The best SSD hard drives for PlayStation 5: 64 models compared

After a long, arduous wait, the internal storage expansion bay for the PS5 was unlocked in September 2021. For gamers who, like me, had been deleting and moving games about on the internal SSD, it was music to our ears. But it's not just about more games. You could even upgrade your PS5 to a faster read speed, bringing with it more spritely gaming performance.

Upgrading your storage space is different with the PS5 compared to the PS4. With the older console, you could just plug in an external SSD to store extra content. However, the PS5 was designed to be heavily reliant on the latest generation of SSDs to function as advertised. More specifically, NVMe m.2 Gen 4 PCI-e SSD cards. And there's a number of PS5 SSD deals about.

External hard drives are too slow and indeed Sony won't even let you try and play a stored PS5 game from one such is the impact on the title's performance. As such, it's an M.2 PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe 1.4 SSD or bust. In this article I will take you through the contenders currently available on the market in Australia and nail down the best SSD deal for your PS5.

Best PS5 SSD drives

Below you will find a list of all the compatible PS5 NVMe SSD drives in Australia. There are others you may come across online, such as the Inland Performance, the Kingspec XG series, Netac nv7000, Nextorage and Oscoo, but they are not readily available locally. Below the table you can read my methodology. Looking at the Cost per GB and Value Index columns is a good place to start in hunting down the best PS5 SSD deal.

