of its straightforward setup. It comes with a small-branded Lexar screwdriver, which is a nice touch, although I didn't feel like it did the job. Fortunately, after rummaging through my DIY toolbox, I was able to find a Philips screwdriver that did the trick instead, and popping the SSD in the PS5 only took a few seconds.

The Lexar drive slotted easily into my launch model PS5, and the setup was even easier. After turning back on my PS5, I just had to confirm to re-formatting the drive, and after a few moments, I had 4TB at my fingertips to play with.

My Lexar 4TB PLAY 2280 review is still in the works, so I haven't quite gotten around to testing the speeds of transferring data, and loading times of my favorite PS5 games, but having that spare 4TB has been a dream.

I have PS Plus Premium, so I spend a lot of time deleting games to make way for the latest monthly releases, as I only have the meager 825GB to play around with on my console's internal drive. Now, with the new season of Marvel Rivals on the horizon, I don't have to uninstall anything to make room for its incoming update, as 4TB is more than enough room. Lexar states it's enough for over 100 AAA games (based on an average 36GB per game), but I'll have to put that to the test for my incoming review.

I'm still busy testing the Lexar 4TB PLAY 2280 SE PCIe 4.0 SSD with Heatsink for PS5, but if you're an eager beaver and want 4,000GB of extra storage for your Sony console, it's available for $224.99 at Costco. Better yet, you don't need a Cosco membership to grab it and give your Sony console a well-needed boost.

If you want more (or less) storage instead, there are already 2TB and 8TB models of the Lexar Play 2280 SSD available on the market right now.

More Lexar SSDs compatible with your PS5...

• Lexar 4TB NM790 SSD with Heatsink: $304.99 $249.97 at Amazon
• Lexar SSD 2TB 2280 with Heatsink: $253.55 at Amazon
• Lexar 1TB Professional NM800 PRO SSD: $93.95 at Amazon

For more PS5 accessories, check out our guides to the best PS5 controllers and the best PS5 headsets.

I was able to traverse through the absolute minefield that was trying to get a hold of a PS5 right after launch, but that means I've been racking up trophies on the first model with its measly 825GB of storage.

As a result, I've been subject to a never-ending barrage of 'storage is full" notifications for years now, which is why I was thrilled when the best Prime Day PS5 deals kicked off this week. Finally, this was my chance to track down the best PS5 SSD deals so I could give my Sony pixel-pusher the storage it so desperately needs.

• View all PS5 SSD deals at Amazon

I write about PS5 accessories and SSDs for a living, so I already knew what drives to look out for, but for anyone new to the Sony storage world, it's not that simple.

For one, you need to ensure any PS5 SSD comes with a heatsink, that it's compatible with your model PS5, and you need to check that you're getting a model with enough storage that you'll actually use. To make finding the best PS5 SSD this Prime Day less stressful, I've gathered all the drives I've been eyeing up down below. There isn't long to go until these deals come to an end, so if your PS5 needs a little boost, I recommend grabbing them as soon as you can.

Today's best Prime Day PS5 SSD deals

How much PS5 SSD storage do you need?

The main decision you have to make when it comes to picking a PS5 SSD for your Sony console is how much storage is right for your gaming needs. Most modern AAA games are pretty storage demanding, so bigger is better, but not every single PS5 owner plays them.

What size is right for you is entirely dependent on what you play and whether or not you hate having to uninstall games to make room for more. For example, I love PS5 games of all kinds, from small indie releases like Crow Country to big-budget AAA masterpieces like Death Stranding 2, so having 4TB worth of space is ideal for me. I could get away with just picking up the 2TB Samsung 990 PRO SSD, but I also pay monthly for PlayStation Plus Premium, and would like to have that extra space to download and try out not just the latest monthly games, but all the new additions to the premium game catalog, too.

If that sounds like a familiar scenario, then 2TB and above are going to make more sense for your PS5. If you play a lot of online games like me, I'd also recommend grabbing at least an extra 2TB. I play Marvel Rivals, Fortnite, and Dead by Daylight, and like ensuring they're all at the ready for when my friends and I want to play - having at least 2TB or 4TB of storage will mean my console can keep the games installed, and deal with their upcoming data-heavy updates too.

If you already own the PS5 Slim with its 1TB of storage, or the PS5 Pro with its larger 2TB onboard storage, you can definitely make do with just another 1TB at your disposal. Grabbing just 1TB is always going to be the best budget-friendly option, whether Prime Day is happening or not, and it'll still give you more legroom for dealing with your favorite games' future DLC, patch updates and any extra screenshots and game clips you want to store and capture on your Sony console.

More Prime Day storage deals...

• Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive:  $79.99 $64.99 at Amazon
• Crucial T500 1TB SSD: $155.99 $84.99 at Amazon
• Nextorage Japan NEM-PAB 2TB SSD: $119.99 $149.99 at Amazon
• Crucial X10 Pro 1TB Portable SSD: $114 $91.99 at Amazon

On the hunt for more last-minute Prime Day gaming savings? Check out our best Prime Day PC deals, the best Prime Day Nintendo Switch deals, and the best Prime Day gaming laptop deals.

Storage brand Seagate has unveiled a brand-new 4TB Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X/S consoles, " to meet the growing storage demands of Xbox console players worldwide" - but its cost leaves little to be desired.

The best Xbox Series X memory cards don't typically come cheap, but this new larger capacity card will set Xbox owners back a hefty sum of $499.99 at full MSRP (though it's currently on sale for $429.99 at Best Buy). That's the same as a Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle. On the plus side, this is the first officially licensed 4TB Xbox storage expansion card of its kind, and even alternatives like the WD Black C50 only provide up to 2TB right now.

Seagate states that as AAA titles are regularly exceeding 100GB, "higher capacity storage is essential for uninterrupted gameplay. Seagate’s new 4TB Storage Expansion Card gives Xbox players the freedom to download and play their favorite blockbuster games, indie favorites, and media without worrying about running out of space." (Seagate)

This 4TB Storage Expansion Card is prepared to take on the trend of storage-demanding game releases. In April of this year, the Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered popped on Xbox Game Pass with an eye-watering 125GB install size, and it wasn't the only big addition to the game subscription service that month. Whether or not you'll actually make use of that 4000GB worth of storage depends on what games you play on your Xbox, and whether your budget can stretch that far.

The Xbox Series X/S and their lack of an M.2 SSD slot means you're far more limited in storage options than other current-gen consoles. A plethora of the best SSDs for gaming are compatible with the PS5, and not only that, you can actually run games straight from the internal drives, too. Xbox players don't have it as easy with most drives, so this new Seagate 4TB Storage Expansion Card is one of the few options out there if you're struggling to free up space on your Series X.

Alternatively, the 1TB and 2TB Seagate Storage Expansion Cards for Xbox Series X/S are also an option. All these cards can be easily slotted into the back of your Xbox console via the dedicated storage expansion port.

The 4TB Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X/S is available now directly from Seagate; however, it's now just $429.99 at Best Buy as part of a limited-time launch promotion.

If you want to continue giving your Xbox setup a bit of a boost, the best Xbox Series X accessories guide is full of our top picks for the best Xbox Series X headsets, and the best Xbox Series X controller, which will add more value to your beloved give your Microsoft machine.

The Samsung 9100 Pro has shown up late to the party, but it seems like it’s done so on purpose. It’s that guest who wants to be seen making an entrance, and that’s fair enough, because Samsung makes some great storage devices. As someone who’s been reviewing SSDs for more than two years, I’ve seen new, flashy, super-speedy Gen 5 drives launch from all sorts of manufacturers. Adata, Crucial, T-Force, PNY, and even Acer have been in the market for a while now, but the biggest gaming brands like Samsung and WD are only just joining the battle.

And yet, as late as the 9100 Pro is in arriving, it still feels premature. It’s so silly that even in 2025, I still hesitate to call them the best SSDs for gaming, simply because their practical uses don’t live up to their sky-high prices. And at the same time, it’s impossible to deny that devices like the 9100 Pro are feats of engineering. Samsung’s new flagship doubles what the standard SSD speed has been for the last five or six years now.

That sounds impressive on paper, but arguably, we’ve reached a point with loading times where returns are starting to diminish. These SSDs are always way more expensive than their Gen 4 counterparts, with the Samsung 9100 Pro’s 1TB model alone wearing a $199 / £171 price tag at the time of writing. When that equates to about 5 seconds more spent in a loading screen, is it going to be worth the extra money?

Design & Availability

Alongside that 1TB version, the 9100 Pro has 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB capacity options as well. The 8TB model is yet to arrive on the shelves, but the 4TB costs enough to know that the incoming large-capacity one will be a remortgaging job. 4TB in the US will set you back $549 and £409.79 in the UK. I usually say 2TB is a happy medium, but an MSRP of $299.99 / £223.79 makes it the same price as a Meta Quest 3S if you’re stateside. The Samsung 9100 Pro is available with an integrated heatsink as well if you want to show it off in your best gaming PC, but those heatsink models will add even more to the price.

That heatsink is at least designed in a friendly way, with 8.8mmT supposedly doing a more efficient job of preventing overheating while not taking up too much real estate. As someone who has had plenty of trouble trying to fit obnoxious Gen 5 SSD heatsinks into a gaming PC, I can tell you that’s a welcome architectural change, and definitely a benefit of Samsung sitting the first batch of this generation’s drives out.

