Sony’s PlayStation5 is the latest generation console chosen by tens of millions of discerning gamers, praised for its hardware features, its catalog of exclusive games and its active gaming community.
However, there are many reasons to increase base storage capacities with internal and external SSDs.
SSDs, such as the PS5’s 825GB base storage drive, offer many advantages over other storage options used by consoles in the past.
Advantages of SSDs
Some SSDs can be used to significantly increase the internal storage of a PS5. M.2 SSDs with sufficient speed and capacity up to 8TB are compatible as internal drives.
Sony recommends equipping these drives with a heat sink to prevent slowdown during periods of heavy use.
The Kingston FURY Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD with a rated speed of around 6,600 MB/s (faster than the PS5’s default SSD) is one such drive. And it comes with a heat sink to prevent performance drops.
Even SSDs that don’t meet these criteria can be useful for storing PlayStation5 data. PS5 games that are lightly used can be stored on an external SSD when not in use, only to be transferred to an internal drive when it is time to play them.
PS4 games, and other media, can be stored on an external SSD without any problem.
Internal SSDs for PlayStation5
As previously noted, the PS5 comes with an 825GB SSD of its own, but that’s not counting the system software and other essential files, which take up over a hundred gigabytes .
Users get around 667 GB to use for game storage, which may seem like a lot. But when you download triple A games, space starts to run out.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt weighs 127.8 GB; Destiny 2 139.8 GB; Cyberpunk 2077 159.6 GB. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the largest, at 312.6 GB. Fortunately, the PS5 is equipped with an M.2 SSD slot so players can expand their storage.
Installing an internal SSD in a PS5 is a simple process that takes just 15 minutes and only requires a Phillips screwdriver .
The console is compatible with drives with a capacity of up to 8TB. But even a 1TB drive will increase the effective capacity of the system for games and other media by more than 150%.
All games stored on the PS5’s internal drives can be used immediately, without the need to transfer them to another drive, making the player experience much more convenient and reducing wear and tear on the main drive.
Of course, since PS5 games can weigh over a hundred gigabytes, any drive you consider will need to be at least as fast as the pre-installed drive:
that’s a minimum of 5,500 MB/s. A heatsink will be useful for maintaining these speeds when the disk is heavily loaded.
External SSDs for PlayStation5
The PlayStation5 has multiple USB ports, including a USB-C SuperSpeed port, for purposes such as connecting external storage.
Of the options out there, an external SSD such as Kingston’s XS2000 External Solid State Drive is a strong contender.
Its small, lightweight form factor makes it almost unnoticeable on a TV stand and easy to transport to a friends’ home for a game night.
It’s also rugged, with water- and dust-resistant casing and a rubber sleeve to make it shockproof.
Available in capacities of up to 4TB, it can comfortably handle any storage overflow from the PS5’s dedicated SSD and any secondary m.2 SSD.
It offers read and write speeds up to 2,000MB/s, which is perfect for running games from previous console generations, music, or other stored media off the drive. Just remember to transfer any PS5 game you want to play onto an internal drive first.
