Games downloads are enormous these days, and they’re showing no signs of getting smaller. Those gigabyte numbers just keep going up, so your storage, whether hard drives, solid-state drives, or microSD cards, must match it. Tomorrow and Wednesday (July 11 and 12) could be a good time to expand your favorite console’s capacity, as Amazon’s annual Prime Day event will feature discounts for a variety of excellent storage upgrades.
That in mind, here is a no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point list of great drive deals, external and internal, that’ll be up for grabs during this year’s Prime Day. And if you’re reading this after July 11 and 12, 2023, the drives named below will remain great options, just a bit more pricey than they were during the sale.
External SSDs For PS5 and Xbox Series X/S
External solid state drives offer one of the easiest ways to boost your storage—especially on PS5, which otherwise requires you to crack it open to stick in an M.2 drive. Here are the best deals right now on external storage suitable for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
We recommend: Samsung T7 Shield Portable SSD (1TB / 4TB)
The Samsung T7 Shield not only comes out on top for its fast speed, it’s also incredibly durable with IP65 dust and water resistance, so you can take it in the bath with you. (Don’t actually do this).
This year’s Prime deals give you two capacity choices:
Save money and space: Crucial X6 Portable SSD (2TB / 4TB)
Don’t let its small physical size fool you: The Crucial X6 is a competent external solid state storage solution. It has a slower speed than the Samsung T7 Shield, but it’s a little cheaper and that smaller footprint might prove beneficial if you’re space-constrained.
You can grab the Crucial X6 in two sizes:
Internal SSD Upgrades For PS5
If you’re up to cracking open your PS5 to install a new internal SSD, the PS5 can accommodate an M.2 drive. Here are some internal M.2 drives that can keep up with the PS5’s high-speed storage requirements:
We recommend: Seagate Game Drive M.2 SSD for PS5 (2TB)
The Seagate Game Drive M.2 is a great way to triple the size of your PS5’s internal storage. It’s also the more affordable of our two Prime Day picks.
For even more storage: WD_Black SN850x Internal Gaming SSD (4TB)
If you want to quintuple your internal PS5 storage, it’s gonna cost you, but consider the fact that with 4TB you probably won’t have to worry about space again for a good long while.
microSD Cards for Switch and Steam Deck
If you’re looking to expand storage capacity on your portables, here are two great microSD cards to consider. These will work well in a Nintendo Switch or even a Steam Deck.
Most affordable: Samsung Pro Plus microSD cards (256GB / 512GB)
If you’re just looking for a bit of extra storage, the Pro Plus is a solid choice with options ranging from 256GB to 512GB. These also come with a handy USB adapter. You’ll also be able to grab a 128GB for just $16.99, but definitely spend those extra couple of bucks to get 256GB instead.
Most storage: SanDisk Extreme (1TB)
If you’re looking for a more sizable storage upgrade, particularly for something like a Steam Deck, you might want to consider slotting in a full terabyte.
SanDisk Extreme microSDXC (1TB) – $95.99 – July 11 & 12
External HDDs and Budget Options
While we recommend more modern, solid state drives for console use (internal or external), you can also find some decent deals on old-school mechanical spinning hard drives. Note that these will save you a buck or two compared to their SSD cousins, but they are far, far slower. On PS5 and Xbox Series X/S hard drives can only be used to store games, not actually play them; stored games must be copied onto a fast-enough SSD to make them playable.
WD_Black 2TB P10 Game Drive
The WD Black P10 is on sale for just $62 bucks for 2TB. Like the other drives in the WD_Black line, this drive comes in a metal case and also works with PCs. Do note that it’s a mechanical HDD, not an SSD, so while it’s a nice way to store more games on your next-gen console, you can’t actually play them from this drive. The WD_Black 2TB P10 HDD will be on sale both July 11 and 12.
As mentioned above, for a little more money, you can get into a 1TB SSD with the Samsung T7 Shield.
Some pretty good sales. So, what are you finally going to download once you have more space?
