NEVER Pay $200 for the Western Digital 8TB External Hard Drive. Western Digital has a reputation for offering reliable external hard drives, but did you know these hard drives also have a tendency to go. Our top tip for Black Friday external hard drive bargains is to look out for Western Digital offers (you can see the best WD My Passport deals right now). It has a huge range of external drives on offer, and there's usually at least one bargain to be found among them; we expect there to be some great opportunities to nab a lot of storage for. Tips for Hard Drives & Memory shopping for Black Friday. Several retailers will put both internal and external hard drives on sale for the holiday season and there are lots of great prices to be found. One key thing to remember is that external hard drives are just like internal hard drives. Black Friday External Hard Drive, SSDs & NAS deals are here at Newegg with the best discount prices, fast holiday shipping and top-rated customer service!
The best storage deal of Black Friday has arrived. Right now Amazon is selling the WD Black 5TB Game Drive for £88 in the UK and $95 in the US, a historic low price in both countries by a significant margin and a genuinely great deal for owners of next-gen consoles.
Best External Hard Drives For Mac
These portable 2.5-inch external hard drives give you a ton of storage for games and media, and can be used with games consoles like the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. Of course, they're also a great shout for PCs, Macs and Linux computers as well. You're not even paying extra for the armoured design and gamer branding either - these are currently the cheapest 5TB hard drives on Amazon of any variety!
If you're after even faster external storage, then you should take a look at the Crucial X8 external NVMe SSD. This drive is rated up to 1050MB/s, making it twice as fast as a SATA SSD, and uses a high-speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection over either USB-C or full-size USB-A. Right now, the 1TB Crucial X8 is £96 in the UK and $130 in the US, a historic low price and significantly below the £150/$165 this drive normally costs.
Going for an external SSD means that last-gen games will load much faster and can be copied in less time, so if you don't need all 5TB of storage this would be our overall recommendation! I actually bought this exact drive last year and I use it almost every day for playing games and transferring media files. It's the fastest external drive I've ever tested and I can't recommend it enough.
If you're planning to use either of these drives with a next-gen console like a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, then it's worth knowing exactly what's possible with external drives on these systems. You can store and play last-gen games (e.g. PS4 and Xbox One titles) directly from the drive, just by plugging it into to a USB port. Additionally, on Xbox Series X/S, you can also back up next-gen games to the drive to free up space on the internal storage, allowing you to avoid having to redownload games that you've deleted to save space. Unfortunately, that isn't currently possible on PS5, with there being no way to move installed PS5 games.
You also won't be able to run next-gen games on either console from an external USB drive, as even the fastest external SSD won't be fast enough to keep up with the insanely quick SSDs used internally.
Microsoft do offer the Seagate 1TB expansion drive, available for $220/£220, if you need extra storage for running Series X/S games. The PS5 does things differently, with the console having an internal NVMe M.2 drive slot that fits off-the-shelf PC NVMe SSDs, but only drives that Sony have certified as being compatible will work - and so far, they haven't certified any drives at all, so it's just a no-go for the moment.
I hope you found this deal useful, and be sure to let us know if you have any questions in the comments below. You can also reach me on Twitter @dealsfoundry, where we're tweeting deals as we find them - very useful for big ticket items like the PS5, Xbox Series X, RTX 30-series graphics and Ryzen 5000 processors where stock can be exhausted in a matter of seconds. You can also find all of our Black Friday deals on Eurogamer right here.
Will you support the Digital Foundry team?
Digital Foundry specialises in technical analysis of gaming hardware and software, using state-of-the-art capture systems and bespoke software to show you how well games and hardware run, visualising precisely what they're capable of. In order to show you what 4K gaming actually looks like we needed to build our own platform to supply high quality 4K video for offline viewing. So we did.
