One of the most cost-effective ways to upgrade a computer or console is with solid-state storage. The fastest flash drives will make your desktop or laptop feel snappier with shorter app and operating system loading times. The best part is that we’re at a point where you don’t have to choose between speed and capacity – the latest SSDs offer both. Whether you want to replace an old hard drive or upgrade the capacity of your existing SSD, this guide will help you navigate all the complexities of buying a modern flash drive. Don’t know the difference between an NVMe and M.2 drive? Don’t worry, Engadget has you covered.

What to look for in a PC SSD

The most affordable way to add fast storage to a computer is with a 2.5-inch SATA drive. It’s also one of the easiest if you don’t want to worry about compatibility since almost every computer made in the last two decades will include a motherboard with Serial ATA connections. For that reason, 2.5-inch SSDs are a great way to extend the life of an older PC. Installation is straightforward, too. Once you’ve secured the SSD in a drive cage, all you need to do is to connect it to your motherboard and power supply.

The one downside of SATA drives is that they’re slower than their NVMe counterparts, with SATA III limiting data transfers to 600MB/s. But even the slowest SSD is significantly faster than the best mechanical drives. And with 1TB SATA SSDs costing about $100, they’re a good bulk storage option.

If your PC is newer, there’s a good chance it includes space for one or more M.2 SSDs. The form factor represents your ticket to the fastest possible consumer storage on the market, but the tricky part is navigating all the different standards involved.

M.2 drives can feature either a SATA or PCIe connection. SSDs with the latter are known as Non-Volatile Memory or NVMe drives and are significantly faster than their SATA counterparts, with Gen3 models offering sequential write speeds of up to 3,000MB/s. You can get twice the performance with a Gen4 SSD, but you’ll need a motherboard and processor that supports the standard.

If you’re running an AMD system, that means a Ryzen 3000 or 5000 CPU and an X570 or B550 motherboard. With Intel, meanwhile, you’ll need a 11th or 12th Gen processor and a Z490, Z590 or Z690 motherboard. Keep in mind you’ll pay a small premium for a Gen4 SSD.

You might have also seen something about Gen 5 NVMe drives. You can safely ignore those for now. At the moment, only Intel’s 12th-gen desktop CPUs support PCIe 5 and there aren’t any Gen5 NVMe SSDs out on the market. We’ll see the first ones arrive alongside AMD’s next-generation Ryzen 7000 processors later this year, but if the price of early Gen4 drives is any indication, they will be expensive.

As for why you would buy an M.2 SATA drive over a similarly specced 2.5-inch drive, it comes down to ease of installation. You add M.2 storage to your computer by installing the SSD directly onto the motherboard. That may sound intimidating, but in practice the process involves a single screw that you first remove to connect the drive to your computer and then retighten to secure the SSD in place. As an added bonus, there aren’t any wires involved, making cable management easier.

Note that you can install a SATA M.2 SSD into an M.2 slot with a PCIe connection, but you can’t insert an NVMe M.2 SSD into a M.2 slot with a SATA connection. Unless you want to continue using an old M.2 drive, there’s little reason to take advantage of that feature. Speaking of backward compatibility, it’s also possible to use a Gen4 drive through a PCIe 3 connection, but you won’t get any of the speed benefits of the faster NVMe.

One last thing to consider is that M.2 drives come in different physical sizes. From shortest to longest, the common options are 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110. (The first two numbers represent width in millimeters, the latter denote the length.) For the most part, you don’t have to worry about that since 2280 is the default for many motherboards and manufacturers. Some boards can accommodate more than one size of NVMe thanks to multiple standoffs. That said, check your computer’s documentation before buying a drive to ensure you’re not trying to fit one it can’t support.

The best buying advice I can offer is that you don’t get too caught up about being on the bleeding edge of storage tech. The sequential read and write speeds you see manufacturers list on their drives are theoretical. In reality, the real-world differences between different SSDs aren’t as noticeable as you might think.

If your budget forces you to choose between a 1TB Gen3 NVMe and a 512GB Gen4 model, go for the former. From a practical standpoint, the worst thing you can do is buy a drive that’s too small for needs. Drives can slow dramatically as they approach capacity, and you will probably end up purchasing a larger capacity one down the line.

With all that boring stuff out of the way, here are some go-to recommendations.

Best 2.5-inch SATA Drive: Crucial MX500

Crucial

You don’t have to look far to find the best all-round 2.5-inch SSD. It’s the Crucial MX500. With sequential read speeds of 560MB/s and $85 price tag for the 1TB model, it offers a hard-to-beat combination of performance and value. It also comes with a five-year warranty for additional peace of mind.