The 9100 Pro is compatible with gaming PCs and laptops, and it’s nice that this has been thought of, considering most Gen 5 products so far haven’t tried to cater to a more portable market. My colleague Tabitha just reviewed the first gaming laptop with a Gen 5 SSD in it, the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W, so support is definitely on the way for the laptop crowd. The press materials I’m seeing also say the 9100 Pro is compatible with game consoles, but I wouldn’t use this as an SSD for PS5 since it doesn’t have Gen 5 support.

Features

The Samsung 9100 Pro features an on-the-box sequential read speed of 14,800MB/s and a write speed of 13,400MB/s. Compared to the Samsung 990 Pro, which currently holds the gold medal for any Gen 4 drive in terms of speed, that’s a marked 99% claimed increase in performance - essentially doubling the potential speeds you’ll be able to harness. So what is it about the 9100 Pro that allows it to just about break the sound barrier?

Well, for starters, this drive utilizes the PCIe 5.0 interface, like the Crucial T700 Pro does. Unlike Crucial, there’s not as much sharing of internal controllers with other brands here, since Samsung makes its own. The 9100 Pro uses the homemade Presto controller, which is aptly named. There’s also 8th-generation V-NAND cache tech on board. For those thinking about longevity, the 2TB model has an endurance of 1,200TB, but if that isn’t good enough for you, there’s a 5-year warranty. Going through that amount of space in a 5-year period sounds like a fun challenge, don’t you think?

Despite all of this fancy architecture, the 9100 Pro still fits a regular M.2, 2280 port. But with all of those great claims made, how does the 4TB model perform in real-world tests?

Performance

As you might expect, the answer is “fast”. I always start my SSD testing with some sequential read and write benchmarks in CrystalDiskMark, and the Samsung 9100 Pro pulled in even faster numbers than the Crucial T700 Pro. After averaging the results of three tests, the 9100 Pro comes just shy of its on-the-box read speed promises, but it’s still the fastest drive we’ve ever tested by some margin. It does, however, exceed its write speed promises.

But how do these synthetic tests equate to practical uses in the real world? With video game support and DirectStorage waning, the best use for these next-gen SSDs at the moment is zipping massive files from one place on your computer to another. I first transferred 77GB of game files and data from one drive to another using Steam and set a stopwatch on how long it took. Moving the game files from Samsung’s slightly older 990 Evo drive to the new 9100 Pro took just 20 seconds, and transferring them back again took a similar 22 seconds. Similarly, in Windows, transferring 107GB of 4K gameplay footage was similarly speedy. Moving from the 990 Evo to the 9100 Pro took 28 seconds, and moving it back took 32 seconds. For a 3-hour-plus chunk of 4K video, that’s a pretty slick transfer, and it gives you a sense of how the 9100 Pro is going to interact with Gen 4 drives you might already own.

When Gen 5 drives started appearing, it was clear that there were teething issues. Perhaps the biggest one was thermal control, and Samsung had certainly found the solution before launching its first proper Gen 5 product. I put the 9100 Pro under my motherboard’s regular heatsink, and it did a great job of keeping its temperature control - no massive heatsink needed, no air-cooling system necessary (looking at you, Adata), and no special thermal pad, either. The 9100 Pro had an ambient temperature of just 43 degrees, and it only rose to a 46-degree peak when I was doing all of those file transfer tests. That’s not too dissimilar from the T-Force A440 Lite Gen 4 SSD, which has some of the best thermal performance of any drive we’ve tested lately. Samsung has clearly done work to ensure that its blazing-fast flagship is fully grown into its teeth before launching it to the public.

Then we come to gaming tests. I’ll reiterate once again that the tests I’m about to share with you aren’t perfect measurements by any means. Loading up various games and stopwatching how long they take is an imperfect science, and I accept that, but I do so to give you a broad idea of the types of gaming performance you can expect from a drive like this. For comparison with the previous fastest drive I’ve used, I went back to the Crucial T700 Pro and got some refreshed benchmarks. For comparisons with “slower” Gen 4 options, I also retested the WD Blue SN500 4TB. While I will compare them for the sake of this review, the Crucial and WD Blue SSDs were tested in a different computer, so keep that in mind.

Across the board, the Samsung 9100 Pro has produced better gaming results than the Crucial T700 Pro, and that’s a welcome surprise. It’s hardly by much, but it’s a noticeable trend in each game (except Outer Wilds, which loads so fast that this could very easily be human error). I’m honestly happy to see these kinds of improvements, even if they’re not exactly going to be noticeable if you’re not sitting with a stopwatch on each loading screen, like me. Baldur’s Gate 3 did net the biggest performance leap on the 9100 Pro, which is nice if you’re a big ol’ save scummer like me.

As you can likely see for yourself, though, the leap from the Gen 4 WD Blue SN500 is a matter of about 5-7 seconds in most titles. If you’re buying to mainly play multiplayer games, like Hunt Showdown, you’re still going to need to wait for the other players loading on older drives before you can start playing anyway, and depending on things like servers, connection speeds, and all the rest of it, that slick loading speed will probably balance out with other players anyway. In jam-packed city builders and management games like Planet Zoo, are you really going to notice a few seconds more when loading in? I doubt it, but you might notice that larger dent in your bank balance after spending big on the 9100 Pro.

Windows DirectStorage was supposed to be a widely adopted feature in a lot of games by this point but, over the last few years, it’s become this obscure, hooded figure lurking in the back corner of the pub. There are rumours around the game dev patrons that talking to this guy can improve your loading times, but hardly anyone ever does.

DirectStorage essentially allows a Gen 5 SSD to bypass sending information to your CPU, and diverts it right to your GPU, allowing for faster loading and rendering. The problem is, the software is still imperfect and, right now, barely makes a difference - certainly not one that’s worth the inevitable extra coding and busywork it takes to integrate it into in-progress games. The list of supported titles right now is woefully small and, honestly, even if your favorite game is found on it, I wouldn’t say spending the extra money on a Gen 5 drive is going to be worth it.

For this review, I checked DirectStorage games at the door because I wanted to see how the performance of regular titles could be improved through the latest standard of Gen 5 SSD tech. In all honesty, I expected worse results, but the improvements I saw over Crucial’s flagship from just a year or so ago fill me with hope that we are going to see better improvements in loading times as the technology increases in terms of raw performance. That said, loading times are already pretty minuscule, so until a few massive games come along and use this tech to have no loading screens whatsoever, it’s going to be hard to argue these things are worth their additional costs.

Should you buy the Samsung 9100 Pro?

The Samsung 9100 Pro is easily the best SSD I’ve ever tested, and the fastest across the board. It is nothing short of a feat of engineering, but one you probably don’t need, and won’t for quite some time yet.

Yes, if you’re looking to build the most futureproofed gaming PC imaginable, then this, or the brand new WD Black SN1800 (the equivalent from SanDisk), is going to be the drive to pick. If you’re a full-time content creator, video editor, or someone who churns through digital storage with ease, the Samsung 9100 Pro is going to offer you the best performance possible. Having seen some improvements over previous Gen 5 options, I can recommend this as the product to go for if you’re married to the idea of a next-gen device.

If it’s just for gaming, the numbers can’t lie. You are going to get extremely slick loading times across the board with the 9100 Pro. The question you have to answer is whether or not the few seconds' worth of quicker loading times are going to be worth it for you compared to a Gen 4 option that’s potentially hundreds cheaper. Until there’s widely adopted support within every game, I’d still recommend that most gamers stick with Gen 4.

How I tested the Samsung 9100 Pro

I put the Samsung 9100 Pro to work by running it through our usual gauntlet of storage benchmarks. Firstly, I used CrystalDiskMark to give me some synthetic benchmarking scores to broadly test its sequential read and write speeds. After three of these benchmarks at different points of the testing process, I averaged out the results and presented them in a table.

I then used both Steam and Windows 11 to transfer various bits of data from one drive to another, timing how long it took. I kept an eye on temperatures while doing so to assess thermal control.

For gaming, I loaded into various games, some with typically slower loading speeds and some with faster ones. I used a stopwatch to track these loading times, and performed the same tests on two competing drives to come to a verdict on the results, and the Samsung 9100 Pro’s value for money.

For more on how we test, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

Happy with an external storage device for now? Check out the best external hard drives for gaming, the best PS5 external hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X hard drive.

Sandisk has simultaneously announced and launched its first PCIe Gen 5.0 SSD under the WD Black banner, the WD Black SN8100. This compact drive is designed with "hardcore PC gamers" in mind, who are looking to future-proof their PC gaming rig with read and write speeds of up to 14,900MB/s¹ and 14,000MB/s.

We're barely at the halfway point of the year, and already there's a ton of new Gen 5 contenders vying for the best SSDs for gaming crown, as only yesterday did fellow storage tech brand Kingston FURY release its own new PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD, with the Kingston FURY Renegade G5. Now, Sandisk has stepped things up a notch with the "world's fastest" Gen 5 drive, which also directly targets Samsung's new 9100 Pro.

