By cryptoadmin 
In case your PlayStation 5 library is beginning to burst on the seams, upgrading with probably the greatest SSDs on your PlayStation 5 could make an enormous distinction. Trendy PS5 video games are huge, and whereas the console’s inside storage is speedy, it fills up quick — particularly if you happen to're juggling massive titles like Name of Responsibility, Spider-Man 2, or Ultimate Fantasy XVI. A suitable SSD offers you extra space with out sacrificing load occasions or efficiency, so you may spend much less time managing your library and extra time gaming.
Many SSDs are simple to put in and carry out simply as quick because the PS5’s built-in storage. You’ll wish to search for drives that meet Sony’s specs, together with Gen4 speeds and a built-in heatsink (or the power so as to add one). Whether or not you’re after tons of storage on your digital assortment or simply need a efficiency increase for next-gen titles, we’ve rounded up the highest SSD choices to go well with each want and finances.
Learn extra: These are the perfect SSDs in 2025
Desk of contents
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Greatest SSDs for PS5 in 2025
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How we check PS5 SSDs
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PS5 SSD FAQs
Greatest SSDs for PS5 in 2025
How we check PS5 SSDs
I’ve examined a lot of the SSDs beneficial on this checklist, both for PS5 or laptop use. I additionally purchased and used our prime choose in my very own PS5.
PS5 SSD FAQs
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. When you already personal a PS5, likelihood is you have got an affordable concept of how a lot storage you want on your sport library. When 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 may 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. When you’re a fan of the Name of Responsibility sequence, putting in Black Ops 6and Warzone 2.0 can eat as much as 240GB. In different phrases, a full Name of Responsibility set up will take up greater than one-third of the PS5’s inside storage. When you’re not a CoD fan, although, likelihood is you’ll be good to retailer between six to 10 video games on a daily PS5 internally earlier than operating into issues.
You additionally want to contemplate your web velocity. When you stay in an space with sluggish broadband, the “you may simply obtain it once more” rationale doesn’t actually work. At my outdated dwelling, a 100GB obtain took me round eight hours, throughout which era it was troublesome to concurrently watch Twitch or, say, publish articles about upgrading PS5 SSDs. Protecting video games round on the off-chance you’ll wish to play them sooner or later is sensible.
Off the bat, there's principally 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 a variety of area for contemporary video games to stay on. 500GB drives is usually a respectable possibility, however after years of declining costs, I believe 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 wish to flex, 4TB and 8TB fashions ought to principally 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 because of storage being reserved for the working system and caching. When you set up a 1TB PS5 SSD, you'll 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 may 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 laborious drives are inclined to value lower than inside SSD counterparts (and there’s a superb likelihood you may 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 just appropriate for enjoying PlayStation 4 video games, or storing PS5 titles. That’s helpful in case you have something however the perfect high-speed web — it’s quicker to maneuver a PS5 sport out of “chilly storage” on an exterior drive than it’s to re-download it — or wish 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 occasions. Any primary transportable 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 suitable 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 contemplate. The principle necessities Sony has laid out for compatibility come down to hurry, cooling and bodily dimensions.
For velocity, 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 recurrently — similar to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart — would trigger no points. Just about the one factor the PS5 will outright reject is one which doesn't match the Gen4 x4 spec.
In our opinion, although, utilizing a drive slower than the specification is a threat that, if you happen to don’t have already got that drive mendacity round, shouldn’t be 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 value distinction between these marginally slower Gen4 drives and those that meet Sony’s spec isn’t enormous, and also you may as effectively cowl all of your bases.
Barely extra difficult than velocity is cooling and measurement. Most new SSDs are going to be simply advantageous; the PS5 can match 22mm-wide SSDs of nearly any size (30mm, 40mm, 60mm, 80mm or 110mm, to be exact). The overwhelming majority of drives you discover can be 22mm large and 80mm lengthy, so no downside there.
It ought to be famous that the system can match a 25mm-wide drive, however that width should embrace the cooling answer. Talking of, Sony says SSDs require “efficient warmth dissipation with a cooling construction, similar to a heatsink.” The utmost top supported by Sony’s slot is 11.25mm, of which solely 2.45mm could be “under” the drive.
This beforehand meant a number of the hottest heatsinked Gen4 SSDs, together with Corsair’s MP600 Professional LP, wouldn’t match inside the PS5’s storage enlargement slot. Since Engadget first revealed 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 part in an NVMe SSD that basically requires cooling is the controller, which with no 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 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 alternative and choose up principally something that meets the beneficial dimensions. A very good search time period is “laptop computer NVME heatsink,” as these can 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 advantageous, and in performing stress exams on a PC, we couldn’t discover something metallic that didn’t maintain temperatures underneath management. If you’re looking out, simply make certain the answer you go for measures not more than 25mm large 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 looking 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 commonplace, and although Gen5 drives are backward suitable, they’re dearer than their Gen4 counterparts. Simply purchase the quickest and highest-capacity Gen4 mannequin you may afford.
The best way to set up an SSD into your PS5
When you want steering on the way to set up your new NVMe into your PS5 or PS5 Professional, we’ve a separate information detailing all of the steps right here. Set up is fairly simple, however our how-to might help you if you happen to're caught. Simply make observe: Earlier than trying so as to add extra storage through a PS5 SSD, guarantee that you’ve got Sony’s newest software program put in.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ps/best-ssd-for-ps5-130004175.html?src=rss