• A Steam user has found a way to store games on SSDs with an auto-navigation and auto-start script
• These are effectively physical 'game cartridges' complete with key art
• However, costly SSDs means this is a pricey endeavor (the Steam gamer was lucky enough to pick up used drives on the cheap)

Physical copies of PlayStation games are coming to an end from January 2028, and as the backlash around that continues, a restoration of physical media on PC has been discovered — and it's novel to say the least.

A Steam user on Reddit has managed to store games on 'cheap 2.5-inch' SATA SSDs, effectively acting as old-school 'game cartridges' with key art, and a script that auto-navigates Steam to each game's page. The user also notes that automatically starting games from each drive is possible.

This comes amid a significant uproar from gamers following the revelation of Sony's plan to eradicate physical game discs, supposedly by the time its next PlayStation console arrives. It's a very controversial move that has united gamers across all platforms to fight to retain discs and to ensure game ownership remains intact.

With that said, physical media for PC has been dead for a long while, since a modern desktop PC doesn't come with a disc drive, and there are hardly any publishers selling physical copies for the platform.

With most games only accessible digitally on PC, in theory those titles can be taken away from buyers at any time. The trouble is that consumer-friendly figures like Gabe Newell, who leads Valve, the owner of Steam, won't be in charge forever.

So in the future, under new leadership, it's possible more anti-consumer measures might be introduced, or other aspects of PC gaming that consumers dislike, such as DRM (like Denuvo).

Steam Game Cartridges from r/pcmasterrace

Imagine if this 'game cartridge' system was adopted by PC game publishers? It's a smart idea, and a nice thought, but clearly not a realistic one. For starters, it'd be a prohibitively expensive method of reintroducing physical PC game copies.

Of course, platforms like Epic Games and Steam require users to be logged in and have their app installed to play games, so it's still a long way off true game copy ownership, anyway.

However, this concept would be paired perfectly with GOG, a platform that is DRM-free and doesn't require the launcher to play purchased games — in other words, you fully own purchased games on GOG.

Admittedly, publishers releasing PC game cartridges in the form of SSDs is a pipe dream, especially with the current state of the hardware market, and the RAM crisis, complete with skyrocketing SSD prices.

The idea comes at the wrong time, then, but if the RAM crisis ever settles down, then maybe this is something we'll see more PC hobbyists doing — and perhaps even the odd publisher.

• Google has cut the price of Gemini AI Plus from $7.99 to $4.99 per month
• Subscribers now get 400GB of Google storage instead of 200GB
• Here's how Gemini AI Plus compares with OpenAI's $8 ChatGPT Go plan

Google just slashed the price of its Google AI Plus plan to $4.99/month (£4.99 /AU$7.99), down from $7.99, and at the same time doubled the included cloud storage from 200GB to 400GB. This makes Google AI Plus significantly cheaper than its main rival, ChatGPT Go, which costs $8 a month. But which one offers the better value? Let's find out.

The first thing to note is that both of these offerings sit on the bottom rung of OpenAI's and Google's and paid subscription ladders. They're the first step toward the more fully featured ChatGPT Plus on one hand, and Google AI Pro subscription on the other, both of which cost around $20 a month (Google's is slightly cheaper at $18.99).

That said, both plans offer significant improvements over their free counterparts. The free versions are great for occasional use, but you'll soon start running into limits, particularly when it comes to image generation and other advanced features.

Usage improvements

Everything with AI models is measured in usage. Once you've used up your daily allocation, you start to lose access to the better parts of the models, meaning things can slow down considerably or, in the case of image generation, stop working altogether.

To make matters more confusing, neither company is particularly transparent about exactly how much usage you get each day. That's because limits are often dynamic, and can vary depending on demand.

Google AI Plus comes with usage limits that are up to “twice as high” as those on the free version of Gemini. You also get access to additional features, including video generation.

ChatGPT Go, on the other hand, simply promises "more" access than the free version of ChatGPT without specifying exactly how much more. OpenAI says subscribers get more access to GPT-5.5 Instant, along with higher limits for messaging, uploads, image creation, and memory.

If you look at the small print of OpenAI's offer, you'll also notice it states that "this plan may include ads", which is an immediate red flag for me.

What else do you get with Gemini?

Gemini does seem to offer more than ChatGPT. As well as the increased usage limits, you also get a few extras, including access to Nano Banana, Gemini's image generator in Google Search, and 200 Google Flow credits for creating cinematic video scenes.

But the really interesting addition is NotebookLM, Google's AI-powered research and writing assistant. Subscribers get higher limits for Audio Overviews, the feature that automatically generates podcast-style summaries, along with more notebooks for organizing projects and research.

And let's not forget the 400GB of cloud storage, which can be shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. That’s almost worth the price alone, and you’re getting more Gemini access thrown in.

The story Google AI Plus starts to tell is one of integration. If you already rely on Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, and other Google services, the subscription feels less like a standalone AI chatbot and more like an upgrade for your entire Google account.

That's where ChatGPT Go starts to look a little less compelling. ChatGPT remains one of the best AI assistants available, but at this price point, Google is offering a broader package that combines AI tools, research features, video generation, and a substantial amount of cloud storage.

Whether that's enough to tempt existing ChatGPT users away from OpenAI is another question. But if you've been curious about paying for AI and didn't want to spend $20 a month, Google's new $4.99 price point makes Gemini AI Plus one of the most affordable ways to get access to a premium AI experience.

• Samsung and Kingston are increasing SSD prices according to a report from China
• We're told there will be a 'price increase of at least 10% for solid-state drives'
• On top of that, AMD Ryzen CPUs have seemingly leapt in price in Japan

SSD prices are reportedly set for another increase, and we're hearing news about CPUs getting hiked, too.

Wccftech spotted a report from Chinese tech site IT Home claiming that Samsung and Kingston have "both notified their distribution channels of a price increase of at least 10% for solid-state drives".

This comes from a source in the supply chain, we're told, and seemingly Samsung has notified three major domestic distributors of this price increase which comes into effect now.

As Wccftech makes clear, we've already seen price hikes on high-end SSDs from Samsung and Western Digital earlier this month, applied as stealth increases that amount to a doubling in cost for some models (the really big drives).

Wccftech also flagged up major price rises for AMD Ryzen processors in the Japanese market, as claimed in a report from PC Watch.

The current-gen Zen 5 lineup has been hit with around 40%-50% price hikes in some cases, with the biggest increases hitting the Ryzen 7 9700X (which is up 57%) and Ryzen 9 9900X (up 37%).

A bunch of Ryzen 9000 models have had around 20% increases applied in Japan, including the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which is a popular choice for PC gamers (and is up 22%).

These price rises extend to older AMD processors as well, with some Ryzen 7000 models going up in a major way, led by the 7800X3D — the predecessor of the 9800X3D — being subject to a 41% hike.

Analysis: a broader sign of things to come

Those are really nasty CPU price increases, make no mistake, but it's not surprising that processors are getting more expensive. This has been happening for a little while now, although the increases have been relatively timid compared to RAM and storage.

However, this is the first time truly worrying rises have been seen with CPUs, and although it's limited to the Japanese market, there's a chance we'll see a similar trajectory with pricing elsewhere. Put it this way: I wouldn't bet against this being a broader sign of bad things to come, although it could still prove to be a more localized problem for Japanese retailers.

As for SSDs, assuming the source from the supply chain is correct — and we should appropriately season all these reports, of course — it's likely that SSDs will continue to get more expensive across the globe, not just in Asia. This is backed up by a recent forecast from analyst firm TrendForce, which believes that NAND flash storage could see a price surge of around 75% quarter-on-quarter.

The outlook for SSD pricing is suitably bleak, there's no getting around that, and the same goes for RAM, with TrendForce predicting around 60% rises there.

• More fake Samsung SSDs have been uncovered, and the drive maker has said it's 'taking consistent action against such counterfeits'
• At the same time, CPU sales are seemingly in a major slump, the worst seen in a decade, we're told
• With the PC component crisis just getting more intense, there is hope for some relief later this year – but the way it'll be realized isn't very comforting

As the PC component crisis intensifies, with CPU sales now apparently in a serious slump, we've had another warning about fake Samsung SSDs as scammers try to capitalize on expensive higher-end drives.

First off, let's look at the SSD nastiness, with German tech site ComputerBase reporting (via VideoCardz) that an Austrian buyer had the misfortune to receive two Samsung 990 Pro SSDs from a retailer that have both been confirmed to be fakes.

While the packaging of the 1TB drives looked authentic enough, and didn't ring any alarm bells, inspection of the SSDs did, as they had a blue circuit board (rather than the black color Samsung uses). They also used the wrong SSD controller (a Realtek model rather than a Pascal controller).

The real sign that something was very wrong, though, was the fact that these solid-state drives didn't work at all. (Unlike better fakes, which work, and can even appear to be the correct model when installed in a PC if you don't engage in anything other than a cursory inspection).

When Samsung was told about this incident by ComputerBase, the company provided a statement that read: "Samsung takes such reports about counterfeit memory products very seriously. We are taking consistent action against the distribution of such counterfeits.

"We recommend purchasing Samsung storage media exclusively through the Samsung Online Shop or authorized retailers. Consumers can also use the Samsung Magician software to verify that their product is genuine."

With the price of CPUs creeping up, maybe we'll also need to be wary of an uptick in processor fakes (such as the counterfeit Ryzen 9800X3D chips we've seen palmed off on unsuspecting consumers in the past).

More broadly, is it the case that pricier processors, and the squeeze from the memory crisis in general, are killing sales of desktop silicon? Apparently, this is indeed happening, as mentioned at the outset.

PC Gamer reports that TechEpiphany, who regularly posts figures from major German retailer Mindfactory, shared some recent data on X showing that processor sales have fallen sharply in the last three weeks (after being in something of a slump across the whole of March). It's mainly AMD Ryzen sales that have dropped actually – though that's partly a function of Intel sales numbers already being a great deal less at the start of 2026 – and it's an eye-opening slump.

Based on that data, and other sales figures drawn from the likes of Amazon, TechEpiphany posted on X that: "In 10 years of tracking retail CPU (and related) sales, I have never seen such a steep decline."

Analysis: an 11.5-level crisis

Saying that this is the single biggest slump which TechEpiphany has witnessed in the last decade is quite a statement regarding CPU sales. When asked 'on a scale of 1-10, how done are we?' in a follow-up post on X, TechEpiphany replied that we're at '11.5' currently.

Are processor prices really rising that steeply? Well, following rumors of major price increases late last year, they are going up, certainly, as there's a CPU shortage which is getting more serious.

However, this isn't just about processors in a bubble, but the entire custom PC market. With the prices of all components going up, and particularly RAM along with storage, building a computer from scratch – or looking at a substantial upgrade to a new motherboard platform for an existing system – has become a ridiculously pricey affair.

So, people just aren't doing that, and this is going to depress CPU sales, and indeed all components – not just the memory side of the equation, where the price hikes have been truly astronomical.

Counterfeit products being increasingly wheeled out as scammers try to profiteer from these high prices isn't going to help the situation, either. It's not great news that fake Samsung SSDs have now reached Europe, after an increase in Japan was already observed – though at least this latest bout of fakery wasn't as sophisticated as previously seen.

There's one hope here, namely that these stupidly high prices – and the PC market in general getting out of hand – is indeed resulting in a refusal to buy from consumers (as apparently seen with CPUs, but also RAM recently, too). That in itself could rebalance the supply and demand seesaw to some extent, and lead to prices falling. And as PC Gamer also spotted, MediaTek is tentatively predicting a more optimistic pricing trajectory for RAM in the second half of 2026 based on this kind of theorizing.

MediaTek's SVP and head of global sales, Eric Fischer, recently told analyst firm Counterpoint: "We're super cautious, maybe cautiously optimistic about the second half [of 2026], about where it goes because, at some point the prices are going to have an impact on the consumer's ability to spend – whether it's notebooks or [other] consumer products."

This is a sentiment we've heard elsewhere, but it isn't really all that comforting that the best hope for the RAM crisis to slacken its grip on our wallets is that pricing simply gets so high that people point-blank refuse to spend. But, here we are, and this is seemingly what it's come to...

• Sony has announced it has suspended production of CFexpress and SD memory cards
• This is a temporary measure, but it'll be the case for the 'foreseeable future' we're told
• There will still be stock of these memory cards in circulation for some time yet, as existing inventory is run down

The latest blow dealt by the memory crisis is that Sony is no longer shipping out SD and CFexpress memory cards to its partners, or supplying cards direct to consumers.

PetaPixel spotted the official announcement (via The Verge) in which Sony Japan said: "Due to the global shortage of semiconductors (memory) and other factors, it is anticipated that supply will not be able to meet demand for CFexpress memory cards and SD memory cards for the foreseeable future.

"Therefore, we have decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of orders from our authorized dealers and from customers at the Sony Store from March 27, 2026, onwards."

We don't know how long this will go on for, with Sony stating that it intends to monitor supply levels and when things improve, it'll announce the resumption of production.

As PetaPixel makes clear, this affects all but a few models of these memory cards. Sony's CFexpress Type B 960GB card remains in production (it'll set you back a grand, in case you weren't aware, as these are pro-targeted), and also the lowest-end SF-UZ series SD cards (which are largely discontinued in the US anyway, it should be noted).

Analysis: time to panic?

Does this mean that photographers won't be able to buy a Sony memory card now? No, this represents the shutting down of production (for now). There's still stock which is being shipped out from Sony and in the supply chain, in transit or warehouses, as well as the products that are currently on shelves.

As ever, when this kind of move happens, it'll take some time before all this inventory runs out. But when it does run dry, then you won't be able to purchase these SD or CFexpress cards.

And with that knowledge now public, there may be more urgency for some folks to purchase (especially with more popular products) — even though prices have spiked considerably already. We've witnessed high-end SD cards shooting up massively in price, or going out of stock, and sadly, it looks like the road will only become rockier from here.

• A fake Samsung 990 Pro SSD was found to be very convincing
• It looked authentic, reported the correct capacity, and even worked like a real 990 Pro in some benchmarks
• However, a full suite of testing revealed the weakness in the drive — and there are steps you can take to protect yourself

Fake SSDs and RAM scams are becoming more commonplace now that these products have gotten so expensive, but often such knock-offs are easy to spot — although that's not the case with the latest imitation Samsung drive.

There are no clearly inauthentic packaging or product labels, or other obvious giveaways here, and as Japanese tech site Akiba PC Hotline discovered (via Tom's Hardware), you might not even realize this Samsung 990 Pro SSD was a fake clone at all. As Akiba puts it: "More sophisticated counterfeit SSDs have appeared," while warning that these fakes, which are "harder to distinguish from genuine ones, are now flooding the market" (bear in mind this is a translation).

Granted, there are clues for the tech-savvy Sherlocks out there to pick up, such as the wrong model of SSD controller on the drive (a Maxio MAP1602, rather than the Pascal controller it should be).

There are plenty of folks who wouldn't think to check that kind of detail, though, and overall, this forgery of a drive fully looked the part, plus it reported the correct capacity when installed.

It could even keep up the act through some benchmarks, and as Akiba found, some basic tests showed performance very close to what you'd expect to see with the Samsung 990 Pro. It was close enough that you wouldn't question the drive on that basis, whereas many fake SSDs would be completely off the pace with any such testing (and may not even report the correct capacity).

However, with sustained testing, Akiba found that large file writing operations (copying a big video onto the drive) saw the fake SSD fall way behind its expected performance (once it had run out of cache). In these scenarios, it was running at about a fifteenth of the speed it should have been, and given that, it's clear that something is very wrong.

Analysis: be careful where you buy – and call in the 'Magician' (or similar)

While some folks might feel that this drive isn't that difficult to spot as a fake, everything is relative here. And because it appears to be a genuine Samsung 990 Pro in terms of the packaging and drive labelling, and reports the correct size in Windows — and even passes muster in quick tests with, say, CrystalDiskMark — the reality is that this is going to fool many people. Maybe not really techie folks, as noted, but it's a convincing enough scam that it's far more dangerous than the typical efforts we've seen in the past.

The likely scenario with this drive is that the scammers have used cheap QLC instead of Samsung's TLC flash memory that should be in the 990 Pro, and this is how they're carving out a profit (and where the performance falls down in sustained workloads). Given that the Samsung 990 Pro now costs around $250 in the US even in its smallest capacity of 1TB, there's clearly money to be made — and large drives are now ridiculously expensive (for the 4TB model, you're looking at a grand, no less, these days).

So, how can you be more vigilant and avoid a scam like this? For starters, don't buy from third-party marketplace sellers, because if something is suspicious about the SSD you've purchased, you'll want to be dealing with a reputable retailer (and not, potentially, the architect of the scam itself).

Aside from that, if you buy a new SSD, make sure that you benchmark it thoroughly to put the drive through its paces and spot any potential weak points, such as the QLC switch-out seen here. Alternatively, with a Samsung drive, you can use the Samsung Magician software to check if the SSD is an authentic product — there's no pulling the wool over the eyes of this app, as you might imagine.

Other drive makers offer similar tools — or verification methods on their websites — that you can use to ensure the authenticity of a purchased product. Contact the drive maker's customer support if you're unsure about how to check up on what you've bought, and you'll doubtless be pointed in the right direction.

Welcome to our MWC 2026 'Best in Show' awards, where we've chosen our top products being shown off at the big trade event.

MWC used to be all about phones — and there are plenty of those in this list — but now it covers everything from wearables to connected smart devices to home networks. Our awards picks cover this breadth of technology.

Honor Magic V6

Some thing in life are inevitable. Night follows day, the tides rise and fall, Honor reveals the thinnest-ever foldable phone at a big tech show. One of the many impressive things about the Honor Magic V6, though, is that it hasn't skimped on durability in favor of being so slim and stylish — it's IP69 rated against water and dust, which is actually better than almost any other phone, despite being foldable.