Our videos are multi-gigabyte files and we've chosen a high quality provider to ensure fast downloads. However, that bandwidth isn't free and so we charge a small monthly subscription fee of €5. We think it's a small price to pay for unlimited access to top-tier quality encodes of our content. Thank you.
© Provided by GamesRadar Black Friday SSDBlack Friday SSD deals could be the hot ticket item this year, as they've not only been reducing in price but are also one of the main features of both PS5 and Xbox Series X. The increased speed and performance of these SSDs also make them an essential part of the best gaming laptops and best gaming PCs, which means you really need to be considering investing in one – be it external or internal – to bolster your console or computer storage capacity. Taking that into account, we've been seeking out the best offers (not to mention Black Friday external hard drive discounts) that form part of the wider upcoming Black Friday deals.
Black Friday retailers
US:
Amazon | Best Buy | NeweggUK:Amazon | Currys | Argos
On the fence about investing in Black Friday SSD deals? Although they can be expensive, it's worthwhile. SSD stands for 'Solid State Drive', and these storage devices make booting your system and loading programs so much faster. Seriously, it's night and day. You can see for yourself by looking at the Series X's loading times. As such, SSDs are absolutely worth considering if your device is compatible with them.
Not that Black Friday external hard drive offers aren't worth your time. If you just want to store game installs and clear space on your system's core memory, HDDs are incredibly useful accessories too. You can get masses of storage at reasonable prices, and they'll usually be cheaper than Black Friday SSD deals as well.
We've got offers on both below. For more, be sure to check out our guide on the PS4 SSD you should look out for, the best PS4 external hard drive, and the best Xbox One external hard drive.
Still fuzzy on the difference between solid state and hard drives? Take a look at our handy explainer on SSD vs HDD.
Black Friday SSD
If you want to speed up your PC or get some quick storage for your console, the Black Friday SSD deals are your best chance. The sales event of the year is guaranteed to push prices down, especially with renewed interest thanks to the arrival of next-gen consoles (if interest in PS5 deals and Xbox Series X deals are anything to go by, more people than ever are keen to embrace faster loading).
If you are buying for your new console, be warned - not all of these offers will run Xbox games as fast as the Xbox Series X's internal storage. That's because Microsoft is offering a special 'Storage Expansion Card' of its own. We've linked to discounts on this below.
Similarly, PlayStation users who want an SSD fast enough to keep up with the PS5 will have to choose from a selection of NVMe drives confirmed to work with the system - the Western Digital SN850 is a good example - but will have to wait for an official list of approved models.
External SSD
These SSDs are separate to the console, laptop, or PC you want to use them with. They act like a massive USB thumbstick - only a whole lot faster, and with much more space. Our favorites can be found below, including brands like Samsung and SanDisk.
US deals
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung T7 500GB External SSD | $89.99 at Amazon
We regularly rate Samsung drives when it comes to offering our recommendations, and for under a hundred bucks you can get yourself this nifty portably SSD. Blue finish not doing it for you? You can also get it in Red or Gray for the same price, saving $20.
UK deals
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung T5 500GB External SSD | £87.60 at Amazon
Samsung always feature highly on our recommendations list, and this handy portable SSD is down to less than half price at the moment. If you need a bit more space on the go, then you can double up to the 1TB model for £138.79 and still save over fifty pounds.
Internal SSDs
In contrast to external models, these SSDs (and SSHDs) can be fitted into your PC, or current-gen PS4 console if they match the required 2.5' SATA form. In terms of next-gen PS5 internal SSDs, while we wait for Sony's list of approved models, your best picks are likely to be from WD's Black range which we've included a couple of below.
US deals
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB Internal SSD | $149.99 at Amazon
Not only does this NVMe M.2 internal SSD add 1TB of rapid read and write capability to your machine, but it's currently reduced by $100. If you don't need that much space, you can drop down to the 500GB version for just $89.99, which is a third off.