Best PCIe 3.0 M.2: Samsung 970 EVO Plus

Samsung

The 970 EVO Plus is a great pick for anyone buying their first Gen3 NVMe. It comes in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB varieties, all of which are competitively priced. Expect to pay about $70 for the 500GB model, $100 for the 1TB version and $190 for 2TB. Samsung’s SSDs also have a strong reputation for reliability.

A more affordable Gen3 NVME: Crucial P2

Crucial

If the 970 EVO Plus is out of your budget but you still want a NVMe drive, the Crucial P2 is a compelling option. It’s slightly slower than Samsung’s M.2 drive, offering sequential read speeds of up to 2,400MB/s instead of 3,500MB/s, but is significantly cheaper. Crucial offers the P2 in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB variants.

A SATA option: WD Blue SA510

Western Digital

If you have an older computer but still want to take advantage of the M.2 form factor, consider the WD Blue SA510. It’s slower than the two above options but pricing is comparable to what you would pay for a 2.5-inch drive.

Best Gen4 NVME: Crucial P5 Plus

Crucial

If you have the necessary hardware and money to spare, it’s hard to beat the Crucial P5 Plus. With sequential read speeds of 6600MB/s, it’s not the absolute fastest Gen4 NVMe you can buy, but it offers about the best value. The P5 Plus comes in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB varieties. The WD Black SN850 we recommend below in the console section is also a great pick.

What to look for in portable and USB flash drives

Portable SSDs are a somewhat different beast to their internal siblings. While read and write speeds are important, they are almost secondary to how a drive connects to your PC. You won’t get the most out of a model like the SanDisk Extreme Pro V2 without a USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 2 connection. Even among newer PCs, that’s something of a premium feature. For that reason, most people are best off buying a portable drive with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 3 connection. The former offers transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps.

Additionally, if you plan to take your drive on trips and commutes, it’s worthwhile to buy a model with IP-certified water and dust proofing. Some companies like Samsung offer rugged versions of their most popular drives. For additional peace of mind, 256-bit AES hardware encryption will help prevent someone from accessing your data if you ever lose or misplace your drive.

Some of the same features contribute to a great thumbstick drive. The best models feature USB 3.0 connections and some form of hardware encryption.

Best portable drive: Samsung T7

Samsung

For most people, the Samsung T7 offers the perfect mix of features, performance and affordability. The company offers the T7 in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB varieties and three different colors. It’s also relatively fast, offering sequential read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s. Best of all, you can frequently find it on sale.

Best thumbstick drive: Samsung Fit Plus

Samsung

Another Samsung pick here for good reason. The Fit Plus has about all the features you could want on a USB drive. It connects to your computer over USB 3.1 and supports transfer speeds of up to 300MB/s. The Fit Plus is also compact and has a handy slot for attaching it to your keychain. The only downside of Samsung’s USB drive is that it’s on the pricey side. 

A note on console storage

Seagate

Thankfully, outfitting your fancy new console with the fastest possible storage is far more straightforward than doing the same on PC. With a Series X or Series S, the conversation starts and ends with Seagate’s storage expansion cards. The company offers 512GB, 1TB and 2TB models, with the most affordable starting at a not-so-trivial $139. The good news is that you can frequently find them on sale. Your best bet is to set an alert for the model you want on a price tracker like CamelCamelCamel.

With Sony’s PlayStation 5, upgrading the console’s internal storage is slightly more involved. Instead of employing a proprietary solution, the PS5 uses NVMe storage. Thankfully, there aren’t as many potential configurations as you would find on a PC. Engadget published a comprehensive guide on buying a PS5 SSD last year. In short, your best bet is a Gen4 drive with a built-in heatsink. Check out that guide for a full list of recommendations, but for a quick go-to, consider the Western Digital SN850. It meets all the memory specifications for Sony’s latest console and you won’t run into any clearance issues with the heatsink. Western Digital offers 500GB, 1TB and 2TB models of the SN850. Expect to pay about $150 for the 1TB variant and about $260 for 2TB.

For those still playing on a previous generation console, you can get slightly faster load times from a PlayStation 4 by swapping the included hard drive to a 2.5-inch SSD, but going out of your way to do so probably isn’t worth it at this point and you’re better off saving your money for one of the new consoles.

