SSD prices have been getting squeezed by a market that has been anything but calm, and that has made good deals harder to spot. Still, a few standout drives are sitting at unusually sharp discounts right now, covering everything from tiny handheld upgrades to fast internal storage for serious desktops. The big question is whether to wait for prices to cool even more or jump on a deal before it disappears.
One of the easiest wins is the Verbatim Pocket 1TB external SSD. At $149.99, it lands at half off its original $299.99 price, which is a rare sight when storage costs are moving in the wrong direction. It is built for people who want a fast drive they can toss in a pocket, with USB-C support, broad device compatibility, and transfer speeds that reach up to 1000 MB/s.
That kind of portability matters more than it sounds. A drive like this can move projects between a laptop, desktop, and game console without much drama, and the included keyring makes it feel more travel-friendly than most external SSDs. For anyone who hates bulky gear, the appeal is pretty immediate.
On the internal side, the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB remains a familiar name for a reason. It is marked down to $389.99, which is a solid cut from its inflated current pricing, even if the original launch price makes the deal feel less magical than it should. Even so, this is still a premium PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive with strong real-world performance and a reputation that has held up well.
The hardware under the hood is part of the reason it keeps showing up on wish lists. Samsung pairs its own 176-layer TLC V-NAND with an in-house controller, plus an M.2 2280 form factor that fits a lot of systems, including the PlayStation 5. With claimed read speeds up to 7,450 MB/s and write speeds up to 6,900 MB/s, it remains a fast, dependable choice for gaming, editing, and heavy everyday use.
For buyers who want to push further into next-gen territory, the Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB is the flashier option. It is listed at $399.99, roughly 40% off its $679.99 MSRP, and it brings PCIe 5.0 speeds into the picture. That said, the drive only makes sense if the rest of the system can keep up, because a PCIe 5.0 SSD in the wrong machine is basically a sports car stuck in traffic.
This drive leans hard into top-end performance. Samsung says it can reach read speeds of up to 14,700 MB/s and write speeds of up to 13,400 MB/s, backed by eighth-generation 236-layer TLC V-NAND and a proprietary controller. It is the kind of storage people buy when they want the fastest thing available, even if the payoff depends on workloads that can actually use that speed.
System compatibility is the real gatekeeper here. Intel users need an LGA 1700 or newer platform, while AMD buyers need AM5 along with a PCIe 5.0-ready board such as a B650E, X670E, X870, or X870E model. That extra hardware requirement keeps it from being an impulse buy, but for the right rig, the payoff is hard to ignore.
The Western Digital WD Black 1TB SN770M plays a different game entirely. Priced at $199.99, it targets handheld gaming systems and compact devices, where the M.2 2230 form factor matters more than raw bragging rights. It is a smart fit for devices like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, and it also works in some laptops that use the same small layout.
Even without DRAM, the SN770M brings respectable speed for its size, with read and write ratings of up to 5,150 MB/s and 4,900 MB/s. Its 600 TBW endurance rating is modest compared with bigger desktop drives, but that is not really the point here. This one is built for game libraries, portable setups, and anyone trying to squeeze more storage into a very small space.