It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite 8 Gen 5 powerful processor, backing that generous 7.95 internal screen with a 2352x2172 resolution, while the 6.5-inch cover display has a 2420x1080 resolution. There's a 6,600mAh battery squeezed into the small frame too. It's an incredibly impressive piece of engineering, and absolutely worthy of our award.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The best way to get the full low-down on why this phone has won an award is to read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review, but one quote from it will tell you most of what you need to know: "Of course it's the best Android phone ever."

You've got Samsung's special Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip at the heart, and a beautiful 3120x1440 6.9-inch display – including Samsung's genius and innovative 'Privacy Display', which can hide individual sections of the screen, such as notifications, from snoopers around you. There are wider apertures on the camera to let in more light, lots of advanced AI skills, S Pen support... It's just a powerhouse of a phone for people who want the most capable device on the planet.

Nothing Phone (4a)

If you want super-slick features in an affordable package, we're expecting this to be one of the hottest phones of the year. The Nothing Phone 4(a) keeps the fun techy design that Nothing is known for, including a version of the Glyph Bar on the back.

The 6.8-inch OLED screen has a high 2800x1260 resolution and 120Hz support, with a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chip inside, and 12GB of RAM even though it's a cheaper phone and memory is pricey now. There's even a triple camera system on the back — it makes the new iPhone 17e look miserly in comparison. And on top of all this, coming in four nice colors doesn't hurt its desirability either.

TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro

TCL's NXTPAPER screens have been turning our heads for a while now. They're basically ereader-like screens with a matte and paper-y finish that's great for avoiding eyestrain, but with full color performance and advanced screen tech such as 120Hz support. The NXTPAPER 70 Pro phone uses the latest version of this tech, and actually has three adjustable paper-like modes: Color Paper Mode, Ink Paper Mode, and Max Ink Mode. You can hit a button to cycle through them.

There's even an included pen for drawing and making notes on the screen, so this works as a hybrid of phone, ereader and digital note-taker — plus all the other things you expect a phone to do, including taking photos. We've seen NXTPAPER phones from TCL before, but this is the first time we're starting to consider ditching a regular smartphone for one.

MemoMind One

These smart glasses stand out due to the smart flexibility that's built into their core concept. The key idea is that they have a display for each eye built-in, and Harman Kardon personal speakers you can hear, so you can get subtle information from AI assistants easily.

What's really interesting is the modular approach, which applies to both the hardware and software. The glasses offer eight frame styles and five temple designs, so you can find a specific style that suits you — along with prescription lenses. And the LLM support isn't one-size-fits-all; instead it analyzes the task you need it to perform and uses OpenAI, Azure or Qwen, depending on what's the best fit. It's a really clever approach to smart glasses, and we're looking forward to seeing more of (and through) them.

Honor Magic Pad4

The stunning tablet almost seems impossible. At just 4.8mm thick, it feels like there's just not enough space for it to contain a load of great tech — but you've got a beautifully bright 12-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 3000x1920, backed by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, and up to 1TB of storage.

Being so thin and weighing just 450g (slightly less than the 11-inch iPad Air, despite having a larger screen), it feels like the ultimate portable slate. But the finishing touch is that Honor has made it an interesting work companion too, with a desktop windowed mode that seems very slick, plus stylus support. This might be the most impressive-looking tablet in the world.

Soundcore Space 2

Anker's audio brand Soundcore makes a lot of great-value headphones, and its Space One and Space One Pro models went a little more little more premium — with very strong results. The Space 2 look like they'll take that idea into the stratosphere, though.

Soundcore says the headphones will have the brand's most advanced active noise cancellation yet, and reengineered 30mm silk and ceramic drivers to produce "full, rich bass, clear vocals and crystal-clear highs". LDAC higher-res support will help with that, as will the personalized sound feature, which tests your hearing and adjusts the audio frequencies to boost in areas where your hearing struggles. It sounds like an excellent package, especially with 70 hours of battery life, and a launch price of $130 / £130.

Lenovo ThinkBook Modular PC Concept

This might be the "future of laptops", as we said when Lenovo showed it to us along with some other interesting concepts. It's modular in the sense of having an easily changed configuration on the outside. It looks like a normal laptop, though it has a screen on the back of the lid as well as in the normal place you'd expect to find a screen.

This screen can be popped off, and used as a separate external display. Or you can remove the keyboard, and replace it with this second screen, for a dual-display laptop/tablet hybrid. Finally, the range of ports under the keyboard can be swapped out, so you can customize them for what you need most. We love this idea, and while it might remain largely niche even if it comes to a real product, we're thrilled with the possibilities.

Biwin Mini SSD CL100

For creative pros or anyone with a need to carry a huge amount of data around, Biwin's latest Mini SSD looks like a revelation. The small cards (around the size of a coin) contain up to 2TB of flash storage, but these aren't like SD cards — their data transfer speed is at PCIe 4 pro SSD levels.

Using the Biwin Mini SSD Reader RD510, you can transfer data from the CL100 drives at up to 3.7GB/s read speeds, and up to 3.4GB/s write speeds. They're a mind-blowing bit of design, taking elite storage performance and putting it in a package that would enable you to take hundreds of terabytes with you in the same size and weight as a single regular external SSD.

TP-Link Aginet HB810

This is designed to be the ultimate ultra-fast home mesh Wi-Fi system, and it's on this list because it really seems to achieve that goal. Offering tri-band Wi-Fi 7 across its mesh devices, TP-Link says you'll get 19–22Gbps of wireless speed, and if you want to wire in there's a 10 GbE/SFP+ combo WAN/LAN port, plus 10GbE and 2.5GbE ports.

Part of the key promise here is to be able to maintain the fast speeds even when things get busy or complicated. There's support for 12 spatial streams at once, 320MHz channels, and tech such as Multi-Link Operation to ensure the network is rock steady when loads of people are using it across multiple nodes. Throw in the security and parental control options that you'd expect from an elite Wi-Fi system, and you've got a great-looking home network upgrade.

uCloudlink OmniFlex Pro

This is a pro-level Wi-Fi router that's designed for when you need to set up a network in a new place quickly, and it can pull its internet connection over broadband or over a mobile connection. Nothing new there, but what made this stand out is its commitment to fast performance, combined with the fact that you don't need to have a SIM card for the mobile internet.

It's eSIM only, which means that's one less thing you need to worry about before deploying — whether you're using the mobile connection as a backup only (it will auto-switch to cellular internet if the main connection fails), or using it in a new country, either way you don't need to have planned your SIM use in advance.

Just take out a new digital connection when you need it, or manage your provider so much more easily. And with a 5G connection and Wi-Fi 7 for connection to devices, it'll work as quickly as anything in the category can, plus it has mesh options for expanding the network. Comprehensive!

TP-Link Tapo C665G KIT

This comprehensive outdoor security camera is designed to be something you just never have to worry about — unless it sees something you need to worry about. It's built to be super-tough, standing up to any weather conditions, dust blasts or temperature changes. It's battery powered for total flexibility on placement, and uses its own solar panels to charge the battery during the day, so it can run at night.

Crucially, a very sharp 4K sensor with enhanced night vision combines with AI-based recognition of events, so that it not only can see everything it needs to, but it can also differentiate between movement that's just things blowing in the wind, and disruptions that are really worth warning you about. TP-Link emphasizes that the goal is to make sure it can cover a really broad area efficiently and smartly, making it a great investment — especially since it even has 4G support so it doesn't need to be near your router.

TechRadar is on the show floor for this year’s MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, Spain, and we’ll be covering the latest news from some of the biggest names in mobile, computing, fitness and more.

• John Carmack has shared an idea for using fiber rather than RAM
• This is a vision of the future for replacing RAM modules in AI workloads
• While it's highly theoretical and a long way off, there are other possible nearer-term solutions to reduce AI's all-consuming appetite for RAM

John Carmack has aired an idea to effectively use fiber cables as 'storage' rather than conventional RAM modules, which is a particularly intriguing vision of the future given the current memory crisis and all the havoc it's wreaking.

Tom's Hardware noticed the cofounder of id Software's post on X where Carmack proposes that a very long fiber optic cable – and we're talking 200km long – could effectively fill in for system RAM, at least when working with AI models.

Carmack observes: "256Tb/s data rates over 200km distance have been demonstrated on single-mode fiber optic, which works out to 32GB of data in flight, 'stored' in the fiber, with 32TB/s bandwidth. Neural network inference and training [AI] can have deterministic weight reference patterns, so it is amusing to consider a system with no DRAM, and weights continuously streamed into an L2 cache by a recycling fiber loop."

What this means is that said length of fiber is a loop where the needed data (normally stored in RAM) is being "continuously streamed" and keeping the AI processor always fed (as the AI model weights can be accessed sequentially – this wouldn't work otherwise). This would be a very eco-friendly, power-saving way of completing these tasks, too, compared to traditional RAM.

As Carmack points out, this is the "modern equivalent of the ancient mercury echo tube memories", or delay-line memory, where data is stored in waves going through a coil of wire.

It's not an idea that's feasible now, but a concept for the future, as mentioned – and what Carmack is arguing is that it's a conceivable path forward which possibly has a "better growth trajectory" than we're currently looking at with traditional DRAM.

Analysis: flash forward

There are very obvious problems with RAM right now in terms of supply and demand, with the latter far outstripping the former thanks to the rise of AI and the huge memory requirements therein. (Not just for servers in data centers that field the queries to popular AI models, but video RAM in AI accelerator boards, too.)

So what Carmack is envisioning is a different way to operate with AI models that uses fiber lines instead. This could, in theory, leave the rest of us free to stop worrying about RAM costing a ridiculous amount of cash (or indeed a PC, or a graphics card, and the list goes on with the knock-on pricing effects of the memory crisis).

The problem is that there are a lot of issues with such a fiber proposition, as Carmack acknowledges. That includes the sheer quantity of fiber needed and difficulties around maintaining the signal strength through the loop.

However, there are other possibilities along these lines, and other people have been talking about similar concepts over the past few years. Carmack mentions: "Much more practically, you should be able to gang cheap flash memory together to provide almost any read bandwidth you require, as long as it is done a page at a time and pipelined well ahead. That should be viable for inference serving today if flash and accelerator vendors could agree on a high-speed interface."

In other words, this is an army of cheap flash memory modules slapped together, working massively in parallel, but as Carmack notes, the key would be agreeing on an interface where these chips could work directly with the AI accelerator.

This is an interesting nearer-term proposition, but one that relies on the relevant manufacturers (of AI GPUs and storage) getting their act together and hammering out a new system in this vein.

The RAM crisis is forecast to last this year, and likely next year too, potentially dragging on for even longer than that with all sorts of pain involved for consumers. So, looking to alternative solutions for memory in terms of AI models could be a valuable pursuit towards ensuring this RAM crisis is the last such episode we have to suffer through.

While we've witnessed some nasty price hikes with higher-end SSDs, budget drives are being affected too – and the situation is set to get worse, according to one executive at a big storage firm.

This is Shunsuke Nakato of Kioxia – a major SSD and NAND flash storage manufacturer – who is managing director of the firm's Memory Business Unit. As Tom's Hardware noticed, he spoke to Digital Daily, a South Korean tech news outlet.

Nakato observed that we're at the end of the era of affordable 1TB SSDs, and that: "To be honest, this year's production volume is already sold out. The days of cheap 1TB SSDs for around 7,000 yen (about $45) are over."

As Tom's Hardware points out, not so long ago, it was possible to pick up a 1TB solid-state drive for as little as $35 in the US. Right now, I'm not seeing anything less than $100 for a 1TB SSD at major US retailers – and many 1TB NVMe drives are at least $130.

The worry is that, given the chatter about spiking storage prices – which are following after RAM's lead – these SSDs will get a lot pricier soon. Nakato isn't the only person with industry knowledge sounding warning bells, and it's possible that while SSD prices haven't witnessed nearly as steep a climb as RAM, this could change as 2026 rolls on. Indeed, pricing pressure may well be felt throughout 2027, too.

So, the safest bet is likely to buy a wallet-friendly drive now, before all SSDs become distinctly more wallet-hostile, and not just high-end models (some of which have already doubled in price).

I'd be inclined to take this route, and to that end, if you're looking for a 1TB drive, here are my recommendations for what to grab right now.

Top 3 SSDs to consider now

These are my top three choices for the 1TB SSDs that you'll want to consider – though you may have to move very fast to snag some of them (one in particular). I've linked to US retailers for the deals you can get there, but you'll also find links to buy these SSDs in your region below, too, if you aren't in the US.

While these prices are already hiked to a degree, which may be off-putting, just bear in mind that the likelihood is they could seem cheap compared to the inflation the SSD market may incur over the next, say, six months.

WD Black SN850X 1TB: the drive to buy before it goes out of stock

This WD drive is a highly-rated NVMe SSD – we loved the base SN850 model, and there have been other versions since, like the SN850P and this SN850X, which is a slightly peppier, faster variant.

Priced at $109 at Walmart in the US as I type this, I don't think this SN850X will hang around long, given the value proposition it represents in a market where prices are rapidly inflating.

Crucial P310 1TB SSD: the cheapest you can get

If you want to buy as cheap as possible right now, the best deal I'm seeing – at the time of writing – is the Crucial P310. This is a nippy, power-efficient NVMe SSD that is priced at $106 at Amazon in the US currently.

Again, I'm not sure it'll be in stock for long at this price, mind. Technically, it's hardly cheaper than the WD drive above – and I'd definitely recommend that product over this SSD – but if the SN850X has sold out, this is still a great drive for gamers and everyday computing.

Samsung 990 Evo Plus SSD 1TB: a powerhouse drive with endurance aplenty

If you want to go a bit pricier, check out Samsung's 990 Evo Plus in its 1TB flavor, which is a relatively palatable $155 at Newegg. It doesn't make any sense compared to the WD Black SN850X in all honesty, but if that has vanished from Walmart's shelves (or the price has changed), this is a good alternative to the Crucial SSD.

Compared to the Crucial P310, the Samsung 990 Evo has a few advantages, including slightly faster performance, PCIe 5.0 support, and much better endurance (so the drive will last longer – it uses TLC rather than QLC NAND). The latter is crucial (ahem) if you'll be performing many write operations on the drive, and this Samsung model is the better bet for longevity.

However, from a pure value perspective for the everyday user, I'd still plump for the Crucial SSD at the current pricing (although as mentioned, the WD drive is still the top choice, assuming it stays in stock for any length of time).

• SSDs have shot up in price over the past month and a half
• Tom's Hardware compared the cost of some top-end SSDs against gold in terms of their relative weight
• It turns out that high-end 8TB SSDs are, on average, worth more than gold now by weight – and a few 4TB models are, too

If you've ever wondered whether SSDs are more valuable than gold, gram-for-gram, in weight terms – and some folks have, following price inflation driven by the memory crisis – the answer is, rather incredibly, yes, for capacious high-end drives, anyway.

Tom's Hardware reports that a Reddit discussion sprang up around this topic, and our sister site ran some comparisons of the relative cost-to-weight ratios of 24k gold versus certain NVMe SSD models.

Those are the compact stick-style SSDs, of course, that plug into your motherboard via an M.2 slot. (It's worth noting that SATA SSDs, which are much slower than NVMe drives, are in danger of having the plug pulled by a major manufacturer, Samsung, as you may have seen recently.)

To work this out, Tom's collated a list of SSDs (over 100) from major US retailers (Newegg, Microcenter, Best Buy, and Walmart), which were all PCIe 4 or 5 models with at least 4TB capacity (and currently in stock). These were all consumer models, with pricey enterprise drives (laden with a bunch of extra bells and whistles), not considered as they'd throw out the overall value equation.

And obviously, no SSD with a heatsink was included as that ramps up the weight a lot (which averaged around 8 grams for 4TB models, and only slightly more at 8.2 grams for 8TB drives).

With the 8TB models, Tom's worked out that the average price is now $1,476 with their sample. And the price of 8.2 grams of gold? That's about $1,200, based on a price of $148 per gram at the time of compiling the comparison.

So, these top-end SSDs are more than worth their weight in gold, quite literally.

As for the 4TB SSDs, they aren't there yet with their average price, but a few of the very top models edge past the price of the equivalent weight in gold.

Analysis: storage pain

Storage is unfortunately following in the footsteps of RAM. While the price of SSDs hasn't shot up as much as system memory has, matters have already gotten pretty bad.

Tom's shows us a graph of 4TB NVMe drive pricing from PC PartPicker, and you can clearly see that prices rose considerably in December, and there's been an even sharper uptick in the first half of January. Hence, this eyebrow-raising comparison to the price of gold, and it's even worse with faster 8TB models.

Where are we headed from here? I don't think it's too controversial a suggestion that the only way is up. It's just a question of what the flight path might be from here and how steep a climb.

So, if you're needing an SSD for an upgrade or a new PC build, you may want to pull the trigger on a purchase sooner rather than later (no matter what the size, but certainly with top-end models). For example, you can still get a Samsung 9100 Pro for $600 at Newegg in the US, and while the same drive was $400 on sale for Black Friday just a couple of months ago, odds are it could increase in price at a rate of knots from here on out.

Looking at our favorite SSD, the WD Black SN8100, the 2TB model was $220 during Black Friday, but is now – wait for it – $499 on Newegg. Ouch. Western Digital models seem to be riding the crest of the price hikes, Tom's observes, though that could partly relate to the popularity of the drives and how fast stock is selling through as a result.

It's nasty out there in storage land right now, but it could well get worse – and it very probably will. Meanwhile, we might see some creative solutions floating around, and as we made clear earlier this week, those who are on the hunt for an SSD for their PS5 could look at an alternative way to fix their storage predicament.

• Samsung is rumored to be ditching SATA SSDs
• The firm will supposedly announce this in January 2026
• This means fewer models at the cheapest end of the SSD spectrum, which is likely to impact pricing considerably

There's some more bad news on the SSD front to join yet another worrying development in the RAM world, both of which relate to supply difficulties and increased prices for these PC components.

