When Sony first launched the PlayStation 5, the console got here with a paltry 1TB of storage. On the time, it wasn’t attainable so as to add more room by means of the system’s SSD enlargement slot. Fortunately, that rapidly modified with a software update that arrived lower than a 12 months later. Since July 2023, Sony has allowed PS5 customers so as to add as much as 8TB of further storage to their system. It’s a very good factor too, with simply how large some recreation installs are this console era. Even when contemplating the PS5 Pro and its 2TB of built-in storage, it gained’t take lengthy for a devoted gamer to refill the included SSD. It should take even much less time with the usual mannequin’s 667GB of accessible storage.
The excellent news is a regular PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD can clear up all your PS5 storage woes. If that mess of acronyms has you recoiling, don’t fear: you’ll see that it’s not all that sophisticated. And if all you wish to know is what one of the best PS5 SSDs are, they’re proper on the prime.
Learn extra: These are the best SSDs in 2024
Finest PS5 SSDs in 2024
Corsair
Capability: As much as 8TB | Sequential learn efficiency: 7,100MB/s | Sequential write efficiency: 6,800MB/s | Connection: M.2
The Corsair MP600 Pro LPX makes it to the highest of our record for one of the best PS5 SSD for being the whole bundle. It’s quick, presents glorious efficiency and skim speeds of as much as 7,100MB/s. It additionally comes with a pre-installed heatsink and a five-year guarantee.
Better of all, the MP600 is reasonably priced. After launching at $190, you possibly can routinely discover the 1TB variant on sale for as little as $80, whereas the 2TB mannequin fluctuates in value between $110 and $150. The 4TB and 8TB fashions are much less of a discount. The MP600 can also be not the quickest NVMe on this record. Nonetheless, so far as no-fuss choices go, it’s arduous to beat.
- Constructed-in heatsink
- Inexpensive
- Not the quickest Gen4 mannequin
Essential
Capability: As much as 4TB | Learn efficiency: 7,300MB/s | Write efficiency: 6,800 MB/s | Connection: M.2
If you wish to save a bit of cash by putting in your personal heatsink, the Crucial T500 is a good possibility. With learn speeds of as much as 7,300MB/s, it surpasses Sony’s technical necessities, and you’ll regularly discover the 1TB mannequin on sale for as little as $60. Essential additionally presents a model with a heatsink, so it’s value including each the Corsair MP600 and Essential T500 to a value watch record and shopping for whichever mannequin is cheaper once you’re able to improve your PS5.
- Quick
- Out there with or with out heatsink
SABRENT
Capability: As much as 8TB | Sequential learn efficiency: 7,000MB/s | Sequential write efficiency: 6,600MB/s | Connection: M.2
Of all of the SSDs on this record, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is essentially the most fascinating. It comes with a novel heatsink that you simply set up rather than the storage enlargement slot’s steel cowl. Sabrent claims this design improves cooling efficiency. Because of this, count on to pay greater than you’ll for a mannequin with a generic heatsink, with the 1TB variant coming in at round $110 and the 2TB mannequin costing between $220 and $280.
- PS5-specific heatsink design
- Not as quick as different choices
- Costly relative to different drives
SAMSUNG
Capability: As much as 4TB | Learn efficiency: 1,050MB/s | Write efficiency: 1,000MB/s | Connection: USB 3.0
As I clarify under, you possibly can’t run PS5 video games from an exterior drive — however you should utilize one to retailer any video games you aren’t enjoying in the intervening time, together with older PS4 video games.
Certainly one of my favourite moveable drives is the Samsung T7. It may possibly write recordsdata at a speedy 1,000 MB/s. When you plan to make use of the drive solely for at-home use, it can save you cash by shopping for the common mannequin as an alternative of the ruggedized Protect variant. I’ve been utilizing T7 drives to retailer my photographs, music and video games for years, and so they have but to fail me. The newest mannequin, the Samsung T9, boasts learn/write speeds of as much as 2,000MB/s.
- Inexpensive
- Dependable
- Rugged variant obtainable
- Can’t play PS5 video games from exterior drive
How we take a look at PS5 SSDs
I’ve examined a lot of the SSDs advisable on this record, both for PS5 or laptop use. I additionally purchased and used our prime decide in my very own PS5.
How a lot PS5 storage do I want?
The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro can settle for inner drives with between 250GB and 8TB of storage capability. When you already personal a PS5, chances are high you’ve gotten an inexpensive thought of how a lot storage you want in your recreation library. When you’re shopping for an SSD with a brand new PS5 or PS5 Professional, or shopping for for another person, it’s harder to inform what you may want for a high-performance expertise.
PS5 video games are smaller on common than their PS4 equivalents, sometimes taking on between 30GB and 100GB, with some notable (and very fashionable) exceptions. When you’re a fan of the Name of Responsibility collection, putting in Black Ops 6 and Warzone 2.0 can eat as much as 240GB. In different phrases, a full Name of Responsibility set up will take up greater than one-third of the PS5’s inner storage. When you’re not a CoD fan, although, chances are high you’ll be good to retailer between six to 10 video games on an everyday PS5 internally earlier than working into issues.
You additionally want to think about your web pace. When you reside in an space with sluggish broadband, the “you possibly can simply obtain it once more” rationale doesn’t actually work. At my outdated dwelling, a 100GB obtain took me round eight hours, throughout which era it was tough to concurrently watch Twitch or, say, publish articles about upgrading PS5 SSDs. Holding video games round on the off-chance you’ll wish to play them sooner or later is sensible.
