Fast, capacious SSDs might not be as cheap as they once were, but we're still finding the odd cracker of a deal on some brilliant drives. As the Amazon Gaming Week sales continue, we've found two of our best gaming SSD picks at prices well worth serious consideration. They're not only great drives, they've made such an impression on us that we use them in our personal machines.
First up we have the WD Black SN850X, here in 2TB configuration for $140 at Amazon. With read/write speeds of 7,300 MB/s and 6,350 MB/s respectively, this is an SSD that can hold its head up high amongst some of the fastest Gen 4 drives, but what really makes it stand out from the pack is its all-rounder credentials.
Not only is it fast—and here, in 2TB form, plenty big enough for a Windows install and many modern games—the SN850X also runs cool, calm and collected, which is just what you need if you plan on using one as a main system drive.
You can pay a fair bit extra for the heatsink-clad version, but when we tested the 1TB variant of this SSD we found it didn't really need one. It's a chill customer and has all the speed and write endurance (in this case, 600TB) to ensure that it'll keep trucking away in your system, and very probably the next one, for many years to come.
In fact, m'colleague Nick Evanson owns four of these drives and rates them extremely highly, and that's a man that knows PC hardware inside out, front to back, and upside down for good measure.
The Lexar NM790 is a budget drive we've been fond of for a while now, and that's thanks to its combination of blazing-fast performance with surprisingly affordable prices. We've spotted the 1TB version for just under $72 at Amazon, and at that price, it's about the cheapest way of getting fast Gen 4 storage into your system right now.
This drive might not have the sheer capacity of the SN850X above, but it does manage to pip it to the post in terms of speed, with a 7,400 MB/s read rating and 6,500 MB/s writes. That makes it a top performer, and when we reviewed the 4TB model we came away mightily impressed with the results.
Much like the WD drive the Lexar also runs cool, although this particular model does come with a relatively slim heatsink regardless. That great performance is down to a lesser-known controller, the MaxioTech MAP1602A, but don't let the branding put you off. The NM790 is a seriously quick drive, and with a 1000TB maximum write endurance rating should also go the distance, and then some.
I actually use the 2TB variant of this drive as my main SSD, and while I regularly put it through its paces it does nothing but deliver top performance with nary a peep of complaint. Should you wish to up the capacity from the 1TB model, the heatsink-less 2TB version is available for $140 on Amazon.
So there we go then. Two of our top-rated SSDs, for very compelling prices. While it's true that modern drives aren't quite as cheap as they used to be, these two beauties prove that you can still find a good deal on great storage. Not only that, but both are drives we're more than happy to use for ourselves.
