If you've been lucky enough to get a PlayStation 5, you probably already know two things: games devour internal storage like chocolate, and Sony just released the 2.0 firmware beta, which enables installing solid-state drives in the M.2 slot. The Japanese giant also shared a set of minimum requirements, but if you want to know which is the best SSD for PlayStation 5 without burning your budget... the latest news is quite good.
Despite its initial availability problems, the PlayStation 5 has already sold more than ten million units and is an absolute success. Users are satisfied, and its game lineup is notable... but if there's one weak point, it's internal storage. With a total of 825 GB across all configurations, 667 GB available to the user, and increasingly large games, no strategy holds up.
Fortunately, Sony anticipated the conflict by offering an M.2 expansion slot, but support took a while. In fact, users need to accept the firmware 2.0 beta before they can install their own drives, and on top of that, there are certain technical requirements the SSD must meet. What does Sony ask for when installing an SSD for PlayStation 5? Let's see:
PlayStation 5 SSD Requirements
- SSD m.2 “Key M”, in formats 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 or 22110
- PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe interface (SATA and Gen3 drives won't work)
- 250 GB minimum capacity, 4 TB maximum capacity
- Heat sink (either integrated or user-installed)
- Sequential read speed: 5,500 MB/s or more (recommended)
Recent tests published by various outlets suggest that those 5,500 MB/s sequential reads aren't mandatory. For example, The Verge installed an XPG GAMMIX S50 Lite (€145 for the 1 TB edition) with a read ceiling of 3,900 MB/s, and it worked flawlessly. SSDs with PCI Express Gen3 interface didn't fare as well, nor did SATA drives. If you're going to buy an SSD for PlayStation 5, you absolutely need to aim for Gen4.
Slowly, major manufacturers have come out to confirm/certify the compatibility of their SSDs with Sony's console. Seagate will launch its FireCuda 530 before the end of the month, Western Digital already has its WD Black SN850, and unsurprisingly, Samsung's SSDs are having a feast (the video above shows the Samsung 980 Pro in action). Do you have plans for this upgrade? Leave a comment!
