 |
|
|
|||||
While Black Friday itself may be a week away, many retailers have already kicked off their official holiday sales. That means its a better time than usual to be in the market for new storage gear. If you have a PC, tablet, gaming handheld or any other device in need of a boost, weve rounded up the best Black Friday SSD and storage deals we could find below. Before you dive in, keep in mind that storage prices have generally trended upwards in the past year, so many of the discounts below arent quite all-time lows. Still, some are, and each is at least the best price weve seen in several months. Well update this post as prices change and more discounts pop up over the next week. WD Black SN850X (2TB) PCIe 4.0 SSD for $125 at Amazon ($65 off): The speedy WD Black SN850X is the top PCIe 4.0 drive in our guide to the best SSDs, so its a fine default choice for gaming or general use. This is far from the 2TB models best-ever price, but its the largest discount weve seen in 2024. Also at Newegg. If youre buying for a PS5, a version with a heatsink is on sale for $9 more. And if you need (tons) more space, the 8TB variant is down to a new low of $550. Crucial T705 (1TB) PCIe 5.0 SSD with heatsink for $130 at Amazon ($136 off): Most people dont need to pay extra for a superfast PCIe 5.0 drive like the T705, but if you want the absolute best and you have a compatible motherboard its raw performance is almost unmatched. This is the lowest price weve tracked for the 1TB model with a heatsink. Also at B&H. If you already have a compatible heatsink, the standard version is available for $10 less, which is another all-time low. Crucial P3 (2TB) PCIe 3.0 SSD for $105 at Amazon ($50 off): If youre looking to upgrade an older system, the Crucial P3 is the PCIe 3.0 pick in our SSD buying guide. This deal is well off the 2TB versions all-time low it sat in the $75 range this time last year but its the best price we could find since February. Also at B&H, Best Buy and others. The Crucial X9 Pro.Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget Crucial X9 Pro (1TB) portable SSD for $80 at Amazon ($21 off): The Crucial X9 Pro is our pick for the best portable SSD, offering dependable performance for most everyday tasks in a rugged and compact design. The 1TB version fell as low as $60 last year, but this is the largest discount weve seen in 2024. Its a similar situation for the 2TB model, which is down to $120. Also at Crucial, B&H and Best Buy. Kingston XS1000 (1TB) portable SSD for $64 at Amazon ($21 off): The Kingston XS1000 is the runner up in our portable SSD guide. It performs similarly to the X9 Pro across the board, but its not water-resistant, it doesnt come with a USB-C to USB-C cable and it gets a little toastier with extended use. Still, its a great value. This deal comes within a dollar of the 1TB models all-time low. Also at Kingston. If you need something roomier, the 2TB version is about $18 off its usual street price at $102. Crucial X10 Pro (1TB) portable SSD for $91 at Amazon ($59 off): The X10 Pro is essentially a faster version of our favorite portable SSD, though youll only see the difference if you have a device that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 speeds. This deal beats the 1TB drives previous low by a buck. Also at Crucial, B&H and Best Buy. Samsung Fit Plus (256GB) USB flash drive for $19 at Amazon ($6 off): The ultracompact Fit Plus is the thumb drive we recommend in our SSD buying guide. Its not crazy fast, but itll do the job for the basics, and its small enough to fit on a keychain. While not an all-time low, this modest discount brings the 256GB variant down to its lowest price since January. Also at B&H. The Kingston Canvas Go Plus.Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget Kingston Canvas Go Plus (128GB) microSD card for $11 at B&H ($6 off): We call the Canvas Go Plus a strong choice in our guide to the best microSD cards. Its sequential write speeds aren't the best, so its not great for recording video or downloading lots of media, but its close enough to our top pick otherwise. This is the lowest price weve seen for the 128GB version. Samsung Evo Select (2024) (256GB) microSD card for $18 at Amazon ($4 off): The Evo Select is our favorite microSD card in the budget bracket. Its mediocre write speeds make it less-than-ideal in a camera, but it should yield few complaints for most people just looking to add space to a Nintendo Switch or Fire tablet on the cheap. Weve seen the last-gen version of the card sell for less, but this is a new low for the new generation 256GB model, which brings the sequential reads more in line with the higher-tier Samsung Pro Plus. Also at B&H and Samsung. Lexar