What is the best PS5 SSD? Comparative and opinion

SSD of the PS5 , whose performance Sony had communicated. However, with the limited storage space provided as standard with the console and the size of PS5 games which only grows over the years, space quickly runs out.

Fortunately, for some time now, it has been possible to add storage space with an external hard drive via USB, or even better, via an internal SSD. It is on this last component that we are focusing today with this guide to offer you the best in terms of storage for the Playstation 5. You will therefore find a PS5 SSD comparison , a buying guide and information you need to know.

Comparison table of the best PS5 SSDs

Top 10 Best PS5 SSDs: Comparison and Reviews

Here is our selection of the best SSDs for PS5. These models are all PCIe 4.0 and are not console exclusive as you can use them in a PC as well.

1.Seagate FireCuda 530

Seagate is one of the best brands in the storage media market. Therefore, we are forced to mention one of the best SSDs of the brand (and on the market): the FireCuda 530!

This NVMe SSD shines with its mind-blowing transfer speeds, going up to 7,300 MB/s for read speed and 6,900 MB/s for write speed on the 2TB and 4TB version (version 1 To is 6000 MB/s). Also, of the TLC type, one of the other strong points of the storage is its longevity, with a write endurance which can range from 1,250 TB on the 1 TB version to 5,100 TB (on the 4 TB model). And to provide even more reassurance on the lifespan of the SSD, Seagate provides a 5-year warranty, with an additional 3 years of Rescue Data Recovery Services , which is a branded service to ensure data recovery. It is also one of the few SSDs officially recognized as compatible by Sony.

The FireCuda 530 is available in 500 GB, 1, 2, and even 4 TB, with optional cooling. You just have to be prepared to put a higher price on it than the rest of the market.

2. WD BLACK SN850

In the field of reliable brands with good legitimacy, we can find Western Digital (helped by its subsidiary SanDisk). Unsurprisingly, the SSD manufacturer offers one of the best references on the market, via the WD BLACK SN850.

The strength of this SSD is its read speed, which can go up to 7,000 MB/s , which is more than the PlayStation 5 needs. It does the job well on write speed , up to 5300 MB/s . Regarding the lifespan, the 1 TB version offers up to 600 TB of writing while the 2 TB version goes up to 1,200 TB , which is in the average of TLC SSDs.

The WD BLACK SN850 is available in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB versions, with or without a heatsink. Even if you take the integrated one, still pay attention to the temperatures which tend to rise a little higher than the average models. But if something goes wrong, Western Digital provides a 5-year warranty with the SSD.

3. Gigabyte AORUS Gen 4 7000s

Gigabyte is known for its very good PC components and also offers quality SSDs, such as the AORUS Gen 4 7000s.

This reference has a remarkable read speed, up to 7,000 MB/s , as well as a very good write speed, with up to 5,500 MB/s on the 1 TB version. Regarding the lifespan, it is more than correct, given that the NVMe SSD supports up to 1,400 TB of writing (in the 2 TB version).

The Gigabyte AORUS Gen 4 7000s comes in 1TB and 2TB versions, with heatsink. The brand also adds a 5-year warranty to the product. But above all, not being the best PS5 SSD, but it is sufficiently qualitative on all points not to be able to attribute a single defect to it.

4.Samsung 980 PRO

Samsung is unquestionably one of the mainstays in the field of SSDs. It is therefore quite natural to find one of their models in this selection, here via the Samsung 980 Pro.

Offered from 250 GB up to 2 TB, with optional cooling, the Samsung 980 Pro has very good arguments for it, not even counting its 5-year warranty. One of the only weak points it has is the temperature management, which can sometimes go higher than other SSDs.

5. Crucial P5 Plus

In the field of SSDs, we can also find the Crucial brand which is defending itself rather well, especially with the Crucial P5 Plus.

It comes with 6,600 MB/s in read speed and 5,000 MB/s in write, enough to make it work on your PS5 without any difficulty. Regarding its lifespan, it can go from 600 TB in rewriting for the 1 TB version up to 1,200 TB of writing (in its 2 TB version).