Its integrated TLC 3D CBA NAND tech is what helps bolster its mighty fast speeds and reliability, and it's available starting right now from $179.99 at Amazon, with 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB models to choose from. If that's not enough space for you, an 8TB model is also planned for the future, although I shudder to think about its potential price.

Joe Macri, Senior Vice President and CTO for Compute and Graphics at AMD, shared in the latest Sandisk press release that this sparkly new drive " revolutionizes storage performance and power efficiency" for both gaming and content creators alike.

While we'll have to test that out for ourselves, the newly launched WD Black 8100 SSD is equipped with up to 2,400TBW endurance, meaning it'll last you well into the future. It's just as well, too, because from the Gen 5 tests we've done so far, there really aren't massive, immediate benefits to slotting one of these into your best gaming PC. Sure, extremely speedy transfer speeds are ludicrously helpful if you frequently shift data from one drive to another. Unfortunately, not many games really support these mega-fast drives right now, so it's ironically a waiting game for more software developers to really let these things fly in a gaming sense.

If you'd prefer to grab the WD Black 8100 SSD right now, though, there's nothing wrong with some futureproofing. If you want a heatsink in tow, you will have to wait a little longer. A heatsink model is expected to be released this fall, which is a little disappointing it's not available from the get-go. Fortunately, there will be a 1TB ($199.99), 2TB ($299.99), and 4TB ($569.99) capacities available when that time comes.

In need of some of the best external hard drives for gaming instead? Our guides to the best Xbox Series X hard drive, SSD, and memory card solutions, and the best PS5 external hard drives are full of portable storage options for your beloved console of choice.

It's always tempting to pick up a whole shiny new PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or a pricy gaming laptop whenever the next big sales events roll around. But sometimes, just grabbing one of the best SSDs for gaming is all you need to give your aging hardware a little boost and fight back against the ever-demanding storage requirements of the latest games.

If you fancy grabbing the brand-new Oblivion Remaster on Steam, there's 125GB you'll need to set aside to get it installed. Fortunately, Amazon Gaming Week is at the rescue as and there's plenty of storage savings on offer to give you that 125GB you need, and then some. Right now, you can grab an extra 4TB for your desktop as the WD BLACK 4TB SN7100 is down to $269.99 at Amazon, saving you 16% off its hefty MSRP of $319.99. Even the best SSDs for PS5 haven't been forgotten about, as Samsung's 990 PRO has dropped to $179.99, and it comes with a heatsink to keep your console cool while you adventure across Cyrodiil.

If you'd prefer something more portable, the SanDisk 2TB Extreme external SSD is $148.12 at Amazon during this week's sales. You won't be able to run Oblivion from an external drive, but you can store it for safekeeping. After spending a fair time wading my way through the sea of savings, I've listed all the ones most worth your time below - but remember, you only have until May 4 to grab them.

When does Amazon Gaming Week end?

This year's Amazon Gaming Week runs from April 28 to May 4, 2025. With that in mind, there's only a matter of days left to grab any of these SSD and storage deals, before they shoot back up to full price.

If you've already got plenty of storage, I've been rounding up all the best cheap PlayStation Plus deals this month, which are bound to get your PS5 SSD filled up in no time. If you want to get more value out of your PS5, pairing your Sony console with one of the best PS5 controllers and best PS5 headsets is a good place to start.

Decent storage is one of the unsung heroes of a good PC build, crucial to performance but so often overlooked as CPUs and graphics cards take the limelight. Just like those headline acts, however, there is no shortage of different solid-state options to choose from. M.2 drivers are now the favourite among gamers for their practicality and higher speeds, but with so many of them competing at the same price point for similar speeds, some underdogs can make a big statement.

With no less than 35 different M.2 solid state drive options currently available in its wares, it’s fair to say Teamgroup knows a thing or two about the best SSD for gaming market. The TForce A440 Lite looks to deliver an impressive price-to-performance ratio by stripping away a few features in favour of raw read/write performance.

At around $130/£125 for the 2TB model I’ve been testing, the A440 Lite sits in a pretty busy pool of drives, so with plenty of competition, is it a T-Force to be reckoned with?

Design

There’s not much room for manoeuvre in the design of a hard drive generally, though M.2 solid state drives come in a far wider array of shapes and sizes than their more old-school counterparts. The Teamgroup T-Force A440 Lite still keeps things relatively simple by modern standards, though its near-naked form factor is not uncommon for M.2 drives in this price bracket. Looks hardly matter here, though; it's destined to be tucked into your PC case and never seen again.

The TForce A440 line-up includes four models, with the more expensive options being delightfully named after the ancient Roman goddess of the hinge, Cordea. These drives include quite striking and large aluminum heatsinks, though instead taking its name from the ancient Greek god of savings (which is a fact I may have just made up), the A440 Lite does away with this extravagant extra. You’re not left without any cooling support, however, the A440 Lite includes Teamgroup’s ultra-thin graphene heat sink that looks almost like a second decorative sticker.

For those of you on the hunt for one of the best SSDs for PS5, you’ll be glad to know that, like with any M.2 drive, this Gen 4 powerhouse is more than capable of being slotted into your console for additional storage. That said, it doesn’t have an integrated heatsink variant like a lot of its rivals. Besides its top sticker, you won’t have any means of keeping it cool, so you’ll need to pair it with one of the best PS5 heatsinks to use it in Sony’s machine.

Features

You’ll find the Teamgroup TForce A440 Lite in three capacities, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB, and it’s the largest of the trio that I’ve been testing. Your choice here governs more than just basic storage space, as there are minor performance differences between the three. The 2TB version promises the best performance on paper with up to 7,400 MB/s sequential read and up to 6,400 MB/s sequential write speeds. While that goes toe-to-toe with the likes of the Corsair MP600 Elite and other top Gen 4 heavyweights, this drops to 7,200 MB/s and 6,200 MB/s for the 1TB model and further slips to 7,000 MB/s and 4,500 MB/s for the 512GB version.

It might be worth noting for some enthusiasts that none of the three sizes include a DRAM cache, you’ll need to move up to one of those Roman hingey Cordea models if that’s important to you.

Performance

As you’d expect for an M.2 drive, installation in my gaming PC was a doddle. Your first step is to install that nifty, paper-thin graphene heat sink, but that’s as simple as adding a sticker to a LEGO model. These often come pre-attached to SSDs, but since they regularly get pulled off and mistaken for extra packaging, I actually quite like that T-Force has made this a more deliberate step in installation. After that, just clip it into your motherboard and you’re away. To unlock the maximum possible performance from the A440 Lite, make sure you’re using a PCIe Gen 4 slot (if your motherboard has one); it’ll still work in a Gen 3 slot, though you’ll lose around 50% of both your read and write speeds.

I’m going to keep things pretty simple when it comes to performance testing, I’m most interested in how such an everyday part of a PC performs, well, every day. We all love a benchmark, though, and while it didn’t quite meet its quoted speed for either read or write in my testing, the A440 Lite still produced impressively quick results. Tested in CrystalDiskMark I achieved average read speeds of around 7,050MB/s and average write speeds just under 6,200 MB/s.

Using the Xbox app to transfer 72GB of Avowed installation from the Teamgroup A440 Lite to a Samsung 980 took just under two minutes on average. Initial transfer speeds were strong, although there was a noticeable drop-off through the final 20% or so. The reverse trip was around the same time, 55 seconds on average, with a consistent transfer speed throughout. Taking matters into my own hands (and because Ubisoft’s launcher doesn’t offer to do it for you), Windows transferred the 94GB of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows off the A440 Lite in a pretty rapid 49 seconds with the return journey slowing a little from the halfway point for a 1:10 total time. We can likely chalk up some of this to the lower-rated Samsung drive I’ve been using in my PC for a while, which caps out at 3,500/3,000 MB/s read/write, but running differently-speced drives is a pretty common PC setup and let’s be honest - transferring an entire AAA game install between drives in under two minutes is already plenty fast. Check a couple of notifications on your phone and it’s already done.

Game loading speeds were again wonderfully fast for everyday use. Admittedly, the results here were nearly comparable between the TForce A440 and the slower Samsung 980. When installed on the A440 Lite, I was able to go from the main menu of Avowed into my most recent save in 7.8 seconds, while it took a whole .2 seconds longer on the Samsung, which might even have just been a slow reaction time from me on my stopwatch. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows repeated this result with a near identical 9-second load time, taking me from the main menu to feudal Japan across both drives.

Perhaps most notable in my testing was how well the Teamgroup TForce A440 Lite kept its cool under strain. Only once through benchmarking, transfers, and gameplay, did the drive report a temperature over 40 degrees Celsius, and that was a peak of 41°. Through a majority of testing, I saw idle temperatures at 28° with a rise to around 38° under load. Now, admittedly, my motherboard provides additional heatsinks as standard, and these were relatively short tests in the grand scheme of things. Either way, there’s a clear trend here and once again it’s an impressive one.

Should you buy the T-Force A440 Lite?

It may not be as all singing and dancing as other, more expensive, M2 drives, but the Teamgroup TForce A440 Lite gets the job done wonderfully well. From game load times to file transfers, it was able to keep up with everything I threw at it and it did so while keeping its cool with very impressive thermal performance.

