The best PS5 internal SSDs

The best PS5 Internal SSDs allow you to expand the amount of storage space on your Sony console without having to sacrifice speed when launching your favorite games. And considering the PS5 comes with a relatively negligible amount of storage out of the box, you might find that a larger internal SSD is an essential extra.

Of course, External hard drives and SSD They are also available to increase the PS5’s base 825GB storage (increased to 1TB on the PS5 Slim model) and make it possible to store even more games. However, an internal SSD offers a permanent storage increase with very little fuss. Just screw it on and you can forget it’s there.

Small, practical and easy to installPS5 SSDs are one of the best and fastest ways to avoid running out of space, at least until games start getting even bigger than they already are, which seems pretty inevitable now that 100GB+ games have become the norm. But for now, installing an SSD is a great upgrade that will make playing and managing your games much faster and more fun.

What are the best PS5 internal SSDs?

While we evaluated PS5 SSDs to see which was the best, we discovered bad news (well, sort of) and good news. The bad news is that there are a ton of drives on the market and they are all virtually identical in form factor (M.2), shape (rectangular), and function (see above). It can be unusually difficult to know which one to buy.

The good news is that, for the most part, it doesn’t matter.

Each one we reviewed was an NVMe drive using the same M.2 2280 form factor, so you don’t have to worry about installing the SSD in your PS5. Each also supported the PCI Express (PCIe) 4.0 (also known as Gen4) interface to help maximize every sip of speed. For that reason, most of these drives also work on PCs with an M.2 slot, and it’s nice to have that flexibility.

What matters most: All drives showed almost identical performance in our tests. Yes, one drive may load one game a little faster than another, or just barely beat another’s copy time on this game instead of that one. But the difference was usually only one or two seconds, and even the extremely rare “runaway” winners never differed by more than three seconds.

Design is not a decisive factor here. Sure, some of the units are quite attractive. But no matter how good they look, they will be sealed in the PS5’s windowless case. Instead, you can turn to qualities like capacity (with one exception, we tested only the 2TB model of each line, to keep the playing field as level as possible), price, convenience (which here basically means whether you need to order the heatsink or dispersion strip yourself) and maybe even brand loyalty.

If you need a PS5 internal SSD, any of these drives will serve you well.

Corsair MP600 Pro LPX (2TB)

It makes sense that Corsair, a recognized leader in the PC components market, would also have an SSD ready for PS5. And the MP600 Pro LPX is as tough as Corsair’s computer hardware gets, with a rugged-looking black aluminum heatsink pre-installed. The MP600 comes in capacities ranging from 500GB to 4TB, and Corsair claims read speeds of up to 7,100MBps, although our PS5 reported only 5,561MBps. No matter: it passed our tests with ease, keeping pace with the fastest units, with its 50-second time to load Assassin’s Creed Valhalla tied for the fastest we saw.

Crucial P5 Plus SSD (2TB)

Crucial has long been a PC storage powerhouse, and with the P5 Plus, the company is determined to make a whole new name for itself among PS5 gamers. This simple, no-nonsense disc was one of several champions to copy Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (it took 5 minutes, 12 seconds) and Mass Effect: Andromeda (3:22) back to the PS5, tying with two other discs to load Assassin’s Creed. Valhalla the fastest (50 seconds). Our PS5 reported its read speed at 5640 MBps and Crucial claims sequential reads of up to 6600 MBps. You’ll have to apply a heat diffuser strip yourself, but the P5 Plus is plug-and-play. It comes in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities.

Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD (1TB)

According to our PS5 diagnostics, the Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD is the second-fastest drive we tested, with a read speed of 6,538 MBps, just shy of Gigabyte’s claim of 7,000 MBps. Its biggest win in our testing was its 50-second loading time for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but its solid results keep it a respectable drive from a major “boutique” PC maker. This striking looking black and gray unit comes pre-loaded with a 7mm nano-carbon coated heatsink and a double-sided conductivity pad for heat dissipation. (We were only able to purchase a 1TB model for our evaluation, but there is also a 2TB version, which should work just as well.)

Kingston Fury Renegade (2TB)

Like some of the other companies on this list, Kingston has long made a name for itself in the PC memory and storage market. As such, the company’s prowess in designing SSDs that also work in your PS5 was to be expected. Our console didn’t detect what the company touted as the Fury Renegade’s top read speed of 7,300 MBps, but the 6,493 MBps it detected was the third-highest we saw. This unit distinguished itself by having the fastest copy time of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (56 seconds). It also tied for fastest with Mass Effect: Andromeda (33 seconds), as well as its ultra-low-profile graphene heat diffusion strip. The Fury Renegade is available in capacities from 500 GB to 4 TB.

