Serious saving: Data storage deals

Running low on storage? Is your collection of USB sticks bursting at the seams? Perhaps your PC needs a speedy storage boost? Now is the time to get saving - and we’re not just talking about your data. Don’t miss these incredible data storage deals with amazing discounts- we've rounded up the best offers below.

Whether you’re a photographer, gamer or just someone who needs to archive a lot of important data - investing in devices like external storage drives and USB sticks from SanDisk and other trusted brands is essential.

The best data storage deals at a glance:

• Best high-speed M.2 SSD storage device: WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB M.2 2280 Game Drive - View on Amazon
• Best Xbox expansion card: WD_BLACK 1TB C50 Expansion Card - View on Amazon
• Best Best high-end portable SSD: SanDisk Professional 1TB PRO-G40 SSD  - View on Amazon
• Best high-capacity USB memory stick: SanDisk 1TB Extreme PRO - View on Amazon

One thing’s for sure - you shouldn't trust your precious data to just any old device you might find in the sales. External or portable SSD drives are an excellent solution for most uses, keeping your data safe while it's on the move. But, of course, if you’re looking to add more storage to your camera, smartphone or games console you’ll need some fast microSD cards os USB sticks for those that can take them, and fast SSD drives for gaming PCs and so on have been specially designed for extra speed.

So, let’s find the best deals on reliable storage devices for all of your gadgets and gizmos. It’s never been faster or easier to get saving.

Data storage deals

All prices are correct at the time of writing. Prices, stock and deals are subject to change without notice.

Best data storage deals: Buyer’s guide

Size up your needs

Look at what you need your new storage device for. It might help to look at your existing memory sticks and SSD drives to see how your usage stacks up. The key thing here is to estimate how much data you’ll want to store. For heavy users like gamers who download a lot of games and patches, or for media professionals, buy the largest storage capacity you can afford and add 10% to the capacity to be sure.

Stick to renowned brands

If a deal in the sale looks a little too good to be true, it probably is. By staying with known brands you’ll avoid the all-too-common issue of seemingly high-capacity devices at super-low prices. The chances are the quality isn’t there and they may not even contain the amount of storage they claim.

Our pick of the best storage device deals above comes from well-respected brand names with excellent track records for protecting and preserving your data. Even if you’re only using a USB stick to record TV shows, you don’t want to press play only to find the file is corrupted.

Buying memory cards? Look after your classes

Flash memory cards for use by photographers and videographers in particular need to have a very high read and write speed. That’s because the stream of data that cameras generate needs to be saved to the card at the speed the data is being generated. A slower card will end up corrupting your files. The classes for memory cards are Class 2 to Class 10 - with class 10 being fast, at a minimum write speed of 10MB per second.

Best data storage deals: FAQs

Do SSDs wear out?

Technically, yes they do. There’s a limit to the number of times a flash cell can go through the read/write process - this is known as the TBW limit or terabytes written. TBW varies between manufacturer and SSD model, but generally speaking, a user is going to want to upgrade their device before an SSD comes close to its TBW limit. You can read more about SSD lifespan with Ontrack.com.

Is an SSD the best for gaming?

An SSD can offer a significant performance boost when playing video games on a PC. Specifically, an SSD will increase game start-up times and in-game loading - both loading screens and real-time world loading of assets.

Custom SSD technology has been utilised by the Microsoft Xbox Series X and Sony PlayStation 5 to maximise gaming performance.

Are USB sticks reliable?

Yes, USB sticks are very reliable – they are simple devices with no moving parts, so there's not much to go wrong. However, cheap and unbranded USB sticks may have poor construction, meaning that they are liable to break. Picking a device from a reputable brand is a way to be sure that you're getting a quality item.

Can an SD card become corrupted?

Any electronic storage is prone to corruption, sometimes it's accidental physical damage that causes a card to break, and other times it's an error during the saving process that can cause a cataclysmic loss of data.

How can you avoid this? Look for reputable SD card brands, treat your SD card with care, and never remove the SD card while accessing its storage.

Best data storage deals: Jargon buster

SSD - The Solid State Drive is essentially faster storage technology than a normal HDD with a spinning disc mechanism. With SSDs, data is stored electronically rather than magnetically, which is why they’re so much faster for loading and saving.

NVMe - NVMe is a relatively new development in SSD technology providing vast improvements to performance speeds. It’s a communications interface that better links SSD memory with a system using PCIe slots rather than SATA connections. As Kingston highlights on its blog, a SATA III connection delivers 600MB/s, whereas a PCIe Gen 4 has 16 lanes at 2,000MB/s each.

HDD - A Hard Disk Drive uses a physical disk and arm that writes and retrieves data magnetically. Despite running slower than SSDs, their capacities are a lot higher and they’re also more affordable.

GB – Gigabyte. A measurement of storage capacity. 1GB is equal to 1000kB, which can hold upward of 5,000 documents, depending on their size. Video and music take up much more space.

TB – Terabyte. A measurement of storage capacity. 1TB equals 1,000GB and can hold around 500 hours of video footage or 200,000 songs.
Write speed – The maximum speed at which a USB can store data in its memory. The higher, the better, especially if you want to transfer large files. Note that the number quoted by manufacturers is based on lab conditions.

Chris Duffill is a Tech Product Writer for What's The Best. His background includes writing, editorial, marketing, design, video production and photography.

He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including speakers, amplifiers, turntables, streaming media players, and TVs. He is also one of our resident experts in computing (PCs, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches), DSLR photography and all kinds of digital cameras. He also writes about retro gaming, game consoles and various electronic gadgets. If it plugs in, lights up or makes a noise, he’ll write about it.

Subscribe to the What’s The Best Newsletter to keep up to date with more of the latest reviews and recommendations from the rest of the What’s The Best team.