While it didn’t quite reach the lofty heights of its rated read/write claims in my testing, that can be the case for a lot of these drives, and it’s hardly a disparity you’re going to notice if you find a similar result. This is a snappy solid-state option and a reliable performer. With a $130/£125 price tag for the 2TB version, it’s reasonably priced and can often be found even lower on sale too, if you’re in the market for a storage boost it’s well worth looking out for.

How we tested the T-Force A440 Lite

I added the Teamgroup TForce A440 Lite M2 solid state drive to my gaming PC and used it as my primary drive for game installations for a number of weeks. In this time, it was used as a daily driver for everything from AAA titles to small indie hits, along with some dedicated file transfer tests and benchmarking with CrystalDiskMark. It was installed in a PCIe 5.0 slot on a Gigabyte Z790 AORUS MASTER motherboard with both the included graphene heat sink sticker applied and the motherboard’s included heat sink installed.

For more on how we test SSDs, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

Looking for something external? Check out the best external hard drives for gaming, the best PS5 external hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X external hard drives.

Modern games seem to just keep getting bigger but sadly the base-level storage of the Xbox Series consoles always stays the same. That creates a dilemma for gamers; do you limit your installed library, juggle games between devices, or invest in an official Xbox expansion card?

The WD Black C50 is one of the only Xbox Series X hard drives that will allow you to continue using Quick Resume, and after enjoying a 1TB war with the Seagate Expansion Card, it’s now launched in a 2TB size as well. All told, there are three capacities to choose from; 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB and it’s the largest of the range that I’ve been playing with for this review.

The 2TB WD C50 offers simplicity and plenty of storage, but at $249.99/£213.99 it’s a serious investment so I’m sure a lot of gamers will be asking themselves the same thing. Is it worth paying the premium for an Xbox expansion card?

Design & Features

While not quite as minimalist as the Seagate equivalent, the Western Digital C50 certainly keeps things simple on the design front. Not that it matters though, for most gamers the first and last time you’ll likely ever see this little guy is when you take it out of the box and slot it into the back of your Xbox Series S or X.

While the card I’m checking out is 2TB, it’s an 8MB PS2 memory card that first came to mind because the C50 is doing a pretty great impression of one. Things have come full circle it seems, as the two share the same basic concept. The compact black body feels doubly familiar too as it carries the subtle channelled form of the rest of the WD_Black range. It’s a plastic case around what is almost certainly a smaller form factor NVMe M.2 SSD for gaming, but a quality chassis nonetheless and it feels impressively premium in your hand before disappearing into the TV unit never to be seen again.

Microsoft’s decision to go proprietary for the Xbox Series S/X storage was (and still is if we’re being honest) a little irritating. It makes increasing your capacity a closed garden with noticeably high walls, especially compared to the best SSDs for PS5, but it does come with some benefits and the first of those is simplicity. There’s no installation or setup to speak of here, the C50 is a true plug-and-play device. Like the old-school memory card it resembles all you need to do is plug it into the dedicated slot in your console and you’re away, there wasn’t even a need to format or mount it - very nice.

Performance

The other advantage of proprietary storage devices is having control over their performance. Not all SSDs are created equal, specs and performance levels of different drives will vary and the in-game experience can become a lottery as a result. It’s a level playing field with Xbox expansion cards though, the Superspeed NVMe Core inside the WD C50 is optimized for the Xbox Velocity Architecture, so you should see the same performance and speeds as the console’s internal storage. This isn’t just a case of improved loading times though, newer games optimized for the Xbox Series X will only launch from this level of drive so as games get bigger it’s less of a luxury and more of a necessity.

Before we throw some numbers on it, from a pure vibes standpoint I couldn’t tell the difference between games installed on my Xbox Series X’s internal drive and games installed on the WD C50 2TB. For day-to-day use, they might as well have been installed in the same place for all I could tell. The Xbox also does a good job of making installations as simple as possible and while you can set preferred drives, it’ll just stick it wherever it has the space to.

Transfers between internal storage and the 2TB WD C50 were reliable and impressively fast. At around 75GB each, both Avowed and Hogwarts Legacy needed just one minute and 40 seconds to completely transfer over to the expansive card. Speeds hovered around 6.2 Gbps (6,200MB/s) and peaked at 6.35, putting it just below the WD Black SN850X in terms of raw sequential speed. The 1.5GB of pixel-based agriculture that is Stardew Valley? That took a whole 3.2 seconds, I almost missed it with my stopwatch.

The return journey wasn’t as slick for those two larger titles though. Going from the C50 to my Series X’s internal storage was noticeably slower, nearly four minutes each. Here speeds fluctuated massively as the transfer progressed being sitting on “finishing up” for over a minute each, something that didn’t happen at all going the other direction. This isn’t the only quirk, despite having plenty of room on the C50, Call of Duty insisted on claiming a small amount of storage space on my internal drive too.

Loading times were imperceptibly similar when compared to the Series X internal drive. Continuing my game from the main menu of Avowed took 11.3 seconds on the C50 and 10.9 from the internal. Hogwarts Legacy was even closer, going from menu to castle in 8.4 seconds and 8.2 respectively, while Stardew clocked identical 5.5-second times.

Should you buy the WD Black C50?

Whether it’s worth grabbing the WD C50 2TB expansion card is less about whether it’s any good and more about whether you need it and can stomach the cost of it. Short of some strange transfer behavior back to the internal drive which may point to some disappointing read speeds or a poor method of heat dissipation, it barely puts a foot wrong. It’s well made, it looks smart and it performs well.

It’s expensive though. $249.99/£213.99 sits this 2TB storage expansion at nearly half the cost of the Series X console, and dangerously close to the full cost of a Series S, which is a pretty eye-watering realization. That’s all the more startling now that different models of the Series S and X exist to give people more of a chance to choose their desired storage capacity. Fortunately, the 1TB option isn’t quite as pricey, and can frequently be found for cheaper than the Seagate Expansion Card.

If you like jumping between a bunch of AAA titles though and don’t have the time or interest in waiting for slower transfers to a pure storage drive, the WD Black C50 is the answer to your problems. If you’re still playing plenty of older titles or can deal with a wait to transfer them from a slower drive, consider grabbing one of the best external hard drives for gaming instead.

How we tested the WD Black C50

I plugged the 2TB WD C50 into my Xbox Series X and used it as any gamer would for a week or two before writing my thoughts up for this review. In addition to casual gaming, I also conducted a series of more formalized tests including measuring transfer and load times with a stopwatch. While these were by no means perfectly carried out and left room for some human error, they were more to give a general user an idea of how the C50 performs in its various use cases.

For more on how we test SSDs, take a look at our hardware policy.

The Seagate Expansion Card is one of your only viable options out there if you want to upgrade your internal Xbox Storage. Whether it's the 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB versions, it sadly doesn't come cheap, but that's where big sales events come in.

Thanks to the last remaining spring sales, you can grab the Seagate Storage Expansion Card 2TB for $199.99 at Amazon right now, saving you around 10% off its average price of $223.34. Not only does that mean one of the best Xbox Series X hard drive, SSD, and memory card storage solutions is under that $200 price tag sweet spot, but that only saves you over $23 which could be better spent towards a couple months of Game Pass Ultimate to start filling up that 2TB worth of space.

The last time I spotted this 2TB model this cheap was during last year's Black Friday sales. During the influx of November sales, the Expansion card dropped in price to $193.43, a record low for the time. This current discount isn't record-breaking by any means, but being over $6 away from its record low is worth celebrating - especially if you're desperate for some extra Xbox storage.

Should you buy the Seagate Storage Expansion Card 2TB SSD?

The Seagate Storage Expansion Card 2TB drive is one of the only options when it comes to internal storage for your Xbox Series X console. That's because, whether it's the Xbox Series X or Series, there's no M.2 port to be found, so you can't simply grab the best SSDs for gaming and start downloading as many Game Pass games as your heart desires. Seagate and Western Digital are the only brands out there filling in that internal Xbox storage gap - but whether the Seagate Expansion Card 2TB SSD is the right fit for you depends on a few factors.

Firstly, performance. Seagate's Expansion Card can match the same speedy performance of that of the onboard Xbox Series X internal NVMe SSD at every turn, meaning it's one of few storage devices that'll let you use the console's quick-resume feature. Yet, while it's speedy, it is one of the priciest storage options out there. Without the current $199.99 discount, the 2TB version retails for a staggering $359.99 - the same price as the 1TB Xbox Series S console, if you can believe that.

If you'd prefer to keep costs lower, you have to consider storage capacity. As an alternative to this 2TB drive, you could pick up the 1TB or 512GB versions, but you'd have to ensure that'd be enough for your gaming needs. As games continue to get more storage demanding, a 1TB Xbox Series X hard drive might not go as far. Whereas the 2TB of this Seagate Expansion Card may be on the pricey side, discount or not, it will help futureproof your Xbox console.

For a while now, the WD Black C50 drive was an ideal alternative, as the 1TB version is typically a lot cheaper, and right now it's even $109.99 at Amazon. At that price, it's even more budget-friendly than the 1TB equivalent of the Seagate Expansion Card - but with a 2TB model now available and also down to $199.99 right now at Amazon, which one you'd prefer would depend entirely on what brand you prefer.