First off, the main event here, which is the SSD gloom. It comes via a new video courtesy of Moore's Law is Dead (MLID) in which the YouTuber provides a rumor about budget Samsung SSDs (as TweakTown highlighted).

We're told that one of MLID's trusted sources in distribution claims that Samsung is about to cut off SATA SSD production, and an announcement to this effect will be coming in January.

These SSDs are cheaper models that use the slower SATA interface, as opposed to NVMe SSDs which are the more modern, much faster storage medium, using PCIe lanes (and usually plugging directly into the motherboard in an M.2 slot).

Another of MLID's sources, this time in retail, backs up this idea, telling the leaker that SATA SSDs will be harder to get by the middle of 2026.

On top of that, VideoCardz reports that SK Hynix, a big memory maker, is expecting supply of consumer RAM to remain tight through until 2028 – which isn't the first time we've heard that prediction. This is based on a leaked slide purportedly from SK Hynix aired on X by BullsLab Jay.

Analysis: SSD – scarce supply drives?

Of course, take this with some seasoning, and just because Samsung might be pulling the plug on SSD production soon – in theory, and that may not happen straight away – there will still be existing contracts to fulfil, and stock to sell through.

Still, the message is clear enough: SSDs of the SATA variety are on borrowed time. And even though some of you might be thinking "good riddance, who uses these slow old drives now, anyway?" – well, yes, they are outdated, but there are still buyers looking for budget-friendly SSDs who go this route.

That could be especially true if people building a PC are forking out a fortune for RAM, as the price of that potentially shoots up further next year, and folks look to make savings elsewhere.

As to the reality of how many buyers of SATA SSDs there are, MLID theorizes that it's something in the order of 20% of the solid-state drive market, pointing out that some of the top sellers on Amazon are SATA drives. Samsung likely represents something like half of those sales, so these drives disappearing from shelves could account for the supply of budget SSDs drying up as 2026 rolls onwards. Fewer cheap SSDs could also put pricing pressure on more affordable NVMe models, too.

Why is Samsung making this move? That would be because NVMe drives are simply more profitable, with higher premiums to be charged – as they are a lot faster than SATA products – and they're easier to manufacture, too (as a bare board that plugs into the motherboard, as opposed to a full drive with a case).

Samsung is going to be focusing on making HBM4 memory and GDDR7 video RAM, as well as NVMe SSDs, all of which are more profitable enterprises, particularly given the current AI boom.

Needless to say, if you're looking at buying an SSD, now is likely the best time to act, especially if you can find anything in the way of a holiday deal on a drive – because as of Q1 2026, prices could head upwards quite quickly, particularly for budget SSDs.

Most predictions have memory supply levels being tight until 2027, if not longer – and MLID reckons we're looking at maybe late in 2026, possibly through to mid-2027, before pricing woes settle down somewhat.

Don't forget that storage and RAM price hikes don't just impact those individual components and prebuilt PCs, but also laptops.

• SSD prices could be on the verge of skyrocketing due to increased NAND flash memory demand
• Pricing for NAND flash has doubled over the last six months
• This is due to the AI boom, with more data centers shifting from hard drives to SSDs

We're fast approaching Black Friday and the holiday season sales in the latter stages of 2025, and for consumers attempting to get their hands on one of the best SSDs, it may be the most important window of opportunity to grab a good price on PC storage that we've witnessed in some time.

As reported by DigiTimes, prices of NAND flash memory (used in SSDs) have doubled over the last six months due to the 'AI boom' according to Phison's CEO Khein-Seng Pua. The growing demand from data centers (shifting away from hard drives to SSDs) means we're looking at potential supply shortages in 2026 and beyond, possibly for several years, the chief executive believes.

It's also worth noting that the prices for TLC 1-terabit NAND (a popular flash memory chip) have increased to $10.70 from $4.80, with similar price hikes across other modules as well, illustrating a significant shift in demand for these storage components.

Phison, which is a major player in providing components for SSDs (controllers, mind you, rather than memory chips), had a 30% year-on-year increase in revenue in the third quarter of 2025, which has been attributed to the increased demand and price of said SSD controllers.

DigiTimes also reported that SanDisk has already increased NAND flash prices by 50% this November, again as a result of increased AI usage and data storage needs, a trend that's been ongoing for months (with the likes of Western Digital).

This all adds up to plenty of evidence to suggest that consumers may feel the impact of price hikes when looking to purchase a new SSD.

Analysis: Black Friday is your best friend, SSD hunters

It therefore looks like there's no better time than now to buy a new SSD, because Black Friday is fortunately upon us this November. And since I've not yet noticed any significant price changes at the consumer level just yet, it's likely better to take advantage of current pricing while you still can, particularly with a Black Friday discount thrown in.

Securing a 4TB SSD has worked wonders for my gaming PC for years now, and while that might seem like overkill for some (especially because they don't come cheap), it's definitely worthwhile. You'll rarely be left worrying about insufficient drive space, and perhaps most importantly, you'll be set for your storage needs for some time, whatever happens with SSD pricing in the future - which looks pretty bleak.

Whether it's an M.2 SSD to slot into your PC's motherboard, or a portable external SSD, there's bound to be plenty of bargains to find leading up to Black Friday and the special day itself, and we'll be here to cover it once the big sale kicks off.

• SSD and HDD prices are going up again, due to increased AI demand for NAND products
• Western Digital has already implemented a price surge on HDDs, effective immediately
• Other manufacturers are expected to follow suit

For both gamers and creative professionals, storage space and transfer speeds are crucial to achieving the best experiences with the best SSDs. Their importance can't be overstated. So for those seeking storage upgrades: spoiler alert, you may want to act quickly.

SSD (Solid State Drive) and HDD (Hard Disk Drive) prices are expected to increase up to 30%, due to increased NAND demand from AI data centers, as reported by Wccftech. Manufacturers such as Western Digital have already announced HDD price surges, effective immediately, as highlighted in a customer notice letter by QQ_Timmy on X.

The same applies to Micron and SanDisk. SanDisk recently announced a 10% NAND price hike, and Micron is anticipated to introduce a price surge as significant as 30%, as per a report by DigiTimes.

It's not the first time this has happened. Last year saw a major price surge for SSDs, but that was caused by a short supply of NAND packages. Now, it's a matter of increased demand from AI data centers, with HDDs and SSDs being used for datasets to train AI models and algorithms.

Ultimately, this could lead to an increased demand across the board, and the longer it goes on, the higher the chances of a lack of supply and no stock. Fortunately, I've hardly seen any SSDs go out of stock completely, even during last year's NAND shortage, but don't underestimate the climate of the market and how quickly things can shift.

Analysis: I couldn't be happier that I bought a 4TB SSD when I did

Besides upgrading your GPU or CPU, upgrading your SSD is severely underrated – especially if you're someone who is still using an HDD for gaming (even if it's amongst the best HDDs available) which, honestly, you shouldn't be in 2025 since some games literally require SSDs to work.

SSDs can quite literally revitalize your gaming experiences, with much faster loading times and easier file transfers at much quicker speeds. However, chances are you already know that. So I'll also point out the benefits in terms of storage space. Constantly having to delete games due to insufficient space is what led me to buy a 4TB SSD, and it's served me well for years.

Whether it's a portable SSD you desire, a 2230 SSD for your handheld gaming PC, or even more affordable SATA SSDs, I'd advise you to make a move now before the price surge sets in for all SSDs.

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• Team Group has launched its T-Create Expert P34F portable SSD
• It features location tracking via Apple's Find My app, and an alarm
• The P34F should go on sale very soon

If you've ever lost an external SSD or USB stick – maybe containing vital, or even sensitive, data – you'll know it can be a traumatic experience, and a new portable drive could put an end to any such anguish around misplaced hardware.

TechPowerUp reports that Team Group has officially launched the T-Create Expert P34F, which is a world-first in terms of being a portable SSD that has built-in location tracking.

The feature works via Apple's Find My app, and the drive can be paired with supported Apple devices for the tracking functionality, meaning the best Macs, iPhones or iPads.

The P34F can be located using said Find My app, and the drive also boasts an internal speaker that allows it to sound an alarm that's audible within a 40m range.

The SSD comes in 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities and has a sleek design, weighing 70g with a size of 81 x 43mm and a thickness of 16.5mm. It has a metal finish and is made from a 73% zinc alloy, and offers transfer speeds of up to 1,000MB/s for reads and 900MB/s for writes.

While Team Group says the drive is out now, and the P34F is live on its website, it's still yet to appear at retailers – presumably that's about to happen. We don't have a confirmed price yet, either, but we do know that the SSD benefits from a three-year warranty.

Analysis: portability and security

Note that only the tracking capability is tied to the Apple ecosystem, and you can of course use this portable SSD with other devices including Windows PCs. It has a USB-C connector and supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 and Thunderbolt connectivity.

It's a clever idea to have this built-in tracking system, particularly on such a small drive. The P34F is smaller than a credit card, in fact, and with that kind of diminutive hardware it's not difficult to misplace or accidentally leave the device somewhere.

At least if that happens, you've got a fighting chance of getting this external SSD back, particularly as it has that audible alarm for locating the drive when you know it's nearby. And that could be an absolute lifesaver if you're storing sensitive data on the P34F – not that you should store such data on anything that's portable and potentially easily lost, of course, but people still do.

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MSI Datamag: 30-second review

The MSI Datamag is a rare portable SSD that combines real-world speed with a genuinely useful design twist. The 20Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface keeps transfers moving fast and in testing the drive very comfortably met and exceeded its rated read and write speeds.

It’s quick to launch projects, back up big shoots and handle transfer tasks without fuss and is a notable step above 10Gbps rivals that top out under 1,000MB/s.

The standout feature is the magnetic mount. Snap it to an iPhone or any MagSafe-compatible case or use the included stick-on rings to park it on laptops, rigs or consoles. Cable management is easy thanks to the included short and long USB-C leads plus a USB-C to USB-A adapter for older gear.

The compact square shell uses aluminum as a heat spreader and the finned edges help the drive stay cool in sustained work. In extended stress runs I saw consistent throughput and no throttling.

Two quick caveats: you need a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port for full speed and there’s no stated IP rating, so treat it as a tough metal portable drive rather than a truly ruggedized model.

Price and availability vary by region but it generally compares well for the performance on offer – especially considering the five-year warranty that adds some extra peace of mind.

If you want a compact fast drive that mounts neatly on a phone or workstation without extra fuss, the Datamag is an easy pick for everyday use. You can pay more for flagship USB4 drives that are a shade quicker or spend less on 10Gbps options but few match the overall blend of speed, thermals and magnetic attachment convenience.

MSI Datamag: Pricing and availability

• How much does it cost? 2TB: $160 / £160 / AU$269
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in most major markets including the US, UK and Australia

The MSI Datamag 20Gbps isn’t always stocked at all retailers, so start with your local MSI website and its Where to Buy page or check your country’s authorized retail partners for current options.

It’s generally easier to find in Australia and the UK while US availability varies by capacity and retailer.

In the MagSafe-friendly portable SSD niche there are only a few direct rivals and among 20Gbps-class drives the Datamag is competitive, but some almost as fast models do undercut it on price.

• Value: 4 / 5

MSI Datamag: Specs

MSI Datamag: Design

• MagSafe compatible
• USB-C with USB-A adapter
• Aluminum heatsink

The Datamag looks and feels purpose-built rather than being just another generic plastic-wrapped portable SSD. MSI uses a compact square footprint with trimmed corners and a radial brushed top that keeps fingerprints in check and gives the logo a low-key finish.

The aluminum enclosure doubles as a heat spreader and the ribbed edge detailing is more than cosmetic, helping the drive shed heat during long writes. It’s a tidy pocketable shape that doesn’t snag cables in a bag and the single USB-C port sits flush so it’s easy to pack.

The headline design trick is the magnetic mounting system. On an iPhone or any MagSafe compatabile phone (and that now includes the Pixel 10 thanks to Pixelsnap) it snaps on securely and for non-magnetic surfaces MSI includes two stick-on metal rings in black and white. That makes the Datamag handy on varied rigs, claptops, consoles and other devices since you can park it exactly where you want it and keep the cable strain-free.

MSI also bundles both long and short USB-C cables plus a USB-C to USB-A adapter, so you can go access it on older devices, or just have a bit of versatility when you run out of ports. The lanyard loop in the corner is a small but smart touch for tethering for extra security.

At 66 x 66 x 13mm (2.60 x 2.60 x 0.51 inches) and 81g (0.179lb), the Datamag carries a reassuring heft without feeling bulky. The square puck format spreads weight across a phone well, so it stays put during handheld shooting and the rounded edges keep it comfortable against a palm.

There’s no stated IP rating, so treat it as a solid metal portable rather than a true rugged drive. Overall the design is simple, durable and very practical.

• Design: 4 / 5

MSI Datamag: Performance

• Great performance
• No throttling

Aside from magnetic wizardry, performance is the Datamag’s calling card and the 20Gbps USB interface and Phison PS2251-U18 controller deliver impressive throughput.

In the ATTO benchmark I saw peaks of 1,660MB/s reads and 1,860MB/s writes, while sustained transfers in Windows managed 1,642MB/s read and 1,514MB/s write. That’s comfortably above the rated 1,600 / 1,500MB/s and well ahead of 10Gbps rivals like the SanDisk Extreme and Samsung T7 that top out near 1,000MB/s. In comparison, higher-tier 20Gbps options such as the SanDisk Extreme Pro can read a touch faster at around 1,900MB/s and of course USB4 drives are even faster.

The aluminum body with finned edges helped keep temps in check and I saw no throttling in a 30-minute mixed read and write run. For large media copies, camera offloads and scratch disk use the Datamag feels snappy and dependable under load.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

MSI Datamag: Final verdict

MSI’s Datamag is a portable SSD that feels ready for real-world workloads. It’s fast in everyday tasks, doesn’t slow down on long transfers and stays cool thanks to the metal shell.

The square pocketable design is easy to carry every day and the magnetic mount and included rings make it quick to attach to a phone or other equipment.

Pricing is decent for the class and the five-year warranty is a great bonus. If you want speed with a smart attachment system, the Datamag delivers dependable 20Gbps performance in a compact easy-to-mount package.

Should I buy the MSI Datamag?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

For more options, we've tested out the fastest external SSDs you can get right now.

So, PCIe 7.0 is almost here, with the Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG) stating that development on the new specification has reached version 0.9 and is now in the “final draft” stage. In other words, unless any members of the PCI-SIG submit amendments, it’s ready for launch.

A quick bit of history before we get into what this means for you: the PCI-SIG was founded in 1992 as a consortium of industry bodies collectively overseeing the development of the PCI connection specification. For the uninitiated, that’s an interface commonly used for the motherboard in your laptop or PC to communicate with other components, like your GPU or SSD. The PCI-SIG has more than 800 member companies, including industry giants like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm.

If you own a modern computer, it’ll use PCIe in some capacity. Most new-for-2025 systems will feature PCIe 5.0, the fifth (shocking, I know) iteration of the PCI Express format. PCIe 4.0 is still commonplace, though - my laptop uses it. Each new version brings various improvements, but the primary advantage is that each generation delivers double the available bandwidth compared to the previous iteration, which translates to improved data transfer speeds; a vital benefit for the best SSDs.

In other words, new versions of PCIe allow drive manufacturers to produce significantly faster storage for your PC. For example, PCIe 4.0 SSDs typically max out at the 7,000MB/s mark, while PCIe 5.0 SSDs can achieve up to 14,000MB/s or even higher - take the Crucial T705 SSD my colleague John Loeffler reviewed last year, which delivered data read speeds as fast as 14,400MB/s.

So, where’s PCIe 6.0?

Now we come to the big question: why should we get excited about PCIe 7.0 nearing completion when the computer hardware industry has yet to adopt PCIe 6.0 in any meaningful way? Well, for starters, these specifications need to be out in the wild for a while before they can become the norm. I remember the first time I got my hands on a mainstream PCIe 3.0 SSD for my own custom build, and being blown away by the speeds it offered compared to my comparatively sluggish old SATA drive.

Secondly, PCIe 6.0 drives are on the way. The PC hardware company Micron demoed such an SSD earlier this month, and while the drive in question is still a prototype right now, it achieved a monstrous 27GB/s sequential read speed in testing. As file sizes get larger and larger, faster transfer speeds become a necessity; 27GB/s might seem excessive, but somebody needs that bandwidth. PCIe 7.0 promises to take things even further, with SSD speeds that could theoretically reach above 50GB/s.

Still, it does beg the question about whether PCIe 7.0 is something we should care about right now. I’ll answer that: it’s complicated. Okay, that’s not a very satisfying answer, I know. On the one hand, consumers won't see PCIe 7.0 hardware in their PCs for a long time, so it’s hard to get excited about it today.

On the other hand, specification advancement like this is vitally important: simply put, it keeps PCIe at the forefront of hardware interface development. As long as the PCI-SIG continues to improve the specification, companies don't need to invest in their own (faster) interfaces, and everyone stays in the same boat - and as we’ve seen with the rise of USB-C adoption, connection standardization is always a good thing. As a seasoned PC builder, I can’t imagine how much it would suck if some components simply weren’t compatible with my motherboard because it didn’t use PCIe.

And hey, maybe I do need a 100GB/s+ SSD. That’s what the PCI-SIG is promising for PCIe 8.0…

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Orico O7000: One-minute review

Although we’re technically in the PCIe 5.0 era of storage, it’s really been a golden age for PCIe 4.0 SSDs thanks to a plethora of choices, such as the Orico O7000, which is positioned as a drive with high-end performance for a midrange price.

This PCIe 4.0 SSD ranges from 512GB to 4TB, and for this review we’re taking the 1TB model for a spin. Rated for 7000MB/s in reads and 6500MB/s in writes, the O7000 isn’t quite at the top-end of PCIe 4.0 storage (which would be the Samsung 990 Pro), but it’s close.

