The perfect SSDs for PS5 in 2025

When Sony first released the PlayStation 5, it wasn’t doable to broaden the console’s storage. Fortunately, that modified with a software update that the corporate pushed out lower than a yr later. And with how huge some recreation installs have grow to be in recent times, it’s an excellent factor, too: the PS5’s built-in 667GB of area could have been adequate within the system’s first yr, however now, the default drive is completely limiting.

The excellent news is a typical 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 the perfect PS5 SSDs are, we’ve received them proper on the prime.

Learn extra: These are the best SSDs in 2025

Greatest PS5 SSDs in 2025

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 good possibility. With learn speeds of as much as 7,300MB/s, it surpasses Sony’s technical necessities, and you’ll ceaselessly 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 value watch record and shopping for whichever mannequin is cheaper while you’re able to improve your PS5.

Execs

• Quick
• Accessible with or with out heatsink

$88 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 record, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is probably the most attention-grabbing. It comes with a singular heatsink that you just set up instead of the storage growth slot’s metallic 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.

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’ll be able to’t run PS5 video games from an exterior drive — however you should use one to retailer any video games you aren’t taking part in for the time being, together with older PS4 video games.

One in all my favourite transportable drives is the Samsung T7. It might probably write information at a speedy 1,000 MB/s. In the event 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 Protect variant. I’ve been utilizing T7 drives to retailer my photographs, 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.

Execs

• Inexpensive
• Dependable
• Rugged variant obtainable

Cons

• Can’t play PS5 video games from exterior drive

$90 at Amazon

How we take a look at PS5 SSDs

I’ve examined a lot of the SSDs really helpful on this record, both for PS5 or pc use. I additionally purchased and used our prime choose in my very own PS5.

How a lot PS5 storage do I want?

The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro can settle for inner drives with between 250GB and 8TB of storage capability. In the event you already personal a PS5, chances are high you’ve an inexpensive thought of how a lot storage you want ​​on your recreation library. In the event 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 over between 30GB and 100GB, with some notable (and extremely popular) exceptions. In the event 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 inner storage. In the event you’re not a CoD fan, although, chances are high you’ll be good to retailer between six to 10 video games on a daily PS5 internally earlier than working into issues.

You additionally want to contemplate your web pace. In the event you reside in an space with sluggish broadband, the “you’ll be able to simply obtain it once more” rationale doesn’t actually work. At my previous house, a 100GB obtain took me round eight hours, throughout which era it was tough to concurrently watch Twitch or, say, publish articles about upgrading PS5 SSDs. Maintaining 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 actually isn’t numerous area for contemporary video games to reside on. 500GB drives is usually 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 prevented, as you’ll find yourself paying extra per gigabyte than you’ll with a 1TB or 2TB drive.

Whereas the 825GB PS5 solely gives 667GB of storage, that’s largely attributable to storage being reserved for the working system and caching. In the event 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 affords 1.86TB of storage for video games, although you’ll be able to eke out extra should you delete the pre-installed Astro’s Playroom (gasp).

Since neither the PS5 Slim nor PS5 Professional characteristic 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 laborious drives are likely to price lower than inner SSD counterparts (and there’s an excellent 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 by way of USB, and is barely 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 sooner to maneuver a PS5 recreation out of “chilly storage” on an exterior drive than it’s to re-download it — or need to maintain your PS4 library readily available.

As a result of 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 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 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 further elements to contemplate. 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 of 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 — comparable 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 threat that, should you 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 big, 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 shall be 22mm broad and 80mm lengthy, so no drawback there.

It needs 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 “efficient warmth dissipation with a cooling construction, comparable to a heatsink.” The utmost top supported by Sony’s slot is 11.25mm, of which solely 2.45mm could be “beneath” the drive.

This beforehand meant a few of 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 stated, 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 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 prime, as producers understand it must be positioned there to raised dissipate warmth.

So, head to your PC part vendor of selection and choose up mainly something that meets the really helpful dimensions. search time period is “laptop computer NVME heatsink,” as these shall 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 high quality, and in performing stress exams on a PC, we couldn’t discover something metallic that didn’t maintain temperatures below management. Once you’re looking out, simply ensure that the answer you go for measures not more than 25mm broad 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 purchasing for a PS5 NVMe, there’s no motive to purchase a Gen5 mannequin over a extra inexpensive 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’ll be able to afford.

Methods to set up an SSD into your PS5

In the event you want steering on how to install your new NVMe into your PS5 or PS5 Professional, we have now a separate information detailing all of the steps right here. Set up is fairly easy, however our how-to may also help you should you’re caught. Simply make observe: 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.