There's never been a better time to grab a 2TB SSD

By Alan Dexter
published

SSDs are enjoying some incredible price cuts in the Memorial Day sales.

Three M.2 NVMe SSDs on a green background
(Image credit: Future)

The latest SSDs are capable of serving up incredible performance, make no mistake, but they tend to come with price eye-watering price tags. Especially at the top end. The good news is that the Memorial Day sales have seen those prices drop down to much more tempting levels—the very latest 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs are down to just $200 (opens in new tab). Making this a great time to upgrade your gaming PC's storage options. 

That $200 drive is none other than Western Digital's most recent offering, the WD_Black SN770 (opens in new tab). This is a DRAM-less drive, so doesn't quite hit the peak sequential figures of some of the best drives, but it absolutely delivers when it comes to real-world performance, and that's what really matters. 

The only thing we don't know right now is whether it offers enough performance for Microsoft's DirectStorage, which could see games load in just one second (opens in new tab), but that's something that's true of all the drives that are out there right now.

WD Black SN770 | 2TB | PCIe 4.0 | 5,150MB/s read | 4,850MB/s write | $269.99 (opens in new tab)

WD Black SN770 | 2TB | PCIe 4.0 | 5,150MB/s read | 4,850MB/s write | $269.99 $199.99 at Best Buy (save $70) (opens in new tab)
Western Digital has cut the DRAM cache to make for a better value proposition with this drive, and the end result is a surprisingly speedy SSD that rolls in for significantly less than the competition. 2TB for just $200? That's going to be very hard to beat.

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It isn't just this DRAM-less drive that is seeing great savings either, with its bigger, more performant brother, the WD_Black SN850 (opens in new tab) also seeing its lowest price yet at $236 (opens in new tab) for the 2TB spin. 

This is our favorite PCIe 4.0 SSD of this generation, offering solid synthetic performance and the best real-world performance we've seen from any drive. It has been enjoying plenty of price cuts since its release, but this is pretty much the lowest it's ever been—bar a brief drop to $234.45 a few days before this price surfaced.

WD BLACK SN850 (opens in new tab)

WD Black SN850 | 2TB | PCIe 4.0 | 7,000MB/s read | 5,300MB/s write | $260.06 $236.00 at Amazon (save $24.06) (opens in new tab)
This may not be a massive saving on this drive's new lower price, but it's still a great deal on our favorite SSD. This 2TB drive is seriously fast, has loads of room for your games and Windows, and won't break the bank. What's not to like?

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If you're after the pinnacle of performance, then the 2TB Seagate FireCuda 530 (opens in new tab) is also enjoying a hefty reduction, down to $320 (opens in new tab) for the 2TB model. Given the release price of this drive was a swoon-worthy $515, that's quite the saving.

Seagate FireCuda 530 (opens in new tab)

Seagate Firecuda 530 | 2TB | PCIe 4.0 | 7,300MB/s read | 6,900MB/s write | $514.99 $319.99 at Amazon (save $195) (opens in new tab)
This is a massive saving on one of the fastest drives around. If you want the absolute best and don't mind paying a bit more for the pleasure, then this is the drive for you. Topline performance and incredible reliability combine to make this a dream slice of storage.

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Working to a tighter budget? Still have an older PCIe 3.0 machine to upgrade? Then the PNY CS2130 is worth considering too. The 2TB model is down to $180 (opens in new tab) right now, and while the performance isn't going to bother the latest PCIe 4.0 drives, it's still solid enough for a last-gen drive. 

The previously mentioned WD_Black SN770 is a better buy in my book, as it'll still be relevant if you upgrade down the line (and it'll run fine in a PCIe 3.0 slot), but if you're happy with your machine and don't plan on upgrading, this is a decent offering.

PNY CS2130 | 2TB | PCIe 3.0 | 3,500MB/s read | 3,000MB/s write | $209.99 (opens in new tab)

PNY CS2130 | 2TB | PCIe 3.0 | 3,500MB/s read | 3,000MB/s write | $209.99 $179.99 at Gamestop (save $30) (opens in new tab)
If you're still rocking a PCIe 3.0 motherboard and CPU then this is a fine deal on a last-gen SSD. It pretty much maxes out the interface and won't break the bank, even when grabbing this hefty 2TB model. Alternatively, the 1TB drive is down to $104.99 (opens in new tab) right now as well. 

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There is a wealth of 2TB NVME SSDs out there right now, and it's definitely worth doing yourself a favor and upgrading your PC's storage. 

Alan Dexter
Alan Dexter

Alan has been writing about PC tech since before 3D graphics cards existed, and still vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to get games to load. He fondly remembers the killer combo of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He's very glad hardware has advanced as much as it has though, and is particularly happy when putting the latest M.2 NVMe SSDs, AMD processors, and laptops through their paces. He has a long-lasting Magic: The Gathering obsession but limits this to MTG Arena these days.

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