What makes this drive particularly interesting is its current $69 price (about £55/AU$100), which is relatively low nowadays for a drive of this caliber.

Compared to top-end PCIe 4.0 SSDs like the FireCuda 530R from Seagate and the MP600 Pro NH from Corsair, the O7000 is just a shade slower for the most part, and often ties the two drives.

However, when writing lots of data to the O7000 (like if you’re moving all your game installations to it), its performance easily bogs down and becomes extremely slow.

The O7000 1TB also has a weakness in that other brands offer the same SSD hardware under different names, and these drives can sometimes be cheaper, but sales pricing is always a fickle thing.

For now, though, the O7000 is the cheapest option for this hardware, and its performance makes it one of the best values in PCIe 4.0 storage.

Orico O7000: Price & availability

• How much does it cost? From $69 (about £55/AU$100)
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, with UK and Australia availability pending

The O7000 is currently available on Amazon and Newegg, though at the time of writing, Amazon only offers the 1TB model, while Newegg also has the 2TB and 4TB variants in stock. The 1TB model costs $59, the 2TB $93, and the 4TB $196. The 2TB is currently the best deal on a dollar per GB basis, but since SSD prices can easily go up or down, it’s unclear how long this will be true for.

At $59 for the 1TB model, it’s significantly cheaper than other flagship PCIe 4.0 drives like Seagate’s FireCuda 530R and Corsair’s MP600 Pro NH, which cost $94 and $84 respectively for the 1TB version. It’s also much cheaper than older PCIe 5.0 SSDs, such as the $169 FireCuda 540 1TB.

Orico O7000: Specs

Orico O7000: Performance

Overall, the O7000 shows good, but not perfect, performance. The 530R and MP600 Pro NH were faster for the most part, but in nearly every single test the O7000 nipped on their heels. There were even a few instances where the O7000 tied or beat the Seagate and Corsair drives.

A particularly bright spot for the O7000 is its thermal performance and efficiency. It only maxed out at 50 degrees Celsius, far lower than the three other SSDs we tested. That makes the O7000 a decent candidate for laptops and handheld PCs, which often lack good SSD cooling.

Of course, more heat occurs because of higher power consumption, so the O7000 is a low-power drive too, another reason to choose it for a battery-powered device.

The FireCuda 540 was of course in its own league, but it costs about twice as much and benefits from active cooling, something the O7000 definitely doesn’t need.

However, the O7000’s biggest weakness is in sustained writes. All SSDs suffer from lowered writing performance the less free space they have, but the O7000 can see its performance drop to as low as 150MB/s. However, it’s rare to come across this situation in the real world since it requires tens or hundreds of gigabytes of large files being moved to an SSD.

Orico O7000: Verdict

While the O7000 1TB isn’t perfect, its overall performance is very close to what you get with the FireCuda 530R 2TB and MP600 Pro NH 2TB. With a substantially lower price tag of $69, that makes the O7000 a better deal for the most part. If you’re looking for a new boot drive on a budget or if you just want some fast, secondary storage, the O7000 is a sensible choice.

However, the SSD that the O7000 1TB is based on is also made by other brands, including TeamGroup with its MP44. There’s really no reason to buy the more expensive drive since they’re essentially identical, but that works in Orico’s favor right now since the O7000 is cheaper.

The O7000 2TB is an especially good deal right now, going for just $93, which isn’t much more than lots of 1TB drives. Spending the extra $34 to get double the storage and the same performance makes the O7000 2TB especially appealing versus the 1TB model, though we don’t know how long this will hold since SSD prices can change quite frequently (and have done so as this review was in progress).

Should you buy the Orico O7000

Buy the Orico O7000 if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Orico O7000

Although Intel’s new Core Ultra 200 Series has technically replaced last-gen 14^th Gen CPUs, I’m using my LGA 1700 test bench for SSD testing, rather than an LGA 1851 test bench.

This is because SSDs run on Arrow Lake CPUs actually perform significantly worse than on 14^th Gen CPUs. We’re not entirely sure why this is the case, but in order to show our SSDs’ best possible performance, we have to use Intel’s last-gen CPUs.

The LGA 1700 test bench is equipped with the Core i9-14900K, ASRock’s Z790 Taichi Lite motherboard, 32GB of DDR5 clocked to 5600MHz, and Corsair’s H170i iCUE LINK liquid cooler with a 420mm radiator. We also tested the Firecuda 530R, Firecuda 540, and MP600 Pro NH for comparison.

SSD prices could drop by something like 10% in the near future, so you might want to hold fire on any potential drive purchase for now.

The fresh pricing prediction comes from analyst firm TrendForce which regularly produces reports on memory pricing, and the latest such forecast for the storage market is that NAND Flash contract prices (those charged by component suppliers to drive makers) will decline to the tune of 3% to 8% in this quarter (Q4).

That’s due to “weaker-than-expected sales of end products driving buyers [drive makers] to adopt a conservative approach.” We’re further told that the consumer market is ‘sluggish’ right now, and there’s a hint that Copilot+ PCs aren’t performing perhaps as well as they should (though elsewhere, huge sales for those AI laptops have been forecast, at least from 2025 onwards).

TrendForce observes: “From a demand perspective, inflation and limited practical use cases for AI have hindered any significant upgrade cycles despite manufacturers actively introducing AI-powered PCs.”

Furthermore, while demand is sluggish, inventory is increasing. TrendForce notes: “Meanwhile, on the supply side, several major manufacturers returned to full capacity utilization in Q3, while other suppliers increased production through process upgrades, resulting in a modest rise in overall capacity.”

Consumer SSD supply was constricted early this year (with prices rising), so this is a distinct turnaround with those supply level cranking up – but now they’re not being met by demand from buyers out there.

The upshot is that the price of consumer SSDs is predicted to drop by 5% to 10% during this quarter. (Enterprise drives, mind you, are a different story, and will likely see some ‘modest’ price growth, with sales being stable enough – and AI certainly helping in that respect).

Analysis: Playing a waiting game

We may well see the impact of price drops being realized in around a month or so, then – and what else happens in about a month or so? That would be Black Friday, and so that’s another good reason to bide your time if you’re currently mulling an SSD upgrade.

One way or another, as the end of November rolls around, SSD prices should have dropped anyway, and obviously we’ll have a whole pile of potential tempting storage deals in the Black Friday sales anyway. And while you wait it out, you could always plan what drive you might want to buy by checking out our list of the current best SSDs, whether you’re after a new drive for your PC or console.

Via TweakTown

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Issues with external storage can be frustrating, which is why it helps to know how to fix an external hard drive that's not showing up on your computer. 

External hard drives are handy for storage and backup, and often, when they don’t work, it could be due to improper connectivity, outdated drivers, or formatting errors. 

In this article, we'll guide you through the exact steps to troubleshoot this issue with external hard drives on Windows and Mac systems. And if your existing storage isn’t sufficient, we’ve rounded up the best external hard drives here.

Tools and requirements

• Windows computer

Steps for how to fix an external hard drive that's not showing up on Windows

• Reboot your computer. 
• Check the physical connection: disconnect and reconnect the hard drive, reconnect to a different USB port, or reconnect with a different cable. 
• Update drivers: Device Manager > Disk Drives > Right-click your external hard drive > Update driver > Search automatically for drivers. 
• Reinstall drivers: Device Manager > Disk Drives > Right-click your external hard drive > Uninstall device > Uninstall. Then, reconnect your hard drive.
• Format the drive: Disk Management > Right-click your external hard drive > Format > OK. 
• Windows CheckDisk: Command Prompt (Run as administrator) > Type chkdsk /f X: (X is the letter of your hard drive) > Press Enter > Wait till the process completes. 
• Enable the drive: Disk Management > Right-click the gray box beside your hard drive > Select Online. 
• Unallocated drive: Disk Management > Right-click the gray box beside your hard drive > Select New Simple Volume. 
• Assign a drive letter: Disk Management > Right-click your hard drive > Select Change Drive Letter and Paths > Click add > Assign a letter > Click OK. 

Step by step guide to fix an external hard drive that's not showing up on Windows

Before troubleshooting using the steps below, try restarting your computer or external hard drive. Although it appears simple, rebooting devices often fixes lots of technical issues.  

Tools and requirements

• MacBook

Steps for how to fix an external hard drive that's not showing up on Mac

• Reboot your Mac. 
• Check the physical connection: reconnect the hard drive, reconnect to a different USB port, or reconnect using a different cable. 
• Update software: Launchpad > System Settings > General > Software Update > Restart Now. 
• Format the hard drive: Launchpad > Disk Utility > Select your hard drive > Click Erase > Click Format > Select a new format > Click Erase. 
• Use First Aid:  Launchpad > Disk Utility > Select your hard drive > Click First Aid > Click Run > Click Done. 

Step by step guide to fix an external hard drive that's not showing up on Mac

Before attempting the steps below, try restarting your Mac or external hard drive. 

Final thoughts

Hard drive issues can be concerning, but you can often resolve them with simple troubleshooting steps. Ensuring proper connection, updating drivers, and using built-in tools like Disk Management or Disk Utility can help fix access to your drive. 

But if you continue to experience issues with your hard drive, it may be time to upgrade to a new one. For more tips on storage, learn how to format an external hard drive for PS4, how to install an M.2 (NVMe/SATA) SSD on your PC, and how to install PS5 SSD.

Lexar has unveiled a host of new storage solutions at Computex 2024 which includes PCIe Gen 5.0 and Gen 4.0 NVMe SSDs, as well as RAM and flash memory. 

A total of four new internal SSDs have been announced with the Lexar Professional NM1090 M.2 Gen 5.0 NVMe leading the charge. It's available in capacities from 1TB to 4TB with a rated sequential performance of 12,000MB/s reads and 11,000MB/s writes. That's fast enough to put the frighteners on some of the best SSDs for gaming. 

As with some other Gen 5.0 NVMe SSDs, the Lexar Professional NM1090 features an active cooling heatsink complete with RGB lighting. It sounds like it could be a great addition to the best gaming PCs and could future-proof your rig as more titles start to utilize the DirectStorage API for near-instant load times. 

There's also the Lexar Professional NM990 which is geared towards high-end business use with its sequential performance of up to 14,000MB/s reads and 12,000MB/s writes. The NM980 version has a low power mode for reduced power consumption and cooler temperatures, and it's geared towards laptops where those thermals are a more pressing concern. 

Then there's also the Play 2280 Gen 4.0 NVMe SSD which will top out at what the previous generation of PCIe hardware is capable of at 7,400MB/s and 6,500MB/s sequential reads and writes respectively. Capacities go all the way up to 8TB, and with the right heatsink, this could fit inside your gaming PC or your PS5 - if the price is right. 

Also of note is the unveiling of the Ares RGB DDR5 RAM which will be available in kit configurations of either 7,600MT/s or 8,000MT/s. You'll want to ensure that your motherboard has the corresponding support for Expo or XMP for your CPU to handle these greater speeds. 

Furthermore, Lexar hasn't skimped on the portable storage solutions either. The company also showcased the SL00 Portable SSD offering up to 1,050MB/s transfer speeds, as well as the Lexar Play Pro MicroSD card at 600MB/s. This means these should be ideal for laptop use or inside of game consoles like the PS5 and Nintendo Switch respectively. The Armor 700 is an even faster USB 3.2 SSD with transfer rates of up to 2,000MB/s and a rugged outer frame, too. 

Blazing fast storage aplenty

While no official pricing or release dates have been revealed for any of Lexar's latest storage offerings, the kind of sequential performance they offer is certainly encouraging. We're particularly excited about the new 8,000MT/s DDR5 RAM kit and the leading PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs with sequential speeds of up to 14,000MB/s. 

Simply put, technology is getting faster as the current standard becomes more widely adopted. We now have more NVMe SSDs, RAM kits, and even graphics cards that support PCIe 5.0, as more hardware manufacturers understand how to utilize the extra bandwidth, but it will take time to move over from PCIe 4.0 as the user base catches up. New fast microSD cards and portable SSDs are always welcome, too.

Catch up with all the new announcements and unveilings as they happen with our dedicated Computex 2024 hub for all news and products. 

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Here’s some bad news for those looking at buying a new hard drive – prices are about to rise, by the looks of things.

And that holds true even for consumer hard drives, even though this news – which comes via a report from analyst firm TrendForce – relates to large capacity hard drives in the immediate future.

TrendForce observes that there’s a demand for high-capacity HDD (Hard Disk Drive) products being driven by AI, and that’s worsened by reduced production levels from manufacturers – skewing the supply and demand balance heavily towards the latter.

As ever in these cases, this leads to price rises, and a letter from Seagate’s top brass is furnished as clear evidence of this. Indeed, the letter states that Seagate is bringing in price increases for its hard drives immediately, and that another factor in play causing this is global inflationary pressures.

Seagate observes that it expects supply constraints to continue with HDDs going forward, and prices will rise in future quarters even more due to this.

There are some other factors to consider here. Firstly, TrendForce points out a report from TechNews (a Taiwanese site), where industry sources claim that ongoing limited supply for higher capacity hard drives could persist throughout the entire year, and that HDD prices are set to rise by 5% to 10% in Q2 2024.

On top of that, there’s also the recent news from Western Digital, another huge force in the world of hard drives, which made a similar announcement about the cost of hard drives going up in the near future.

Analysis: Hard bargains soon to be thin on the ground?

It should be noted that while these price hikes are for AI-targeted hard drives – meaning models with very large capacities – demand for these will inevitably affect smaller drives, as big manufacturers look to reprioritize and capitalize on the profits to be had in the booming artificial intelligence arena.

So, we’d expect prices across the board to be ticking up for hard drives, especially considering that Western Digital talked about higher demand recently, as mentioned, and specifically indicated rises would happen across its entire portfolio of hard drives – large and small.

For those of you thinking that AI is all about GPUs, so – what gives here? Well, it is, when it comes to processing anyway, and providing the raw grunt to answer queries – but it’s also about managing huge sets of data trawled from the wider web to train the AI. And where does that data go? It’s stored on hard drives – large ones, and tons of them. Hence the spike in storage demand here, and the knock-on effect on smaller HDD models as observed.

Compounding the misery for the PC components market is that elsewhere in the storage world, SSD pricing is also increasing, and has been for a while now.

The upshot of which is that if you’re mulling an upgrade (or indeed a new PC build), whatever storage you’re looking at buying – hard drive or SSD, or maybe both – you’d be best off making a move sooner rather than later. There are still decent SSD deals out there, after all – and hard drive bargains too, but those current price levels may not last that much longer.

Via Tom’s Hardware

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A fake piece of tech has popped up showing that it pays to be very careful about product names – and also that if an SSD looks very much too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

This is the case of a product on AliExpress called a ‘1080 Pro SSD’ which you might, at a cursory glance, read as a Samsung model – though the listing is careful not to mention Samsung.

Clearly, the idea is to name the product to trap folks into making the mistake and assuming it’s a piece of tech from the big-name drive maker, as the SSD is made to look very much like a Samsung model with the sticker design and overall appearance.

Of course, it isn’t, and the tech spec and price give away that it’s a rather ludicrous fake anyway. Although less tech-savvy consumers may still be fooled into grabbing this apparent bargain that should, certainly on the face of it, be top of our best SSDs list.

According to the product details, as flagged up by Quasarzone, what you’re getting is a PCIe 4.0 SSD with read and write speeds of up to 15.8GB/s and 14.5GB/s, and a price tag of $44. Of course, there are more flags – of the red variety – on that play than we care to count.

There’s the fact that those truly blistering speeds aren’t even possible with PCIe 4.0 for starters, and indeed outstrip the top PCIe 5.0 drives. Then there’s also the obvious point that an SSD with such theoretical performance would most certainly not be priced at just over $40. Oh, wait – we forgot that the capacity is supposedly 4TB – so this is a huge SSD, too, for a teeny tiny price tag.

However, as you might guess, the actual drive isn’t a 4TB model, and it’s PCIe 3.0 to boot. The fake SSD sports performance – as benchmarked by Quasarzone – that’s a fraction of what you’ll get with a real Samsung 980 Pro SSD. For example, the read speed of the latter is 6.4GB/s and what you’re getting with the fake 1080 Pro is 1.18GB/s, never mind the claimed 15.8GB/s.

Analysis: Extreme fakes

In the real world, as we’ve seen in recent times, prices for SSDs are heading upwards, and that’s particularly true for larger models in the 2TB to 4TB territory. Which is why the scammer here might be keen to get the hopes of potential buyers up in this rather cruel way.

However, there are so many problems with this listing that you’d hope nobody would ever fall for it. Just the idea of a blisteringly nippy 4TB NVMe SSD for $40 is so silly that you might assume nobody would take the bait here, but the truth is that a few unlucky punters might just bite. Perhaps in the knowledge that they’re not getting the advertised product, even, but with the hope that the drive will offer some kind of respectable performance – and that it’s maybe worth a punt at such a low, low price.

It isn’t (worth a punt), at all, because as you can see given that Quasarzone was curious enough to actually buy and benchmark the SSD, the performance is pretty terrible. And you can kiss any warranty goodbye, of course, and we would think it’s a safe bet that this is one cobbled together piece of hardware that definitely doesn’t have any longevity about it. So, buyers best make sure they have a good backup solution (well, you should have one of those anyway, to be fair).

While there can be some good deals on AliExpress and similar major Asian outlets – offers that are sometimes very tempting – you do have to bear in mind the drawbacks in terms of shipping and aftersales support (or indeed returns).

Plus, of course, outright fake products like this SSD are always a danger, and some aren’t nearly as blatant as this effort at duping poor unfortunates. Some may be more convincingly crafted – and fake tech in general seems like a more common occurrence these days.

Witness the uptick in fake GPUs of late in particular, and getting ripped off to the tune of $40 for an SSD rather pales in comparison to the real sickening feeling that must accompany finding out you’ve bought a fake RTX 4090 graphics card (and there are other GPU curveballs besides these kind of scams).