Professional 1066x (1TB) microSD card for $70 at Amazon ($19 off): Its not a formal pick in our guide, but the Lexar Professional 1066x is a perfectly serviceable card for most storage needs thats worth considering when its on sale. This is a new low for the 1TB variant. SanDisk Ultra (1.5TB) microSD card for $89 at Amazon ($21 off): The Ultra is slower than the cards we recommend in our buying guide, particularly when it comes to write speeds, so you wont want to stress it too hard with large file transfers. But if you dont really care about raw performance and want a huge chunk of space for as little cash as possible, it should be fine enough. This deal comes within a couple bucks of the 1.5TB models lowest-ever price. Also at SanDisk and B&H. The WD Black C50.WD Crucial P310 (1TB) M.2 2230 SSD for $70 at Amazon ($102 off): The P310 is a small-size SSD you can slot into compact devices like the Steam Deck or Microsofts Surface notebooks. It uses cheaper QLC memory, not the faster and more durable TLC, but other reviews suggest that it still performs well for what it is. This is a new low for the 1TB model. The 2TB version is down to its best price yet at $140 as well. Also at Crucial and B&H. WD Black C50 Expansion Card for Xbox (1TB) for $99 at Amazon ($59 off): Its aggravating, but the only way to fully increase the storage of an Xbox Series X/S is to use a proprietary expansion card. Only two of those currently exist, but the C50 is one, and this discount drops the 1TB model to a new low. Its normally sold for roughly $40 more in recent months. Is this still expensive compared to many SSDs with the same capacity? Sure. But any extra savings should be welcome. Also at Best Buy. A 512GB model is a couple bucks above its all-time low at $68 as well. Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X/S (2TB) for $200 at Amazon ($160 off): Seagate makes the other official storage expansion card for the Xbox Series X/S. This discount isnt the best weve ever seen, and its been live for most of the month, but its still about $30 to $50 below the 2TB models typical street price. Theres little performance difference between this and the C50, so which is best merely comes down to how much space you need and whatever one costs less. Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-black-friday-ssd-deals-from-samsung-wd-crucial-and-others-173947658.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
When it comes to hot coffee, my preference is for pour-over. Sure, its a manual brewing method that takes time and attention, but I want all of the nuanced flavors and aromas that slow pouring extracts from the locally roasted coffee I resupply weekly. I can make as much or as little as I want (within the capacity of my Chemex, of course) and control all of the parameters of the process, varying them based on the characteristics of my beans. Plenty of companies have tried to offer a similar experience in a countertop drip machine, but many of them only get about halfway there. Enter the Fellow Aiden ($369). For the first time, an automatic brewer promising pour-over quality actually delivered. The machine can accurately and precisely maintain water temperature, even offering a bloom cycle to appropriately begin the extraction process. The Aiden has both guided brewing and minutely customizable options for achieving your ideal cup whether youre a beginner or youve been a coffee snob for decades. Its this abundance of control that sets Fellows machine apart, and why it actually gives you coffee that may have you ditching your pour-over dripper for good. Design Fellow is well known for its design prowess when it comes to coffee gear like grinders, kettles and drinkware. The company usually takes a more mechanical looking approach, with an aesthetic that resembles lab equipment instead of coffee devices. For the Aiden though, the company went for a more minimal design, giving it a plainer cube structure thats a lot more modern than many automatic drip machines on the market. It wont appeal to everyone, but I do think its unique. A removable water tank sits on the left, complete with volume markings for your desired quantity of coffee. You dont have to take the tank off to fill it, but if youre working from a faucet the fact that you can makes things easier. Inside the brewing chamber, theres a spray head adjustment which allows you to reconfigure the Aiden for single-cup use. The machine also comes with a second brew basket for this purpose that can deposit coffee straight into your favorite cup. Billy Steele for Engadget Down below, a double wall carafe provides enough heat retention to keep your coffee warm for a few hours. The lid doesnt close off the container entirely, but