There's also the option of switching things up with one of the best external hard drives for gaming. Hard drives won't have the high-end speeds of an SSD, but they also won't have the high-end price tags of them either. HDD drives like the WD My Passport 4TB have an MSRP of $149.99, and that's providing you with double the storage of the 2TB Seagate drive.

Of course, with an external hard drive, you are giving up the option of running Xbox Series X games - as they can only transfer and store them instead. If you want the pros of more storage for your Xbox console while still being able to actually play them, then the 2TB Seagate Expansion Card is a great option for your console. Just be sure to keep in mind that the spring sales are coming to an end, so you'll want to grab it as soon as possible before it sneaks back up to its eye-watering MSRP.

If your Xbox is already equipped with plenty of storage, check out the best Xbox Series X headsets, the best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best Game Pass deals to get the most out of your beloved Microsoft console.

Spring is a time of refreshment, and nothing is more refreshing than new than future-proofing your gaming PC with the Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD. This solid state drive is one of the highest-performance M.2 options in the brand's repertoire, but it's $159.99 MSRP, especially for 1TB worth of storage, leaves a lot to be desired.

That was, until the tech spring sales came around, which has thankfully brought the SSD down to just $99.99 at Amazon right now. The last time I saw big savings like this on one of the best SSDs for gaming was during last year's holiday sales, but even then, the price just hovered around the $90 mark. Discounts on drives last year weren't as grand as I had hoped, regardless, which is what makes seeing the 990 Pro for under $100 right now so inviting.

Sure, 1TB might not be a lot for a lot of us - especially when you consider how storage-demanding AAA games are getting year in and year out. Yet, if you have a spare M.2 slot going and just need a little extra space for the odd download, the Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD feels like a no-brainer. Better yet, if you're okay sourcing your own heatsink, this is one of the best SSDs for PS5 and gives your Sony a ton of extra space for more PS Plus game downloads.

Should you buy the Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD?

The Samsung 990 Pro SSD isn't the latest drive to come from Samsung (that award goes to the Samsung 91000 Pro), however, it's still one of the best drives from the brand's long line of storage solutions, and ideal for your rig - so long as you're okay with just having 1TB at your disposal. Whether or not you should pick up the 990 Pro 1TB SSD primarily comes down to that - is 1TB enough for everything you need it for?

To put it into perspective, one of my favorite PC games, Baldur's Gate 3, takes up around 150GB worth of my PC's storage. It's worth it to get to spend time with the vampire hunk that is Astarion, but if your Steam library is as ridiculous as mine adding even more games into the mix can easily take up 1TB in no time. Of course, unless you have a set of online games you need to have access to 24/7, you don't need to have everything installed at all times. And being more wary of that will definitely help add more value to grabbing the currently discounted Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD.

If you aren't too fussed about its 1TB worth of storage, you'll be happy to know that it doesn't disappoint where performance is concerned. Our hardware team's own Duncan Robertson put the drive to the test in his Samsung 990 Pro 2TB SSD review, and while it was the 2TB version, your experience should be the same. (Other than the lack of an additional 1TB worth of space.) Duncan noted that the SSD "offers some top-contender performance" for both PC and even PS5.

As I briefly touched on earlier, PS5 owners can benefit from this spring sale discount, so long as you're okay with attaching your own heatsink. The Samsung 990 Pro 1TB would be more than enough to tackle any PS Plus downloads and put that annoying 'storage is full' notification to bed. If you aren't tech-savvy enough to install your own heatsink, then the Samsung 990 Pro 1TB with a heatsink pre-attached is down to just $109.99 at Amazon too. That's not quite under $100 but it's pretty close and will have your aging PS5 rival the built-in storage of the Slim PS5 model, too.

If you need some extra storage for your favorite consoles, check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch SD cards, the best Xbox Series X hard drive, SSD, and memory card solutions, and the best SSDs for PS5 to give your pixel-pushing machine the perfect storage boost.

I’m usually hesitant to take on SSDs like the 4TB WD Blue SN5000 for review. These drives aren’t really designed for gaming since they’re geared toward content creators and working professionals, and because of that, their speeds often suffer compared to the competition. What’s more, 4TB SSDs today can rack up some downright ludicrous prices, and oftentimes they simply aren’t worth it when you can grab a couple of 2TB drives as and when you need the storage space.

But alas, the best SSDs for gaming are constantly evolving, and the folks at Western Digital have identified a gap in the market. The WD Blue SN5000 4TB sports speeds that today’s budget gaming drives aim for, and its price compared to a new 4TB gaming option is surprisingly reasonable. So my interests both as a gamer who wants quick loading times and a content creator who needs lots of space were definitely piqued when this hit my inbox. Could a 4TB content creation drive with boosted speeds and a somewhat affordable price be worth it for gamers today?

Honestly, I’m surprised to say that yes, it can be. Its $299.99 / £275 MSRP isn’t a lot better than the $289/£261 you can still pay for the 4TB WD Black SN850X. That said, it’s already seeing discount prices down to $231/£229 while the SN850X barely drops from its launch cost. While the SN850X is a faster drive, I’d argue that the few seconds more of loading screens you’ll see with the Blue option aren’t going to be as noticeable as the extra lump of cash missing from your bank balance.

Design

Content creation SSDs are often stripped of a lot of the design flares applied to their gaming counterparts. You won’t see any sci-fi-coded heatsinks like you do on the best SSDs for PS5, and it’s no wonder seeing as many of them aren’t actually capable of the minimum 5,000MB/s sequential read speed Sony’s console requires. So what we have for the SN5000 is some Western Digital Blue branding, but hardly the totally blue-colored faceplates you can see in marketing photos. Perhaps a larger blue heat dissipation sticker comes on the 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB models, but since I’m testing the 4TB version, I can’t say for sure.

There is a smaller heatsink sticker on this product however, which gives it a flash of color alongside its vascular circuitry. I tend to leave these stickers on my SSDs, not because they’re a massive performance booster, but because motherboard heatsinks are actually fairly sticky, and I don’t want them actually crushing the tiny exposed pieces on the drive’s architecture or pulling bits off. Overall though, the design of this drive is as thin as a 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD gets. It’s only 5.7g in weight and has LxWxH dimensions of 80 x 22 x 2.2mm - so pretty tiny.

Features

The sequential read speed quoted on the SN5000’s packaging is 5,500MB/s, which actually clears it as compatible with the PS5. I haven’t tested it in Sony’s console for this review, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t work considering it uses the same PCIe Gen4 x4 interface and easily matches the console’s own custom SSD. In terms of sequential writes, you’re quoted to get 5,000MB/s, which is also very decent for a content creation drive. Write speeds are important for content creators, particularly those who often transfer files around, yet they frequently suffer in these products. The WD Blue SN5000 is clearly trying to improve on that to make software installation, video rendering, and gaming a much easier affair.

The SN5000 features a five-year warranty and an endurance of 1200TBW (terabytes written), so you’re going to get peace of mind and a lot of futureproofing from it, which is important for creators who need to know their digital files will be safe in the long run.

Western Digital does add that the drive utilizes its own nCache 4.0 technology, mentioning that this could come in handy for AI applications, but even in my content creation that isn’t a feature I’d use, and it sounds more like marketing speak rather than anything most users will actually need. Beyond that, there honestly isn’t much to report about the features on board this drive. As I mentioned up above, WD’s Blue options try to keep costs down, so often they do the basics right, but don’t spend too much time on features like NAND cache tech or the like. This is a drive that will do what you need it to as a storage device, but it’s not going to be your best option as a boot drive compared to a lot of modern gaming SSDs like the Samsung 990 Pro.

Performance

But is that enough to make it a solid general-use drive, or a gaming option? In today’s climate of Gen 4 SSDs touting speeds of more than 7,000MB/s, a sequential read speed of 5,500MB/s sounds sluggish, but that’s forgetting how blisteringly fast these Gen 4 speeds are. 5,500MB/s is five and a half gigabytes of information read in a single second - it’s extremely quick. Moreover, it’s even speedier than the PS5’s internal drive when inside a PC seeing as a motherboard in one of the best gaming PCs can divert power when needed to fully access those speeds.

Across three CrystalDiskMark benchmarking tests, the 4TB SN5000 achieved an average sequential read speed of 5,524MB/s and an average sequential write speed of 5,055MB/s. So on both counts, the drive outperformed the numbers on its box. Temperature control was solid too, with my motherboard’s heatsink keeping it down to a peak of 61 degrees Celsius during those three tests. When idle, its temperature was between 51 and 56 degrees, which shows that it has a slightly higher operating temperature than other drives but is more than manageable by even a standard motherboard heatsink.

These numbers translated brilliantly to general-use tasks and file transfers. Moving the game files for Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 from my Crucial T700 Pro over to the WD Blue SN5000 took just 25 seconds. For a 70GB game, that isn’t a long time to wait at all. Moving the same quantity back over to Crucial’s Gen 5 drive took 30 seconds, so again, the SN5000 is hardly going to make you feel like you’re watching paint dry when you need to move files from one of your drives to another.

Content creators often need these 4TB storage devices because as 4K content becomes more and more common, space gets eaten up so quickly. This is something I can relate to, so I decided during testing to make this my main content creation storage solution. I transferred 128GB worth of 4K gameplay footage over to the WD Blue SN5000 in just 43 seconds, which was actually faster than I expected. Yes, I was pairing this drive with a stupidly quick Gen 5 drive, but even if the SN5000 was operating at half the speed, it was doing an excellent job of keeping up.

