One of the best SSDs for PS5 in 2024

When Sony released the PlayStation 5 in 2020, it wasn’t potential to increase the console’s storage. Fortunately, that modified with a software update that the corporate pushed out lower than a 12 months later. And with how massive some sport installs have change into lately, it’s a very good factor, too: the PS5’s built-in 667GB of area might have been adequate within the system’s first 12 months, however in 2024, the default drive is completely limiting.

The excellent news is a normal PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD can resolve 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 the perfect 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 the perfect PS5 SSD for being the whole bundle. It’s quick, providing wonderful 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 lower than $100, whereas the 2TB mannequin will set you again between $160 and $210. It’s not the quickest NVMe on this checklist, however so far as no-fuss choices go, it’s exhausting to beat the MP600.

Execs

• Constructed-in heatsink
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Not the quickest Gen4 mannequin

$95 at Amazon

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 individual heatsink, the Crucial T500 is a superb choice. With learn speeds of as much as 7,300MB/s, it greater than meets Sony’s technical necessities, and you may steadily discover the 1TB mannequin for as little as $60 when it’s on sale. Essential additionally provides 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 whenever you’re able to improve your PS5.

Execs

• Quick
• Out there with or with out heatsink

$82 at Amazon

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 attention-grabbing. It comes with a novel heatsink that you just set up instead of the storage growth slot’s metallic cowl. Sabrent claims this design improves cooling efficiency. Count on to pay greater than you’d for a mannequin with a extra generic heatsink, with the 1TB variant coming in at $130 and the 2TB mannequin costing between $230 and $280.

Execs

• PS5-specific heatsink design

Cons

• Not as quick as different choices
• Costly relative to different drives

$130 at Amazon

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 possibly can’t run PS5 video games from an exterior drive — however you need to use one to retailer any video games you aren’t enjoying in the mean time (and that features older PS4 video games). One among my favourite transportable drives is the Samsung T7. It might write recordsdata at a speedy 1,000 MB/s. For those who plan to make use of the drive completely for at-home use, it can save you cash by shopping for the usual mannequin as a substitute of the Defend variant, which has a rugged exterior for additional safety for individuals who are all the time on the go. I’ve been utilizing T7 drives to retailer my photographs, music and video games for years, and I’ve but to see one fail me. The most recent mannequin, the Samsung T9, boasts learn/write speeds of as much as 2,000MB/s.

Execs

• Reasonably priced
• Dependable
• Rugged variant accessible

Cons

• Can’t play PS5 video games from exterior drive

$70 at B&H Photo

How we check PS5 SSDs

After serving to to take care of this information for the previous two years, I’ve examined many of the SSDs beneficial on this checklist, both for PS5 or laptop 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 will settle for inside drives with between 250GB and 8TB of storage capability. For those who already personal a PS5, chances are high you’ve got an inexpensive concept of how a lot storage you want ​​to your sport library. For those who’re shopping for an SSD with a brand new PS5, or shopping for for another person, it’s tougher to inform what you may want for a high-performance expertise.

PS5 video games are a bit of smaller on common than their PS4 equivalents, sometimes taking over between 30GB and 100GB, with some notable (and very fashionable) exceptions. For those who’re a fan of the Name of Obligation sequence, putting in Modern Warfare III and Warzone 2.0 would require about 250GB. In different phrases, a full Name of Obligation set up will take up greater than one-third of the PS5’s inside storage. For those who’re not a CoD fan, although, chances are high you’ll be good to retailer between six to 10 video games in your PS5 internally earlier than operating into issues.

You additionally want to think about your web velocity. For those who stay in an space with gradual broadband, the “you possibly can simply obtain it once more” rationale doesn’t actually work. At my outdated house, a 100GB obtain took me round eight hours, throughout which era it was troublesome to concurrently watch Twitch or, say, publish articles about upgrading PS5 SSDs. Retaining video games round on the off-chance you’ll need to play them in some unspecified time in the future is sensible.

Off the bat, there’s principally 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 a variety of area for contemporary video games to stay on. 500GB drives, coming in at round $60 to $80, are an honest choice, however the candy spot for many is to go for a high-capacity 1TB drive, which ought to run you about $100. That may greater than double the PS5 storage you’ve got accessible for video games with out breaking the financial institution.

When you have the cash, 2TB drives generally supply marginal financial savings per gigabyte, and might typically be discovered when different fashions are out of inventory. Until you’re rolling in money and need to flex, 4TB and 8TB fashions ought to principally be prevented, as you’ll find yourself paying extra per gigabyte than you’d with a 1TB or 2TB drive.

Whereas the 825GB PS5 solely offers 667GB of storage, that’s largely resulting from storage being reserved for the working system and caching. For those who set up a 1TB PS5 SSD, you will have, inside a margin of error, 1TB of storage accessible for video games.

Lastly, all of our suggestions will work with the PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro.

Are you able to play PS5 video games on an exterior SSD?

