1. Quick links
2. Editor's picks
3. 1TB drives
4. 2-4TB drives
5. UK deals
The Black Friday SSD deals have ended... or have they? The day might over but many of the savings remain. So whether you want something full Gen 5 for high-speed PC gaming, or just a basic external drive to give you a storage boost for your PS5, there are still savings out there to be had. We spent the last few days looking for some great discounts from a range of retailers and plenty of them are still active. So here you'll find a range of options from what's left to help you find something to suit what you're looking for in terms of speed, storage size, or budget.
There's a range of specs, prices, and models to choose from what's left. And, if you're not too worried about cutting-edge speed and specs, you can still pick up some slightly older SSDs for a really low price. While if you do have a specific high end use or spec in mind there's probably still some reduction in price, if not quite as high.
We had been collecting all the best Black Friday SSD deals here in the run up to the big day and, now it's over, we've checked and kept the ones that are still worth having below. Most of what's here are NVMe Gen 4 drives, which are generally the best value for money, but there are a few external SSD to look over depending on what you're after.
If you're after something more specific elsewhere then we've got the best SSDs for gaming for you to look at, as well as some Black Friday PS5 SSD deals and the best PS5 SSDs generally.
Quick Links
- Amazon: The biggest range of SSDs and deals
- Best Buy: Drives from WD, Samsung, and Crucial - and discounts on them
- Newegg: Save up to 56% on best-selling drives
- Western Digital: Weekly discounts on its own drives
- Walmart: Decent range of SATAs
UK:
- Amazon: Where SSDs go to be discounted
- eBuyer: External, NVMe, SATA drives on sale
- Very: Best-selling brands on sale
- Overclockers: Seagate, Samsung, and WD Black discounts
- Western Digital: Weekly deals on their own drives
Editor's Picks
1TB SSD deals
2-4TB SSD deals
Today's best SSD deals in the UK
Black Friday SSD deals 2023 - FAQs
When will Black Friday SSD deals start?
Black Friday SSD deals will officially land on November 24 this year, but we generally see sales properly kicking off from the Monday before. You'll find the odd Black Friday-level discount from October onwards, but we'd recommend starting your search from Monday November 20. There's always Cyber Monday too, but we wouldn't risk stock shortages - make Black Friday your focus.
Where will the best SSD deals be?
If you're looking for a solid-state drive during these sales periods then you'll find that all major tech retailers are offering amazing discounts on them during these sales periods.
US Retailers:
Amazon: Wide range of brands and sizes on sale
BestBuy: Discounts on SSDs exclusive to BestBuy
Walmart: Deals on internal and portable SSDs of different sizes
Newegg: Money off of big brands like WD_Black
UK Retailers:
Amazon: Sales on all different brands and sizes
Currys: Money off of tons of solid state drive options
OverClockersUK: Sales on top brands like Seagate and WD
eBuyer: Discounts on a range of internal and external SSDs
What to expect from Black Friday SSD deals 2023
For the most part, NVMe SSDs have stayed cheap in 2023. As the year's gone on, we've seen slight increases in prices, but there's always a top model available for a pretty reasonable price.
On the whole, because SSDs have been so cheap for so long, the price data you'll see on their web pages isn't even close to accurate, and when it comes to Black Friday SSD deals, this could mean some offers seeming a lot better than they actually are.
The best three Gen 4 drives on the market, at least in our tests, are the WD Black SN850X, the Samsung 990 Pro, and the Seagate Firecuda 530. Although Amazon or whatever other retailer you buy from will tell you their RRPs are through the roof, an average price for any of those in a 1TB capacity is anywhere between $60-$75. For Black Friday, if you can get any of them for as close to $60/£60 as possible, or below, that's an excellent price for top performing drive. For Prime Day in the Summer months, we saw the 990 Pro go for $49.99, so keep your eyes peeled for those types of prices.
Gen 5 SSDs have entered the chat this year, and although I'd be shocked to see any of those go for cheaper than list price, we might get lucky. If nothing else, they might help to drive down the price of Gen 4 SSDs.
When it comes to external SSDs, we'd aim to get as close as possible to those same prices above. It is slightly mad that portable SSDs are still more expensive than internal ones, but that does tend to be the case. If you compare a budget 1TB HDD's prices to portable SSDs, it's no contest what will be better value - especially in larger capacities. That said, if you can get a 1TB external SSD for around the $80 or lower mark during Black Friday, do it. The performance of these drives feels like light speed compared to traditional HDDs, and they're a lot sturdier too.
Why have SSDs been so cheap?
SSD made its move into storage dominance during the pandemic years, which, as we're sure you'll remember, were ridden with supply chain issues and chip shortages the world over. Since SSDs have been so highly sought after over the past few years, and manufacturers had to think about extra costs to keep their workers safe amidst the pandemic, as well as recover from it, prices remained high.
In September, however, it was revealed that sales had been declining in the HDD and SSD spaces. Both Seagate and Western Digital, two of the biggest names in the storage market, revealed that it would be unlikely for them to reach their projected revenue figures by the end of 2022.
When you combine the high manufacturing costs of the pandemic age with 2022's cost of living squeezes, you get a stagnation of the market. In short, it got easier to buy an SSD, but people either didn't have the money to buy one or no longer needed them as desperately.
With no choice but to slash prices to offset reduced demand, SSD manufacturers dramatically reduced costs. That has remained the case ever since, with many of the top models on the market staying in deals mode all year round.
What types of Solid State Drives are there?
- SATA SSD: This style of solid-state drive uses the same 2.5-inch form-factor as any standard HDD, meaning they normally fit in any pre-existing drive bays that your PC case may have. The trade-off, however, is that, while cheaper, they're not as quick as some of the newer types on the market. They're also chunkier than other SSD types, so keep that in mind too.
- External SSD: As the name may imply, instead of being slotted inside your machine, they are connected externally via USB 3.0 or USB-C depending on read and write speeds. These days, USB-C is more commonplace.
- PCIe/NVMe/M.2: This is the newest form of SSD storage that's used on everything from game consoles to gaming desktops. These SSDs are famed not only for their faster-than-ever speeds but for ultra-small form-factors and ease of use. Usually, they can just be screwed into place (usually with a heatsink). In addition, they tend to have longer lifespans and a lower risk of mechanical fault. Having said that, they're the more expensive option, and they can benefit from working with heatsinks to help them run as efficiently as possible.
Looking to upgrade your gaming PC? Then Black Friday CPU deals and Black Friday RAM deals should have you covered. Be sure to take a look at Black Friday Samsung deals for more.