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We at XDA go through a lot of products that show up on our test bench to figure out if they're worth buying or at least considering over their counterparts. Some of these devices are flashier and more important than others, but that doesn't mean you should ignore them. Most, if not all, of these products will eventually make their way to our buying guides and recommendation lists, but I've highlighted some of my favorite products (in no particular order) from the ones we reviewed in August to help you stay on top of all the new and important releases.
5 reasons I love benchmarking
Ever since I got into PC building and gaming, benchmarking has been one of my favorite hobbies, and here are five reasons why.
For most people, benchmarking is what you do to make sure your PC is performing normally and is giving you the kind of performance you need, most often in games where you may find yourself tweaking graphics settings to get the right balance. While I'm sure many, or maybe even most people, find this kind of stuff boring, I absolutely love benchmarking. Ever since I built my first PC about a decade ago, I have loved seeing what my components are capable of, and here's why.
Store more for less with almost $20 off this popular 1TB NVMe Gen4 SSD
A great deal if you're looking to upgrade you PC, laptop, or PS5 on the cheap.
There are a lot of great SSDs out there, but if you're looking to get the best performance in the most compact size, you're definitely going to want to stick with M.2 SSDs. M.2 SSDs are considered the best option when it comes to storage solutions, offering great durability and speed.
Upgrade your laptop for less with 33% off this 2TB Gen4 NVMe SSD
A fantastic deal on a 2TB SSD that's priced well below its retail price, coming in at just $80 in this limited-time deal.
This is the SSD you want to get if you're looking to upgrade your PC, laptop, or PlayStation 5 on the cheap. This 2TB Gen4 drive offers plenty of storage space and also provides great read and write speeds. Furthermore, the drive is now on sale, priced well below its retail price of $130. For a limited time, you can grab this 2TB drive for 33% off, bringing the price down to just $80.
Amazon Prime Day isn't quite over for 2023. The online retail giant is expected to provide a second run of discounts in October before the year is out. We saw promotions in July slashing the price of various solid-state drives (SSD) and one can hope we'll see a repeat come October. We're always on the hunt for the best SSD deals and will be promoting the ones we come across in the Prime Big Deal Days.
This Samsung 1TB M.2 SSD drops to all-time low, now just $43 for a limited time
An absolutely fantastic deal that drops the SSD down to its lowest price yet.
This is the SSD you want if you're looking to upgrade your laptop or PC on the cheap. SSDs are the best option when it comes to storage, offering incredible speeds in a compact size. While M.2 storage can be expensive, we've located a deal so good, you're not going to want to pass up. For a limited time, you can score a 1TB SSD for just $43.
Samsung's 500GB M.2 SSD has never been this cheap before, grab one for just $20 today
A great deal on a excellent M.2 SSD for a limited time.
This is the best M.2 SSD on the market if you're on a budget. The Samsung 970 Evo Plus is a PCIe 3.0 SSD that offers plenty of speed and reliability, and normally is offered at very reasonable prices. With that said, we've uncovered a smoking deal that being the 500GB variant of this SSD down to its lowest price, coming in at just $20. So whether you're looking to grab some sticks for extra storage or just need something to upgrade your PC or laptop — this is going to be the best deal for you.
Best PCIe 5.0 SSDs for 2023
The latest standard for speedy SSDs is here, and we've rounded up the best on offer.
The newest, fastest standard for M.2 SSDs, PCIe 5.0, has been around for a couple of years, but only this year brought a consumer release for the fastest M.2 SSDs. The first crop of M.2 NVMe SSDs using this standard promise speeds of 10,000MB/s or higher. When the second wave comes, expect speeds of 16,000MB/s, close to the theoretical limits of the PCIe 5.0 specification.
Best SSDs for Asus ROG Ally in 2023
You can upgrade the ROG Ally's storage yourself, and here are the best SSDs to do that with.
Asus's ROG Ally a pretty high-end device for a handheld gaming PC, but it's not quite as high-end as it could be. It only comes with a 512GB SSD, and if you've played any AAA game made within the past few years, you'll be full aware that many of them, maybe even most, can hit 50GB or more easily. 512GB could easily get eaten up by 10 games.
Samsung's 990 Pro SSDs get bumped to 4TB with latest release
Samsung's finally offering larger sizes of its popular 990 Pro SSDs, set to make their debut in October.
For some time now, Samsung has dominated the SSD market with its impressive products. This year is no different with its 990 series taking the top spot, being the best SSDs on the market you can buy right now. With that said, fans of the product have been limited in sizes, with the top end maxing out at just 2TB. It looks like that will no longer be the case as Samsung has announced new 4TB models that will be available in standard version, and also one that comes with a heat sink.
Seagate FireCuda 540 review: The world's most durable PCIe 5.0 SSD
The FireCuda 540 combines good PCIe 5.0 level performance with the highest endurance we've ever seen.
While many companies are chasing top-end performance or great cooling to make the best PCIe 5.0 SSD, Seagate is after something else: endurance. Its FireCuda 540 SSD isn't the fastest among PCIe 5.0 drives, but at 1000TBW per terabyte, it's definitely the most durable by far. If you want an SSD that will last you years without even failing a little, the FireCuda 540 is the SSD for you.