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung 860 EVO 1TB Internal SSD | $119.99 at Amazon
For wider compatibility, this SATA 3 internal SSD can be used in a number of settings while providing read and write speeds exceeding 500 MB/s, and it's currently down 40%. The smaller version provides even more storage per buck, giving you 500GB for just $54.99.
UK deals
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung 970 EVO 1TB Internal SSD | £130.97 at Amazon
Currently less than half price, this NVMe M.2 internal SSD offers super fast read and write speeds, and with a whole 1TB of storage space it provides great value for money. If you need even more room for storage, you can also get the EVO Plus 2TB version for just £285.92, which is 35% off.
© Provided by GamesRadarHikvision mac safari plugin. WD Blue SN550 1TB Internal SSD | £89.98 at Amazon
If you're looking for an entry level internal SSD, then this NVMe M.2 drive from Western Digital offers a whole 1TB of storage space for well under a hundred pounds, which is great value. Should you need something even smaller, you can drop down to the 500GB version for just £56.98, saving you 25%
Black Friday external hard drives
If you want somewhere to put your game installs so you can clear space on your main console or PC storage unit (or rotate game installs as and when you need them), standard hard drives are the way to go. They're generally cheaper than SSDs, and Black Friday external hard drive deals are probably going to push that price tag even lower.
Alright, so they're not as fast. But if you're after capacity rather than speed then these are still the way forward - even though the SSD prices will be tempting.
US deals
© Provided by GamesRadarToshiba Canvio Basics 2TB External HDD | $58.49 at Amazon
This Toshiba Canvio gives you a big chunk of extra storage at a very reasonable price, so it's the perfect entry level for a basic external hard drive with 2TB of space.
© Provided by GamesRadarWD Elements 4TB External HDD | $89.99 at Amazon
Western Digital is always a great and reliable choice for expanding your storage, no matter what device you're connecting it to. With this external HDD you can add a massive 4TB of storage for under a hundred dollars, which should be more than enough to keep you going for a while.
UK deals
© Provided by GamesRadarToshiba Canvio Advance 2TB External HDD | £50.79 at Amazon
The Toshiba Canvio range has long been a great entry point for adding external storage to your devices, and you can't really go wrong when you're getting 2TB of space for just fifty pounds.
External Hard Drive Mac Black Friday Computers
© Provided by GamesRadarThese portable 2.5-inch external hard drives give you a ton of storage for games and media, and can be used with games consoles like the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. Of course, they're also a great shout for PCs, Macs and Linux computers as well. You're not even paying extra for the armoured design and gamer branding either - these are currently the cheapest 5TB hard drives on Amazon of any variety!
If you're after even faster external storage, then you should take a look at the Crucial X8 external NVMe SSD. This drive is rated up to 1050MB/s, making it twice as fast as a SATA SSD, and uses a high-speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection over either USB-C or full-size USB-A. Right now, the 1TB Crucial X8 is £96 in the UK and $130 in the US, a historic low price and significantly below the £150/$165 this drive normally costs.
Going for an external SSD means that last-gen games will load much faster and can be copied in less time, so if you don't need all 5TB of storage this would be our overall recommendation! I actually bought this exact drive last year and I use it almost every day for playing games and transferring media files. It's the fastest external drive I've ever tested and I can't recommend it enough.
If you're planning to use either of these drives with a next-gen console like a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, then it's worth knowing exactly what's possible with external drives on these systems. You can store and play last-gen games (e.g. PS4 and Xbox One titles) directly from the drive, just by plugging it into to a USB port. Additionally, on Xbox Series X/S, you can also back up next-gen games to the drive to free up space on the internal storage, allowing you to avoid having to redownload games that you've deleted to save space. Unfortunately, that isn't currently possible on PS5, with there being no way to move installed PS5 games.
You also won't be able to run next-gen games on either console from an external USB drive, as even the fastest external SSD won't be fast enough to keep up with the insanely quick SSDs used internally.