In terms of gaming, the SN500 had a lot going for it too. Loading up a new loop of the Outer Wilds with this drive on a PC was even quicker than the Corsair MP600 Elite was doing the same thing in the PS5, which tells you a lot. Even Planet Zoo, which typically loads a bit slower than your average game today, was able to recall a scenario exactly where I’d left off in just 15 seconds. I’ve used this drive to store and play quite a few Steam games since throwing it in for testing, and it feels quicker than the PS5 does when it comes to gaming.

Through Duncan's testing, the 4TB SN5000 achieved an average sequential read speed of 5,524MB/s and an average sequential write speed of 5,055MB/s. Meanwhile, SanDisk boasts that the newly upgraded model, the WD Blue SN5100 NVMe SSD, can provide 7,100 MB/s and 6,700 MB/s read and write speeds. If you wanted the fasted version of the drive possible, that's worth knowing. However we'd have to put that into practice to see if it can actually match its on the box speeds.

Should you buy the WD Blue SN5000 4TB

The WD Blue SN5000 4TB is a very capable storage device, and easily the best content creation drive I’ve tested. It does the basics so well and allows you so much space for games, content creation data, gameplay footage, and more. It isn’t quite as fast as some modern gaming SSDs are, but even with lesser speeds, it keeps up with my demands as a content creator and gamer. When you’ve got 4TB of space to play with, you feel the benefits more than you curse the few seconds of disparity between this and a quicker device.

In terms of price, it’ll come down to you and your preferences for what will suit you more. I’d argue that unless you’re looking for a boot drive for a new gaming PC, you’ll be better off grabbing the 4TB SN5000 while it's discounted, rather than splashing out more on the 4TB model of the Seagate FireCuda 530, or the Samsung 990 Pro, both of which struggle to sell for under $300 when they’re in stock.

All in all, the WD Blue SN5000 4TB feels like a cheat code for gamers who want 4TB of extra space without breaking the bank. It isn’t your normal content creation drive because it has the speeds of budget gaming drives today. At the same time, it isn’t your normal 4TB SSD either, because you don’t have to remortgage your home to afford it.

How I tested the WD Blue SN5000 4TB

I threw the WD Blue SN5000 4TB in my personal gaming PC to test it as an everyday solution for content creation and gaming. I used my motherboard’s included heatsink to keep it cool, and used it in a general PCIe 4 x4 lane to suit its interface and get the most out of its performance.

To begin, I put it through standard industry benchmarking in CrystalDiskMark to get an idea of its true sequential read/write speeds. I performed three tests and took an average of those scores, also keeping an eye on its temperature in Windows.

I then performed various file transfer tests, moving data back and forth between my PC’s C drive and the SN5000. I kept track of how long each test took using a stopwatch. For gaming loading times, I booted up three games and took note of their boot and loading times, once again using a stopwatch to keep track. I’m aware these times won’t be perfect markers for how the drive performs, but the aim was more to give a reference point of the numbers to readers who may not understand the technicalities of other SSD reviews.

For more on how we test SSDs, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

Looking for external storage instead? You should know about the best external hard drives for gaming, the best PS5 external hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X hard drives.

Microsoft has been championing its Game Pass service for years now, and this week the brand finally made its consoles compatible with the entire catalog at once. A recent update made Xbox Series X hard drives of up to 16TB usable with the console, and the crowd went wild. In truth, though, it's not going to be the everyday players who benefit from this update - it's the content creators among us.

Whether you’re sporting an Xbox Series X/S, or a PS5, one of the necessities to having a good time with your beloved console is having plenty of storage. That’s especially the case if you mainly play digital games and are subscribed to every gaming service under the sun. Yet, while you can easily pick up a PS5 SSD from a huge range of brands to give your Sony console a boost, Xbox owners don’t have it as easy.

Only two brands, Western and Digital and Seagate, make the expansion card formatted drives compatible with Xbox consoles, so you’re a lot more limited. Instead, you'll likely be reaching for a larger SSD for gaming, only to slow it down by plugging into a USB slot. See, the size of that hard drive was never really an issue - I want more updates on where I play my games from.

Modern games have been increasing in size dramatically over the last few years, that’s undeniable. While base games, like Rare’s Sea of Thieves can launch at around 30GB, updates can compound that significantly. Sea of Thieves was a 27GB install on day one, but an update during February 2024 holstered it to 100GB. Today, it's pretty common to start at this position - Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Xbox Series X/S launched at 137.55GB when it was finally ported over. That's before the numerous patches, updates, and DLC that can quickly take your storage hostage and leave you deleting games just to make way for new ones.

I can see why having the option of over 16TB worth of storage at your disposal would be attractive, especially if you want to keep online games like Sea of Thieves permanently on your Xbox to play whenever the moment takes you.

But to put it into context, 16TB is over 116.3 (16000÷137.55) digital copies of Baldur’s Gate 3. And as much as I adore Astarion and his alluring vampire ways, that’s a lot of Baldur’s Gate 3. I don’t know anyone currently (and actively) playing over a hundred fantasy RPGs at any given time, or that many games of any genre for that matter. Even my own personal backlog, which gets worse every day, is not enough to warrant over 16,000GB of space.

There is definitely a benefit to having all your recently played games installed in one place. That way you can dive right back in as the moment suits you. I know I struggle to archive games - who knows if, in a few weeks time, I won’t be itching to replay and will have to sit and wait as such a huge file redownloads all over again. Even though I haven’t touched it in months, I actively refuse to delete Fortnite on my PS5 as it’s over 90GB worth of a slow download that I don’t have the patience to wait for again.

Where this new announcement from Microsoft feels even truly impractical is that you can’t run all games through a USB drive (some manage to slip through the cracks). Instead, you have to move your game over to the Xbox Series X/S’s SSD or expansion card to play it. So while Microsoft has rolled out the support for larger USB drives, that’s over 16TB worth of games you still have to transfer over to your main console storage to run in the first place. I would have been singing a different tune if Microsoft had given the Xbox the same grace it does PC, where you can easily store and play as many games as you like from the best external hard drives on the market.

There is one circumstance where I can see having compatibility with such a vast amount of storage might come in handy. Those who love saving long stretches of gameplay for sharing with their friends online or creating their own content, could very much benefit from fewer limitations with storage. At the time of writing, Seagate has a 20TB external drive on the market, which is definitely not cheap, but would be plenty of space to constantly save long Sea of Thieves clips.

I regularly save Dead by Daylight online matches with friends to watch (and laugh at) later on, and with entire matches easily taking upwards of 30 minutes, that can take a lot of storage space. Especially as the Xbox Series X saves video clips by default at a 4K resolution.

Having new compatibility with extra storage is never a bad thing - and I’m sure there are people out there who will actually benefit from Microsoft adding this new support. Otherwise, why would they be taking the time to integrate it in the first place? At least it’s shown me that there are Xbox fans out there who need even 20TB worth of space to download their games. Which, in turn, means there are people with worse gaming backlogs than me and I’m more than okay with that.

We're also rounding up all the best Xbox One external hard drives and the best PS5 external hard drives. Or, for more Microsoft kit, check out the best Xbox Series X accessories on the market.

SanDisk has been pretty busy - not only is it in the midst of receiving a new-fangled flashy logo, but the highly-recognizable tech brand, owned by Western Digital, has just unveiled a set of new storage solutions set to launch at this year's CES 2025 event.

Dubbed the 'SanDisk Creator Series', this new range of portable SSDs, microSD cards, and USB flash drives is targeted towards buddying artists, content creators, and gamers alike. The set includes "tailored, professional-grade collection of products infused with vibrant colors that celebrate creativity and individuality" which includes brand-new portable SSDs, micro SDs, and other storage solutions.

This all-new SanDisk Creator Series begins with the SanDisk Creator Phone SSD, a portable solid-state drive that can attach to MagSafe-compatible smartphones. This compact SSD is available in 1TB or 2TB versions and is compatible with Windows, Android, and macOS devices, including the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. In fact, if you find yourself commonly creating YouTube or TikTok videos on your phone, this SSD can even support video capture in Apple ProRes 4K at 60fps, making it ideal for Apple fans.

Additionally part of the set is the SanDisk Creator microSD Card, featuring a stunning gradient colorway. The microSD comes in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage versions and can be used to capture stunning 4K5 and 5.3K5 footage on compatible smartphones and cameras. The Creator Series also features a brand-new Creator SanDisk Creator SD UHS-II Card with transfer speeds up to 280MB/s, a SanDisk Creator Phone Drive that can transfer media between your Apple devices, a SanDisk Creator USB-C Flash Drive for those non-Apple devices, and a SanDisk Creator Pro Portable SSD, and SanDisk Creator Desk Drive.

Fortnite fans are in for a treat

SanDisk has also launched the Fortnite Portable SSD and USB Flash Drive Peely Editions, two new storage solutions also revealed at this year's CES 2025.