The Crucial P5 Plus is available in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. As often, 5 years of warranty are provided with the storage medium. If you want a heatsink, you will have to buy it separately.

6. Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus

Sabrent

With a read speed of up to 7100MB/s and a write speed of up to 6600MB /s , it propels itself among the fastest NVMe SSDs. In addition, its lifespan follows well with good results that range from 700 TB in rewrite on the model to 1 TB

The SSD exists from 1 TB to 4 TB. 5 years of warranty are provided, only after registering the product with the brand’s website. Otherwise, only 1 year warranty is provided.

7. ADATA XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade

ADATA is not really one of the well-known brands in the SSD world. Nevertheless, it knows how to offer good surprises, as with the XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade.

The big surprise offered by this SSD is its read speed of up to 6,100 MB/s on PS5 and 7,400 on PC. The same goes for the write speed, which is much more impressive, amounting to 6,800 MB/s . This reference offers very good results on PS5 in particular. Its battery life is also remarkable, being able to support up to 740 TB of writing on the 1 TB version and 1,450 TB of writing with the 2 TB version.

The SSD is available in 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB versions, with a heatsink that is as thin as it is limited in its cooling (with a larger heatsink sold separately). A 5-year warranty comes with the SSD.

8. Patriot Viper VP4300

In the list of not well-known brands that offer surprisingly good products, here is Patriot Viper with the VP4300 model.

This NVMe SSD offers a read speed of up to 7400 MB/s and a write speed of up to 5500 MB/s . In other words, these are excellent results. Moreover, the storage life follows the same quality, with a write endurance of 1,800 TB (for the 2 TB version).

Available in 1 TB and 2 TB version, with heat sink, 5 years manufacturer’s warranty is offered with the SSD.

9. PNY XLR8 CS3040

PNY is known for offering products at attractive prices, and once again, the brand does not miss the mark, with the PNY XLR8 CS3040.

This M.2 SSD offers a read speed of 5,600 MB/s and a write speed of 4,300 MB/s , which is very decent and sufficient performance for the PS5. One of the strengths of this reference is the remarkable stability of its transfer rates . Unfortunately, we don’t have an indication of the write endurance of the SSD.

The PNY XLR8 CS3040 is available in 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB versions, with or without a heatsink. Attention, it must be taken into account that the heatsink is very imposing, which makes it incompatible with the PS5 . As often, 5 years of warranty are delivered with this product.

10. Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0

The Sabrent brand , to do well, does not hesitate to offer products with a very good quality/price ratio to stand out, as with the Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0.

This offers decent transfer speeds, with up to 5,000 MB/s in reading and up to 4,400 MB/s in writing (2,500 MB/s with the 500 GB version). Although the performance is not bad at all, it should be noted that this SSD does not reach the optimal level of throughput demanded by the PS5, which is 5500 MB/s. In terms of write endurance, this SSD NVMe surpasses itself, being able to go from 1800 TB on the 1 TB version , up to 3,600 TB for the 2 TB version.

Available in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB versions, it comes with a heatsink which, despite its imposing size, is still compatible with the PlayStation 5. Note that without product registration, only 1 year of warranty is supplied instead of the advertised 5 years, so consider doing so.

PS5 SSD Buying Guide

You may have understood that a PS5 SSD is not chosen just anyhow. A bad model will not only lengthen the loading times, but can also cause slowness in the loading of textures or even in the game itself.

To help you narrow down your choice, here is some information to consider when buying your PS5 compatible  SSD .

Compatibility

Although an M.2 type SSD is required for the storage space to work on the console, this does not mean that all M.2 SSDs are compatible. Sony (PlayStation) provides the very specific features that are needed.

As we said, the SSD must be in M.2 format and in NVMe , an essential format and protocol to provide the best transfer speeds. Also, you must choose one of the compatible size formats, either:

• 2230,
• 2242,
• 2260,
• 2280 or 22110 .