Via Tom’s Hardware

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Tech company Western Digital breaks new ground as they have created the world’s first 4TB microSD card for laptops and cameras, the SanDisk Extreme PRO SDUC UHS-1 memory card. The company says the upcoming SanDisk model is set to release next year “and will be showcased at NAB 2024” in Las Vegas.

We can infer much about the upcoming card's performance by looking at its name. UHS-1 refers to the Ultra High Speed-1 interface, which boasts a maximum data transfer rate of 104 MB/s, according to AnandTech. High transfer speeds don’t really matter to the average person, as slower cards can meet most people's needs, but speed matters greatly to photographers. 

Photographers who take a ton of pictures in rapid succession using a camera’s burst mode need SD cards that can keep up with them. Plus, the SanDisk 4TB card reportedly meets Video Speed Class V30, allowing it to support write speeds of 30MB/s. AnandTech states that level of speed is “good enough for 8K video recording.” If you’re going to shoot footage in 8K, you’ll need all the space you can get.

Speculation

Besides that, very little is known about the SanDisk 4TB card, but its name does offer more interesting tidbits. SDUC, for example, stands for Secure Digital Ultra Capacity, which is a storage standard enabling drives of up to a theoretical maximum of 128TB.

AnandTech speculates the device could “support the off-spec DDR200/DDR208 mode” to push transfer rates beyond what UHS-1 can do normally. Speeds can get as high as 170 MB/s, as seen with the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC 1TB card. We wouldn’t be surprised if this new card has the same level of performance, if not a better. Of course, that’s assuming Western Digital decides to implement it in the first place.

For what it’s worth, the 1TB Extreme Pro card retails for $140 on Amazon at the time of this writing.  The 4TB SanDisk card will likely retail for several hundred dollars more.

Be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the best SD cards for 2024. Spoiler alert: SanDisk shows up three times.

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Yet again we’re hearing predictions of sizeable price hikes for the SSD market, but this is tempered by the expectation that at least the next round of rising costs won’t be as painful as what we’ve just experienced.

The latest report from analyst firm TrendForce indicates that consumers might end up witnessing price increases of between 10% to 15% in the second quarter of 2024 (which we’ve just entered – how time flies, we know).

That sounds bad – and it isn’t great, obviously – but it does represent a decline in the steepness of price hikes compared to Q1, where SSDs ramped up by 23% to 28% for their price tags.

Consumers are also going to be better off, relatively speaking, than businesses, as in Q2, enterprise SSDs are set for a 20% to 25% hike, which isn’t much better than the 23% to 28% increase seen in Q1 (the same as consumers).

Analysis: To buy soon – or wait?

Note that the rises for Q1 are still estimated, and obviously the Q2 figures are just a forecast of what’ll happen, at least according to TrendForce’s sources and information.

Still, we are now seeing a glimmer of positivity in the consumer SSD arena, in terms of a slowdown in the rate at which price tags are climbing – good news which has been driven by an increase in production by Kioxia and WDC, we’re told. (But other suppliers are expected to remain more conservative in their output going forward, TrendForce notes).

Is this a hopeful sign that maybe as we go into Q3, we might be over the worst of all this? We’ll tentatively say that this seems like a possible prospect, especially as we’re told by the analyst firm that PC makers are cutting Q2 orders for SSDs and that will likely continue into the second half of 2024, which should beneficially affect the supply and demand balance to hopefully ease pricing further.

In other words, we may be at the point now where it’s a fair idea to wait and buy a solid-state drive, certainly if you’re in no rush to grab one of the best SSDs. While firmly bearing in mind that prices are still set to increase throughout this quarter, through to July, even if the upward movement may not be that much (and it’ll vary across different models, of course).

This is, of course, assuming that TrendForce is right with its latest report. It’s worth remembering that the firm’s prediction for Q1 was previously a 15% to 20% hike, so that undershot what actually happened (or TrendForce’s estimation of it) by 8%. Early in 2024, we were also hearing some pretty ominous things about huge SSD price increases, so in short, we are far from out of the proverbial woods yet.

Seeing the picture after Q2’s stats are in will likely give us a much clearer idea of where SSD pricing is heading over the course of this year.

Via Tom’s Hardware

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The chatter about SSD prices going up has become a chorus of voices in recent times – and here’s another report chiming in, underlining the likelihood that solid-state drives will become more expensive soon enough.

German tech site Computerbase (via PC Gamer) highlighted a report from The Chosun Daily, a South Korean newspaper, claiming that Samsung has made a massive cut to production levels for its NAND chips.

Those are the modules which are the actual storage on-board SSDs, and production levels have supposedly been cut in half.

With a 50% drop in production, the inventory of chips from Samsung will obviously be a lot leaner going forward. This means SSD makers will pay more for that NAND, and naturally, pass those costs on to the consumer in drive prices.

Samsung is the biggest presence in the NAND market, representing some 30% of the total sales volume, so this could have wider impact, without a doubt.

On top of that, Computerbase observes that the second largest NAND producer, SK Hynix, has plans to follow in Samsung’s footsteps and cut production in a similar way. (We aren’t given any exact quantification in this case, though).

Analysis: Rocketing prices

So, is this bad news for consumers? Yes, clearly, with the caveat that we must take any individual report with a whole lot of seasoning. 

The South Korean source may have crossed wires somewhere, or the mentioned 50% cut might be off the mark (even if pulling back production does indeed happen, maybe it won’t be to this extent).

What makes this seem more likely is that, as we mentioned at the outset, there’s a whole weight of rumors and predictions from analyst firms that SSD price hikes are coming.

Only last month we heard that higher capacity SSDs (2TB and 4TB models) are going to skyrocket – and that exact term was used by an industry insider in the report which was aired. This comes on top of a whole lot of previous spillage around SSDs getting pricier.

At this point, it’d be a surprise if the price of solid-state drives, particularly some of the best SSDs out there, didn’t increase substantially as 2024 rolls onwards. As with any market, there are peaks and troughs, and we can only hope that the pricing incline we appear to be ascending currently flattens out before too long, and hopefully turns in the other direction. It will eventually, of course – it’s just a question of timing, as always.

Whatever the case, if you’re looking to buy one of the best SSDs, it seems to be increasingly likely that the best move is to purchase now rather than wait.

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Patriot Viper VP4300: Two-minute review

With Sony’s PlayStation 5 offering support for a handful of SSD drive types, PC and console gamers alike have more choices when it comes to expandable storage and the Patriot Viper VP4300 comes with a lot to recommend it. 

The Viper VP4300 SSD utilizes PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe technology and includes a DDR4 DRAM cache. It offers two heat shield design options: an aluminum heat shield & graphene heatshield, both available on the 1TB and 2TB variants. Patriot promises sequential read speeds up to 7,400MB/s and sequential write speeds up to 6,800MB/s, and this is born out in my testing. 

The 2TB SKU we got in for review has a US MSRP of $189.99 (about £155/AU$270), which isn't cheap, but few, if any, of the best SSD models that offer this kind of performance will be any cheaper right now. The 1TB SKU comes in much cheaper at $119.99 (about £100/AU$168), so if you're on something of a budget, you do have some options here.

Plus, there’s so much to appreciate with the Viper VP4300 SSD that it's easily the best M.2 SSD for gamers who might want to use it in their PC or PS5, making it a worthwhile investment. 

Whatever gaming machine you're buying it for, it'll work, and the graphene heatshield will help keep things cool inside your PS5 while the aluminum heatshield will do the same in your PC.

When it comes to PC Gaming, the SSD drive’s performance is respectable though there were some weak spots, like its lower PassMark Disk benchmark score. Its CrystalDiskMark 8 scores were excellent and in line with the promised speed and expectations for a drive such as this. 

This means that it’s speedy when it comes to tasks like installations or copying, saving, and transferring files, and my lived experience with it indicates that some anomalous scores we got during benchmarking were indeed outliers (but not all).  

However, PC gamers should know that there are definitely faster SSD choices out there, especially if you have a PCIe 5.0-capable system. 

VR games, for example, are notorious for long load times on PC and so the observed lower read speed on the Viper VP4300 could impact wait times with these kinds of cases. Even playing more visually low-impactful games like SuperHot VR and Cooking Simulator VR took nearly a full minute to get from SteamVR launching to the main menu screen. 

More traditional non-VR games were affected by lower reading times as well. Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 took a bit longer than usual to load from start up to main menu but weren’t annoyingly slow. Even the initial load from the main menu to the most recent checkpoint took a little bit more time. 

On the other hand, the Viper VP4300 may be great for gamers who are also creatives since export times to the drive in Adobe Premiere Pro were very zippy.

One huge positive in the Viper VP4300's column is its 2000TBW endurance rating, in addition to its standard five-year warranty. This means that theoretically, PC gamers who blow through their 2TB SSD drive storage can get a bigger storage replacement and use the Viper VP4300 on their PS5. Adding to those longer-lasting capabilities are the two heatsink options. 

Our review unit came with the aluminum and graphene heat shields, though these definitely aren't hot-swappable. During testing, the Viper VP4300 got as hot as 57 degrees C when gaming but poked out a bit.

The other graphene headshield does look a bit better and leaves a smaller profile, especially useful for devices like laptops or the PS5. More so than gaming performance, it’s clear that the Patriot Viper VP4300's real niche is in its endurance.

While its read speeds don't top the charts, the Viper VP4300’s respectable performance, especially in write-intensive tasks, and compatibility with PS5 make it a versatile option that any gamer should consider. Additionally, its robust 2000TBW endurance and five-year warranty underscore its longevity, making the Viper VP4300 a valuable investment for gamers and creatives seeking reliable, high-performance storage.

Should you buy the Patriot Viper VP4300?

Buy the Patriot Viper VP4300  if...

Don't buy it if...

Patriot Viper VP4300: Also consider

If my Patriot Viper VP4300 review has you looking for other options, here are two more SSDs to consider...

First reviewed January 2024

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

SSDs going up in price has been a strong thread via the rumor mill for some time now, and we now have another suggestion that price tags could shoot up for higher capacity consumer drives.

Tom’s Hardware reports that according to an industry source, 3D NAND packages that consist of four and eight NAND modules are now in short supply. It’s 2TB and 4TB SSDs that typically use those packages, and manufacturers are now struggling to secure supply.

The upshot will theoretically be that drives in this capacity range in particular are likely to ‘skyrocket’ (the exact word used by the source) in price, which sounds ominous indeed.

Therefore, if you’re looking at buying an SSD in the 2TB to 4TB area, it might be better to move quickly on that purchase.

Price hikes are already evident, in fact, but much more significant increases could happen later this quarter, in just a couple of months (maybe three months at the outside, we’re told).

Analysis: A weight of rumors

This is just a rumor, of course, so we must regard it with caution as with all speculation, but it’s perfectly believable given the current climate around these PC components, and the rumors already out there about SSD price hikes in recent times.

Analyst firm TrendForce has been the source of some of that theorizing, and the company has just chipped in with a new report for January 2024 which foresees demand for PCIe 4.0 SSDs gaining traction, and a possible 15% to 20% jump in consumer SSD prices in the near future.

Ironically, part of the issue is NAND makers cutting production of memory modules in response to an oversupply last year – when SSD prices were still falling – so that’s now having an effect in the opposite direction, with supply becoming too lean, certainly for higher capacity SSDs anyway as noted.

Given the total weight of the rumors spinning about SSD price hikes in one way or another, we really would encourage purchasing now rather than leaving it, if you’re planning a drive upgrade (or need one of the best SSDs for a new PC build).

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Earlier this year, SSD prices were falling, but of late, we’ve heard some buzz about this situation being reversed – and here’s another piece of chatter about the cost of solid-state drives potentially heading upwards.

Tom’s Hardware brought our attention to a DigiTimes report which claims (add seasoning, as ever) that Phison, a manufacturer of memory controllers for SSDs (and some drives too), is prepaying chip suppliers to ensure that it has enough NAND chips in stock for its needs going forward.

In other words, the firm foresees a shortage of NAND chips, so it’s buying upfront to combat potential supply difficulties (and paying more) down the line.

We’re told that this is according to KS Pua, who is the CEO (and founder) of Phison, so a source in a good place to know, to put it mildly (adding considerable weight to the report, of course).

If NAND chips are going to get thinner on the ground, pricing will go up, and the cost of making SSDs will rise – and of course that additional expense will be passed onto consumers.

Analysis: Stock correction

This could mean that some reasonably chunky hikes are going to be seen for SSDs in the future. Indeed, most SSDs have already been maintaining their pricing, or even creeping up a little bit, in distinct contrast to the falls we’ve gotten used to throughout 2023.

What’s happened is that as this year began, there was far too much stock swimming around, so SSDs had to be offloaded using tempting pricing. However, with manufacturers cutting production – the obvious reaction to that glut of stock – we’re now seeing the effects of that.

All of which means that if you want to buy one of the best SSDs, you really ought to get in and do it sooner rather than later. And with Black Friday likely to bring at least some deals and discounts on solid-state drives, these are probably going to be the cheapest prices on SSDs that you’ll see for some time – indeed, maybe a long time.

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Photography at its peak isn’t just a tool, it’s an artform. Smartphones may have put the ability to snap pictures into the layman’s hands, but the power of the lens goes beyond the selfie. High-end photography is about so much more. Professional photographer William Lords knows this, and that’s how he reached the heights he’s at today.

Up in his studio overlooking the New York City skyline, he tells TechRadar: “High-end fashion photography is different from the mainstream; it’s not meant to make you comfortable, it’s meant to intrigue you, to push you.” When you’ve mastered your craft to this level, the sky's the limit on what you can create.

Yet when you’re capturing glamorous portraits and iconic fashion moments on the daily, your camera isn’t the only kit required. The technology in your arsenal needs to be as slick as the muses you’re shooting.

William says: “My X10 Pro is a true life saver. It’s always there when I need it. When I’m focused, I need things that I can rely on. Having that kind of equipment to work with is like having a trusted partner.”

When William is realising his vision on set, the perfect moment can be fleeting – every shot counts. Hence why the new X10 Pro portable SSD from the memory experts Crucial is his most trusted sidekick. Whether he’s shooting in Seattle or the Sahara, dust, splash, sand and drop-proof durability makes sure he won’t lose a single precious picture. 

Not to mention the blazing read/write speeds of up to 2,100/2,000MB/s making data transfers and back-ups a breeze on the go. And with up to 4TB to play with, the X10 Pro can hold multiple galleries’ worth of images all in a palm-sized package. 

The best artistic work deserves the best technology to enable its creation. Just think what wonders you could capture with the right SSD in your pocket.

Explore the new Crucial X10 Pro portable SSD

We spend a lot of time working on and editing documents, projects, and designs, so backing up the digital fruits of all your hard labor is crucial. With the lingering threat of security and hardware issues like malware attacks or disk failures, you want to think carefully about what solution works for you.

Backing up your data to an external portable SSD is cost-effective, and time-saving, but cloud storage has definitely changed the storage game with some pretty impressive perks - though this has come at the cost of never truly owning or controlling your storage. Is it time to get back to basics and rely on our old faithful, physical storage? Here are five reasons why we think so.

1. Once bought, it's yours forever 

In a world of subscriptions that feel never-ending, the key benefit to owning a physical SSD over using cloud storage is that once you’ve bought it, that's it. You don’t have to fork out a bit of money every month, you don’t have to worry about falling behind on a payment and losing access to the service.

You get all the storage you need when you purchase, and it’ll likely last you a very long time. For most people, the goal is to simply get the cheapest solution possible, and it may seem like cloud storage subscriptions are cheaper in the short term. However, subscription prices are subject to change whenever the company decides and there’s nothing worse than learning your monthly fee is about to be jacked up. 

2. Photography Freedom 

Photographers greatly benefit from SSD storage, as you can’t properly rely on cloud storage when you’re immersed in the great outdoors. This can also be said for many other people who work outside of an office or their home - internet access is a luxury we’re not always lucky enough to have.

When I was growing up in Zambia, at a time when power cuts were abundant and frantic, I simply cannot imagine what I would have done if I had to rely on cloud storage. There was a period in school when I briefly tried to use cloud storage - before finding out the hard way that I needed an external drive because I kept losing work between power cuts. 

3. Work on the go, wherever you are

Nowadays, plenty of people are hybrid workers or learners - and often you’ll be taking your files from home to work and back, sometimes multiple times a day. I know when I was navigating online learning in university at the height of the pandemic, the first struggle I had to deal with was keeping all my work to a good standard when I was constantly hopping between different devices.

I could slap my stuff onto my drive right before I left the house, run around town, get to class, sit at any workstation available on campus, and carry on without the hassle of logging into a system. Just plug and go. 

4. Superior security for your files

Cloud networks might offer good security features, but at the end of the day, they’re still vulnerable to cyberattacks or bugs since they have to be hosted online. That’s not to say that it's a guarantee this will happen to you, but it's a risk you are taking putting your files or photos online without local physical backups. 

Inversely, if you’re using a physical SSD, someone would have to actually snatch the drive from you IRL and make a break for it in order to get ahold of your files - and even if they do that, modern portable SSDs like the Crucial X10 Pro offer sophisticated hardware encryption features to protect your precious documents.

5. Lightning fast performance 

SSD tech offers significantly faster data speeds than cloud storage options, mostly because it’s not dependent on the internet speeds of where you happen to be. Again, I often had terrible internet connections when I was growing up and had to rely on hot-spotting my laptop or computer off my phone. 

With a portable SSD, you’ll be storing your data on instantly accessible memory which you can reach in and out of any time, wherever you are, and you’re probably going to have access to larger memory capacity than the cheapest cloud storage option, so it's a win-win situation!

We’ve all been there; you’re halfway through working on an important project, when all of a sudden disaster strikes. Your laptop packs up, or perhaps your cloud-saved data gets corrupted or you’re denied access. There are few feelings worse than losing hours of progress like this.