MSI Spatium M480 Game (2TB)

It’s a shame you’ll never see the MSI Spatium M480 Play when it’s inside your PS5, because it’s one of the best-looking drives we reviewed, with a two-tone dynamic heatsink topped with MSI’s dragon shield logo. Although it had one of the lowest read speeds on the PS5 (5,583 MBps, versus MSI’s claimed 7,000 Mbps), we didn’t experience any significant performance issues with the drive. It was even the clear winner of our Elden Ring loading time test, needing just 19 seconds, two seconds faster than the closest competitor. The capacities of this drive range between 500 GB and 4 TB.

Samsung 980 Pro (2TB)

The Samsung 980 Pro didn’t win any of our speed tests (and our PS5 rated its read speed at 5,669 MBps, well below Samsung’s advertised 7,000 MBps), but it ran neck and neck with most other drives. our line. , getting good performance anyway. However, it was one of the most expensive SSDs we saw, with a list price of $299.99 (which drops to about $249.99 on the street). If necessary, you can save some money by purchasing a lower capacity model; This was the only drive we reviewed with a minimum 250GB model (maximum is 2TB). There are two different versions available, one with a heat sink and a cheaper one without. For console use, be sure to purchase the most expensive one.

Teamgroup T-Force Cardea A440 Pro Special Series (2TB)

Teamgroup isn’t one of the best-known companies on this list, but maybe it should be. The T-Force Cardea A440 Pro Special series tied for fastest when copying Mass Effect: Andromeda from the PS5 (in 33 seconds). It was also the clear winner by copying Elden Ring to the console (3 minutes, 19 seconds) and loading Mass Effect: Andromeda (in just 23 seconds). Our PS5 didn’t hit the claimed read speeds of 7,000 MBps (for us it maxed out at 5,862 MBps), but it didn’t matter for this budget ($219.99) low-profile drive, which you can also get in 1TB and 1TB capacities. 4TB.

WD_Black SN850 (2TB)

With an observed read speed of 6,549 MBps on our PS5, not far below WD’s stated maximum of 7,000 MBps, the WD_Black SN850 has a lot of performance potential. It looks good, too, with its jet-black industrial design that extends to the top of its heatsink (although there’s a version available without one, so check you’re buying the right model). However, the WD_Black SN850 approached the middle of the pack in our performance tests, even if, like the other drives here, it was never slow. The 2TB model we tested (although there are also 500GB, 1TB, and 4TB capacities) can be expensive; However, even several years after launch, it still costs around $200 and seasonal sales occasionally bring it down to $169, which is certainly a lot easier. to swallow its original list price of $349, but it’s still not cheap.

XPG Gammix S70 Blade (2TB)

We didn’t test any defective drives this time, but the XPG Gammix S70 Blade comes with a couple of key caveats. The PS5 took much longer to format than any of the other drives; you will need to attach the heat dispersion strip to the unit yourself (although the heat dispersion strip is included); and, with a list price of around $249.99, it’s expensive. But it was a member of the 6,000 club in terms of detected read speed (6,188 MBps, versus the claimed 7,400 MBps), and it handled every gaming task we threw at it well. If you don’t want 2TB, the Gammix S70 also comes in 512GB, 1TB, and 4TB capacities.

How we tested the best PS5 internal SSDs

Like most internal storage, PS5 SSDs have one purpose in life: to store your data. You put on the games, play them, and (maybe) take them off when you’re ready to play something else for a while.

We tried all these tasks. We calculated how long it takes to move a game from the PS5’s built-in storage to the SSD, how long it takes to load the game and get to its home screen, and how long it takes to move the game back to the PS5 storage. (And while this information won’t be useful in most cases, we also report what the PS5 detects as the drive’s read speed when set up on first use.)

We used three games for this task. Mass Effect: Andromeda is a PS4 title (46.73GB in size) that we also used when testing PS5 external hard drives. (Spoiler: internal SSDs are faster across the board.) Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a huge (71.22 GB) big budget game from late 2020. And the 45.14 GB Elden Ring is the undisputed smash hit released earlier this year.

Copy time (download/upload)