Between Final Fantasy XVI, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and Spider-Man 2, the PS5 is about to get a lot of good games. If you want to keep them around for easy access, you’ll want an SSD to slot into your PS5. After all, the console comes with less than a terabyte of storage space, which is hardly enough to hold your favorite games, let alone record video clips, take screenshots, and save other data. The good news is upgrading your PS5’s storage has never been easier, thanks to the secondary M.2 SSD slot that lets you add a second SSD, similar to a gaming PC.
Now, the best PS5 SSDs are a big step above the days of using a slow external hard drive, so your secondary drive will operate as fast as, if not faster, than the PS5's primary storage. Loads and saves are quick, and transferring games takes mere moments. Of course, you need to buy a compatible SSD that fits and is fast enough—and has a heatsink. If that sounds complicated, don't worry because we've done the research and testing plus even included a comprehensive purchasing guide, so you can pick out the best PS5 SSDs that are sure to work with your console – and click here to see all the best PS5 SSDs in the UK.
TL;DR – These are the Best PS5 SSDs:
- Corsair MP600 Pro LPX
- Crucial P5 Plus
- WD_Black SN850X
- Samsung 980 Pro with Heatsink
- Seagate FireCuda 530
- Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 4TB
- WD_Black P50 Game Drive
- PNY XLR8 SSD Cover
Corsair MP600 Pro LPX
Best PS5 SSD
There isn't a better PS5 SSD than the Corsair MP600 Pro LPX. Well exceeding Sony’s secondary drive requirements with a blistering 7,100 MB/s read speed and 6,800MB/s write speed, it's one of the fastest drives around. Plus, with a 1TB capacity, you should be able to quickly load up your system with double the games and other data the base console holds. And yet, it’s one of the most affordable options at around $110, offering an impressive cost-to-performance ratio.
What makes the Corsair MP600 Pro LPX even better is it comes with a sizable heatsink preinstalled and designed to fit. So, the drive simply slots into your console’s M.2 slot and is thermally protected out of the box. That heatsink helps maintain peak performance, and the drive’s endurance over time shouldn’t be a worry either, as it can be completely rewritten over 700 times and comes with a five-year warranty.
Crucial P5 Plus
Best Budget PS5 SSD
The Crucial P5 Plus comes with all the performance chops you’d expect in a Gen 4 SSD for under $100. It clears all speeds Sony has targeted for the PS5’s M.2 slot thanks to 3D NAND technology. Heck, the drive reads and writes faster than the gaming console's internal storage, so loading games or saving progress should be a breeze. The 1TB capacity also frees up loads of space on your console for additional downloads.
Unfortunately, you don’t get the heatsink necessary for heat dissipation when using the Crucial P5 Plus with your PS5. If you’re familiar with PC builds, this issue should be easy to remedy by attaching your own. You can find plenty of heatsinks for $20 or even less, but be sure it’ll fit within Sony’s height limitations.
WD_Black SN850X
Best Runner-Up PS5 SSD
The WD_Black SN850X is neck and neck with our favorite drive, Corsair’s MP600 Pro LPX. In fact, it has the same 1TB storage capacity and slightly faster 7,300MB/s sequential read speeds while costing just a couple of bucks more, so it’s a tremendous value. The quicks loads are great, and while the 6,350MB/s write speed might not be as fast, you’ll still enjoy some insanely quick saves and probably won’t even notice the difference.
Heat dissipation on the WD_Black SN850X is a non-issue, as it comes with a heatsink to maintain safe operating temperatures, even under a heavy load. And the drive is guaranteed to fit in the snuggly quarters of the PS5’s M2 slot. You’ll even get a 5-year or 600 TBW warranty, so it’s an investment that'll last the console's lifetime.
Samsung 980 Pro with Heatsink
Best PS5 SSD with Heatsink
Although the Samsung 980 Pro was slightly edged out of the top few spots, it's still a solid contender and rocks a heatsink that’ll easily slot into your console. That heatsink helps the SSD dissipate heat to maintain high-speed operation, while a nickel-coated controller furthers the cause, so you never experience any downtime from overheating. Clearly, the drive is thermally protected, but your data will also remain safe thanks to hardware-based AES 256-bit encryption.
The Samsung 980 Pro offers 3D TLC NAND memory arranged in a unique V-shape to increase the drive’s write speeds and improve performance overall. The throughput of this drive even surpasses what Sony designed the second SSD slot to do, and it has a solid endurance rating to top it off. All this additional speed could come in handy if you’re recording tons of gameplay clips and images on the 1TB drive to share later.
Seagate FireCuda 530
Best High-Performance PS5 SSD
The Seagate FireCuda 530 is one of the speediest drives around, so if you're looking for performance, it’s what you need. This Gen 4 SSD uses 3D TLC NAND technology to offer up to 7,300MB/s read speeds, far above Sony’s requirements, letting games load in mere seconds. The 6,900MB/s write speeds are dazzling, too, making saves quick and painless.
Seagate and Sony have a bit of history, as many of the officially licensed external hard drives for the PS4 and PS3 were manufactured by Seagate. Therefore, the FireCuda 530 works like a charm in your PS5 and has the endurance to keep up with whatever you throw at it, including rewriting the entire drive up to 1,200 times. And Seagate hasn’t forgotten the integrated heatsink either, ensuring that all your data is loaded safely and steadily.
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 4TB
Best High-Capacity PS5 SSD
The PS5 itself doesn’t come with much storage, only about 667GB of usable space, so its M.2 SSD slot is essential for quick loads and saves. A 4TB drive like the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus lets you make the most of this storage upgrade. It costs a pretty penny at over $600, but you can keep your entire PS5 game library installed all the time.