Product	Size (GB)	Heatsink?	Read Speed (MB/s)	Write Speed (MB/s)	Cost/MB	Value Index	Price AUD	Where to Buy
Adata Atom 50	1000	Yes	5000	4000	$0.26	-32.1	$260	Buy at Amazon
Adata XPG Gammix S70 Blade	1000	Yes	7400	6400	$0.25	61.7	$254	Buy at Amazon
Adata XPG Gammix S70 Blade	2000	Yes	7400	6400	$0.21	75.0	$418	Buy at eBay
Corsair MP600 Pro LPX	500	Yes	7100	3700	$0.35	13.2	$177	Buy at eBay
Corsair MP600 Pro LPX	1000	Yes	7100	5800	$0.26	45.8	$255	Buy at eBay
Corsair MP600 Pro LPX	2000	Yes	7100	6800	$0.23	65.4	$459	Buy at eBay
Crucial P5 Plus	500	No	6600	4000	$0.20	11.8	$99	Buy at Amazon
Crucial P5 Plus	1000	No	6600	5000	$0.16	36.3	$156	Buy at Amazon
Crucial P5 Plus	2000	No	6600	5000	$0.15	37.4	$303	Buy at Amazon
Fantom Drives Venom8	1000	No	7400	6800	$0.20	85.0	$200	Buy at Amazon
Fantom Drives Venom8	2000	No	7400	6800	$0.17	101.5	$335	Buy at Amazon
Fantom Drives Venom8	4000	No	7400	6800	$0.20	84.0	$810	Buy at Amazon
Gigabyte AORUS Gen4 7000s	1000	Yes	7000	5500	$0.19	53.5	$187	Buy at Amazon
Gigabyte AORUS Gen4 7000s	2000	Yes	7000	6850	$0.22	67.1	$432	Buy at Amazon
Kingston Fury Renegade	500	Yes	7300	3900	$0.32	20.8	$160	Buy at Amazon
Kingston Fury Renegade	1000	Yes	7300	6000	$0.22	61.0	$224	Buy at Amazon
Kingston Fury Renegade	2000	Yes	7300	7000	$0.21	82.1	$414	Buy at Amazon
Kingston Fury Renegade	4000	Yes	7300	7000	$0.31	55.4	$1,227	Buy at Amazon
Lexar NM800 PRO	500	Yes	7450	3500	$0.29	21.5	$147	Buy at Amazon
Lexar NM800 PRO	1000	Yes	7500	6300	$0.21	76.6	$209	Buy at Amazon
Lexar NM800 PRO	2000	Yes	7500	6500	$0.19	88.4	$377	Buy at Amazon
MSI SPATIUM M480 Play	1000	Yes	7000	5500	$0.27	37.2	$269	Buy at eBay
MSI SPATIUM M480 Play	2000	Yes	7000	6800	$0.25	57.4	$499	Buy at eBay
Netac M2 2280	500	Yes	5000	4400	$0.24	-29.2	$120	Buy at eBay
Netac M2 2280	1000	Yes	5000	4400	$0.20	-35.0	$200	Buy at eBay
Netac M2 2280	2000	Yes	5000	4400	$0.20	-35.9	$390	Buy at eBay
Oyen Digital Dash Pro	4000	Yes	6800	6800	$0.22	59.4	$876	Buy at Amazon
Patriot Viper VP4300	1000	Yes	7400	5500	$0.18	71.6	$177	Buy at Amazon
Patriot Viper VP4300	2000	Yes	7400	6800	$0.22	76.4	$445	Buy at Amazon
PNY CS3040	500	Yes	5600	2600	$0.31	-28.8	$156	Buy at Amazon
PNY CS3040	1000	No	5600	4300	$0.20	-16.8	$198	Buy at Amazon
PNY CS3040	2000	No	5600	4300	$0.20	-16.6	$401	Buy at Amazon
PNY CS3040	4000	No	5600	3900	$0.31	-14.9	$1,249	Buy at Amazon
PNY CS3140	1000	No	7500	5650	$0.19	73.2	$189	Buy at Amazon
PNY CS3140	2000	No	7500	6850	$0.18	99.1	$360	Buy at Amazon
PNY CS3140	4000	No	7500	6850	$0.19	91.8	$777	Buy at eBay
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus	1000	Sold separately	7000	5300	$0.19	49.1	$190	Buy at Amazon
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus	2000	Sold separately	7100	6600	$0.22	65.2	$440	Buy at Amazon
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus	4000	Sold separately	7100	6600	$0.28	52.1	$1,100	Buy at Amazon
Samsung 980 Pro	250	No	6400	5000	$0.56	7.7	$141	Buy at Amazon
Samsung 980 Pro	500	Yes	6900	5000	$0.38	20.3	$189	Buy at eBay
Samsung 980 Pro	1000	Yes	7000	5000	$0.23	37.0	$225	Buy at Amazon
Samsung 980 Pro	2000	No	7000	5100	$0.24	36.9	$470	Buy at Amazon
Samsung 990 Pro	1000	No	7450	6900	$0.29	61.1	$289	Buy at eBay
Samsung 990 Pro	2000	No	7450	6900	$0.25	69.4	$509	Buy at eBay
Seagate FireCuda 530	500	Yes	7300	6900	$0.33	51.1	$163	Buy at Amazon
Seagate FireCuda 530	1000	Yes	7300	6900	$0.24	70.3	$237	Buy at Amazon
Seagate FireCuda 530	2000	Yes	7300	6900	$0.21	78.8	$423	Buy at Amazon
Seagate FireCuda 530	4000	Yes	7300	6000	$0.22	60.8	$899	Buy at eBay
Seagate Game Drive m.2 SSD	1000	Yes	7300	6000	$0.27	51.0	$268	Buy at Amazon
Seagate Game Drive m.2 SSD	2000	Yes	7300	6000	$0.28	48.6	$562	Buy at Amazon
Silicon Power XS70	1000	Yes	7300	6800	$0.19	86.0	$190	Buy at Amazon
Silicon Power XS70	2000	Yes	7300	6800	$0.19	88.3	$370	Buy at Amazon
Silicon Power XS70	4000	Yes	7300	6800	$0.25	65.3	$1,000	Buy at Amazon
T-FORCE CARDEA Admirable A440 Pro Special Series M.2 SSD	1000	Yes	7400	7000	$0.30	59.5	$297	Buy at Amazon
T-FORCE CARDEA Admirable A440 Pro Special Series M.2 SSD	2000	Yes	7400	7000	$0.38	46.9	$753	Buy at Amazon
Verbatim Gen 4x4	1000	Yes	7400	6100	$0.32	45.7	$321	Buy at Amazon
Verbatim Gen 4x4	2000	Yes	7400	7000	$0.29	60.7	$582	Buy at Amazon
WD SN850	500	Yes	7000	4100	$0.29	18.6	$143	Buy at Amazon
WD SN850	1000	Yes	7000	5300	$0.22	42.4	$220	Buy at Amazon
WD SN850	2000	Yes	7000	5100	$0.21	40.7	$426	Buy at Amazon
WD SN850X	1000	Yes	7300	6300	$0.21	69.5	$211	Buy at Amazon
WD SN850X	2000	Yes	7300	6600	$0.19	80.5	$389	Buy at Amazon
WD SN850X	4000	Yes	7300	6600	$0.32	49.7	$1,260	Buy at eBay