The two leading digits refer to the width (in millimeters), while the remaining digits point to the length. The vast majority of M.2 SSDs today are 2280 , so you don’t need to worry too much in general, although it’s always important to check.

In addition, try to choose storage that is not too thick, because be aware that it is also mandatory to have a heat sink with your SSD, whether it is directly integrated or purchased separately. It should be 11.25mm maximum with less than 8mm on the top and less than 2.45mm on the bottom of the SSD pcb.

The SSD must also be PCI-Express 4.0. You need to find the mention of Gen 4 or PCie G4 , which is essential to be able to achieve sufficient transfer speeds for the PS5. This means that the sequential read speed (i.e. the speed used for reading games) must be at least 5500 MB/s .

Storage capacity

It is not easy to visualize how much storage to recommend, in addition to that included as standard with the PlayStation 5. Basically, the storage capacity of the M.2 SSD PS5 can range from 250 GB to 4 TB maximum .

Given the size of recent games, we recommend that you at least opt ​​for a 1 TB PS5 SSD . The prices for 500 GB storage can be attractive, but they are not really worth it in terms of the quantity / price ratio and when you take into account the fact that some modern games are 100 or even almost 200 GB .

Beyond that, there is also the speed of your internet connection , which, if it is slow, can force you to leave a maximum of titles installed on your PS5. And a little trick to predict the storage capacity you will need later is to directly check the size of the games you want to acquire in the future as well as the upcoming titles that particularly interest you. In this case, you can opt for an external hard drive which will allow you to store your PS5 games and then quickly install them on your internal SSD.

Cooling with heatsink

As we were talking about earlier, you must have a heat sink with your PS5 SSD , otherwise you risk overheating your storage space with your console, which can damage it.

Rest assured, the heatsink is increasingly included with recent M.2 SSDs, so you don’t have to worry about anything on that except maybe the thickness of the latter. However, if you are purchasing an NVMe SSD without cooling, be aware that it is possible to purchase one separately .

PS5 SSD FAQ

Why an internal SSD on PS5 rather than an external hard drive?

The advantage of an internal SSD over an external hard drive is file transfer speeds, and the fact that it’s external doesn’t change much. In the case of the PlayStation 5, an external hard drive is problematic because functionality is limited . With this storage, it is only possible to play PS4 games and temporarily store PS5 games to install them on the console (which can avoid re-downloading a title), but you will not be able to play next-gen games directly above.

Does a slower SSD pass on the PS5?

In the event that you want to use an M.2 SSD below the minimum read speed requested by Sony, i.e. 5,500 MB/s, there are several possible cases. If your PS5 SSD is Gen 4 , it will work, but in-game performance will inevitably be impacted to a greater or lesser degree depending on the read speed and the overall quality of the storage. And if your SSD is Gen 3 , the console will simply refuse to boot.

Is PCIe Gen 4 absolutely necessary?

As answered in the previous question, an NVMe Gen 4 SSD is essential to just be able to use your PlayStation 5. With a Gen 3 SSD, your console won’t even be able to boot. PCIe Gen 4 is required in order to benefit from the high transfer speeds that the PS5 uses.

Comment installer un SSD interne dans une PS5 ?

To be able to install your PS5 SSD , all you need is a size 1 Phillips screwdriver and good light (provide a small flashlight if necessary).

If you just turned off your console, wait a few minutes to let it cool down. With the PS5 laying flat on its left side, gently remove the right side cover and slide it down from the console. The SSD expansion slot is right next to the fan. Remove the screw to remove its cover, then unscrew the one inside. Place the spacer (just below the removed screw) in the location corresponding to the size of your SSD. Insert the M.2 SSD diagonally towards the port, before laying it down to the spacer by putting the screw back in. You just have to reassemble the rest.

Be aware that opening the PS5 this way does not affect the warranty , unless you damage the console during installation. Don’t forget to put a heatsink on your M2 SSD for PS5.

Also read: Samsung T7, our opinion on the new benchmark of NVMe external SSDs?