if you consume all of your morning joe in under three hours, youll be fine. I wouldve liked to see a second lid that would seal things to keep them at just-brewed temps, but Fellow did design the carafe so that it pours easily without a mess. I cant say the same for the 2020 model Moccamaster the Aiden replaced in my kitchen. Instead of the typical on/off switch, the Aiden has a one-button, knob-based interface where you make all of your selections. A small, circular display sits at the top left of the front panel, and turning the knob navigates the plethora of menu options. Once you find what youre looking for, simply press the dial to make a selection. (Reviewers note: The display on my review unit was damaged before it arrived, but since the machine still performed as intended, I didnt feel the need to return it just for that reason.) Pour-over performance There are dozens, maybe even hundreds, of automatic or semi-automatic drip coffee makers that promise the quality youd get in a manually brewed pour-over. Sadly, almost none of them actually deliver. Ive used a Moccamaster for four years, and while theres a lot to like about the machine, the straight-line arrangement of the shower head doesnt give you the even water distribution youd want for quality pour-over simulation. Other machines dont get hot enough, and many dont allow you to adjust the bloom cycle, water ratios or brew temperature. On the Aiden, Fellow addressed all of my gripes with machines Ive used in the past. First, the dual shower heads spouts are spaced out so that coffee grounds are evenly saturated throughout the bloom and brewing cycles. The two easily switchable modes mean you can make a full 10-cup carafe or as little as one cup with the same quality. You will have to keep two types of filters on hand for the two baskets, but those are much easier to store than a second, single-cup pod machine. This alone would be a big innovation for drip brewers, but the company didnt stop there. An infinitely customizable brewing system Billy Steele for Engadget Fellow also accounted for customization, another area where coffee nerds want room to experiment. The Aiden allows you to adjust brew temperature, coffee-to-water ratio and pulse behavior as much as youd like. You can dial in the number of pulses of water, the time between them and even set each one to be a different temperature. For the bloom cycle, Fellow unlocks duration, temperature and the bloom ratio (amount of water in the initial pour). Instead of having to live with the one setting a company programmed into its machine, youre in complete control of all of the parameters here. The degree with which you can dial in the brew cycle to your every whim is the biggest reason why the Aiden will be so attractive to serious coffee lovers. Whats more, another important piece of the machines customization abilities are brew profiles, so you dont have to start from scratch. If youre not familiar with the term, the best way to think about brew profiles is like recipes. The Aiden offers three out of te box light roast, medium roast and dark roast so you dont need to immediately start tweaking and saving things. But if your favorite coffee roaster is like mine (Hi, Vignette Coffee Roasters), it will offer brewing guidance for things like water ratios. Of course, those companies may not always nail your preferred flavor or strength, but they provide a good starting point since theyre aware of the nuances. And with the Aiden, youre able to actually employ that advice for each single origin or custom blend you use. Eventually, Fellow will allow roasters and coffee shops to create and share profiles so you can brew like they do in a cafe. If you subscribe to Fellow Drops, a coffee lineup curated by the company, your Aiden will be able to automatically download the profiles for the beans that are headed your way. Dont fret if you arent at that level of coffee snobbery just yet. The Aiden provides guided brewing based on those three roast profiles and your desired number of cups for quick and easy use. These arent just helpful for beginners, but also for the times when more advanced users want a pot of joe without much thought. I found them helpful on the weekends when I wasnt sure when Id be getting out of bed and didnt want to wake up to a cold pot of coffee. During the week though, the scheduling tool is a big advantage that much of the competition lacks. I would be remiss if I didnt discuss the Aidens heating system, since this tech is what enables to-the-degree temperature control throughout the brew cycle. Any moderate or advanced coffee lover knows that water temperature is a key aspect of brewing great coffee. Lots of automatic drip machines