Microsoft do offer the Seagate 1TB expansion drive, available for $220/£220, if you need extra storage for running Series X/S games. The PS5 does things differently, with the console having an internal NVMe M.2 drive slot that fits off-the-shelf PC NVMe SSDs, but only drives that Sony have certified as being compatible will work - and so far, they haven't certified any drives at all, so it's just a no-go for the moment.
I hope you found this deal useful, and be sure to let us know if you have any questions in the comments below. You can also reach me on Twitter @dealsfoundry, where we're tweeting deals as we find them - very useful for big ticket items like the PS5, Xbox Series X, RTX 30-series graphics and Ryzen 5000 processors where stock can be exhausted in a matter of seconds. You can also find all of our Black Friday deals on Eurogamer right here.
Will you support the Digital Foundry team?
Digital Foundry specialises in technical analysis of gaming hardware and software, using state-of-the-art capture systems and bespoke software to show you how well games and hardware run, visualising precisely what they're capable of. In order to show you what 4K gaming actually looks like we needed to build our own platform to supply high quality 4K video for offline viewing. So we did.
Our videos are multi-gigabyte files and we've chosen a high quality provider to ensure fast downloads. However, that bandwidth isn't free and so we charge a small monthly subscription fee of €5. We think it's a small price to pay for unlimited access to top-tier quality encodes of our content. Thank you.
© Provided by GamesRadar Black Friday SSDBlack Friday SSD deals could be the hot ticket item this year, as they've not only been reducing in price but are also one of the main features of both PS5 and Xbox Series X. The increased speed and performance of these SSDs also make them an essential part of the best gaming laptops and best gaming PCs, which means you really need to be considering investing in one – be it external or internal – to bolster your console or computer storage capacity. Taking that into account, we've been seeking out the best offers (not to mention Black Friday external hard drive discounts) that form part of the wider upcoming Black Friday deals.
Black Friday retailers
US:
Amazon | Best Buy | NeweggUK:Amazon | Currys | Argos
On the fence about investing in Black Friday SSD deals? Although they can be expensive, it's worthwhile. SSD stands for 'Solid State Drive', and these storage devices make booting your system and loading programs so much faster. Seriously, it's night and day. You can see for yourself by looking at the Series X's loading times. As such, SSDs are absolutely worth considering if your device is compatible with them.
Not that Black Friday external hard drive offers aren't worth your time. If you just want to store game installs and clear space on your system's core memory, HDDs are incredibly useful accessories too. You can get masses of storage at reasonable prices, and they'll usually be cheaper than Black Friday SSD deals as well.
We've got offers on both below. For more, be sure to check out our guide on the PS4 SSD you should look out for, the best PS4 external hard drive, and the best Xbox One external hard drive.
Still fuzzy on the difference between solid state and hard drives? Take a look at our handy explainer on SSD vs HDD.
Black Friday SSD
If you want to speed up your PC or get some quick storage for your console, the Black Friday SSD deals are your best chance. The sales event of the year is guaranteed to push prices down, especially with renewed interest thanks to the arrival of next-gen consoles (if interest in PS5 deals and Xbox Series X deals are anything to go by, more people than ever are keen to embrace faster loading).
If you are buying for your new console, be warned - not all of these offers will run Xbox games as fast as the Xbox Series X's internal storage. That's because Microsoft is offering a special 'Storage Expansion Card' of its own. We've linked to discounts on this below.
Similarly, PlayStation users who want an SSD fast enough to keep up with the PS5 will have to choose from a selection of NVMe drives confirmed to work with the system - the Western Digital SN850 is a good example - but will have to wait for an official list of approved models.
External SSD
These SSDs are separate to the console, laptop, or PC you want to use them with. They act like a massive USB thumbstick - only a whole lot faster, and with much more space. Our favorites can be found below, including brands like Samsung and SanDisk.
