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 extra space by means of the system’s SSD growth slot. Fortunately, that shortly 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 superb factor too, with simply how huge some recreation installs are this console era. Even when contemplating the PS5 Pro and its 2TB of built-in storage, it received’t take lengthy for a devoted gamer to refill the included SSD. It’s going to take even much less time with the usual mannequin’s 667GB of accessible storage.
The excellent news is a normal PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD can clear up your whole PS5 storage woes. If that mess of acronyms has you recoiling, don’t fear: you’ll see that it’s not all that difficult. And if all you need to know is what one of the best PS5 SSDs are, they’re proper on the high.
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 checklist for one of the best PS5 SSD for being the whole bundle. It’s quick, affords glorious efficiency and browse 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’ll be able to routinely discover the 1TB variant on sale for as little as $80, whereas the 2TB mannequin fluctuates in worth between $110 and $150. The 4TB and 8TB fashions are much less of a cut price. The MP600 can be not the quickest NVMe on this checklist. Nonetheless, so far as no-fuss choices go, it’s exhausting to beat.
- Constructed-in heatsink
- Reasonably priced
- 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 incessantly discover the 1TB mannequin on sale for as little as $60. Essential additionally affords a model with a heatsink, so it’s value including each the Corsair MP600 and Essential T500 to a worth watch checklist and shopping for whichever mannequin is cheaper once you’re able to improve your PS5.
- Quick
- Obtainable 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 checklist, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is probably the most fascinating. It comes with a novel heatsink that you simply set up instead of the storage growth slot’s metallic cowl. Sabrent claims this design improves cooling efficiency. Consequently, anticipate 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 beneath, you’ll be able to’t run PS5 video games from an exterior drive — however you should utilize one to retailer any video games you aren’t taking part in in the mean time, together with older PS4 video games.
One in every of my favourite transportable 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 Defend variant. I’ve been utilizing T7 drives to retailer my images, music and video games for years, they usually have but to fail me. The newest mannequin, the Samsung T9, boasts learn/write speeds of as much as 2,000MB/s.
- Reasonably priced
- Dependable
- Rugged variant out there
- Can’t play PS5 video games from exterior drive
How we take a look at PS5 SSDs
I’ve examined many of the SSDs really helpful on this checklist, both for PS5 or pc use. I additionally purchased and used our high decide in my very own PS5.
How a lot PS5 storage do I would like?
The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro can settle for inside drives with between 250GB and 8TB of storage capability. When you already personal a PS5, likelihood is you’ve an inexpensive thought of how a lot storage you want on 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 tougher to inform what you would possibly want for a high-performance expertise.
PS5 video games are smaller on common than their PS4 equivalents, usually taking on between 30GB and 100GB, with some notable (and very talked-about) exceptions. When you’re a fan of the Name of Obligation sequence, putting in Black Ops 6 and Warzone 2.0 can eat as much as 240GB. In different phrases, a full Name of Obligation set up will take up greater than one-third of the PS5’s inside storage. When you’re not a CoD fan, although, likelihood is you’ll be good to retailer between six to 10 video games on a daily PS5 internally earlier than operating into issues.
You additionally want to contemplate your web pace. When you dwell in an space with sluggish broadband, the “you’ll be able to simply obtain it once more” rationale doesn’t actually work. At my outdated dwelling, a 100GB obtain took me round eight hours, throughout which period it was troublesome to concurrently watch Twitch or, say, publish articles about upgrading PS5 SSDs. Preserving video games round on the off-chance you’ll need to play them sooner or later is smart.
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 loads of house for contemporary video games to dwell 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.
Until you’re rolling in money and need to flex, 4TB and 8TB fashions ought to largely be prevented, 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 because of storage being reserved for the working system and caching. When you set up a 1TB PS5 SSD, you may have, inside a margin of error, 1TB of storage out there for video games. Out of the field, the PS5 Professional affords 1.86TB of storage for video games, although you’ll be able to eke out extra if you happen to 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 exhausting drives are inclined to value lower than inside SSD counterparts (and there’s a superb likelihood you would possibly personal one already). Sadly, there are restrictions on what you are able to do with them. An exterior SSD connects to your PS5 through USB, and is just appropriate for taking part in PlayStation 4 video games, or storing PS5 titles. That’s helpful when you’ve got something however one of the best high-speed web — it’s quicker to maneuver a PS5 recreation out of “chilly storage” on an exterior drive than it’s to re-download it — or need to hold your PS4 library available.
As a result of limitations right here, you don’t want the highest-performing mannequin, though you must go for SSDs over HDDs for improved switch speeds and cargo instances. Any primary transportable 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 elements to contemplate. 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 repeatedly — similar 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, if you happen to don’t have already got that drive mendacity round, is just not value taking. Simply because we haven’t discovered points but doesn’t imply there received’t be video games that might be problematic sooner or later. The worth distinction between these marginally slower Gen4 drives and those that meet Sony’s spec isn’t enormous, and also you would possibly as effectively cowl all of your bases.
Barely extra difficult than pace is cooling and measurement. Most new SSDs are going to be simply positive; the PS5 can match 22mm-wide SSDs of nearly any size (30mm, 40mm, 60mm, 80mm or 110mm, to be exact). The overwhelming majority of drives you discover will likely be 22mm vast and 80mm lengthy, so no drawback there.
It must be famous that the system can match a 25mm-wide drive, however that width should embrace the cooling answer. Talking of, Sony says SSDs require “efficient warmth dissipation with a cooling construction, similar to a heatsink.” The utmost peak supported by Sony’s slot is 11.25mm, of which solely 2.45mm may be “beneath” the drive.
This beforehand meant among the hottest heatsinked Gen4 SSDs, together with Corsair’s MP600 Professional LP, wouldn’t match throughout the PS5’s storage growth slot. Since Engadget first revealed 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 part in an NVMe SSD that actually requires cooling is the controller, which with out a 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 more likely to be on high, as producers realize it must be positioned there to higher dissipate warmth.
So, head to your PC part vendor of selection and decide up mainly something that meets the really helpful dimensions. An excellent search time period is “laptop computer NVME heatsink,” as these will likely be designed to slot in the confines of gaming laptops, that are much more restrictive than a PS5. They’re additionally usually 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 positive, and in performing stress assessments on a PC, we couldn’t discover something metallic that didn’t hold temperatures underneath management. Once you’re looking, simply ensure the answer you go for measures not more than 25mm vast 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 last item: When searching 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 reap the benefits of the brand new normal, and although Gen5 drives are backward appropriate, they’re costlier than their Gen4 counterparts. Simply purchase the quickest and highest-capacity Gen4 mannequin you’ll be able to afford.
Find out how to set up an SSD into your PS5
When you want steerage on how to install your new NVMe into your PS5 or PS5 Professional, now we have a separate information detailing all of the steps right here. Set up is fairly simple, however our how-to may also help you if you happen to’re caught. Simply make word: Earlier than making an attempt so as to add extra storage through a PS5 SSD, guarantee that you’ve got Sony’s latest software installed.