Exterior exhausting drives are likely to price lower than inside SSD counterparts (and there’s a very good likelihood you may personal one already). However 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 barely appropriate for enjoying PlayStation 4 video games, or storing PS5 titles. That is helpful in case you have something however the perfect high-speed web — it’s sooner to maneuver a PS5 sport out of “chilly storage” on an exterior drive than it’s to re-download it — or need to hold your PS4 library readily 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 occasions. Any primary transportable drive from a good model will do, with the Essential X9 Professional and Samsung T5 being choices we’ve tried and might advocate.

Which SSD playing cards are suitable 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 nonetheless extra issues to think about. The principle necessities Sony has laid out for compatibility come down to hurry, cooling and bodily dimensions.

For velocity, 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 gradual as 4,800MB/s, and that video games that faucet into the SSD recurrently — akin 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, should you 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 worth 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 difficult than velocity is cooling and measurement. Most new SSDs are going to be simply wonderful; 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 will probably be 22mm huge and 80mm lengthy, so no drawback 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, akin to a heatsink.” The utmost top supported by Sony’s slot is 11.25mm, of which solely 2.45mm will be “beneath” the drive.

This beforehand meant among the hottest heatsinked Gen4 SSDs, together with Corsair’s MP600 Professional LP, wouldn’t match inside the PS5’s storage growth 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 can work for the PS5.

The one element in an NVMe SSD that actually requires cooling is the controller, which and not using 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 element vendor of selection, and decide up principally something that meets the beneficial dimensions. A great search time period is “laptop computer NVME heatsink,” as these will probably 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 advice is that this $6 copper heatsink, which attaches to the PS5 SSD with sticky thermal interface materials. It really works simply wonderful, and in performing stress exams on a PC, we couldn’t discover something metallic that didn’t hold temperatures beneath management. If you’re looking, simply ensure the answer you go for measures not more than 25mm huge or 8mm tall (together with the thermal interface materials) and has a easy technique of set up that’s not going to trigger any complications.

One final thing. 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 make the most of the brand new customary, and although Gen5 drives are backward suitable, they’re dearer than their Gen4 counterparts. Simply purchase the quickest and highest-capacity Gen4 mannequin you possibly can afford.

How you can set up an SSD into your PS5

Earlier than making an attempt so as to add extra storage by way of a PS5 SSD, guarantee that you’ve got Sony’s latest software installed. When you’re up-to-date, set up of a PS5 SSD is pretty simple. Sony recommends a #1 Phillips or crosshead screwdriver, however this is not rocket science. Any crossed screwdriver of an analogous measurement will do wonderful.

1. Energy the whole lot all the way down to take away the stand

Earlier than making an attempt so as to add extra storage by way of an NVMe, guarantee that you’ve got Sony’s latest software installed. When you’re up-to-date, set up of a PS5 SSD is pretty simple. Sony recommends a #1 Phillips or crosshead screwdriver, however this is not rocket science. Any crossed screwdriver of an analogous measurement will do wonderful.

Start by powering down your PS5, unplugging the whole lot, eradicating the stand and flipping it over to its underside. When you have a launch PS5, that’s the facet with the disc drive; in case you have the launch Digital Version, it’s the facet with out the PlayStation brand cutout.

Sony has a video information to popping off the surface cowl right here, however the gist is you gently elevate up the opposing corners and slide the panel towards the flat finish of the console. There’s a knack to this, and it requires little or no effort or power. For those who’re not getting it, quite than drive issues, readjust your grip and take a look at once more.

2. Entry the drive bay

When you’ve bought the whole lot open, you’ll see an oblong piece of metallic with a screw holding it in place. Take away that screw and also you’ll be capable to entry the drive bay.

You’ll see 5 holes inside, every numbered akin to the usual SSD drive lengths I discussed earlier. The one numbered 110 could have a metallic insert and screw inside. It is advisable unscrew the screw with a screwdriver, after which unscrew the insert together with your fingers and transfer it to the related gap. For many drives, it’s going to be 80.

3. Slot within the SSD

Then take your SSD and slot it in. The slot is on the edge closest to the quantity “30,” and SSDs are keyed to solely slot in a method, so once more, no drive is required. If it’s not sliding in, don’t drive it. You’ll discover the SSD doesn’t sit flat. That’s wonderful and is as supposed.

4. Screw the drive bay again in

As soon as the SSD is seated, take the screw you faraway from the insert, line it up with the little notch on the finish of your SSD, and push down so it meets the insert. Give the screw a couple of turns — it doesn’t must be very tight — and also you’re completed.

Change the metallic cowl and screw it down, after which slide the plastic outer shell again on.

If you first activate the PS5, it’ll immediate you to format the drive. Try this! You’ve now efficiently expanded your console’s storage, and might set about downloading and transferring video games to it.

We’ll be updating this information as extra SSDs come to market and onto our check bench, so be at liberty to bookmark it for whenever you want it.