simply dont get hot enough to extract all of the flavor from the grounds, leaving you with a more muted flavor profile. Inside the Aiden though, Fellow designed a heating setup with single-degree precision that even lets you adjust temperatures while the machine is brewing without stalling the process. The way this machine heats water offers consistency and control that many coffee makers cant match. Theres also an Aiden app, but it doesnt do much right now. You can connect the machine to the software for firmware updates, to set the time and to name the brewer. Eventually, Fellow plans to enable the shareable profiles I mentioned earlier, in addition to scheduling and remote control from your phone. However, those items have been listed as coming soon since the Aidens launch in September. Ive asked Fellow for the current status and Ill update this review if I hear back. The competition Billy Steele for Enagadget Before I tested the Aiden, I used a Moccamaster KBT that I purchased in 2020. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to upgrade my coffee setup at home, where Id been brewing manual pour-overs via Chemex for years. I wanted something I could turn on and have it make coffee comparable to what Id been doing, and thats what I got. Moccamaster coffee machines have a reputation for being well-built and reliable, and I found that to be true. My KBT worked well daily, providing coffee that was more akin to pour-over quality than a much cheaper auto-drip brewer. The KBT still comes with an insulated carafe, although the 2020 model didnt have a pour spout like the updated version does. This made pouring difficult and often messy. And while the machine brews at temperatures between 196 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, the straight-line design of the shower head doesnt provide the best saturation during the brewing cycle. With all of that said, I still think Moccamaster machines are the best alternative to the Aiden. Theyre slightly cheaper, starting at $329, and will serve you well for years. Plus, there are options for glass carafes with heating elements if you prefer that to an insulated one. For many of the models though, youll have to live without an automatic drip stop when you remove the carafe during brewing. Theres a manual slider on the brew basket for most of the options, but an auto option is only available on machines like the KBGV Select. The 40-ounce Moccamaster models also brew about nine ounces less than the Aiden at max capacity (1.25 L/44 oz vs. 1.5 L/52.9 oz), so thats something else to consider. Its almost another full cup of coffee per pot. Wrap-up Its clear Fellow recognized all of the shortcomings of so-called pour-over simulators on the market when designing the Aiden. The company finally delivers on the promise of the smoothness and flavor of manually brewed coffee in an automatic drip machine. The Aiden gets hot enough, offers adequate saturation and segments the brew cycle just like you would for a pour-over or Chemex. Plus, theres a host of customization options, which allow you to dial in your process based on the beans youre using. Ad that means I can actually get rid of a lot of the clutter I needed for a single-cup pick-me-up.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/fellow-aiden-review-a-highly-customizable-pour-over-coffee-machine-172028575.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
"At least give us true cloud gaming." That's what I asked for at the end of my PlayStation Portal review, a $200 device I ultimately found frustrating because it could only do one thing: Stream games from your PlayStation 5. A year later, Sony has finally answered my prayers. The company has started testing cloud streaming on the Portal for PlayStation Plus Premium members, giving them instant access to more than 120 PS5 titles. And for once, I've started to hate this thing a bit less. After cloud streaming a bit of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Control and Demon's Souls, I have just one question for Sony: Why wasn't this on the PlayStation Portal when it launched a year ago? I was surprised to find that cloud streaming was far more reliable than the Portal's original PS5 remote play, which was (and remains) hit-or-miss. Sometimes it would work just great, giving me some precious Spider-Man 2 time on the couch, and sometimes it would just refuse to connect to the PS5 for no apparent reason. (And yes, I have a pretty solid gigabit internet setup and Wi-Fi 6 router.) When I originally tested the PlayStation Portal, it failed my key criteria for testing consumer electronics: I simply couldn't trust it. But Sony's cloud streaming changes that. Now, I can just hit the Cloud Play