The SanDisk Fortnite Portable SSD, Peely Edition is a lovely change from other plain SanDisk designs. According to Western Digital, it will be available in 1TB and 2TB options and sport a cute all-yellow colorway. Everyone's favorite anthropomorphic banana from Fornite is represented further with his cute, infectious smile right in the middle of the compact SSD. Specs wise, it's similar to that of the brand's existing 1TB drive with speeds up to 800MB/s and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, which is nothing new. So just like the official SanDisk Super Mario and Pokemon microSD cards, the appeal of these Peely Editions is all in the design.

The matching SanDisk Fortnite USB Flash Drive, Peely Edition is just as cute, featuring a similar design but with some added 'nana' Fortnite decals. The USB drive is set to be available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB variants and comes with the kind of specs you'd expect of SanDisk's flash drives with read speeds up to 130MB/s.

Neither the Peely Edition SSD nor the USB Flash Drive can be used to run Fortnite on any of your devices. Yet, if you want a colorful change-up, these or any part of the Creator Series would be a good bet. Just don't be surprised if the funky colors and designs come at an extra cost.

If you can't wait for these new SanDisk storage options check out our best microSD card for Nintendo Switch for some extra space for your Ninty, and other compatible handhelds. We've also gathered all the best SSDs for PS5 and the best Xbox Series X hard drive, SSD, and memory card solutions for all your gaming needs.

Christmas is here, and if you've found yourself with a brand-new SSD in your stocking you may want to know about USB M.2 enclosures. If you're lucky enough to have gotten a new gaming drive from Santa or a loved one this year, there's a chance you'll want to clone your current drive so you can use the new one as your main storage device.

Of course, there's also the chance that disaster has struck, and upon going to install your new SSD for gaming, you've got one fewer SSD slot on our motherboard than you thought. In either case, I have just the gadget for you. UGREEN makes some excellent little accessories for PC gaming, and its M.2 USB enclosure has helped me in a few pinches this year. It can hold even the newest Gen 5 SSDs and connect them to your computer or PS5, which makes it a versatile piece of kit.

A device like this will allow you to either connect your new drive temporarily while you copy data over, or, as a longer-term solution, make use of your speedy new SSD as an external hard drive. UGREEN's M.2 Enclosure only costs $19.99 at Amazon right now, which isn't a bad price to pay for such a versatile wee gadget.

If you're wondering how to clone your SSD, you can check out my handy guide. Not everyone will need a USB enclosure since most of the best gaming PCs will have more than one M.2 slot on their motherboard. That said, if you know one slot is a Gen 4 lane, and the others are slower Gen 3 lanes, you might want your newer, faster drive in that optimized slot. In that case, cloning your drive before it's actually in your PC might be a less confusing option, especially if you want to keep your boot location the same without messing up some BIOS settings.

If that all sounds like confusing PC-speak, the TLDR is that having an M.2 enclosure might make your life a lot easier in the whole transfer process.

UGREEN's M.2 Enclosure might also be the perfect solution for someone who doesn't have space on their motherboard at all and wants to make their own portable SSD. External drives can be pricey these days, especially if you want the performance of the best PS5 external SSDs. If you've gotten hold of a top-speed Gen 4 or Gen 5 drive, it could do you wonders as a portable device. UGREEN's gadget comes with a heatsink, meaning your PCIe-powered storage won't overheat when working inside it, and its included cables will give you up to a 10GBps speed.

The only drawback I could see with using this as a portable storage solution is its vulnerability. Taking your files on the go can invite bumps and drops, which is why so many portable SSDs come with padded outer shells these days. UGREEN's enclosure has a rubberized jacket you can put around it which should shield it from the odd knock here and there, but the aluminium chassis still feels fairly fragile, so dropping it into a backpack with other, heavier bits of tech might not be the safest idea.

Nevertheless, an M.2 enclosure like this is a versatile gadget to have in your arsenal, whether you're upgrading your current PC's storage, or you find yourself with a spare drive to use for console gaming and portable transfers.

Looking for some last-minute gifts for gamers this Christmas? Check out the best PS5 gifts, and the best Xbox gifts.

Maybe I have anger issues, but whenever I buy a new game that I'm so excited to play, nothing makes me want to turn super sayain more than the PS5 telling me that I'm out of storage space. "Well why does your OS bloat take up some of my internal space - why don't you delete something", I'll say to my TV.

Fortunately, I have the joy of testing PS5 SSDs for a living, so that scenario happens less frequently nowadays, which is probably a good thing so that my neighbors don't hear me and think I'm losing my mind. I'm going to make your life simple this Black Friday, and tell you the easy-to-install, no research needed, fast and spacious SSD deals you need for the PS5 this Black Friday. I'll start with my favorite of the year, which is Corsair's MP600 Elite, currently down to just $79.99 at Amazon.

This Black Friday PS5 SSD deal is probably the first I'd point you toward because it's one of the most low-maintenance drives I've maybe ever used. Its 1TB form has been at this price for a while, but that's no bad thing because all the others have been trying to come up with price tags that low. For a 1TB drive, this is all you'll need - just pull off your console's faceplate, slot this in, and you'll be good to go.

For most players, 1TB will be more than enough space to start hoarding games like a dragon and not run out of space. But, if you play a few games that have abnormally large install demands like S.T.AL.K.E.R. 2, Call of Duty, or even Baldur's Gate 3, you're going to eat into that 1TB SSD for PS5 pretty quickly.

If you want to go a step up and grab a 2TB drive, you're in luck, because they're some of the best value Black Friday SSD deals available this year. Again, for a total lack of fuss, I'd point you towards the WD Black SN850X, because its Heatsink version (designed for PS5) is down to $133 at Amazon.

I would never really recommend an 8TB drive to PS5 players, even if the console can now accept SSDs that gargantuan. You're just so unlikely to use that much space - last year I checked how many terabytes the entire Game Pass library would swallow up, and it was around 11TB in total. For PS5 players, the entire PS Plus collection would probably add up to less than that, so it wouldn't really be worth spending the money on an 8TB model.

4TB drives, however, are beginning to become more viable because, during big sales events like Black Friday, they get a lot more affordable. Take the Samsung 990 Pro 4TB, for instance, which isn't sitting at its lowest-ever price, but is sitting at a super reasonable $269 at Amazon. That gives you so, so much space to play with, and will probably last you the rest of the PS5's life before you need to think about deleting another game.

This one comes without a heatsink, so it's not quite as no-fuss as the other options on this list. But the competing 4TB models with heatsinks are so much more expensive, this is really your best bet if you want to go big or go home. All you'll need to do is grab one of the best PS5 heatsinks to keep it cool, and those usually cost under $20.

Still bargain hunting? Check out Black Friday gaming PC deals, Black Friday Xbox deals, and Black Friday Meta Quest deals.

The Samsung 990 Pro is probably my favorite SSD for gamers right now. It's exceedingly fast, very stylish, and has effective heatsinks if you're looking to slot it in a PS5. Without going into needlessly expensive Gen 5 SSD territory, the 990 Pro is the best drive money can buy. That said, I wouldn't usually recommend that anyone buys the 4TB model.

That's no slight against Samsung's 990 Pro - 4TB drives just cost a fortune, and even content creators who burn through external hard drives at a rate of noughts would struggle to justify their costs. Prime Day has produced a pure miracle though, because the 4TB Samsung 990 Pro with an integrated heatsink is currently $279.99 at Amazon.

I can already hear some of you laughing at the idea of that being a good Prime Day PS5 deal, let alone a miracle. As someone who reviews SSDs for a living though, and has to watch these 4TB drives cost sometimes into the five or six hundreds, this really is ridiculous though. Samsung is one of the biggest brands, and this is one of the best SSDs for PS5, those aren't normally the ones that drop down to the cheapest levels. Back in July for the summer edition of Prime Day, I thought it was great to see this drive down to $299.99, and I feel like a fool for getting excited about that now.

It should go without saying, but this easily counts as a Prime Day PC deal too. Arguably, that's actually where you'll get the most value for money since the true speed of this drive will be slightly hamstrung by the PS5. No matter what you're hoarding, whether it's installed PS Plus games or content, files, an OS, and games on a PC, you've got a serious winner on your hands with the 4TB Samsung 990 Pro.

Should you buy the Samsung 990 Pro?

Gen 4 SSDs are the most widely used these days when it comes to gaming. They use the PCIe 4 interface to deliver extremely fast speeds for shifting around data, as well as SSD architecture that sets it up for success anyway. While Gen 5 options now exist and can produce ludicrous speed, they're ultimately too pricey for their limited support at the moment. For that reason, drives like the Samsung 990 Pro are highly sought after because they max out what a Gen 4 SSD is capable of while remaining somewhat reasonably priced. 

In terms of numbers, that means that the Samsung 990 Pro can reach 7,450MB/s sequential read speeds, and writes of 6,900MB/s. When it comes to the 4TB model, those numbers are more likely than ever to be met in your system. 

Of course, as impressive as this SSD for gaming is, I shouldn't need to tell you that 4TB is only really there for the people who need it. If you record a lot of gameplay, or you like to download every single game that gets added to PS Plus or Game Pass, then this is for you. If not, there really isn't much need for a 4TB drive, unless you want the most extreme futureproofing imaginable. 

