Small, convenient, and easy to install, PS5 SSDs are one of the best and quickest ways to avoid running out of space — at least until the games start getting even bigger than they already are, which they undoubtedly will before too long. But for now, installing an SSD is a killer upgrade that will make both playing and managing your games a lot faster and more fun.
What are the best PS5 internal SSDs?
While evaluating PS5 SSDs to see which one 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’re all virtually identical in form factor (M.2), shape (rectangular), and function (see above). It can be unusually difficult to know which to buy. The good news is: For the most part, it doesn’t matter. Each one we looked at was an NVMe drive using the same M.2 2280 form factor, so you don’t have to worry about the SSD fitting in your PS5. Each one also supported the PCI Express (PCIe) 4.0 (aka Gen4) interface to help maximize every lick of speed. For that reason, most of these drives will also work in PCs with an M.2 slot, and that flexibility is good to have. What matters more: All of the drives exhibited nearly identical performance in our tests. Yes, one drive might load one game a little faster than another, or just barely edge out another’s copy time on this game rather than that game. But the difference was usually only one or two seconds — and even the ultra-rare “runaway” winners never differed by more than three seconds. Design is hardly a deciding factor here. Sure, some of the drives are quite attractive. But no matter how good they look, they’re going to be sealed in the windowless PS5 case. Instead, you can fall back on qualities such as 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 have to apply the heat sink or dispersal strip yourself) and maybe even brand loyalty. If you need an internal PS5 SSD, any of these drives will serve you well.
Corsair MP600 Pro LPX (2TB)
It makes sense that Corsair, an acknowledged leader in the PC component market, would have a PS5-ready SSD, too. And the MP600 Pro LPX is just as heavy-duty as Corsair’s computer hardware, with a stout-looking black aluminum heat spreader preinstalled. 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 plowed through our tests with ease, routinely keeping pace with the speediest drives, with its time of 50 seconds 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 an entirely new name for itself among PS5 gamers. This simple, no-nonsense drive was one of several champs at copying Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (needing 5 minutes, 12 seconds) and Mass Effect: Andromeda (3:22) back to the PS5, and tied with two other drives for loading Assassin’s Creed Valhalla the fastest (50 seconds). Our PS5 reported its read speed as 5,640MBps, and Crucial claims sequential reads of up to 6,600MBps. You will need to apply a heat-spreading strip yourself, but the P5 Plus is otherwise plug-and-play. It comes in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities.
Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD (1TB)
According to our PS5’s diagnostics, the Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD is the second-fastest drive we looked at, with a read speed of 6,538MBps — just below Gigabyte’s claim of 7,000MBps. Its biggest victory in our tests was its 50-second time for loading Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but its solid results throughout keep it a respectable drive from a major “boutique” PC manufacturer. This striking-looking black-and-gray drive comes preloaded with a nanocarbon-coated 7mm heat spreader and a dual-sided conductivity pad for wicking away heat. (We were only able to acquire a 1TB model for our evaluation, but there’s also a 2TB version, which should work just as well.)
Kingston Fury Renegade (2TB)
Like some of the other companies on this list, Kingston long ago made a name for itself in the PC storage and memory market. As such, the company’s prowess in designing SSDs that also work in your PS5 was to be expected. Our console didn’t quite detect what the company touted as the Fury Renegade’s top read speed of 7,300MBps, but the 6,493MBps it did detect was the third-highest we saw. This drive distinguished itself with the fastest Assassin’s Creed Valhalla copy time (56 seconds). It also tied for fastest with Mass Effect: Andromeda (33 seconds), as well as its ultra-low-profile graphene heat-spreading strip. The Fury Renegade is available in capacities from 500GB to 4TB.
MSI Spatium M480 Play (2TB)
It’s a shame that you’ll never see the MSI Spatium M480 Play when it’s inside your PS5, because it’s one of the better-looking drives we evaluated, with a dynamic, two-tone heatsink crowned with MSI’s dragon-shield logo. Although it had one of the lower PS5-rated read speeds (5,583MBps, versus MSI’s claim of 7,000Mbps), we experienced no significant performance problems with the drive. It was even the definitive winner of our Elden Ring load time test, needing only 19 seconds — two seconds faster than the nearest competitor. Capacities for this drive range from 500GB to 4TB.
Samsung 980 Pro (2TB)
The Samsung 980 Pro didn’t win any of our speed tests (and our PS5 rated its read speed at 5,669MBps — well below Samsung’s advertised 7,000MBps), but it ran neck-and-neck with most of the other drives in our lineup, turning out fine performance nonetheless. It was, however, one of the most expensive SSDs we saw, with a list price of $299.99 (that drops down to about $249.99 on the street). If necessary, you can save some money by getting a lower-capacity model; this was the only drive we looked at with a 250GB minimum model (the maximum is 2TB). There are two different versions available, one with a heatsink and a less expensive one without. For console use, make sure you get the pricier one.
Teamgroup T-Force Cardea A440 Pro Special Series (2TB)
Teamgroup is not one of the better-known companies on this list, but maybe it should be. The T-Force Cardea A440 Pro Special Series tied for fastest in copying Mass Effect: Andromeda from the PS5 (in 33 seconds). It was also the clear winner copying Elden Ring to the console (3 minutes, 19 seconds) and loading Mass Effect: Andromeda (in just 23 seconds). Our PS5 didn’t see its claimed read speeds of 7,000MBps (it topped out at 5,862MBps for us), but it didn’t matter for this inexpensive ($219.99), low-profile drive, which you can also get in 1TB and 4TB capacities.
WD_Black SN850 (2TB)
With an observed read speed of 6,549MBps on our PS5 — not too far below WD’s stated max of 7,000MBps — the WD_Black SN850 has serious performance potential. It looks the part, too, with its jet-black, industrial design that extends to the top of its heatsink (though a version is available without one, so check that you’re getting the right model). However, the WD_Black SN850 edged toward 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 (though there are also 500GB, 1TB, and 4TB capacities) can be expensive, though, as it lists for $349.99 and is available on the street for prices between about $239.99 to $300.
XPG Gammix S70 Blade (2TB)
We didn’t test any bad drives this time around, but the XPG Gammix S70 Blade comes with a couple of key caveats. It took noticeably longer for the PS5 to format than any of the other drives; you’ll need to affix the heat dispersal strip to the drive yourself (although said strip is included); and, with a list price of about $249.99, it’s on the pricey side. But it was a member of the 6,000 club in terms of its detected read speed (6,188MBps, versus a claimed 7,400MBps), and it was just fine at handling every gaming task we threw at it. If you don’t want 2TB, the Gammix S70 also comes in 512GB, 1TB, and 4TB capacities.
How we test the best PS5 internal SSDs
Like most internal storage, PS5 SSDs have one purpose in life: to house your data. You put your games on, you play them and you (maybe) take them off when you’re ready to play something else for a while. We test all of these tasks. We time how long it takes to move a game from the PS5’s integrated storage to the SSD, how long it takes to load the game and get to its start screen, and how long it takes to move the game back to the PS5’s storage. (And although this information won’t be useful in most cases, we also report what the PS5 detects as the drive’s read speed when it’s configured upon 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: The internal SSDs are faster across the board.) Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a huge (71.22GB) big-budget game from late 2020. And the 45.14GB Elden Ring is the undisputed smash hit released earlier this year. Copy Time (Download/Upload)