Off the bat, there’s mainly no level in going for a 250GB PS5 SSD. Economically, 250GB drives aren’t that less expensive than 500GB ones — and virtually, that actually isn’t numerous house for contemporary video games to reside on. 500GB drives is usually a first rate possibility, however after years of declining costs, I feel the candy spot for most individuals is to go for a high-capacity 1TB or 2TB drive, which ought to run you at most $200. The latter will greater than double the PS5 Professional’s storage with out breaking the financial institution.
Except you’re rolling in money and wish to flex, 4TB and 8TB fashions ought to largely be averted, as you’ll find yourself paying extra per gigabyte than you’ll with a 1TB or 2TB drive.
Whereas the 825GB PS5 solely supplies 667GB of storage, that’s largely as a result of storage being reserved for the working system and caching. When you set up a 1TB PS5 SSD, you will have, inside a margin of error, 1TB of storage obtainable for video games. Out of the field, the PS5 Professional presents 1.86TB of storage for video games, although you possibly can eke out extra for those who delete the pre-installed Astro’s Playroom (gasp).
Since neither the PS5 Slim nor PS5 Professional function up to date CPU structure, all of our suggestions will work with no matter PS5 mannequin you personal.
Are you able to play PS5 video games on an exterior SSD?
Exterior arduous drives are likely to value lower than inner SSD counterparts (and there’s a very good likelihood you may personal one already). Sadly, there are restrictions on what you are able to do with them. An exterior SSD connects to your PS5 by way of USB, and is simply appropriate for taking part in PlayStation 4 video games, or storing PS5 titles. That’s helpful when you have something however one of the best high-speed web — it’s sooner to maneuver a PS5 recreation out of “chilly storage” on an exterior drive than it’s to re-download it — or wish to maintain your PS4 library readily available.
Because of the limitations right here, you don’t want the highest-performing mannequin, though you need to go for SSDs over HDDs for improved switch speeds and cargo occasions. Any fundamental moveable drive from a good model will do, with the Essential X9 Professional and Samsung T7 being choices we’ve tried and may suggest.
Which SSD playing cards are appropriate with the PS5?
The official answer to this query is an “M.2 Socket 3 (Key M) Gen4 x4 NVME SSD.” However even inside that seemingly particular description, there are further components to think about. The primary necessities Sony has laid out for compatibility come down to hurry, cooling and bodily dimensions.
For pace, Sony says drives ought to be capable to deal with sequential reads at 5,500MB/s. Early testing confirmed that the PS5 would settle for drives as sluggish as 4,800MB/s, and that video games that faucet into the SSD recurrently — comparable to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart — would trigger no points. Just about the one factor the PS5 will outright reject is one that does not match the Gen4 x4 spec.
In our opinion, although, utilizing a drive slower than the specification is a danger that, for those who don’t have already got that drive mendacity round, isn’t value taking. Simply because we haven’t discovered points but doesn’t imply there gained’t be video games that might be problematic sooner or later. The value distinction between these marginally slower Gen4 drives and those that meet Sony’s spec isn’t enormous, and also you may as effectively cowl all of your bases.
Barely extra sophisticated than pace is cooling and dimension. Most new SSDs are going to be simply tremendous; the PS5 can match 22mm-wide SSDs of just about any size (30mm, 40mm, 60mm, 80mm or 110mm, to be exact). The overwhelming majority of drives you discover shall be 22mm broad and 80mm lengthy, so no downside there.
It must be famous that the system can match a 25mm-wide drive, however that width should embody the cooling answer. Talking of, Sony says SSDs require “efficient warmth dissipation with a cooling construction, comparable to a heatsink.” The utmost peak supported by Sony’s slot is 11.25mm, of which solely 2.45mm could be “under” the drive.
This beforehand meant a number of the hottest heatsinked Gen4 SSDs, together with Corsair’s MP600 Professional LP, wouldn’t match inside the PS5’s storage enlargement slot. Since Engadget first printed this information in 2021, most NVMe makers, together with Samsung, have come out with PlayStation-specific fashions that meet these necessities. That mentioned, if you wish to avoid wasting cash, naked drives are sometimes cheaper and it’s trivial to discover a cooling answer that may work for the PS5.
The one element in an NVMe SSD that actually requires cooling is the controller, which with no heatsink will fortunately sear a (very small) steak. Most SSDs have chips on just one facet, however even on double-sided SSDs, the controller is prone to be on prime, as producers understand it must be positioned there to higher dissipate warmth.
So, head to your PC element vendor of selection and decide up mainly something that meets the advisable dimensions. search time period is “laptop computer NVME heatsink,” as these shall be designed to slot in the confines of gaming laptops, that are much more restrictive than a PS5. They’re additionally sometimes cheaper than those labeled as “PS5 heatsinks.”
One suggestion is that this $6 copper heatsink, which attaches to the PS5 SSD with sticky thermal interface materials. It really works simply tremendous, and in performing stress assessments on a PC, we couldn’t discover something steel that didn’t maintain temperatures underneath management. If you’re looking, simply be sure the answer you go for measures not more than 25mm broad or 8mm tall (together with the thermal interface materials) and has a easy methodology of set up that’s not going to trigger any complications.
One very last thing: When purchasing for a PS5 NVMe, there’s no motive to purchase a Gen5 mannequin over a extra reasonably priced Gen4 mannequin. As issues stand, Sony’s console can’t benefit from the brand new customary, and although Gen5 drives are backward appropriate, they’re costlier than their Gen4 counterparts. Simply purchase the quickest and highest-capacity Gen4 mannequin you possibly can afford.
The best way to set up an SSD into your PS5
When you want steering on how to install your new NVMe into your PS5 or PS5 Professional, we have now a separate information detailing all of the steps right here. Set up is fairly simple, however our how-to may help you for those who’re caught. Simply make be aware: Earlier than trying so as to add extra storage by way of a PS5 SSD, guarantee that you’ve Sony’s latest software installed.
Trending Merchandise