button on the Portal, wait 15 to 20 seconds to launch the service, and wait another 20 seconds or so to boot up my game of choice. It's not exactly quick, but it's not too far off from the process of booting up your console and waiting for a game to load up. While playing Control over the cloud, I was shocked by how clear and smooth it looked, with none of the latency I typically feel while streaming games. I also didn't see any of the video artifacts or lazy screen refreshing I sometimes encounter when playing cloud titles over Xbox Game Pass. Sonys Gaikai acquisition (along with OnLive) from over a decade ago may finally be paying off! Control ran at a smooth 60 fps in 1080p in its performance mode, and I had no trouble switching over to the ray-tracing filled 30 fps fidelity mode. I was also able to swap between quality settings in Miles Morales easily. I always opt for 60 fps when I can (that's one major reason I liked the PS5 Pro so much), so it was nice to see the Portal easily keeping up with that framerate. I spent 15 minutes swinging around Manhattan and tackling a few side missions, and it didn't feel that different from playing Spider-Man 2 in its full glory on the PS5 Pro. As with most cloud services, though, your experience will be determined by your own internet connection and the load on Sony's servers. Xbox cloud streaming got noticeably worse as more users jumped on the future, and it's unclear if Sony can handle a similar demand. The Portal's cloud streaming is also limited to the 120+ PS5 games in the PS Plus Premium service. There are some notable titles like The Last of Us: Part 1 and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, but most of the entries are older and not nearly as compelling (unless you're really excited to play Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures). And while you can normally stream digital games you own over PS Plus, Sony says that feature isnt available yet for the Portal. Still, its something that will likely pop up eventually. While it's nice to see Sony bring over cloud streaming to the PlayStation Portal, it's a feature that will mostly appeal to people who already have the device and are PS Plus Premium members. You know, the true PlayStation loyalists. And naturally, streaming requires a decent internet connection to work properly, so I still wouldn't recommend the Portal as your best portable gaming option while traveling. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Cloud play also doesn't fix my existing issues with the Portal. When I tried to compare it to Remote Play from the PS5 Pro on the Portal (above), it took me eight minutes to connect to the console. I eventually had to run downstairs, turn on the PS5 Pro manually and login for the Portal to work. So much for the convenience of remote play! Spider-Man 2 also looked worse in that mode, versus everything i saw over cloud streaming. Funny enough, this week Microsoft also announced a major streaming upgrade for the Xbox: The ability to play games you actually own, instead of being limited to what's in the Game Pass library. That feature doesn't work for every title, but it includes things like Baldur's Gate III and Cyberpunk 2077. I didn't have many purchased Xbox titles to stream (I'm mostly a PC player these days), but I was able to easily stream the Final Fantasy II HD Pixel Remake via XBPlay on the Steam Deck. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Forza Horizon 5 also looked decent over Xbox cloud streaming (above), but it was far from perfect. Text was fuzzy, textures weren't clear and artifacts constantly popped up as I raced around Mexico. It certainly didn't look as good as the games I saw on PlayStation Plus, or the higher-resolution streaming on services like NVIDIA's GeForce Now. If anything, the combined news from Sony and Microsoft this week is a sign these companies should devote a bit more energy to cloud streaming. We've been hearing about this technology for more than a decade, but the console makers have been dragging their heels when it comes to deploying and promoting it. (Microsoft's recent "This is an Xbox" marketing campaign is a bit cringe, but it's also the sort of thing the company should have been shouting from the rooftops for years.) With the rise of gaming handhelds, and the growing ambivalence towards expensive console hardware, cloud streaming has the potential to become far more useful. But to get there, Sony and Microsoft need to make more streaming leaps, instead of inconsistent steps forward.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sonys-cloud-streaming-makes-the-playstation-portal-far-more-useful-171038751.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||