Defeat the glower of your backlog with this $120 Crucial X9 2 TB portable SSD, just $0.06/GB

Crucial X9 | 2 TB | USB Type-C | Up to 1,050 MB/s read | $150 $119.99 at Amazon (save $30.01)
At just $0.06/GB, this is a stellar deal on a great SSD. It's not the quickest drive around but we measured it at a steady 950+ MB/s for eight minutes, which is plenty of sustained speed for transferring games between Steam libraries. Similarly, it's currently going as cheap as its older sibling, the Crucial X6. That's important as we had rated the Crucial X6 as the best budget external SSD... while this deal lasts, that accolade goes to the X9 instead.

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In my restless dreams, I see my backlog asking me "Why are you playing the Silent Hill 2 Remake again?" Well, I've got to square away all of those endings before Alan Wake 2 gets its Lake House expansion, right? I'm not made out of hard drive space. "Ah," my backlog says (I'd encourage you to picture a Megazord situation), "Just pick up the Crucial X9 portable SSD—Amazon's got a cracking deal on the 2 TB model." And then I wake up.

Jumping onto my PC, I see that it's true though: Amazon is selling the Crucial X9 2 TB portable SSD for its lowest price since April, at just $120. Not only does that lop 20% off of the MSRP, but that's a better price than the similarly specced Samsung T7 Shield (currently going for $60 more on Amazon).

If you're feeling the need for speed, the Crucial X9 is left eating the competition's dust a bit, but not so much so that I'm not still looking longingly at that saving. If you're just wanting somewhere to stick your backburner backlog, $120 remains a decent price for 2 TB of game storage to play with. Though, you probably shouldn't expect the Crucial X9 to move any of those big game files in a hurry.

That said, this is far from a doddery old drive. In our tests, the Crucial X9 maintained its peak rated speed of 950+ MB/s for over eight minutes. While other drives can easily eclipse that speed, that's only for much shorter bursts.

To put it another way, say you spend five minutes transferring 950 MB/s. At the end of those five minutes, you've still moved 285 GB—which is more than fast enough to tuck away or bring over all of your indie darlings. Essentially, it's a respectable speed for most use cases.

While its speed is in part hampered by the older USB 3.2 Gen 2x1, that also means it's likely to be compatible with a wider variety of devices and PCs than the newer generation. Coupled with its pleasing form factor, this also makes it an appealing candidate for storing your games on the go. Got a long trip to see family or friends coming up? Share the terror together!

Besides all that, the X9 is currently only a few bucks more than its slower, older sibling the X6. The Crucial X6 remains our best budget pick for game storage, but it's hard to argue with a better speed from the X9 for literally only $3 more. Maybe the spookiest story this season will be a tale of sibling rivalry…