One of the best gaming SSDs for slashing load times
To be sure, this is no aborted launch that’s now been doomed to the bargain bin. The Crucial T500 really is an elite NVMe SSD, up there with the WD Black SN850X andSamsung 990 Pro, and it even beat those drives in some of my read/write speed tests. Both the standard and heatsink equipped versions are on sale too, the latter being useful when your motherboard doesn’t include its own SSD heat spreaders.
Speaking of motherboards, be sure to check before you buy a drive like this that your system can, in fact, support PCIe 4.0 SSDs. Older mobos and CPUs could be limited to the slower PCIe 3.0 interface, though 4.0 support has become the norm across the past few processor generations. Even PCIe 5.0 SSDs have begun popping up, though these are just too pricey for the ultimately limited speed advantage they offer. A problem demonstrated by, funnily enough, the T500’s own cousin: theCrucial T700.
Many more storage sale highlights can be found in our guide to thebest Black Friday SSD deals. We’re also keeping track of some tastySteam Deck microSD cardoffers in ourBlack Friday Steam Deck accessory dealslist.
