One of the best SSDs for PS5 in 2025

In case your PlayStation 5’s inside storage is beginning to really feel slightly cramped, you’re not alone. With recreation installs often taking on over 100GB, increasing your storage is among the best methods to get extra out of your console. One of the best SSD for PS5 is not going to solely offer you further area on your recreation library, nevertheless it must also meet Sony’s pace necessities so your video games load simply as quick as they’d on the built-in drive.

There’s a variety of SSDs to select from, whether or not you desire a easy plug-and-play choice with a heatsink or a budget-friendly choose the place you add your personal. Some supply higher cooling, others include software program instruments for managing efficiency — however all of the drives we’ve included listed below are appropriate, quick and dependable. Right here’s what to look out for when upgrading your PS5 storage, and our high picks that can assist you get began.

Learn extra: These are the best SSDs in 2025

Desk of contents

Finest SSDs for PS5 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 personal heatsink, the Crucial T500 is a good choice. With learn speeds of as much as 7,300MB/s, it surpasses Sony’s technical necessities, and you’ll regularly discover the 1TB mannequin on sale for as little as $60. Essential additionally presents a model with a heatsink, so it’s price including each the Corsair MP600 and Essential T500 to a worth watch record and shopping for whichever mannequin is cheaper once you’re able to improve your PS5.

Execs

• Quick
• Obtainable with or with out heatsink

$75 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 fascinating. It comes with a novel heatsink that you simply set up rather than the storage enlargement slot’s steel cowl. Sabrent claims this design improves cooling efficiency. Consequently, anticipate 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 under, you’ll be able to’t run PS5 video games from an exterior drive — however you need to use one to retailer any video games you aren’t taking part in in the mean time, together with older PS4 video games.

Certainly one of my favourite moveable drives is the Samsung T7. It will possibly write recordsdata at a speedy 1,000 MB/s. For those who plan to make use of the drive solely 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 pictures, 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

• Reasonably priced
• Dependable
• Rugged variant obtainable

Cons

• Can’t play PS5 video games from exterior drive

$90 at Adorama

How we check PS5 SSDs

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

PS5 SSD FAQs

How a lot PS5 storage do I want?

The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro can settle for inside drives with between 250GB and 8TB of storage capability. For those who already personal a PS5, likelihood is you’ve got an affordable concept of how a lot storage you want ​​on your recreation library. For those who’re shopping for an SSD with a brand new PS5 or PS5 Professional, or shopping for for another person, it’s tougher to inform what you would possibly want for a high-performance expertise.

PS5 video games are smaller on common than their PS4 equivalents, usually taking on between 30GB and 100GB, with some notable (and very fashionable) exceptions. For those who’re a fan of the Name of Responsibility collection, putting in Black Ops 6 and 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. For those who’re not a CoD fan, although, likelihood is you’ll be good to retailer between six to 10 video games on an everyday PS5 internally earlier than working into issues.

You additionally want to think about your web pace. For those who dwell in an space with gradual broadband, the “you’ll be able to simply obtain it once more” rationale doesn’t actually work. At my previous dwelling, 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 sooner or later 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 basically isn’t a variety of area for contemporary video games to dwell on. 500GB drives is usually a first rate choice, 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.

Until 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 resulting from storage being reserved for the working system and caching. For those who set up a 1TB PS5 SSD, you will have, inside a margin of error, 1TB of storage obtainable for video games. Out of the field, the PS5 Professional presents 1.86TB of storage for video games, although you’ll be able to eke out extra in case you 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 onerous drives are inclined to value lower than inside SSD counterparts (and there’s probability 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 through USB, and is simply appropriate for enjoying PlayStation 4 video games, or storing PS5 titles. That’s helpful when you have something however the most effective high-speed web — it’s quicker 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 available.

Because of the 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 fundamental moveable 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 appropriate 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 components to think about. The primary necessities Sony has laid out for compatibility come down to hurry, cooling and bodily dimensions.

For pace, 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 gradual as 4,800MB/s, and that video games that faucet into the SSD often — reminiscent of 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 danger that, in case you don’t have already got that drive mendacity round, will not be price taking. Simply because we haven’t discovered points but doesn’t imply there gained’t be video games that may very well be problematic sooner or later. The worth distinction between these marginally slower Gen4 drives and those that meet Sony’s spec isn’t enormous, and also you would possibly as properly cowl all of your bases.

Barely extra difficult than pace is cooling and measurement. Most new SSDs are going to be simply wonderful; 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 will probably be 22mm vast 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 embrace the cooling resolution. Talking of, Sony says SSDs require “efficient warmth dissipation with a cooling construction, reminiscent of a heatsink.” The utmost peak supported by Sony’s slot is 11.25mm, of which solely 2.45mm might be “under” the drive.

This beforehand meant a few of the hottest heatsinked Gen4 SSDs, together with Corsair’s MP600 Professional LP, wouldn’t match throughout 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 resolution that can work for the PS5.

The one part in an NVMe SSD that basically 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 prone to be on high, as producers understand it must be positioned there to higher dissipate warmth.

So, head to your PC part vendor of selection and choose up mainly something that meets the really helpful dimensions. A great search time period is “laptop computer NVME heatsink,” as these will probably be designed to slot in the confines of gaming laptops, that are much more restrictive than a PS5. They’re additionally usually 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 wonderful, and in performing stress assessments on a PC, we couldn’t discover something steel that didn’t maintain temperatures underneath management. While you’re looking, simply be sure the answer you go for measures not more than 25mm vast 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 final thing: When searching for a PS5 NVMe, there’s no cause 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 normal, and although Gen5 drives are backward appropriate, they’re costlier than their Gen4 counterparts. Simply purchase the quickest and highest-capacity Gen4 mannequin you’ll be able to afford.

The way to set up an SSD into your PS5

For those who want steerage on how to install your new NVMe into your PS5 or PS5 Professional, we now have a separate information detailing all of the steps right here. Set up is fairly simple, however our how-to will help you in case you’re caught. Simply make word: Earlier than trying so as to add extra storage through a PS5 SSD, guarantee that you’ve Sony’s latest software installed.