For PS5 buyers, I shouldn't need to tell you that an upgrade like this is another great way to turn your existing console into a homemade PS5 Pro. The upgraded PlayStation is $250 more expensive than a regular system, so if you're satisfied with how yours performs, this is a fun way to futureproof it. For those who have picked up a PS5 Pro Pre-order, this deal combined with your new internal 2TB drive would create a PS5 Pro Super, which would amount to a total of 6TB of space. 

But then again, there are other Prime Day gaming deals to be had as well - you don't need to blow your entire budget on storage alone.   

For more deals coverage, check out Prime Day Meta Quest deals, Prime Day Kindle deals, and Prime Day TV deals.

The Crucial T500 is the evolution of one of the first SSDs I ever went hands-on with, the Crucial P5 Plus. That drive represented a superb entry point into modern storage devices because, with read/write speeds of 6,800MB/s and 5,000MB/s respectively, it offered gamers a chance to reap the benefits of NVME PCIe Gen 4 technology without breaking the bank.

The P5 Plus has sadly been discontinued now, and has had to be removed from our best SSD for PS5 list as the best budget option. The T500 looks to replace it, but after testing it out, it doesn’t fill that same gap in the market. Instead, this is taking aim at the biggest guns of the Gen 4 M.2 arena. 

Available in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB sizes, both with and without an integrated heatsink, it feels geared at PS5 players most of all. SSD MSRPs are about as trustworthy as Donald Trump’s Springfield pet-eating theories, but regardless, the 1TB T500 will set you back around $79.99 / £79.99 at the time of writing if you don’t opt for an integrated heatsink. Go for the PS5 no-faff option, and you’ll need to spend $89.99 / £89.99 on average. I tested the 2TB heatsink model for this review.

Design

For folks like me who were big fans of the Crucial P5 Plus, the design of the T500 made me think it was just a rebranding to begin with. All Crucial SSDs look identical these days, but the T500 looks almost exactly like the P5 Plus. All black and sporting a blocky, rectangular heatsink, the T500 is about as basic as these drives get in terms of aesthetics. 

That is, besides a breathing space in the middle of its heatsink that’s supposed to give it some additional airflow, but I’m not totally convinced this particular design actually does. Some of the best SSDs for gaming have spaces in between their heatsink panels, but in testing, this one didn’t have the same effect as the Corsair MP600 Elite, for example, which stayed incredibly cool under pressure.

In practical terms, the T500 slots into an M.2 port with no bother at all, and sports the same 2280 form factor most of its competitors do. There’s some minor white branding on the top and bottom of the drive that labels what it is, but I don’t think these Crucial by Micron liveries are ever offensive. The white text here pops off the surface and gives it some character which otherwise feels absent compared to other manufacturers who give their heatsinks a bit more pizazz. 

Looks don’t tend to matter too much with SSDs anyway, since if you’re going to use them in the PS5 you won’t see them. If you’re slotting this into one of the best gaming PCs, you’re not going to be adding to your collection of RGB parts, but it does sort of look like something that would fit onto Christian Bale’s Dark Knight utility belt. 

Features

The Crucial T500 features advertised read and write speeds of 7,400MB/s and 7,000MB/s respectively, which are fairly hefty claims considering the likes of the Seagate Firecuda 530 and even the Samsung 990 Pro are pretty much the only options known to hit those marks consistently. This is a drive that wants to tap out its NVMe PCIe Gen 4 interface, but based on its Gen 5 cousin, the Crucial T700 Pro, I didn’t think that was outside the realms of possibility. 

Each purchase of this drive comes with a five-year limited warranty, which is a nice touch. The endurance of this drive goes all the way up to 1,200TB though, so I doubt you’ll need to make use of that warranty for wearing out its lifespan. 

According to Crucial, the T500 should be able to load games like Call of Duty, Forspoken, and Valorant 16% faster than the P5 Plus and other Gen 4 SSDs can while outputting a 40% higher performance-to-power ratio. Granted, Crucial gives all the necessary caveats to say that your actual performance may vary, but I was intrigued to put these claims to the test.

Performance

Reviewing an SSD like this can be tough, because all of the promises a brand makes in their advertising and packaging should always be thought of more as ceilings of what their device is capable of, rather than a guaranteed benchmark of what they’ll achieve. So, when I tell you I’m a bit disappointed that all of Crucial’s performance claims haven’t been met by my testing process, it’s all relative because the Crucial T500 is still a pretty great SSD.

Slotting this drive into one of our testing PCs brought about some intriguing results. Three CrystalDiskMark benchmarking tests produced an average sequential read speed of 7,102MB/s and a sequential write of 6,860MB/s. As the observant among you will realize, this is a fair few MB/s off the advertised ceilings on the box - moreso than the top three Gen 4 Drives we’ve tested thus far, the MP600 Elite, FireCuda 530, and Samsung 990 Pro. In fairness, the T500 surpassed the Nextorage NEM-PA Series, which failed to get over the 7,000MB/s read mark. Interestingly, the T500 didn’t blaze past the SK Hynix Platinum P41, even if it was tested in a different system. The P41 got a trailblazing 7,206MB/s read speed but was let down by its write speeds, which were down at 6,178MB/s.

Overall, the T500’s CrystalDiskMark scores show it as a solid mid-ranger, but one that gives a nice balance between read and write speeds, where other drives either focus on one or the other or fail to bring both up to this kind of standard. 

The biggest issue I found while testing this drive, however, was its temperature control. After doing my benchmarking in a PS5, which I’ll come onto momentarily, I did think the drive felt a bit warmer to the touch than others with integrated heatsinks I’ve reviewed. Our testing rig only confirmed this though, because an ambient temperature of 29 degrees Celsius on a motherboard increased to 57 degrees after two CrystalDiskMark tests. This certainly explained why the drive’s third set of test results was its lowest, as temperature was clearly preventing efficiency.

Inside the PS5, I found similarly mixed results. The console’s formatting benchmark test came back to me with a sequential read speed of only 5,571MB/s. Don’t get me wrong, the PS5 always undercuts the true power of Gen 4 SSDs like this, mainly because its motherboard can’t divert power to its secondary M.2 bay like a gaming PC can. Still, this seemed like a really low score for a drive that boasts advertised speeds of 7,000MB/s+ on its box.

Luckily, general use tests found it was still capable in Sony’s console. It wasn’t quite as fast as the MP600 Elite in this regard, but it performed my God of War transfer test adequately. 48GB of Sony Santa Monica’s 2018 classic shifted from the console’s internal drive to the Crucial T500 in just 18 seconds, then back to the console in three minutes and eight seconds.

For those who just want a broad idea of how all these performance figures scale up to load times in actual video games, I did our patented loading time stopwatch tests. Now, keep in mind that these tests aren’t perfect, and don’t account for human error (even if I’m pretty confident in my reaction time). These tests look at how a drive like this can serve you when you’re gaming with a PS5, and give a broad outline of how they can load up a large-scale multiplayer game, a slower game from last generation, and one that loads quickly anyway.

As you’ll likely agree, these are respectable loading times, especially inside the PS5. Still, it’s important to note that you can pay a similar amount for Corsair’s MP600 Elite and get better loading times. That drive managed to boot up GTA Online in 48 seconds, and the Outer Wilds in 5.5. In fairness, will you really notice those extra few seconds? Arguably not, but if you can pay a similar amount of money for better results, you may want to. 

Should you buy the Crucial T500?

Overall, the Crucial T500 is a solid mid-ranger in the current Gen 4 SSD market. In some ways, it feels like the brand shooting itself in the foot, though. The P5 Plus was an amazing budget option, but at the highest end of the market, this doesn't stand out in the same way. It especially doesn’t inspire the same confidence in me when used in the PS5, even if its general use tests weren’t that far off the best I’ve tested this year. Still, the T500 is more than capable of extending the internal storage of the PS5, or indeed the PS5 Pro. 

As our testing shows, the real benefits of this device come out when used in a gaming PC, but I’d issue a word of warning about the temperature control here. If you go for the model with an integrated heatsink, you’re going to be stuck with the sort of temperatures I came across, most likely. If you do want to bag yourself Crucial’s T500, maybe think about getting the version without a heatsink, and either using your motherboard’s included heatsink options or buying a heatsink separately to slap on top of it. 

One of the reasons I would recommend this drive is because I frequently get contacted by Crucial’s PR, who tells me about solid bundles and free games that come with a purchase of one of the brand’s storage devices. Beyond price cuts, which Crucial can be generous with most of the time, these are a welcome bonus, especially when the performance disparity between this drive and its rivals is fairly minimal. A free game along with this drive would certainly ease my sadness about the Crucial P5 Plus being discontinued.

How I tested the Crucial T500

I put the Crucial T500 through the wringer in one of our testing PCs, as well as my PS5. I used CrystalDiskMark to take three benchmark scores of its sequential read and write speed, as well as the PS5’s internal formatting test. I kept an eye on temperatures through Windows 11, after a quick handling test to see how warm the drive was becoming under strain.

I then used the PS5 to transfer data back and forth from the drive to the console, keeping note of the time it took. Then, I loaded up three separate games, three times each, and took note of the loading times with a stopwatch. I then took an average of all the times before presenting the results in this review. For more on how we test SSDs, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

For more storage, check out the best external hard drives for gaming, the best PS5 external hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X hard drives.