Black Friday SSD deals might be the best opportunity of 2024 to grab a new storage device on the cheap. SSDs have held firm on their price tags all year, with only a few offers really standing out. It's been a continuation of Black Friday deals from last year, which were disappointing for sure. Nonetheless, we're more hopeful for November 2024, so read on to find out why.
Discounts on storage devices like the best SSDs for gaming have always gone hand in hand with big deals events like Black Friday. External hard drives were always a staple of online sales especially, and now that often continues into gaming SSDS, external USB SSDs, and of course the SATAS and HDDs that are still viable on the cheap. Black Friday gaming deals only come around once a year, and they're worth preparing for so you can make the most of them.
Black Friday PS5 SSD deals are also worth considering since sometimes they can suit PC players too. Not all motherboards are built the same, and the M.2 bays you might want to use don't always get covered by a heatsink panel. Buying something with an integrated heatsink can save you fuss, but equally, they can hike up the costs. For that reason, PS5 owners might be here to get some better value. Buying a heatsink separately can save you a lot on modern drives, so they're worth considering. Of course, external SSD deals will also be covered here, so read on to find out more about Black Friday's storage offers.
What to expect from Black Friday SSD deals 2024
SSDs were so cheap for so long, and then October of 2023 hit us like a tonne of bricks. Ever since, SSDs have gone back up to more expensive prices, and even 1TB NVMe drives have been hard to find for under $90. This has been the case throughout 2024, which has made deals painful to look at for the most part. It's hard to view $90 as a great price to buy when previously, $60 could get you a top-drawer 1TB drive easily.
Even when Prime Day came around, the cheapest I found SSDs dropping to was around $70, which was admittedly a lot better, but this still wasn't a widely spread price across the board.
For that reason, I'm hopeful that Black Friday will be the point at which manufacturers decide to get rid of their wares for another year, and try to meet the sales expectations they probably had based on the previous 12 months. This could mean low, low prices for 1TB sticks, but the true value may sit with 2TB drives.
If you can budget for around $120, the 2TB zone is for you. That's fully where I expect to see the larger SSDs fall under, and if you can get one for around the $100 mark, you're seriously winning.
Of course, when you add an integrated heatsink to the mix, prices start to go up even further. If you're buying for a gaming PC, try to fill one of the M.2 slots on your motherboard that has a heatsink panel covering it. If you're buying for PS5, look at the cost of some separated heatsinks, because they seldom cost more than $20, and they might save you some cash when it comes to buying more storage during Black Friday.
Black Friday SSD deals 2023 - FAQs
When will Black Friday SSD deals start?
Black Friday SSD deals will officially land on November 29 this year, right at the end of the month. This means there's less than a month between this year's big winter sale and Christmas day - so it'll be a great time to shop for Christmas presents. Still, we'd recommend keeping an eye out for deals between October and November, since early offers start sooner every year, and sometimes they can present you with even better prices.
Where will the best SSD deals be?
If you're looking for a solid-state drive during these sales periods then you'll find that all major tech retailers are offering amazing discounts on them during these sales periods.
US Retailers:
Amazon: Wide range of brands and sizes on sale
BestBuy: Discounts on SSDs exclusive to BestBuy
Walmart: Deals on internal and portable SSDs of different sizes
Newegg: Money off of big brands like WD_Black
UK Retailers:
Amazon: Sales on all different brands and sizes
Currys: Money off of tons of solid state drive options
OverClockersUK: Sales on top brands like Seagate and WD
eBuyer: Discounts on a range of internal and external SSDs
What happened to SSD prices?
SSD made its move into storage dominance during the pandemic years, which, as we're sure you'll remember, were ridden with supply chain issues and chip shortages the world over. Since SSDs have been so highly sought after over the past few years, and manufacturers had to think about extra costs to keep their workers safe amidst the pandemic, as well as recover from it, prices remained high.
In September of 2022, however, it was revealed that sales had been declining in the HDD and SSD spaces. Both Seagate and Western Digital, two of the biggest names in the storage market, revealed that it would be unlikely for them to reach their projected revenue figures by the end of 2022.
When you combine the high manufacturing costs of the pandemic age with 2022's cost of living squeezes, you get a stagnation of the market. In short, it got easier to buy an SSD, but people either didn't have the money to buy one or no longer needed them as desperately.
With no choice but to slash prices to offset reduced demand, SSD manufacturers dramatically reduced costs throughout 2023. It was only toward the end of the year we saw prices go back up, right as the new generations of Gen 5 devices were making their way onto the shelves more widely.
What types of Solid State Drives are there?
- SATA SSD: This style of solid-state drive uses the same 2.5-inch form-factor as any standard HDD, meaning they normally fit in any pre-existing drive bays that your PC case may have. The trade-off, however, is that, while cheaper, they're not as quick as some of the newer types on the market. They're also chunkier than other SSD types, so keep that in mind too.
- External SSD: As the name may imply, instead of being slotted inside your machine, they are connected externally via USB 3.0 or USB-C depending on read and write speeds. These days, USB-C is more commonplace.
- PCIe/NVMe/M.2: This is the newest form of SSD storage that's used on everything from game consoles to gaming desktops. These SSDs are famed not only for their faster-than-ever speeds but for ultra-small form-factors and ease of use. Usually, they can just be screwed into place (usually with a heatsink). In addition, they tend to have longer lifespans and a lower risk of mechanical fault. Having said that, they're the more expensive option, and they can benefit from working with heatsinks to help them run as efficiently as possible.
Last year's best deals in the US
Today's best SSD deals in the UK
Looking to upgrade your gaming PC? Then Black Friday CPU deals and Black Friday RAM deals should have you covered. Be sure to take a look at Black Friday Samsung deals for more.
