4 years in the past I wrote a narrative proclaiming I’d by no means purchase a tough drive once more, and yearly since, that promise has gotten simpler to take care of as flash-based storage simply retains getting cheaper. If I didn’t have already got a number of 2TB SSDs (sure, I’ve a storage drawback), I’d be sorely tempted to choose up one of many 4TB choices under, most at their lowest costs ever.
Essential and TeamGroup lead the SATA affordability pack, with the 4TB MX 500 for simply $269 (opens in new tab) and a two-pack of 2TB AX2 SATA SSDs for an unimaginable $185 (opens in new tab). Don’t count on excessive velocity from both of those drives—particularly the entry-level AX2s. However for those who want a number of house to retailer your video games or media, it’s exhausting to complain about paying lower than a nickel per gigabyte. And the endurance on each choices is kind of good, with the Essential drive rated to 1,000TBW, and the TeamGroup drives promising 1,600TBW per drive.
In the event you choose WD and/or the colour blue, B&H has the mid-range 4TB WD Blue SATA SSD on sale for $289 (opens in new tab), additionally an all-time low. On the lookout for one thing on the prime of the SATA drive stack? Samsung’s 4TB 870 Evo can also be right down to its lowest value ever, at simply $299 (opens in new tab). This drive tops our Finest SSD checklist for a shopper SATA drive for its class-leading efficiency, 256-bit AES encryption and lengthy 5-year guarantee.
Stepping up in velocity and down in bodily dimensions is TeamGroup’s 4TB MP34 M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD for $329 (opens in new tab), or about $30 lower than it’s ever been. With 3,500/2,900 MB/s rated sequential reads and writes, it might do fairly nicely as a cavernous boot drive or quick secondary storage. It’s additionally rated to an astounding 2,400TBW of endurance and comes with a 5-year guarantee.
Final up, and quickest of this SSD offers pack – though no chief in its PCIe 4.0 class – is Essential’s P3 Plus M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, at $299 (opens in new tab). Rated at 4,800 MB/s sequential reads and 4,100 sequential writes, it’s on the low finish of the velocity PCIe 4.0 spectrum, however nonetheless quicker than PCIe 3.0 drives. And it comes with a pleasant 5-year guarantee. This drive would make a superb boot drive in a brand new mid-range construct, or an excellent secondary storage drive in a high-end construct with a a lot quicker PCIe 4.0 drive, just like the Samsung 990 Professional.