Everyone knows physical backups are the best plan to safely secure your valuable files, so it’s a smart idea to equip yourself with an external drive for backing up your work. We recommend using a portable SSD for this - like the Crucial X10 Pro - so you can securely back up your projects wherever you are.

After all, plenty of creatives don’t spend all their time simply sitting in front of a desktop PC; if you’re working in digital photography or filmmaking, chances are you’re going to be spending time at a studio, shooting on-location, or even just going out into the wilderness to take photos.

You won’t always be able to rely on a strong enough internet connection when you’re out and about, and that can really slow you down too. With the high transfer speeds and large storage capacities of today’s external SSDs, you can quickly and easily back up all your files: here’s how to do it.

How to back up your files 

If you’ve got a modern portable SSD like the Crucial X10 Pro, backing up your files is thankfully a very easy process. The X10 Pro - for example - uses a straightforward USB-C connection, meaning you can easily plug it into a laptop, tablet, or camera.

Once you’ve connected it, it’s as simple as opening up File Explorer (or Finder, if you’re using an Apple device) and making a copy of the files you want to back up before moving them onto the portable drive. Job done!

And that’s lightning-quick too thanks to sequential read and write speeds up to 2,100/2,000MB/s, so wave goodbye to progress bars.

The importance of backups 

Ultimately, nobody is more in charge of your own data than you are. In today’s increasingly cloud-reliant world, it’s wise to ensure that you maintain local copies of your work; products like the Crucial X10 Pro let you do this, and fuss-free compatibility makes it easier than ever before.

If you’re working with sensitive files - say, unreleased footage from an important project - then don’t worry: the X10 Pro packs password protection and hardware encryption features that help keep your files safe and secure from prying eyes. And with a rugged exterior casing that has you covered with drop, splash and dustproof resistance, you won’t need to worry about damaging it when you’re out in the world getting your creative juices flowing.

As a writer and occasional photographer, I don’t like to be anchored in one place when it comes to my creative work. Sure, most of the articles I produce for TechRadar are typed out sat at my desktop PC in my office - but for my own personal projects, I’m a fan of taking my laptop and camera out into the world to seek inspiration.

The problem with this, especially when it comes to outdoor camerawork, is that you often don’t have the benefit of an internet connection. Sure, the modern convenience of cloud storage is great, but it’s exactly zero use when I’m walking through the woods looking for good photo opportunities.

This is where a portable SSD comes in handy. If you’ve got one - like the excellent Crucial X10 Pro - you can quickly and easily back up your files wherever you are. With straightforward USB-C connectivity, I can connect it directly to my Android phone or even my camera with minimal bother.

Taking your work with you

Backing up your work as a local copy is always a good idea - I can’t stress this enough. When I was at university, I had roughly 140,000 words of notes and concept plans for my creative writing projects all saved in Microsoft OneNote, safe and sound (or so I thought).

One account glitch later, and my work was irreplaceably gone; not even Microsoft support could help me. I swore off cloud storage for a while after that, and although I’ve since returned to it for convenience’s sake, I’ve learned my lesson and now treat it as just another backup - not a replacement for physical storage.

The other key benefit of being able to back up my creative work wherever I go (and know that it’s safe and secure thanks to the password and encryption features offered by many modern SSDs) is that I can take it wherever I go - with a 2TB drive compared to the 512GB of storage my laptop offers, I can make sure all my documents and photos are at my fingertips at any time.

Many portable SSDs - including the X10 Pro I mentioned above - come with extra-durable designs that are dust- and water-resistant, meaning that if I drop it when I’m up a hill somewhere, it’s not going to break.

The same can’t be said for my laptop, so it gives me extra peace of mind knowing that even if I do take a tumble and damage some of my hardware, all my work will at least be safe!

Storage technology has come a huge way recently as well. Not only does that mean that portable hard drives are now more compact and easier to carry around, but they can carry huge amounts of data. Portable SSDs with high capacities such as 512GB, 1TB or more can effectively store every file you need. This is especially important for creatives who work with large files, such as photographers and video editors. By investing in a portable SSD for your next creative project, you can carry around all your files - and even applications - that you need in your pocket or backpack.

Solid state decisions

Thankfully, as portable SSD capacities have evolved, so too has the tech that allows you to access your files as quickly as possible. Modern SSDs (which stands for Solid State Drives) far outperform even the best hard drives you can buy right now.

This is because, as the name suggests, SSDs have no moving parts, and use memory chips to access data. Hard drives, meanwhile, have moving parts, including a mechanical disk that spins, while a read/write arm is used to access the data on the disk - not a million miles from how a record player accesses music on a vinyl disk.

As the hard drive has to wait for the disk to spin to read the right part of it, there can be a delay, and while you can get hard drives with high speeds (measured in RPM - revolutions per minute), even the very fastest can’t compete with the slowest SSDs, who do not have to wait for any disks to spin - they just access data directly from the memory chips.

Another big technological leap came with the way you can connect the external SSD to your PC or laptop. For a long while USB 2.0 was the most popular, but thanks to USB 3.0, as well as the latest USB-C interface, you can now transfer your files to and from a modern SSD incredibly quickly.

This is great for creatives, as it allows you to move lots of large files from your laptop to an external SSD in a matter of seconds, so you’re spending less time waiting around, and more time doing the things you love. The speed of modern SSDs allows you to even install applications on them, and run the apps directly from the portable SSD, rather than the drive in your laptop. This makes portable SSDs a handy and affordable way to upgrade the storage of your devices.

All the major names in portable SSDs, such as Crucial, WD and Samsung, all have super-fast devices that make use of the latest USB connectivity technology. For more help and advice for people looking to buy one, check out our hand-picked list of the best portable SSDs in 2023.

Below, I’ve also written a handy FAQ to answer the most common questions people have about portable SSDs.

FAQ

How does a portable SSD assist creatives and professionals?

A portable SSD is a great tool for creatives and professionals as it allows you to quickly and easily add extra storage space to your laptop, PC or Mac. They are able to hold large amounts of data, so even if you work with raw video footage, complex musical arrangements or high-definition photographs, you’re able to store everything safely and securely on a portable SSD. 

What are read/write speeds? 

When looking to buy a portable SSD, you’ll probably notice that read/write speeds are mentioned. These are two different maximum speeds, usually measured in MB/s (megabytes per second). 

The read speed refers to how fast the SSD can access (or ‘read’) data stored on it. Conversely, write speeds refer to how fast an SSD can move (or ‘write’) data to its available storage.

Why do read/write speeds matter? 

Read/write speeds are incredibly important as they let you know how fast an SSD (or hard drive) is capable of. Bear in mind that read/write speeds provided by manufacturers are potential highest speeds - in reality the drive may not reach those speeds often.

It’s still a good indication of how fast a drive is, however. For hard drives, their read/write speeds are around 80 MB/s and 160 MB/s, respectively. For standard SATA SSDs, this increases to a maximum of 200MB/s and 550 MB/s, respectively. There is also a newer breed of SSD known as NVMe, and these can reach read/write speeds of up to 7,300MB/s. So, you can see just how much faster the latest SSDs can be. 

When people talk about expanding your horizons, they must mean this. You’re staring into the snowy abyss, blinded by the ever-expanding drift. Stumbling upon dunes of ice. For documentary filmmaker Ben Clark, each day on Everest is a scene that simply writes itself. 

But when you’re capturing ethereal beauty that simply won’t be put into words – while braving the world’s harshest conditions – you need to bring the most dependable technology imaginable.

Ben says: “In extreme conditions, you need the least amount of gear, with the most amount of efficiency. The faster you can roll at speed and get that ‘write’ to happen, the more time you have to be creative.” And at this altitude – working crucially against battery drain and atmospheric conditions – your data transfers need to take place in the blink of an eye.

Right now, Ben and his tightly knit crew are ascending Everest – but he’s always got the edit in mind. And while he’s laser-focused on taking his audience on that journey with him, the new X10 Pro portable SSD from the memory experts Crucial is one piece of kit that’s got his back. There’s up to 4TB for a start. And with blazing read/write speeds of up to 2,100/2,000MB/s for palm-sized performance, and dust, splash and drop-proof durability, he’s certain the descent will be worth it.

Whether you’re creating in extreme cold, heat or just far from home, the stakes can feel high – but imagine what stories you could tell with an SSD to conquer your creative challenges, and maybe even what’s holding you back.

Find out what you could achieve with Crucial’s new X10 Pro portable SSD.

Editor's note: Synology has launched a 4TB version of the BeeDrive and improved MacOS integration on its software. Mac users can now take advantage of Computer Backup, mobile photo backup, BeeDrop, and the highly popular File Sync. Users of both iOS and Android can also smoothly transfer files between their devices, promoting a more cohesive and unified experience.

Synology BeeDrive: Two-minute review

In a world of commoditized personal storage, Synology’s BeeDrive portable SSD offers something new. When plugging the device into a PC (USB-C cable and USB-A adapter are included), it acts like traditional USB storage, but Synology’s BeeDrive online installer app appears and lets you pair the device to your PC by signing into your Synology account. You’re then presented with three options: Computer Backup, File Sync and Mobile Transfer.

The former acts as expected and can automatically backup files simply by plugging it into your computer (accidentally deleted files and five previous versions can also be preserved). File Sync (one-way or two-way) is designed to ensure you have the latest versions of each file on all your PCs – it’s been designed with an eye on hybrid workers who operate both at home and from an office. I’ve seen many similar hardware-app combos before, but the third is where Synology is focusing its attention.

The Mobile Transfer app enables you to simply send files straight to your PC over your Wi-Fi network. Choosing this option displays a QR code for downloading the mobile app via the Apple and Android app stores. Once opened, it asks you to pair your device with the BeeDrive using the same QR code.

You’re then asked whether you want to back up either all or just new photos, plus which folder you’d like them stored in. If you want to simply send individual photos, you’ll need to choose “Set up later”, which is a little ambiguous.

Once you’ve followed all the prompts, you can activate a one-tap backup or use BeeDrop for more varied sharing options – there are three here. First, you can take a live photo with the app and it will immediately beam to your BeeDrive. I’ve not seen many apps perform this so quickly, efficiently and smoothly. You can’t activate all camera functions or take videos, but you can select which of your device’s cameras to use. 

BeeDrop will also let you wirelessly transfer individual or multiple files and photos across to it. I saw a 350MB movie move to the PC in less than 20 seconds – a very respectable 175Mbps – but performance will obviously depend on your Wi-Fi network. This could be a game changer for content creators who hate having to tether their device and scroll through countless files before dragging and dropping the one they want. This is arguably its killer feature, but it’s a shame it won’t work when out and about.

Indeed, it’s not perfect. You can’t simply send files from your PC to your mobile device without setting up a convoluted backup/sync regimen. Also, none of the files stored on it are encrypted, meaning if you lose the BeeDrive, anyone can access everything. Perhaps we’ll see a BeeDrive Pro with these features in the future?

Beyond that, BeeDrive is a regular, speedy USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 (speeds up to 1050MB/s) storage device and that's available in 1TB and 2TB variants. Both have diminutive, 65mm diameter footprints and weigh less than 50g. Ultimately, despite feeling a bit ‘Gen 1,’ it works well and can usefully offer features not found in competitor's portable SSDs.

Synology BeeDrive review: Price and release date

• $119 / £130 / AU$279 – 1TB version
• $199 / £215 / AU$429 – 2TB version
• Announced on June 7, 2023

The Synology BeeDrive is available in most major markets in both 1TB and 2TB capacities. The 1TB version costs $119 / £130 / AU$279. The 2TB version costs $199 / £215 / AU$429.

These prices aren’t a little dearer than other portable SSDs. Samsung’s similar, speedy and more mature rivals tend to sell for around two-thirds the price. You can also find more expensive portable SSDs with data security features and ruggedisation. However, they don’t have the BeeDrive's file management apps or Wi-Fi capabilities. SanDisk’s rivals are similar to Samsung’s and cost even less.

Alternatively, you can spend as little or as much as you want on a USB thumb drive and use third-party sync solutions.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

Synology BeeDrive review: Specs

Synology BeeDrive review: Design and features

• Slick, intuitive backup and sync software
• Easy mobile-to-PC transfer
• Core feature needs a Wi-Fi network
• No security features

The BeeDrive is a cute little device that will fit comfortably into the palm of most peoples’ hands. Unlike Samsung’s rivals, there are no sharp edges here. However, its sub-50g lightweight nature belies its lack of robustness... you wouldn’t want to drop it or step on it. By only being available in black, I also kept misplacing it in the bottom of my bag or on shadowy areas of my desk.

Installation is generally simple, but there are some caveats. The bundled BeeDrive online installer app requires an internet connection and a Synology account to install, although this does come with the benefit of always having the latest version. The other thing to note is that the software actually needs to be installed on the connect PC for the apps to work. If that sounds silly, remember that if you’re wanting to sync files between home and work PCs (arguably a core selling point of the BeeDrive), few corporate IT departments will countenance this, due to both file and data-security concerns.

Still, when connected with the short USB-C cable that's included in the box (which comes with a USB-A adapter), as a straight USB storage device, the BeeDrive works as expected. It even shows up in Windows with a BeeDrive icon for quick identification. 

BeeDrive's 'smart' functionality revolves around three core apps and they’re mostly slick, simple and intuitive. The Computer Backup app simply involves choosing the folders you want backed up. It then facilitates this manually, or activates automatically when plugged into your PC. Up to five previous file versions can be archived in case of accidental deletion or general computer SNAFUs. You’re told when the latest backup occurred and a log is available to check previous activity.

The Sync app is a little different. You can let BeeDrive create two folders, one on the BeeDrive and one on your PC, and it will keep them synchronized. You can also manually choose multiple folders to sync and (again) keep up to five previous versions of them. Plus, you can choose two-way sync or unidirectional sync – to or from the drive. You can also choose file extensions to exclude.

The Mobile Transfer app lets you send files straight to your PC over Wi-Fi. Just note, this is not a direct, device-to-device connection – both your PC and mobile device need to be on the same network. The first time you choose this option, you’re presented with a QR code for downloading the mobile app for either Apple or Android. You then use the same QR code to pair your device with the BeeDrive.

Next, you’re asked whether and where you want to back up all, or only new, photos. If you want to simply send individual photos, you must choose “Set up later” here, but it’s a minor niggle. You can then activate a one-tap backup or use ‘BeeDrop’ which has three transfer options: Files, Photos or Camera. The last option lets you take a live photo via the app which gets immediately sent to your BeeDrive. It works very quickly, efficiently and smoothly. You aren’t given access to all your camera’s features, though, and it won’t work with video.

Still, if you hate having to tether your camera to a computer, waiting for the thumbnails to organize themselves, scrolling through potentially loads of photos before finding the one you want to drag-and-drop onto your computer, it’s a killer feature. It’s a shame it won’t work without a Wi-Fi network.

Like I said, it’s not perfect. You can't use the unidirectional file transfer without setting up a backup/sync regimen, plus there's no encryption here so you can't afford to lose the BeeDrive.

• Design & features: 4 / 5

Synology BeeDrive review: Performance

• USB 3.2 Gen 2 (1,050MB/S) transfer speeds
• Potentially fast Wi-Fi transfer

File transfer performance to and from the BeeDrive will largely depend on your individual setup. On my Wi-Fi 6 network, my Wi-Fi 6-enabled phone transferred files at a decent 175Mbps. Only huge files might feel slow.

The USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 wired connection – which offers theoretical speeds of 1,050MB/s – managed 1,049MB/s read speeds and 730MB/s write speeds recorded by CrystalDiskMark, which is very impressive. 

Still, it’s worth remembering that the BeeDrive isn’t really about speed: it’s mainly designed to back up and sync stuff in the background, or perform casual file transfers and it does this with aplomb.

• Performance: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Synology BeeDrive?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If you're not quite sold on the Synology BeeDrive, below are a few other options to consider.

[First reviewed August 2023]

Whether you’re a professional filmmaker, photographer or hardcore gamer, portable storage can be a lifesaver. Having a next-gen drive inside your desktop PC is all well and good, but what happens when you need to take your files on the go?

That’s where the newly released Crucial X10 Pro portable SSD comes in. A brand of Micron, Crucial has built up a reputation as the memory and storage experts over the past 25 years. And it shows – the X10 Pro sits among the very best portable storage you can buy, offering creatives blazing fast transfer speeds without compromising on portability or durability.

With a rich feature set and cutting-edge technology all wrapped up inside a compact, robustly constructed design, Crucial’s X10 Pro is the permanent fixture any fast-moving professional would want in their backpack. Still not convinced? We’ve got seven things to change your mind.

1. Fast enough to be your dream drive 

The Crucial X10 Pro offers read/write speeds of up to 2,100/2,000MB/s – fast enough to rapidly move your files around between devices or even edit from the drive itself. If you’re a serious creator and want to write 4K video directly to your SSD, the X10 Pro has got you covered. 

2. As portable as storage gets

Bulky this is not. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and weighing just under 1.5 ounces, the anodized aluminum casing of the Crucial X10 Pro makes it incredibly easy to slip in your bag or pocket to take with you on the go. And never fear a fumble – the lanyard hole is perfect for keeping your X10 Pro instantly accessible. 

3. Compatible with almost everything 

A plug-and-play USB-C cable makes the X10 Pro incredibly easy to connect to your device of choice – which therefore makes it your go-to for all sorts of storage needs. Want to use the drive for video editing on your MacBook? Sorted. Looking to load your entire PS5 game library onto it for a trip over to a friend’s house? No problem! Want to back up photos from your Android phone? Consider it done.  

4. Security that means business 

Encryption and data security are a key pillar of Crucial’s product design ethos, and that rings true here. With password protection and 256-bit AES hardware encryption features, you can rest easy knowing that your files are protected wherever you take this drive. 

