When Sony first launched the PlayStation 5, it wasn’t doable to develop the console’s storage. Fortunately, that modified with a software program replace that the corporate pushed out lower than a 12 months later. And with how large some recreation installs have turn out to be lately, it’s an excellent factor, too: the PS5’s built-in 667GB of area could have been ok within the system’s first 12 months, however now, the default drive is totally limiting.
The excellent news is an ordinary PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD can resolve your entire 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, we’ve obtained them proper on the high.
Learn extra: These are the perfect SSDs in 2025
Greatest PS5 SSDs in 2025
Capability: As much as 8TB | Sequential learn efficiency: 7,100MB/s | Sequential write efficiency: 6,800MB/s | Connection: M.2
The Corsair MP600 Professional LPX makes it to the highest of our listing for the perfect PS5 SSD for being the entire package deal. It’s quick, gives 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 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 cut price. The MP600 can be not the quickest NVMe on this listing. 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 Essential T500 is a superb possibility. With learn speeds of as much as 7,300MB/s, it surpasses Sony’s technical necessities, and you’ll continuously discover the 1TB mannequin on sale for as little as $60. Essential additionally gives a model with a heatsink, so it’s price including each the Corsair MP600 and Essential T500 to a value watch listing 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 listing, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is essentially the most fascinating. It comes with a singular heatsink that you simply set up instead of the storage growth 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 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, together with older PS4 video games.
One in all my favourite moveable drives is the Samsung T7. It will probably write recordsdata at a speedy 1,000 MB/s. In case you plan to make use of the drive completely 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, and so they have but to fail me. The most recent mannequin, the Samsung T9, boasts learn/write speeds of as much as 2,000MB/s.
- Reasonably priced
- Dependable
- Rugged variant obtainable
- Can’t play PS5 video games from exterior drive
How we check PS5 SSDs
I’ve examined many of the SSDs beneficial on this listing, both for PS5 or laptop use. I additionally purchased and used our high choose in my very own PS5.
How a lot PS5 storage do I would like?
The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Professional can settle for inside drives with between 250GB and 8TB of storage capability. In case you already personal a PS5, likelihood is you may have an inexpensive concept of how a lot storage you want in your recreation library. In case 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 would possibly 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 highly regarded) exceptions. In case you’re a fan of the Name of Obligation collection, 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. In case you’re not a CoD fan, although, likelihood is 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. In case you stay in an space with sluggish broadband, the “you can just download it again” rationale doesn’t actually work. At my outdated house, a 100GB obtain took me round eight hours, throughout which period 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 need to play them in some unspecified time in the future 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 basically isn’t plenty of area for contemporary video games to stay on. 500GB drives generally is a respectable 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 need 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 offers 667GB of storage, that’s largely on account of storage being reserved for the working system and caching. In case you set up a 1TB PS5 SSD, you may have, inside a margin of error, 1TB of storage obtainable for video games. Out of the field, the PS5 Professional gives 1.86TB of storage for video games, although you possibly can 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 likely to price lower than inside SSD counterparts (and there’s an excellent probability 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 simply appropriate for taking part in PlayStation 4 video games, or storing PS5 titles. That’s helpful when you have something however the perfect high-speed web — it’s quicker to maneuver a PS5 recreation out of “cold storage” on an exterior drive than it’s to re-download it — or need to preserve your PS4 library available.
Because of the limitations right here, you don’t want the highest-performing mannequin, though it is best to go for SSDs over HDDs for improved switch speeds and cargo instances. Any fundamental moveable drive from a good model will do, with the Essential X9 Professional and Samsung T7 being choices we’ve tried and might advocate.
Which SSD playing cards are appropriate with the PS5?
The official reply 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 think about. The principle 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 usually — akin to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Aside — 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, isn’t price 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 value distinction between these marginally slower Gen4 drives and those that meet Sony’s spec isn’t large, and also you would possibly as properly cowl all of your bases.
Barely extra difficult than pace is cooling and dimension. Most new SSDs are going to be simply high quality; 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 likely be 22mm huge and 80mm lengthy, so no drawback there.
It ought to 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 “effective heat dissipation with a cooling structure, such as a heatsink.” The utmost top supported by Sony’s slot is 11.25mm, of which solely 2.45mm could be “below” 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 may work for the PS5.
The one element in an NVMe SSD that basically requires cooling is the controller, which with out a heatsink will fortunately sear a (very small) steak. Most SSDs have chips on just one aspect, however even on double-sided SSDs, the controller is prone to be on high, as producers comprehend it must be positioned there to higher dissipate warmth.
So, head to your PC element vendor of selection and choose up mainly something that meets the beneficial dimensions. A great search time period is “laptop 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 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 high quality, and in performing stress exams on a PC, we couldn’t discover something steel that didn’t preserve temperatures underneath management. Whenever you’re looking, simply be sure 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 benefit from the brand new commonplace, and although Gen5 drives are backward appropriate, they’re dearer than their Gen4 counterparts. Simply purchase the quickest and highest-capacity Gen4 mannequin you possibly can afford.
The way to set up an SSD into your PS5
In case you want steering on tips on how to set up your new NVMe into your PS5 or PS5 Professional, we now have a separate information detailing all of the steps right here. Set up is fairly simple, however our how-to will help you if you happen to’re caught. Simply make be aware: Earlier than making an attempt so as to add extra storage through a PS5 SSD, guarantee that you’ve Sony’s newest software program put in.