On top of offering bulk storage space, this drive comes with speedy load times at 7,000 MB/s, and it has one of the fastest write times around at 6,600 MB/s. The Rocket 4 Plus also offers a sizable heatsink specially designed to replace the PS5's SSD cover to maximize cooling and ensure consistent heat transfer. And you can rest assured that this drive should last the entire lifespan of your PS5 thanks to a five-year or 3,000TBW warranty.
WD_Black P50 Game Drive
Best External PS5 SSD
Using the PS5’s M.2 slot for an internal SSD is the best option for adding storage, but an external drive like the WD_Black P50 Game Drive is your second-best alternative. It’s the perfect place to hold some older PS4 games. And while you won't be able to play PS5 games, you can still save them and save yourself the trouble of redownloading 100GB of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare all over again.
The WD_Black P50 Game Drive isn’t some snail-paced hard drive but rather a highspeed SSD offering blistering 2,000MB/s read speeds and up to 4TB of storage. You can use the drive's speeds at full capacity with a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection, making for quick transfers of your game library between the internal and external storage or helping speed up transferring your data from the PS4 to PS5. And it isn’t exclusively for PS5, so this drive works for your PC, Mac, or Xbox.
PNY XLR8 SSD Cover
Best PS5 SSD Heatsink
A simple and affordable way to dissipate the heat of an SSD mounted in your PS5’s expandable storage slot is by using the PNY XLR8 SSD Cover. For $15, you get an SSD cover and integrated heatsink to ensure things don’t get too hot during demanding games. Most importantly, the cover’s compact design allows it to fit seamlessly into the cramped quarters of your PS5, but be aware it’ll only work for bare SSDs.
Using a negative pressure design and aluminum heatsink, the PNY XLR8 SSD Cover should cool your SSD over 40 percent more than without a heatsink after a simple installation. We know the PS5 runs hot, so eliminating as much heat as possible is essential. You also get a five-year warranty with the device, so it’ll last just as long, if not longer than the SSD itself.
Heatsink for 2280 Model M.2
You can save money, or better yet luck out on availability if you buy a compatible PS5 SSD without a heatsink, but if you install it without a heatsink, you're asking for trouble. These are some best PS5 SSD heatsinks besides the PNY XLR8 SSD Cover:
Best PS5 SSDs in the UK
Heatsink for 2280 Model M.2 in the UK
What to Look for in a PS5 SSD
Don’t seek out the cheapest SSD available to expand your PS5’s storage, as there are important specifications and measurement requirements to ensure this drive will work in your console. And Sony does not guarantee the compatibility of any SSDs, absolving them of any responsibility if you run into issues with the drives. So, be sure to adhere to their recommendations.
Firstly, Sony recommends that you only install an NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD with a sequential read speed of 5500MB/s or faster. You’d want this anyways, so your games load quickly and run at optimal speeds. Having fast write speeds also helps to minimize the time you’re waiting for games and other content to download.
Another factor to consider is how much storage space you want to add to your system. The PS5 offers only one M.2 expansion slot, which allows you to add an SSD between 250GB-4TB in capacity. If you’re just looking to add a few games to the internal storage, save money and grab an SSD with less space. But to load on your entire gaming library and then some, you’re better off with the maximum storage available. We’ve found that 1TB seems to be the sweet spot between price and capacity.
However, it’s most essential that you purchase an SSD that will fit into the narrow and shallow M.2 SSD slot. With dimensions of 110 x 25 x 11.25 mm or 4.33 x 0.984 x 0.442 inches, the space inside the PS5 is rather cramped, though that should fit most SSDs. But, when you add in a heatsink, it can get a bit tricky.
And don’t think you can get away without having a heatsink, as it’s a necessity for these fast, hot-running SSDs. You’ll also enjoy peace of mind knowing that all your precious data stays safe and your drive will continue to have a high peak performance throughout its lifespan.
Luckily, most drives we’ve selected offer an integrated heatsink that fits seamlessly into the expansion slot. But if there’s no heatsink and you need purchase one separate, make note of the dimensions of both the heatsink and SSD to ensure it's compatibility.
Be sure to check out our guide on how to install a PS5 SSD. It's full of information like how to install the SSD and verify the drive will be compatible with the PS5. Of course, all our picks are perfect options to increase your console’s storage space.
Best PS5 SSDs FAQ
What SSD Does PS5 Use?
When expanding your storage, a compatible SSD for PS5 is a NVMe PCIe 4.0 drive with 5,500MB/second or faster sequential read speeds. In short, you'll need a PCIe Gen.4 M.2 NVMe SSD.
NVMe stands for Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface Specification, and is used to access a computer's non-volatile storage, while PCIe stands for PCI Express, and acts as the motherboard interface and attachment for the NVMe. Note: Sony does not guarantee the compatibility of any SSDs, so you should adhere to their recommendations.
What Is the Best PS5 SSD?
The Corsair MP600 Pro LPX is considered the best SSD for PS5 by our Tech team. In addition to the above breakout of the Corsair MP600 at the top of our ranked list, you can also find out more about why this SSD is our favorite for PS5 right now in our video:
Can You Store Game Data on Console and the Rest of the Data on M.2 SSd?
According to PlayStation, no. A specific game's data must be stored in the same place.
How Do You Install Games to M.2 SSD on a PS5?
You can install games right from the PlayStation Store by navigating to:
- Home Screen
- Settings
- Storage
- Installation Location
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