5. Durability that stands up to roughing it 

If you’re looking for portable storage you can take with you out into the wilds, the Crucial X10 Pro comes fully prepared with IP55 rated dust, water and sand resistance, and a durable chassis that is drop-proof up to 7.5 feet. Photographers working out in the field are sure to appreciate the drive’s sturdy design – there’s nothing worse than your hardware taking a bump and failing while you’re out on a shoot. 

6. Capacities to fit your needs 

With 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB models, you don’t need to spend more than you need to get the X10 Pro that suits you best. If you need as much storage as possible, the 4TB option is great for stashing 4K video files; on the other hand, the 1TB model still offers a generous capacity for even the most demanding of everyday creative projects. 

7. Adobe Creative Cloud - for free! 

If you needed a cherry on top, Crucial has partnered up with Adobe to offer a full month of free Adobe Creative Cloud access to anyone who buys and registers an X10 Pro portable SSD. That’s the ‘All-Apps’ plan, too: we’re talking Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and just about every other piece of software Adobe has to offer. Why are you still reading this? Go get yourself an X10 Pro!

Whatever level you work at - whether you’re an independent creative, run a small business, or work for a big organization - it’s important to have the right tools for your creative projects. We’re talking about the components inside your computer; an SSD is a vital element of your PC, and having the best SSD you can get means that you’ll be able to get work done faster.

More specifically, we’d always recommend a Gen5 SSD for any creative professional. They’re the fastest, most reliable storage you can buy right now, available with high capacity to ensure you never run out of space for your files. We’ve got five reasons why you should get yourself a shiny new SSD to power up your creative workflow: read on to find out more.

 Load files faster

With a Gen5 SSD - such as Crucial’s new T700 - you can load up large files much faster than with older storage solutions. Thanks to sequential reads speeds of up to 12,400MB/s (that’s twice the speed of Crucial’s previous-gen SSD), you’ll never sit around waiting for a large video file to open up.

Since Gen5 SSDs like the T700 use the PCIe bus for accessing system file transfer bandwidth, rather than the outdated SATA bus format used by conventional hard drives and older SSDs, you’re getting the fastest transfer speeds possible - and that’s not just for opening files, but it lets you move them around your system faster too. Need to copy a file from one place to another on your desktop? Consider it done.

 Export at maximum speed

If you work in graphic design or photo editing, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the exporting process - and the fact that it can be a lengthy one. Exporting high-resolution images from your image editor of choice to a fixed file format can take a while, and the older your storage, the longer it’s going to take.

But with write speeds as fast as 11,800MB/s, saving data to your drive - whether it’s a file export from Photoshop or processing high-res video files - is as speedy as you could possibly want. A Gen5 SSD guarantees that your drive will never become a bottleneck to your PC’s performance.

 Store as many files as you want

As a brand of memory experts Micron, SSDs from Crucial come in a wide range of capacities to suit your exact needs, so you’ll always have enough storage space for your data – without needing to shell out extra cash for precious gigabytes you won’t use.

For example, Crucial’s T700 Gen5 SSD comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB flavors, which should be plenty of storage for anyone - even if you’re looking to save a bunch of huge 8K video files.

 Enjoy enhanced reliability

There’s nothing worse than losing your files due to hardware failure. We’ve all been there; the files you need for work are trapped on a dead laptop hard drive, or a corrupted USB stick.

The most common risk factors for any type of computer component are heat and impacts - and Gen5 SSDs are more resilient to both, especially compared with conventional HDDs. An SSD has no moving parts, meaning it generates less heat while in use and also doesn’t run the risk of having something knocked loose if your PC takes a knock. They use less electricity to run, too.

For those who want to stay even cooler in the moment, the T700 is also available with a custom-designed aluminum and nickel-plated copper heatsink. 

 Rest easy knowing your files are safe

Modern Gen5 SSDs typically offer superior data security to older storage solutions - and the Crucial T700 is no exception. It supports the Trusted Computing Group ‘Opal 2.01’ security specification for high-end hardware encryption.

What this means is that even if someone manages to steal or otherwise access your actual device, your files will be shielded from attempts to break in thanks to permanently active encryption. This is a must-have feature for professionals, especially anyone working on branding or marketing material that needs to be kept under wraps!

Of late, you might have been wondering – could SSD prices get any cheaper? The answer to that question is apparently yes, and they’ll get a fair bit more affordable, despite some big price drops already having happened this year.

The scoop from analyst firm TrendForce (as spotted by Tom’s Hardware) is that Client SSD pricing, meaning drives sold to consumers, is expected to drop by at least 8%, and perhaps as much as 13%, in Q3.

So, over the next couple of months, we’re likely to see SSD price tags drop by a healthy 10% or so, after as we noted at the outset, they already fell by approximately 15% to 20% in the last quarter (Q2). And before that, falls of between 15% to 30% were observed in the first couple of months of 2023.

All of this adds up to a huge difference in prices between this year and last, particularly when these new price drops start to kick in over the coming weeks – well, hopefully.

Analysis: Will SSD prices fall for the rest of the year? Probably not...

Of course, there’s no guarantee this prediction will come true, but in general analyst firms have a pretty good idea of what’s going on with the market. TrendForce has been pretty accurate so far this year with its solid-state crystal ball, and the latest forecast is based on hard evidence (a continued situation of oversupply for the NAND flash modules used in SSDs).

This leads to the question: if you’re hankering after one of the best SSDs, should you pull the trigger on a purchase in the near future? Well, it seems like it’s a good bet to do so.

As TrendForce observes, NAND makers are currently scaling back production (across the board) to try and address the glut of supply in the market, but those production-cutting efforts aren’t going to make an impact in Q3. Perhaps, though, they will in Q4, which might mean pricing isn’t going to get any cheaper as we head further into the year.

Indeed, the analyst firm notes that in Q4, we’re likely to see a rebound in top-end 3D NAND prices – so the cost of those modules will start rising – but elsewhere with NAND (and therefore SSDs), it may well simply level off, more or less. Time will tell, and perhaps we’ll still see slight drops, even.

Looking at the overall picture right now, the best bet seems to be to wait a month or so for those further SSD price drops which are likely inbound, and then buy – but the twist here is that Prime Day is almost upon us. And with SSD prices already cheap, and big discounts from Amazon potentially, the sale may be a great time to pick up a new drive.

It’s certainly worth would-be SSD buyers keeping an eye on discounted models during Amazon’s big sale, and we’ll do that for you in our continually updated roundup of the best Prime Day deals.

Animation is a realm where designers can be creative and spontaneous – for once, you can be silly, loud and bright. So it’s no wonder that for Gavin Strange – director and designer at a globally renowned UK studio – staring at a render bar for hours is no fun at all.

A mixed-media artist who moonlights as “JamFactory”, Gavin loves the thrill of 3D, 2D, live action and music. Smashing it all together to make wonderful, almost living, breathing pieces of work.

Taking us inside his colourful home studio, he reveals his set-up – a PC that he’s super-charged with the new T700 Gen5 NVMe SSD from Crucial, a brand he’s long revered as the industry experts. 

“My family think all I do is play with toys, but what they don’t know is that it’s way more complex than that, it’s fusing technology and creativity together,” he says. Beneath that frivolous façade, the creative industries are a serious business – and the power to fuse worlds is all his. 

The 5th generation of PCIe SSDs is changing the game for creatives like Gavin – the T700 unleashing up to  11.8GB/s data writing speeds. Read figures clock in even faster at 12.4GB/s. So if you’re looking for a new PC build or upgrade – whether as a creator or gamer – then this one gives you that extra edge.

“My inspiration comes from all over, whether it’s outside in the real world or in the studio," says Gavin. “But when I’m back here, it’s absolutely crucial that my technology can keep up with the speed of my ideas.” 

“I get more power to create - it’s that simple!”

Whether you’re a seasoned PC-building pro or just starting out on your journey of assembling a custom-built system, there’s one thing you should always bear in mind: future-proofing.

With the speed at which the PC hardware landscape changes, it’s all too easy to put together a top-tier build only to find your components are outdated just a few months down the line. You want to be able to pick your parts with confidence that they’ll not only last for years to come, but also keep providing you with the power and speed you need to keep ahead of the game in an ever-evolving space.

Enter Micron’s Crucial brand, which is finally bringing its next-generation storage solution - the T700 Gen5 NVMe SSD - to the market. PCIe Gen5 drives have been hotly-anticipated by many, bringing blisteringly fast transfer speeds to the masses. So if you’re a serious creative worker who needs top-notch performance for graphic design or video editing, it’s the perfect choice.

What makes PCIe Gen5 so future-proof?

Unlike CPUs and GPUs, which have an irritating tendency to become old news before you’ve even seen the dust settle inside your PC case, memory standards - for both storage and RAM - progress at a slower pace. The 4th generation of PCIe SSDs arrived four years ago, meaning what was cutting-edge then is about to get blown out of the water.

PCIe Gen5 is, to put it simply, capable of ludicrous speeds. Because of the way the PCIe (that’s peripheral component interconnect express, for the uninitiated) interface is improved in each new iteration, Gen5 SSDs will be almost twice as fast as the previous generation - and a whopping 22 times faster than conventional SATA drives.

For the T700, that means read/write speeds of up to 12,400/11,800 MB/s, making this effectively one of the fastest SSDs that money can buy. The PCIe Gen5 standard won’t be going anywhere fast, meaning that this SSD will continue to offer some of the best performance on the market for years to come.

The benefits of this speed

If you’re relatively new to PC-building, you might be asking yourself: ‘Why should I buy a high-speed drive like the T700, and not a cheaper SATA SSD or HDD?’ Well, the drive you need depends entirely on what you want to use your computer for.

If you’re not really planning on using your PC for anything demanding, then sure - go with cheap parts, or just buy a Chromebook. If you’re looking for peak performance, though, this is the way to go.

With Microsoft DirectStorage compatibility, the T700 is perfectly optimized for creative work in Windows, giving you the ability to render high-resolution photos and videos (even 8K+ content) with as much as 99% less CPU resource consumption, leaving your system free to carry out other tasks. If you’re routinely working on large creative projects on your PC, the T700 will mean you spend less time waiting for your files to transfer.

Looking to build the most powerful gaming rig? The T700 is perfect for that too. The boosted transfer speed afforded by PCIe Gen5 means that you won’t be sitting around staring at loading screens, and textures can render up to 60% faster than with Gen4 SSDs, helping to reduce pop-in. And with up to 4TB of storage on a single drive, you’ll be able to store more files, apps, and games than ever before.

If you’re thinking about upgrading your SSD but don’t want to spring for a new PCIe Gen5-compatible motherboard just yet, have no fear - the Crucial T700 is backward-compatible with PCIe 4.0 and 3.0 slots, letting you future-proof your machine for a motherboard upgrade further down the line. You also don’t need one of those fancy onboard heat shields, since the T700 can be purchased with its own premium aluminum and nickel-plated copper heatsink already attached.

Similarly, this drive will work with just about any motherboard-compatible processor, but it’s well-equipped to work with both AMD and Intel’s next-gen CPUs thanks to Micron’s in-house-designed 232-layer TLC NAND3, meaning that users with cutting-edge PCs will get the very best performance from the T700.

There are no fiddly gimmicks or setup speedbumps to be found here, either. Just slot that SSD into your system, and you’re good to go! So if you want a storage solution for your PC that can keep up with your fastest pace, look no further: the Crucial T700 is here.

While it might be tempting to think that an SSD is just a hard drive, the two are fundamentally different things even though we use them for the same purpose — data storage — and sometimes get sloppy and use the terms interchangeably.

They rely on very different kinds of technology, however, and this has major implications for each in terms of performance, longevity, and reliability. And while the best SSD is going to get you superior day-to-day performance, there is still a place for the best hard drives in modern PCs.

To see the difference between the two, and to better understand which to buy in what situations, we'll go into the technologies behind both the SSD and HDD so you can see the advantages and disadvantages of each for yourself.

Is an SSD a hard drive?

An SSD (Solid State Drive) is a type of storage device, but it’s different from traditional hard drives due to the technology involved and its day-to-day performance. While both store data, they do so very differently, and this directly influences which you should buy depending on your need.

A hard drive, also called an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), stores data on spinning magnetic disks or platters, with a mechanical arm containing heads that read and write data to the specific platters in order to access and store data. 

The data is stored on the surface of these spinning platters and is accessed by moving the arm to the appropriate location and reading the data magnetically off the platter.

An SSD, meanwhile, uses memory chips to store data. These chips, known as flash memory, are a type of non-volatile memory, which means that they retain data even when they aren’t powered. This makes an SSD different from RAM memory, which is volatile and the information in it lost once it is no longer powered. 

An important aspect of this is that an SSD does not have any moving parts, which makes it much more resistant to physical shocks, as well as producing faster data read and write speeds.

This latter results in improved overall system performance, faster boot times, quicker file transfers, and reduced loading times for applications and games, which is why SSDs have taken over as the primary form of PC and laptop system storage, even on the cheapest computers and cheapest laptops on the market.

SSDs are also much smaller than bulkier hard drives, making them ideal for devices with limited space, like the best laptops and ultrabooks. Additionally, they generate less heat and consume less power, contributing to better energy efficiency and battery life.

While SSDs offer significant advantages in terms of speed and reliability, they typically have a higher cost per gigabyte compared to traditional hard drives. As a result, larger capacity SSDs can be more expensive than their hard drive counterparts. However, the cost of SSDs has been decreasing over time, making them more affordable and accessible to a wider range of users.

Which one should you buy, an SSD or a hard drive?

When it comes to an SSD vs HDD in your laptop, there's no real reason to go with anything other than an SSD, but for a home or work PC, there are real reasons for prefering one type of storage over the other, and the SSD doesn't always win out.

SSDs are fast, sure, but not everything needs to be fast, and considering that you're paying a premium for that speed, it's worth considering if a slower, but cheaper, storage solution is a better fit.

In the case of a home security system or a NannyCam that uploads video over Wi-Fi to a PC, the small capacity of an SSD is likely to get filled very quickly, and you don't need the high-speed access to review the video footage after the fact. In this instance, a high-capacity hard drive makes far more sense than an SSD.

Likewise, any time you have a need for long-term data storage that doesn't need to be accessed often, a hard drive is the perfect solution. And given that when SSDs fail (as they inevitably do), recovering data from them can be much harder if not impossible, whereas recovered data from a failed hard drive is much more straight forward.

That said, if you are looking to load programs or regularly used data like work files or photos and video for editing in professional editing software, than an SSD is definitely the better option here, since programs load faster and changes to files can be written faster to an SSD than to a hard drive.

In practice though, many systems use a mix of both, like some of the best gaming PCs that use the primary SSD for major programs, while some games and other data files are stored on a hard drive. Content creators who want to keep a versioning system for their work might also leverage a hard drive as a backup device while the most recent, working version of a file resides on the primary SSD.

So ultimately, even though a speedy SSD is not a hard drive, that doesn't mean that you should write off the old hard drives completely.

While SSDs have been around for a while now, newer M.2 SSDs are all the rage, so plenty of people are wondering "what is an M.2 SSD, and do I need one for my PC or laptop?"

That's a complicated question to answer, since many of the best M.2 SSDs aren't that much faster than the best SSDs using a standard SATA III interface, but there are definitely some high performance storage devices to be had for those willing to make the investment.

These SSDs, like those using the PCIe and NVMe interface are significantly faster than traditional SSDs, and they absolutely blow the best hard drives out of the running in terms of performance.

There are tradeoffs though, and an M.2 SSD isn't right for everybody, so we're going to break down everything you need to know about this SSD form factor so you can make the right choice for your needs and budget.

What is an M.2 SSD: Next-Gen Form Factor explained

What are some of the features of an M.2 SSD?

Is an M.2 better than an SSD?

Do I really need an M.2 SSD?

What are the downsides of M.2 SSDs?

One of the things I saw most at Computex 2023 was the number of PCIe 5.0 SSDs that were on display, all of which should be hitting the market in the next few months, and for a lot of gamers, their PC builds might not be ready to handle the cooling that you're going to need to use them effectively (or safely).

From MSI to Adata and XPG, and even Patriot memory, the number of PCIe 5.0 SSDs coming to market this year is incredible, offering incredible speeds that are double the fastest PCIe 4.0 SSDs like the Samsung 990 Pro. 

But all that performance is coming at a cost of heat that needs to be dissipated, especially on the controller chip where most of the read/write operations originate.

Some of these controllers pull down 11W of power or more, which is way more than can be cooled ambiently inside a case, especially since a PCIe 5.0 SSD is sitting right next to the backplate of your graphics card, which needs to share the PCIe 5.0 lanes with the SSD.

This has lead to some interesting cooling configurations for these SSDs beyond just your typical heat sink.

MSI Spatium M570 Pro Frozr and Frozr+

The MSI Spatium M570 Pro Frozr and Frozr+ is MSI's latest PCIe 5.0 SSDs that are due later this year. 

What makes these special is that they are possibly the fastest SSDs I've seen so far as Computex 2023, and also that both feature some very serious heatsinks, with the Frozr+ even integrating a fan into the heatsink.

This also means that the fan will require a power connector in order to run, and there are a finite number of connectors on your standard motherboard, so you'll need to consider that as well when if you decide to go with the active cooling route.

The fanless option is no joke though, with a pair of Frozr SSDs running on a Raid interface clearing 22,300 MB/s sequential read and 23,000 MB/s sequential write in CrystalDiskMark's SSD test, all with just a heat sink to cool it.

Patriot Viper PV553

Patriot Memory is predominantly a memory company, as its name suggests, but it also makes SSDs, and it has one of the most impressive SSDs of the entire show. The Patriot Viper PV553 is due out this year, and it doesn't just go with the typical heat sink or even a fan, but actually uses a frickin blower to cool the SSD controller.

According to a Patriot, this will help get up to 12,400 MB/s sequential read and 11,800 MB/s sequential write speeds, along with its external buffer memory size of 4GB DDR4 for a 2TB SSD, with capacities up to 4TB.