The first video game studio in the US to unionize is shutting down. On Wednesday, Beast Breaker developer Vodeo Games announced it had failed to secure funding to produce an additional release beyond its debut title. “Despite a year of avid efforts, we’ve been unable to secure funding for our next project from publishers and investors,” Vodeo Games said in a tweet spotted by Polygon. “As such, we’ve run out of funds and aren’t able to keep the team together — and there simply is no Vodeo without our incredible team.”

Vodeo Games was founded in 2021 by Threes! designer Asher Vollmer. The studio released its first game that same year. According to Vodeo’s website, it had been working on a new project before today’s announcement. The studio will complete work on the Steam version of Beast Breaker before closing shop.

At the end of last year, Vodeo’s all-remote team of 13 successfully unionized with Code-CWA, the Communication Workers of America's Campaign to Organize Digital Employees. Despite the management of Vodeo Games recognizing the studio’s union, the two sides never came to a bargaining agreement. According to Vodeo Workers United, negotiations came to an end when it became apparent the studio could not secure additional funding. The group said it would share what it learned with other industry workers to help them organize their workplaces. 

Since workers at Vodeo unionized, employees at other studios have attempted to follow suit. Most notably, there’s the QA division at Activision's Raven Software, which voted in May to form the Game Workers Alliance. More recently, quality assurance staff at Blizzard Albany, formerly Vicarious Visions, filed for a union election.

Apple added plenty of new features to its latest iPhones, including a nifty display cutout on the iPhone 14 Pro it's calling the Dynamic Island. But as is so often the case with the company, Apple gives and it takes away, and the feature it's removing this time is the physical SIM slot. On US models, the company is going all in on eSIM technology. 

In practice, that's a decision that will have a few effects on how you use the iPhone 14 if you decide to upgrade. For one, you won't be able to simply transfer the SIM from your current phone to your new device. Instead, you'll need to either call your carrier or complete an enrolment process online. Many people when they travel tend to buy local SIMs as a way to save on data roaming costs. That's something that won't be an option if you buy an iPhone 14 in the US. Thankfully, there are plenty of eSIM options like Airalo.   

Apple has supported eSIM since it introduced the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR in 2018, and has included the technology in most of its recent Apple Watch and iPad devices. Starting with last year's iPhone 13, the company even began allowing users to use multiple eSIMs on the same device at the same time. The good news is the majority of US carriers support the technology. T-Mobile even recently began using eSIM to let iPhone users try its network.    

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

The iPhone 14 delivers a 49 percent improvement in low-light performance and it's all thanks to a tweak Apple made to its Deep Fusion image pipeline. During its Far Out event on Wednesday, Apple detailed all the camera enhancements coming to its 2022 iPhone lineup, with its new "Photonic Engine" leading the list of improvements. 

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

Two years after introducing the Apple Watch SE, Apple is refreshing its entry-level smartwatch. In the process, the company is bringing over some of the features found in its more expensive wearables. To start, the second-generation model features the same processor as the company's newly announced Series 8 smartwatch.

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

Nintendo is adding a new colorway to its Switch OLED line just in time for the release of the latest Pokémon games. The console will go on sale on November 4th, two weeks before Pokémon Scarlet and Violet arrive on November 18th.

The design is about as maximalist as possible. The red and purple Joy-Cons feature the emblems of two academies that will appear in the upcoming games. The back of the console is reminiscent of a school binder or yearbook, with a paint job that makes it look like someone had pulled out all their favorite stickers. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s three starters – Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly – make an appearance here. Meanwhile, the dock features Koraidon and Miraidon, the two new legendaries.

The My Nintendo Store and select retailers will sell the Nintendo Switch – OLED Model: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Edition (phew, that’s a mouthful) for $360, or about $10 more than the standard OLED variant. You’ll also need to buy Pokémon Scarlet or Violet separately.

For the past three days, one of the largest hospitality companies in the world hasn’t been able to accept online bookings due to a cyberattack. On Tuesday, the InterContinental Hotels Group disclosed that “unauthorized activity” had left its IT systems “significantly disrupted” since the end of the Labor Day weekend. IHG operates 6,028 hotels across more than 100 countries, with some of the company’s more recognizable brands including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Regent.

When Engadget went to book a local InterContinental in Toronto on Wednesday morning, clicking “Check Availability” or “Book Now” produced a pop-up window prompting us to call or email the hotel to make a reservation. “IHG is working to fully restore all systems as soon as possible and to assess the nature, extent and impact of the incident,” the company said in a statement, providing few other details about what had happened. It says it's working with external experts and regulatory authorities to investigate the cyberattack.

