Whether you're gaming on a PC or a console, one thing it always seems like you need more of is storage. For PC and PS5 players, the best way to get it is to buy an M.2 NVMe SSD, as these offer high storage capacities and lightning fast transfer speeds for good prices. My favorite of these — Samsung's 980 PRO — is discounted quite often, and is once again on sale in the aftermath of Black Friday and Cyber Monday for just $129.99 at Best Buy for the 2TB version, and $79.99 at Best Buy for the 1TB model. Those are significant 28% markdowns, and while these limited-time deals are around, I've decided to pick up another drive for my gaming rig.
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Get tons of speedy storage for less
I got a 2TB Samsung 980 PRO for my PC when it was on sale earlier this year in April, and it's been the PCIe Gen 4 drive I generally recommend ever since. It offers an excellent overall balance of storage capacity, performance, and price, arguably making it the best option for most PC and PS5 gamers. These aren't the lowest prices I've seen it fall to — the 2TB version was down to just $100 in July — but they're still much lower than the usual MSRP, and absolutely worth pulling the trigger on post-Cyber Monday.
• 3 classic games less than $3 each
• My favorite FPS is STILL 36% off
• 2 top indie games for under $10
• Xbox fight stick lowest-ever price
• Series X mini fridge still JUST $40
If you're unsure about whether to get the 2TB of 1TB SKU of the SSD, I'd say you should just spend the extra $50 and get the bigger drive. Games will only continue to get larger and larger, after all, and having more storage to keep up with that trend is never a bad thing. It's why I'm buying another 980 PRO, myself; I prefer having many games installed at once so I can pivot to whatever I feel like playing easily, and an extra 2TB of space will help with that quite a bit. The 2TB model is also the best option for PS5 gamers, as that console only has one drive slot, and maximizing your extra space is important.
In terms of performance, the SSD is capable of 7,000 MB/s read and 5,100 MB/s write speeds. These are a major improvement over the 3,500 MB/s read and 3,300 MB/s write capabilities of the 980 PRO's predecessor, the Samsung 970 EVO Plus. Now, it's not the best you can get now that the newer 990 PRO SSD is out and can hit 7,450 MB/s read and 6,900 MB/s write, but that drive is pricier, and that makes it a poor option if you can't afford to spend a ton on storage. The 980 PRO is still plenty fast while being less expensive, which makes it my favorite of Samsung's.
I'm not the only one on Team Windows Central that loves this SSD, though. Our Managing Editor Richard Devine reviewed the Samsung 980 PRO at release a few years back, and gave it a 4 out of 5 score. He called it a "beast mode upgrade for your PC or PS5," and now that I've been using it for seven months, I can confirm that he had the right of it. It's one of the best SSDs on the market, and I suspect it will continue to remain so for quite a while.
Note that if you decide to take advantage of one of these deals, you should sign up for a free My Best Buy membership. That way, you won't have to pay for shipping, saving you a few extra dollars you'd have to spend otherwise. Also, if you're on Xbox, check out these deals on Xbox Series X|S storage cards.