This popular 2TB SSD upgrade for your Steam Deck is now $100 off for a limited time
This popular 2TB 2230 SSD is back down to its lowest price ever.
Sabrent's 2TB 2230 SSD has been a hot product the past few months, often selling out quickly whenever the SSD is on sale. Luckily, we've caught a new deal for the chip early which brings the price down to $200, knocking $100 off retail. For a limited time, you can now upgrade your Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or Surface Pro for a great price, making this one of the best deals you can get on a 2TB 2230 SSD upgrade.
Best SSDs in 2023
From 2.5-inch SATA drives to more advanced M.2 NVMe drives, these are the best solid-state drives you can buy right now.
The best solid-state drives (SSDs) have evolved a lot over the years, and you can now reliably find great storage with more capacity, faster transfer speeds, and lower prices. SSDs are available in a bunch of different shapes and sizes, and they use different technology to communicate with your PC. This can make buying the right drive a bit of a challenge. Whether you're shopping for PCIe 4.0, PCIe 3.0, M.2, SATA, or something portable that you can carry around with you, we've put together this collection of the best SSD storage you can buy today.
Corsair MP600 Pro NH review: Dethroning the 990 Pro as the fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD
The MP600 Pro NH wins a surprising victory against Samsung's acclaimed 990 Pro, albeit with some extra heat.
Although PCIe 5.0 SSDs are just now coming onto the scene, PCIe 4.0 drives are still very much relevant and will continue to be some of the best SSDs for at least a year. Among PCIe 4.0 SSDs, Samsung's 990 Pro has reigned as the fastest SSD (or at least tied as the top with WD's SN850X), and I was pretty confident that it would remain that way forever when I reviewed it back in April.
This cheap 2TB M.2 SSD is the perfect upgrade for your PC or PS5
Now's the perfect time to upgrade the storage on your device with this phenomenal discount on this 2TB SSD.
There are a lot of great SSD options out there, but if you're looking to go with the best, you're going to want to opt for M.2 NVMe SSDs. Perhaps the main benefit with going with an M.2 solution is that you get faster read and write speeds when compared traditional SATA SSDs.
MSI Spatium M570 SSD review: A decent drive that can't quite match up to its peers
MSI's Spatium M570 is the company's first PCIe 5.0 SSD, and while there's a lot to like, the competition is hard to ignore
The first generation of PCIe 5.0 SSDs is finally upon us, and what started as a trickle of drives earlier this year has quickly become a flood. Tons of companies are attempting to make the best M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSDs for consumers, and while MSI is a relative newcomer to SSDs, that hasn't stopped the company from launching the Spatium M570. The M570 is a definite upgrade over PCIe 4.0 SSDs, but it's not quite the fastest PCIe 5.0 SSD you can buy.
Best portable SSDs in 2023
A portable SSD is a smart investment if you often deal with lots of data. Here are the best.
The best portable solid-state drives (SSD) provide a convenient and speedy solution to a lack of storage on your favorite devices. Great SSDs are usually more expensive than hard-disk drives, though they have no moving parts for a slimmer build and tend to be quite a bit faster. When buying a portable SSD, you'll generally want to focus on drive speed, connection type, capacity, price, and durability. Incorporating these considerations into your final purchase should land you a great SSD that will help you transfer, store, and even secure your most important data. Here are a bunch of the best portable SSDs on the market right now to help you buy the right drive.
Do I need a heatsink for PCIe 5.0 SSDs?
PCIe 5.0 SSDs require a heatsink for optimal performance, but whether you need to buy a heatsink alongside a PCIe 5.0 drive is something else.
You've probably heard how hot PCIe 5.0 SSDs are, so whether you're getting a lower-end PCIe 5.0 drive or one of the best you can buy, you'll absolutely need a heatsink. The real question, though, is actually whether you need to buy a PCIe 5.0 SSD that comes with a heatsink, as many PCIe 5.0 drives offer a model that doesn't come with a heatsink. However, you probably don't actually need to buy a PCIe 5.0 SSD that comes with a heatsink.
This cheap 1TB SSD deal makes a perfect upgrade for your Steam Deck or ROG Ally
Right now's the perfect time to save when upgrading the storage on your Surface Pro, Steam Deck, or ROG Ally.
There are plenty of great M.2 2280 SSDs on the market, the problem is, you can't use these drives to upgrade your Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or Surface Pro. That's where M.2 2230 drives come into play, and right now, Sabrent's lineup of M.2 SSDs have now dropped in price, making it easy and affordable to upgrade your Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or Surface Pro.
Buying a PCIe 5.0 SSD makes no sense (yet)
We're finally seeing the first PCIe 5.0 SSDs hit the market, and they might have finally crossed the line when it comes to heat and power.
While PCIe 5.0 has technically been a thing since 2021, there haven't been any PCIe 5.0 devices to buy for a while. However, earlier this year, we finally saw the release of the very first PCIe 5.0 SSDs for the M.2 form factor, which promised speeds of over 10,000MB/s — the first time the mainstream storage medium has ever seen five-digit MB/s speeds, instantly making them some of the best SSDs around. We can probably expect later PCIe 5.0 SSDs to hit almost 16,000MB/s, which is the PCIe 5.0 interface's peak.