Even the smallest video game can take a long time to produce. Games are complex beasts at every level and developers can spend years toiling away bringing an artistic vision to life. Just look at The Artful Escape.
First debuted at E3 2017, The Artful …
Starting today, PS5 owners can choose to upgrade their storage with M.2 solid state drives. You’ll want to be familiar with the SSD requirements and be comfortable with taking apart your PS5 (it’s not simple plug and play). 1TB solid state drives that work with the PS5 are too expensive to be considered deals; you’d expect to pay 40%-50% the cost of the PS5 itself. 500GB is the sweet spot. It’s still a healthy storage boost and it won’t burn a hole in your wallet. Other deals today include the lowest price ever on the MacBook Air with M1 chip, 40% off The Lord of the Rings Illustrated Hardcover preorder, and 27% off Apple AirPods Pro.
Sony released a new beta update for PS5 owners that allow the installation and use of M.2 solid state drives. Before you get too excited though, be aware that the SSD requirements are very strict; the budget M.2 SSDs like the Samsung 980, WD SN750, or the Crucial P5 might not fly. At the bare minimum, the PS5 requires a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD with a recommended speed of 5,500Mbps or higher. In other words, you’ll be paying a pretty penny if you want maximum speed out of your storage upgrade.
Samsung is one of the most popular and reliable SSD brands, and the 980 offers 6,900Mbps transfer speeds and a PCIe Gen4 interface at a price that won’t break the bank. Performance-wise it will blow any standard SATA SSD or hard drive out of the water. It’s designed to run optimally even without a heatsink (it’s supposed to withstand torrid PC temps, and the PS5 is essentially a proprietary gaming PC), but it’s also very simple to install one on your own.
For those of you who insist on following Sony’s guidelines to the letter but don’t want to install a heatsink yourself, the WD Black SN850 solid state drive with pre-attached heatsink will cover all your bases. This is a blazing fast drive with transfer speeds rated at up to 7,000 MB/s and a PCIe Gen4 interface. There are faster and far pricier options available, but I doubt you’ll notice any real world performance difference in a PS5 console.
If the idea of taking apart your PS5 to install an SSD sounds too daunting for you, there’s always the much easier and more convenient route of plugging in an external storage drive. The Samsung T7 SSD is as fast as it gets in that department. The PS5 has USB ports that support Gen2 speeds (up to 10Gbps) and this SSD supports USB 3.2 Gen2, so it’s practically a match made in heaven. It’s normally $100 for the 500GB model (portable SSD drives are typically pricier than internal ones), but you’re saving 30% off with this deal. Of course it won’t be as fast as an M.2 SSD, but it’s easier, cheaper, and you’ll be able to use it for other things.
This is an interesting SSD to consider as well. It’s easily the lowest priced 1TB M.2 SSD we’ve seen that *almost* fulfills all of the PS5 SSD recommended specs. The only caveat is that it boasts 4,950Mbps read speeds, just slightly less than the 5,500Mbps. Sony’s official statement is that 5,500Mbps is recommended, but not required. This is a PCIe Gen4 model and it even includes a heatsink (which is removable if there are installation issues).
Amazon is offering the lowest price ever on the new MacBook Air with M1 chip. You can save $150 off compared to buying directly from the Apple Store. Reviews show that the new M1 chip is a veritable speed demon; it offers better performance while generating less heat and consuming less power than any of the Intel chips that Apple used in previous models.
This deal is always popular with the IGN crowd when it comes along. Monster Energy Drinks usually cost about $2-$3 apiece at your local convenience store. On sale you might be lucky to find them for about $1.50. This deal lets you cop a 24-pack for only $1.05 apiece. Get it to under $1 per can if you add a total of five items to your current Amazon Subscribe & Save order. This is in my opinion the best tasting of the zero calorie energy drinks.
The Dyson AM11 fan costs an outrageous $400 new! You’re getting this refurbished model directly from Dyson (via Walmart), and it carries a very respectable 6 month warranty. The AM11 functions as a bladeless tower fan (ward against inquisitive fingers) and as a true HEPA air purifier that filters out 99.97% of allergens and pollutants as small as 0.3 microns.
This LotR Illustrated Hardcover Edition hasn’t been released yet (it’s out October 19), but it just saw it’s second massive price drop today. Last week this book was discounted for the first time ever from $75 down to $59.99 (20% off). Today, there’s yet another discount for a total of 40% off the original price. If you’ve already preordered this book, don’t fret; Amazon will automatically guarantee you the lowest price. This massive 1,200+ page tome includes illustrations from author JRR Tolkien, for the first time in any edition of the series since 1954.
If you regret not picking the Airpods Pro up on Amazon Prime Day at 24% off, here’s your chance to get it today at the same price. The AirPods Pro is considered one of the best noise-cancelling in-ear headphones you can get, especially for under $200, and it’s significantly better than even the vanilla AirPods.
Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends roughly 1/4 of his income on stuff he posts. Check out the IGN Deals articles and subscribe to the IGN Deals Twitter page.
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Unique scoring system
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Enlarge / A em>Warcraft-themed statue sites in front of the Blizzard employee campus.
Flickr / gordontarpley
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It…