US deals
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung T7 500GB External SSD | $89.99 at Amazon
We regularly rate Samsung drives when it comes to offering our recommendations, and for under a hundred bucks you can get yourself this nifty portably SSD. Blue finish not doing it for you? You can also get it in Red or Gray for the same price, saving $20.
UK deals
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung T5 500GB External SSD | £87.60 at Amazon
Samsung always feature highly on our recommendations list, and this handy portable SSD is down to less than half price at the moment. If you need a bit more space on the go, then you can double up to the 1TB model for £138.79 and still save over fifty pounds.
Internal SSDs
In contrast to external models, these SSDs (and SSHDs) can be fitted into your PC, or current-gen PS4 console if they match the required 2.5' SATA form. In terms of next-gen PS5 internal SSDs, while we wait for Sony's list of approved models, your best picks are likely to be from WD's Black range which we've included a couple of below.
US deals
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB Internal SSD | $149.99 at Amazon
Not only does this NVMe M.2 internal SSD add 1TB of rapid read and write capability to your machine, but it's currently reduced by $100. If you don't need that much space, you can drop down to the 500GB version for just $89.99, which is a third off.
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung 860 EVO 1TB Internal SSD | $119.99 at Amazon
For wider compatibility, this SATA 3 internal SSD can be used in a number of settings while providing read and write speeds exceeding 500 MB/s, and it's currently down 40%. The smaller version provides even more storage per buck, giving you 500GB for just $54.99.
UK deals
© Provided by GamesRadarSamsung 970 EVO 1TB Internal SSD | £130.97 at Amazon
Currently less than half price, this NVMe M.2 internal SSD offers super fast read and write speeds, and with a whole 1TB of storage space it provides great value for money. If you need even more room for storage, you can also get the EVO Plus 2TB version for just £285.92, which is 35% off.
© Provided by GamesRadarHikvision mac safari plugin. WD Blue SN550 1TB Internal SSD | £89.98 at Amazon
If you're looking for an entry level internal SSD, then this NVMe M.2 drive from Western Digital offers a whole 1TB of storage space for well under a hundred pounds, which is great value. Should you need something even smaller, you can drop down to the 500GB version for just £56.98, saving you 25%
Black Friday external hard drives
If you want somewhere to put your game installs so you can clear space on your main console or PC storage unit (or rotate game installs as and when you need them), standard hard drives are the way to go. They're generally cheaper than SSDs, and Black Friday external hard drive deals are probably going to push that price tag even lower.
Alright, so they're not as fast. But if you're after capacity rather than speed then these are still the way forward - even though the SSD prices will be tempting.
US deals
© Provided by GamesRadarToshiba Canvio Basics 2TB External HDD | $58.49 at Amazon
This Toshiba Canvio gives you a big chunk of extra storage at a very reasonable price, so it's the perfect entry level for a basic external hard drive with 2TB of space.
© Provided by GamesRadarWD Elements 4TB External HDD | $89.99 at Amazon
Western Digital is always a great and reliable choice for expanding your storage, no matter what device you're connecting it to. With this external HDD you can add a massive 4TB of storage for under a hundred dollars, which should be more than enough to keep you going for a while.
UK deals
© Provided by GamesRadarToshiba Canvio Advance 2TB External HDD | £50.79 at Amazon
The Toshiba Canvio range has long been a great entry point for adding external storage to your devices, and you can't really go wrong when you're getting 2TB of space for just fifty pounds.
External Hard Drive Mac Black Friday Computers
© Provided by GamesRadarWD My Passport 4TB External HDD | £86.99 at Amazon
Whether connected to a PC or console, Western Digital drives are always reliable and offer great value, meaning you can get a whopping 4TB of space for well below a hundred pounds. If you want to brighten things up, you can also get the Red version for the same great price.
Want more offers? Be sure to check out the best Black Friday Lego deals, Black Friday gaming deals, Black Friday gaming laptop offers, and Black Friday board game deals via our dedicated guides.