This will also require a power connection to the motherboard, so if make sure to leave one open in your build if you plan on grabbing this one later this year.

XPG Project NeonStorm

Probably the coolest PCIe 5.0 SSD I've seen is the XPG Project NeonStorm, which for right now is just a prototype, but XPG expects to bring it to market this year.

This watercooled SSD doesn't cycle the water the way a cooling loop does, but rather it uses an aluminum heat pipe in the center of a liquid filled chamber to draw heat from the SSD chip modules, which is then transfered to the pipe. From there, fans help bow the heat off the pipe for 20% better heat dissipation over non-watercooled SSDs, according to XPG parent company Adata.

The SSD will feature capacities up to 8TB and promises 14,000 MB/s sequential read and 12,000 MB/s sequential write performance. We haven't tested this ourselves or even seen a demo, but if true it promises to be the fastest consumer SSD on the market.

This will also require an additional power connector, and it remains to be seen how this SSD will fit in the case with a beefy GPU right next door, but needless to say, I'm very eager to try.

If one thing is clear from Computex 2023, its that PCIe 5.0 SSDs are finally making it to market, and that water cooling is going to touch every part of our PC builds in the future, as evidenced by the two coming together in this awesome water-cooled SSD prototype shown off by XPG.

The PCIe 5.0 SSD, called the XPG Project NeonStorm, is a PCIe 5.0 x4 SSD with a read/write performance of 14,000 MB/s and 12,000 MB/s, respectively. That's great in itself, but the real appeal of this SSD is the extruded water cooler. To be clear, this isn't a pumped cooler as you get with the AIO coolers for the best processors and best graphics cards.

In this case, the water surrounds an aluminum structure with front and rear fans blowing air to carry away heat, but this is the first time I've seen one ready-made like this for sale as a complete unit and not a block that you can integrate into a cooling loop like the Hydro X Series XM2 M.2 SSD Water Block from Corsair.

The XPG NeonStorm is much more like the Asus Matrix GeForce RTX 4090, or the MSI Suprim RTX 4090 with an AIO cooler, which comes with a self-contained water-cooling solution. This is a great middle-ground for people who want to get the benefits of water cooling without having to go through the expense of designing a full custom water loop system for their PCs, which can get very expensive, very quickly.

Performance equals heat, so new cooling solutions are needed

As we get better and faster-performing PC components like SSDs, graphics cards, processors, and even RAM, the power requirements for these components are only trending up (though there are some notable exceptions for individual parts).

And, as any electrical engineer will tell you, more power means more heat, and running parts too hot will absolutely degrade both your performance and the part itself, so passive cooling and even fans are increasingly insufficient for the tasks.

The obvious solution is water cooling, which has been shown to dramatically improve thermals on processors, so it's natural to expect this to make its way down to subsidiary components as well. It likely won't be too much longer before all four of the major PC components are going to be water-cooled, but on the plus side, it will make for some very interesting configurations and generally improved performance. 

If you've ever asked "what is an SSD?", or wondered how it is different than a traditional hard drive, you're not alone.

Most people understand that an SSD is a storage device for a computer that keeps hold of all your programs, files, and whatever else you have on your computer, but not all storage is the same. Even the best cheap SSD will give you next-level performance over the best hard drive, while the best SSD overall will provide load times that older PCs could only dream of.

So what is an SSD then? How is it different from traditional hard drives, and how do they work? And most of all, is an SSD the right storage solution for you, and if so which one?

Fortunately, we've tested so many SSDs over the years that you'd think we were starting a collection, but we've learned all you need to know about an SSD in the process, and we're here to help you make sense of this vital PC and laptop component so you can make the right choice when shopping for an upgrade or even your next PC.

What is an SSD: Your computer's storage explained

How does an SSD work?

What are the disadvantages of an SSD?

What types of SSD are there?

Which SSD is right for my needs?

If you feel your small business or start-up isn't getting enough from its cloud storage, then a new approach from Google Workspace could be the answer you're looking for.

The company has announced it will be switching to a pooled storage model for users on its entry-level Google Workspace Business Starter plan.

Designed to help those start-ups and smaller firms that are looking to grow fast, Google Workspace Business Starter had previously offered 30GB of storage per user, but it will now see a significant increase due to the new change.

Google Workspace pooled storage

Instead, Google Workspace is now moving to a pooled storage approach, meaning capacity is shared across a whole organization.

Asides from removing the need to manage usage on a per-user basis, solving a significant resource drain for admins, the company also says it offers a more simple and flexible method overall.

Business Starter members will also soon gain access to shared drives, allowing them to create shared drives and add members, files, and folders. Google Workspace says the move should help reduce the friction around file sharing and online collaboration, as well as making it easier to discover files, and access them wherever you need to, "regardless of location or device".

"Part of empowering our customers to do their best work means reducing the friction around file sharing and collaboration," noted the company in a Google Workspace blog post announcing the change.

New customers signing up for a Business Starter subscription will be the first to receive the new pooled storage approach, with existing Business Starter customers set to move over during the next few months.

Currently, Google Workspace Business Starter subscription plans start at $6 per user per month, with users also able to select a more advanced Standard or Plus offer at $12 or $18 per user per month.

Anyone looking for something simpler can try out the company's most basic plan, with Google Workspace Essentials providing access to the likes of Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides for free - you don't even need a Gmail account to sign up.

• These are the best free office software options around

The Samsung 980 Pro may be three years old, but it’s still a pretty popular PCIe 4.0 solid-state drive (SSD) that remains more affordable than its successor, the Samsung 990 Pro. But, it seems the immense popularity of the SSD has prompted knockoffs that are infiltrating the market, according to Toms Hardware. 

As one of the best SSDs out there, the news doesn’t come as much surprise, though it’s definitely something consumers should be aware of as they plan to purchase the drive. 

We’ve seen fake microSD cards plague Amazon in the past, so it’s worrying to see that fake SSDs are a thing as well. Twitter user @harukaze5719 came across an imitation of the Samsung 980 pro and posted it on a Baidu Tieba forum.

According to the user, the fake drive came across like a legit Samsung 980 Pro; it had the Pro 2TB sticker and the firmware even suggested it was the 980 Pro - although that turned out to be false. Apparently, the fake was so good the drive even fooled Samsung Magician software, which is used to manage users' SSD.
 

The merchant had sold the fake Samsung 980 Pro 2TB SSDs on Taobao’s second-hand Market, Xianyu for 880 yuan ($128) and it even comes in official Samsung packaging. However, the price of the drive is a good indicator that the SSD is fake, as the original runs for $169.99 on the US market. The recipient of the fake SSD reportedly didn’t have a PC on hand when the drive arrived so couldn’t put it to the test for ten days after receiving it.

According to the benchmarks provided by the user, the drive had read and write speeds of around 4.8 Gbps and 4.5 Gbps respectively, well below what the real Samsung 980 Pro offers, which offers read and write speeds of 7 Gbps and 5 Gbps depending on capacity. So, obviously, the performance numbers were off and a clear giveaway the user was not working with an original. 

The risk of buying counterfeit computer hardware is ever present in the second-hand market, regardless of how distinguished the online retailer may be. Sneaky sellers are always abundant on platforms like this primed to take advantage of unsuspecting customers. Remember to keep an eye out for too-good-to-be-true pricing and keep in mind that everything comes at a price. You should always only buy from trusted sources, and make sure any seller or retailer has good customer reviews before you buy 

According to multiple reports, it looks like Samsung’s latest flagship solid-state drive - the Samsung 990 Pro - is experiencing some serious hardware problems.

A report published on Neowin, which was preceded by the author of the report posting on Reddit about his own experience with the issue, claims that the 990 Pro is losing ‘drive health’ at an alarmingly fast rate. Some users have reported seeing drops of 10% in total health or more within just a matter of days.

The Samsung 990 Pro is perhaps the best SSD on the market right now (though it’ll cost you a pretty penny, since this is some seriously high-end storage), meaning that plenty of excited PC-builders will have purchased one for their custom rigs when it launched back in November 2022. It’s unclear at this point exactly how many SSDs are affected, but going by Reddit threads we can conclude that it has impacted multiple users.

The severity varies, but so far the worst instance appears to be from Twitter user Neil Schofield, who posted a screenshot from the SSD utility software CrystalDisk - a program commonly used to check drive health - showing that his 990 Pro 2TB was down to just 64% after writing only 2006GB of data to the drive. It’s not just the 2TB version, either; we can confirm that other capacities are similarly affected.

Analysis: why is this such a big problem?

For those not in the know, the ‘health’ of a drive refers essentially to its overall capacity and effectiveness. A new drive should have 100% health, while reading and writing data to the drive will cause it to degrade over time. This 'wear and tear' is normal and expected for SSDs, especially those seeing heavy use.

The figures reported here, though, are far beyond what we’d expect to see from normal SSD degradation; as one redditor noted in the comments, their older 970 Evo 1TB drive was still at 97% health after more than 70TB worth of data transfers.

It’s unclear right now exactly what is causing the issue, and Samsung has yet to comment. Concerningly, the original poster who complained and tried to RMA his drive had it returned to him with a claim form Samsung that the issue was non-replicable, though the tech giant’s RMA department has since offered a full replacement now that the story is gaining publicity.

It seems like Samsung isn’t sure either, since the RMA team requested that the affected drive be returned (again) for further testing. Considering that the 990 Pro is supposedly rated for 1,200 TBW (Terabytes Written), writing 2TB of data should result in a health drop of about 0.17% - not the whopping 36% loss encountered by Schofield.

Reddit is abuzz with theories, with some users speculating that it might merely be a reporting bug generating incorrect values - though as Tom’s Hardware notes, users have compared results from multiple SSD monitoring programs and found the same results, and Samsung’s own Magician software refuses to properly test the drive.

The 990 Pro’s launch last year was actually pushed back from its original October launch for undisclosed reasons, so it’s possible that manufacturing issues arose and the affected drives come from a defective batch. Some users have also theorized that Windows is to blame, since the only unifying characteristic among the degrading SSDs is that they’re all boot drives for the OS. In any case, if you’re looking for an SSD deal, we’d advise you to steer clear of the 990 Pro until the issue is resolved.

Samsung quietly revealed that it’s working on the next generation of SSDs (solid state drives) with the upcoming PM9C1a. The company intends for the drive to “provide elevated computing and gaming performance in PCs and laptops” for everyday scenarios.

With that design philosophy in mind, the PM9C1a will sport the tried and true PCIe 4.0 (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) expansion bus for a more consistent performance (PCIe 5.0 drives are still in the works). Boosting the older standard, the upcoming drive will be “integrated with a new controller based on Samsung’s… 5-nanometer process [and] seventh-generation V-NAND technology”. Translated into plain English, that means the PM9C1a will have better performance and energy efficiency compared to previous offerings.

Speed and efficiency

Samsung claims the future drive will be able to reach a sequential read speed of 6,000 MB/S (megabytes per second) and a sequential write speed of 5,600 MB/s, making it almost twice as fast as the PM9B1 SSD. Read speed refers to how fast the drive can access stored files while write speed refers to how fast it can “write” or save a file. For the sake of comparison, the Samsung 990 Pro, which TechRadar rated very highly, has a sequential read and write speed of 7,465.79 MB/s and 6,887.68.19 MB/s, respectively. So, yes, the PM9C1a will be slower, but it does get pretty close, which is particularly impressive for a drive that’s meant to be for general, everyday usage. It's not some top-of-the-line model.

Energy efficiency, as alluded to earlier, has been improved compared to the PM9B1. It’s now “70 percent more [efficient] per watt than its predecessor.” Samsung gives the example that when a laptop with this SSD goes into “standby mode,” the drive will consume “approximately 10 percent less power.” 

Security is also being boosted as the PM9C1a will support the Device Identifier Composition Engine security standard or DICE for short. This will give the drive the ability to “securely [generate] cryptographic keys” as a way to provide device authentication. The idea is it’ll help defend the computer against supply chain attacks and firmware that's been tampered with by bad actors.

Availability pending

The PM9C1a is currently currently "production ready at this time," however, it's up to manufacturers to decide whether or not they want to install the SSD into their PC and laptops.

We can only speculate about the computers that might feature this zippier SSD but we do know the SSDs will come in three different models according to storage capacity and size. The 256GB drive will have a form factor of 22mm by 30mm, the 512GB model will be 22mm by 42mm, and the largest is the 1TB option at 22mm by 80mm.

While it may be a while before we see these SSDs in systems, you can assume that they'll eventually end up in some of the best ultrabook laptops on the market.

Correction 1-13-2023: An earlier version of this article said the PM9C1a SSD was in development. It is actually in production.

Editor's note: We've reviewed this SSD for 2024 - check out our latest thoughts in this new OWC Envoy Pro Mini review.

Two-minute review

OWC, aka Other World Computing, has a long and justifiably impressive resume for delivering very high-quality peripherals for both the Apple Mac and PC owner.

The Envoy Pro Mini takes the core NVMe technology found in its Envoy series and compacts it into a shiny metal construction the size of a stick of gum.

For those unsullied by gum use, that’s a shape that is 8cm long, 1.7cm wide and 1.1cm deep, weighing just 26g.

Rather than using a conventional blade design, OWC went with a rotating section that contains the SSD components and a USB Type-A blade, and an adapter end that mounts a capped USB Type-C connector.

By spinning the SSD section, it can be used with either type of USB port. When carried, neither of the blades is exposed, cleverly.

The cap is retained with a rubberised loop so it can’t be mislaid, and near it is a small through-hole that is designed for a lanyard that OWC include in the box.

When connected to a host system, the end of the SSD section glows to display activity, though it is possible to arrange the drive when using Type-A ports so that this isn’t visible.

The available capacities are 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, though the cost per GB is on the high side for external storage.

OWC offers a 3-year limited warranty on the Envoy Pro Mini. However, it should be noted that it isn’t waterproof, and the company makes no claims about its resistance to being dropped or dust ingress.

As external SSDs go, this one isn’t the quickest around, but it’s beautifully made and designed for those that need up to 1TB that they can hang around their neck or place on a key fob.

OWC Envoy Pro Mini price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $79 / £84.99
• When is it out? It is available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from OWC, and a few smaller online retailers

Directly from OWC in the USA, the three capacities of the Envoy Pro Mini are $79, $109, and $179 for the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB drives, respectively.

Currently, the drive isn’t available through online retailers like Amazon, but it is likely to arrive there soon.

On a cost-per-gigabyte basis, the best value drive in the range is 1TB, but it is still one of the most expensive external SSDs around. For comparison, the Crucial X6 1TB has a similar performance profile but a price tag of near $90.

Therefore, if you are willing to swap cables to connect to different USB standards and not have a drive milled from solid aluminium, you could save plenty or get more capacity for your cash.

• Value score: 4/5

OWC Envoy Pro Mini design

• Dual USB standards
• Easy to transport
• No hardware encryption

When flash drive designers make something as small as the OWC Envoy Pro Mini, they either go with a switchblade concept where the blade retracts into the drive. Or, as in this case, a hinge is made to allow the drive to rotate and be inserted into the rest of the assembly.

This approach cleverly provides a means to cover both USB standards, as the hiding of the USB Type-A blade inserts it into an adapter for USB-C.

Both these interfaces are USB 3.2 Gen 2, allowing the best speeds irrespective of which interface is being used.

Our only reservation about this design is that when the drive is used in USB-C mode, the unit is at its maximum length, creating a long metal lever on the USB-C port should anything hit the drive or the laptop accidentally drops.

When the drive is used with the Type-A blade, the length is reduced, minimising the potential for port damage.

When plugging in the drive for the first time, our 1TB review device appeared to be only 8GB in size, as only a small part of the volume is made available that contains configuration apps for both Mac and PC. Running this tool on a PC allows the drive to be formatted in NTFS.

As a piece of mechanical and electrical engineering, the Envoy Pro Mini is impressive. The solid block of aluminium from which it has been cut serves to provide a simple but effective means to cool the contents while operating.

If there is a weakness in its design is that the SSD electronics have no hardware encryption, although it is possible to use encrypted software partitions and achieve similar results.

Design score: 4/5

OWC Envoy Pro Mini performance

• Mediocre performance
• Outclassed by Thunderbolt drives

Very conveniently for those looking for benchmarks, OWC has a wide selection of tests that they have performed on PC and Mac to show the speed of this unit.

These official results also show Gen 2 USB port speeds and the negative impact using a Gen 1 port has on that performance.

But in our testing, we never got above 1,000MB/s, either reading or writing. By selecting 0Fill mode of CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4 and using the highly optimistic Default mode, we only saw 928MB/s reading and 861MB/s writes.

Perhaps with a faster test rig or an M1 Mac, the potential speed might hit 1,000MB/s, but this is something easily achievable with other drives that don’t need 0Fill or default mode.

In CrystalDiskMark real-world mode, the read speed dropped to 737MB/s and write to 823MB/s, levels that were backed up with other benchmarks.

In the AJA systems test, we saw closer to 800MB/s across the board, and those numbers were generally supported by ATTO Disk Bench Mark.

It should be noted that if you only have a 5Gbit USB port as per the original USB 3.0 or USB 3.2 Gen 1 as it has been relabelled, then read and write speed will be below SATA SSDs, at around 450MB/s.

As external SSDs go, the OWC Envoy Pro Mini isn’t anything spectacular in the performance stakes. If you want the best external drive performance, then either USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 or Thunderbolt technology is required.

• Performance score: 3/5

When you get over the aero-grade construction and elegant design, what remains is an expensive SSD with average performance.

Those wanting faster external drives can use one designed for USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 or Thunderbolt, and OWC makes plenty of the latter.

If you want something highly portable, the Envoy Pro Mini certainly fits that billing, but the cost is prohibitive, especially if this is for personal use.

OWC Envoy Pro Mini score card

OWC Envoy Pro Mini Pro?

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