Bleeping Computer suggests the disruption may be the result of a ransomware attack. In 2017, IHG found that over 1,000 of its US hotels had been infected by malware designed to steal credit card information. More recently, the Lockbit ransomware gang claimed last month it had stolen data from the Holiday Inn Istanbul Kadıköy.

AT&T is suing T-Mobile. On Tuesday, the carrier filed a complaint with a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, accusing its rival of false advertising. T-Mobile’s recently launched “Verizon and AT&T Ban Senior Discounts” campaign is at the center of the lawsuit. The activation includes a website that claims “92 percent of seniors in the US can’t get a wireless discount from Verizon and AT&T because they don’t live in Florida.”

The campaign aims to draw attention to a promotion that dates back to John Legere’s tenure as CEO of T-Mobile. Since 2017, the carrier has offered Unlimited 55+ plans that give people 55 and older discounted access to its network. For instance, the current base level package starts at $40 per month with autopay and includes “unlimited” talk, text and smartphone data.

In early 2020, AT&T began piloting its own Unlimited 55+ plan. At the moment, however, it’s only available in Florida. “Until Verizon and AT&T offer senior discounts outside of Florida, we’re helping their customers get access to the wireless discounts they deserve as part of our Carrier Callout,” T-Mobile says.

T-Mobile

AT&T contends T-Mobile’s campaign is “intentionally designed to deceive senior citizens.” The carrier says T-Mobile’s website includes claims that are “literally false.” Moreover, it notes that “AT&T has not ‘banned’ seniors from getting discounted services outside the state of Florida.” The company points to a program it has had in place since March 2015. AT&T offers members of AARP, a nonprofit organization that represents more than 38 million seniors in the US, a $10 discount off its Unlimited Premium plan, among other perks. That promotion is available in all 50 US states. 

“T-Mobile’s claims are outright dishonest and completely false. It is not the first time they have spread misleading information,” an AT&T spokesperson said. “AT&T offers wireless discounts to people of all ages, including seniors in all 50 states. The only way to stop the un-truthful carrier is apparently in a court of law, and that’s where we are.”

T-Mobile did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment. AT&T is seeking damages and an injunction against the campaign. The Unlimited 55 promotion isn’t the first time T-Mobile has gotten in trouble for its advertising. In 2020, the carrier said it would stop claiming its 5G network was more reliable than that of its competitors after Verizon filed a complaint with National Advertising Review Board.

Finding a PlayStation 5 may be as difficult as ever, but that’s not stopping Sony from adding more customization options for those who already own the console. This fall, the company will release the Gray Camouflage collection. It consists of a new set of plates for the console, as well as a matching DualSense controller and Pulse headset.

“The PlayStation design team reimagined our camouflage pattern to reflect a fresher, more contemporary feel. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the iconic PlayStation Shapes have been subtly incorporated into the pattern,” Sony says of the new design.

Preorders for collection open on September 15th. The plates and DualSense controller will arrive on October 14th, with the Pulse headset heading to store shelves sometime in December. Sony did not announce pricing for the new accessories. They come after the company recently said it was increasing the price of the PS5 across much of the globe.

The days where Kiwi Farms is a functioning website appear to be numbered. After Cloudflare cut the forum off over the weekend, other essential internet services, including hCaptcha, followed suit. Kiwi Farms briefly moved to a Russian domain and DDoS-Guard on Sunday, but as of Tuesday morning, visiting the website returns an error page that says it can’t load.

“This meme about Russia being a free country is a joke,” Kiwi Farms founder Joshua Moon wrote on Telegram, adding that he could not see a future where the website would be able to operate normally. Moon’s post references 8chan and Daily Stormer, two websites that, while they continue to exist, are essentially inaccessible after public efforts to deplatform were successful.

“The campaign is over. We won,” streamer and political commentator Clara “Keffals” Sorrenti wrote in a statement she shared on Friday. Sorrenti was a recent target of a coordinated and vicious harassment campaign that originated on Kiwi Farms and saw her doxxed and swatted. Sorrenti started the DropKiwifarms hashtag to urge Cloudflare and other critical internet infrastructure providers to drop the website. The campaign gained critical mass after NBC News published a story about Kiwi Farms, detailing the forum's sordid past. Since its founding in 2013, at least three suicides have been linked to harassment campaigns that originated on the website.

“Many sites that have faced pressure campaigns to be deplatformed, like 8chan and Daily Stormer, are still online. They are nevertheless completely impotent," Sorrenti said. "Whether or not we are able to completely remove Kiwi Farms from the internet is irrelevant to the fact that the goals of our campaign have not only been achieved, but have achieved more than we could have ever expected.”