SSD prices cycle down with occasional supply spikes. This month several 1 TB and 2 TB NVMe drives hit worthwhile lows — but not every "sale" badge means buy. Here is how I sort real value from clearance of components nobody should boot from.
Price benchmarks I watch (UK, 2026)
- 1 TB NVMe (good tier): under £50 — strong buy.
- 2 TB NVMe (good tier): under £90 — grab for game libraries or primary storage.
- 1 TB SATA 2.5": under £40 — laptop HDD replacement territory.
- 4 TB NVMe: under £200 — worth it for video editors hoarding footage.
Boot drive vs secondary drive
Boot / Windows: prefer TLC NAND with DRAM cache or proven HMB controllers (Samsung 990, WD Black SN850X, Crucial T500). Game / media library: budget QLC (Crucial P3 Plus, WD Green SN770) is fine — you will not feel random read latency in most games.
Endurance and warranty
Check TBW (terabytes written) if you edit video daily. Five-year warranty from Samsung, WD, Crucial beats no-name brands with vague "3 year" promises and no firmware updates. Update firmware from manufacturer tool after install if offered.
Brands I trust on sale
Samsung 980/990 series, WD Black, Crucial T500/P3 Plus, Kingston KC3000, SK Hynix Platinum P41. Avoid Amazon-only brands with zero documented firmware history — fine for cold storage, not for boot drives.
Before you click buy
Confirm M.2 slot supports NVMe (not only SATA M.2). Laptops may need single-sided drives — thick heatsink models do not fit. Desktop users: check motherboard manual for PCIe gen (Gen 4 drive in Gen 3 slot still works, just capped speed).
