Amazon Prime Day deals on SSDs and external hard drives are still available: Save on Samsung, Crucial, Sandisk and more

Amazon Prime Day is a great time to pick up gear and upgrades you wouldn't normally think about. In case you've never used a solid-state drive (SSD) before, it's a class of add-ons that bolster a device's built-in storage. Not only will your phone, laptop or console be able to hold more data, but more of those files will be quickly accessible, which can vastly improve your speeds. If you have used an SSD before, you know what you're looking for — the best discounted drives on Amazon. We've curated a list below for your Prime Day shopping.

Best Prime Day SSD deals

• Crucial BX500 for $57 ($38 off): The Crucial BX500 SSD is compatible with any computer that uses a 2.5-inch SATA drive — which is still plenty of them. For very cheap, you can get ahold of 1TB storage space and read speeds up to 540 MB/s, close to the very best possible for a SATA SSD.

• WD_BLACK SN850X for $150 (25 percent off): Our current favorite Gen4 NVMe drive is on sale for Prime Day, making a read speed of over 7,000 MB/s more accessible than ever. In our tests, we found the 1TB SN850X significantly boosted our Windows operating speeds without adding much heat.

• WD Blue SN5000 for $210 ($90 off): Here's a great deal on an internal SSD with 4TB capacity and compatibility with the fast-performing NVMe protocol. Western Digital, the same brand behind the WD_BLACK (see above) claims the Blue model can hit read speeds of 5,500 MB/s.

• Lexar 1TB NM790 for $67 (29 percent off): The NM790 is a single-sided SSD that can post sequential read speeds of 7400 MB/s. The one-sided design means it stays cooler for longer, and this 1TB deal includes a heatsink. It's a great budget alternative to the also single-sided Samsung 990 Pro (see below).

• Sabrent Rocket 2230 for $150 (15 percent off): The Sabrent Rocket 2230 is a thumbnail-sized NVMe card that we found to be perfect for the M.2 slot on a Steam Deck. Thanks to this deal, you can save a lot by buying a lower-end Steam Deck and upgrading it with one of these.

• Samsung Fit Plus for $23 ($12 off): The Fit Plus is our favorite thumb drive, and it's not close. Running on USB 3.1 with transfer speeds between 300 and 400 MB/s, it even comes with a keychain hook. The current deal takes 34 percent off an already cheap product.

• Samsung 870 EVO for $76 (24 percent off): The 870 EVO is a great budget choice for general users, who are likely to get a speed boost on any PC activity once it's installed. At 560 MB/s of maximum reading speed, it's not for hardcore gamers, but everyday users should see real benefits.

• Samsung 990 Pro for $150 (29 percent off): The whole Samsung Pro line of SSDs is excellent for gamers, with PS5s in particular seeming to run much faster with one installed. The 990 Pro can reach read speeds of up to 1,400 KB/s — and yes, that's kilobytes, not megabytes.

• Samsung 9100 Pro for $220 ($100 off): Samsung's first NVMe SSD dropped earlier this year, and currently, they're still a bit faster than most people can use. However, if you want to get a jump on the next console generation with 14,800 MB/s sequential reading speed, this deal is your opportunity.

• Kingston Fury Renegade for $420 ($210 off): Although it sounds like a Jamaican kung fu movie we'd watch the hell out of, the Kingston Fury Renegade is actually a 5th-gen NVMe SSD that can reach hardcore read speeds of up to 14,800 MB/s. It's expensive, but Prime Day discounts knock off 33 percent.

• Corsair MP600 Pro LPX 2 TB for $160 (20 percent off): Earlier this year, we named the Corsair MP600 Pro LPX as the top SSD for PS5, partly due to its affordability. It's even more affordable now — and the low price even includes a heatsink.

• Acer FA100 1TB for $51 (15 percent off): The Acer FA100 isn't the fastest SSD, but it is at least competitive, and may be one of the cheapest ways to harness the considerable power of NVMe 3.0. Only the 1TB version is marked down for Prime Day.

Best Prime Day portable SSD deals

• Samsung T7 for $114 ($74 off): The T7 spent a long time as our reigning champion portable SSD, and it's still an amazing deal — being technically outdated means record-low prices on hardware that's more than fast enough for a Steam Deck or Switch.