Methodology

There are 2 key parts to the table above in determining "best value". The most obvious is the cost per gigabyte. This compares how much space you are getting for your money; a figure that will float based on deals as they come and go. This does give you some guidance, but it doesn't account for the read and write speed potential of a card. Nor the reliability of the brand.

Reliability is a hard metric to compare, but we can account for read and write speed.

The Value Index column looks at the cost per gigabyte, but also looks at how much faster the drive is than the minimum 5,500MB/s required by Sony for the PlayStation 5. It then examines the gap between a drive's read speed and write speed – how much does it drop – and takes that into account. Our algorithm computes these metrics to produce an ultimate value. This can help provide further guidance for you.

Can you install a heatsink on a PS5 SSD?

While some of the above SSDs don't come with a heatsink as standard, that shouldn't necessarily scare you off. They don't cost too much more to buy, and they its easy to add a heatsink to a m.2 SSD. One of the best options if you already have, or want, a Gen 4 NVMe m.2 SSD card, is to get a heatsink cover. This is custom fit for the PS5, and does the job in cooling your PS5 in the easiest possible fashion. The PNY XLR8 SSD cover is a great option in this regard. You can pick it up for less than $40.

What SSD works with ps5: compatible specifications

There are plenty of NVMe m.2 Gen 4 PCIe x4 SSDs on the market, but not all of them are compatible with the PlayStation 5. The expansion bay slot has physical limitations, while the hardware itself has certain read and cooling demands that must be met. All the SSD cards in this article meet the requirements, but should you want to check an alternative option you've come across, this is what you must look out for:

• M.2 SSD between the lengths of 30 and 110mm.
• No wider than 22mm.
• Generation 4 PCIe M.2 x4 NVMe 1.4 SSD card.
• Read speed greater than 5500MB/s.
• Capacity between 50GB and 4TB.
• Must have a heatsink.*
• The heatsink cannot extend more than 8mm above the card, or more than 2.45mm below the card.

* Note that you can attach a heatsink to an NVMe SSD card yourself if there isn't one already built on the unit you have, or it's too large. They're relatively inexpensive and the process is easy to do.

When will pcie 5.0 SSDs come out for PS5?

One thing to keep in mind when shopping for a PS5 SSD, is that a new generation is on the way. The PCIe Gen 5 NVMe m.2 SSDs have been announced and are in the pipeline for release in late 2023, or perhaps not until 2024. So far we've seen a few names come out with planned models, which you can see below. Speeds up to 14000 MB/s have been suggested, which would be a huge increase on the Gen 4 cards.

But will PCIe 5.0 cards work with the PS5? Sony hasn't indicated yet whether it will be able to update the firmware to make the most of these improved speeds and cards. But there's more to it than that. They are expected to run a lot hotter than the Gen 4 cards, and may need a bigger heatsink as a result. Will they even fit in the expansion bay? Only time will tell, but at this stage, it's not worth waiting out for one.

List of Gen 5 PCIe SSDs

• Samsung (PM1743).
• AT&T.
• Adata Project Nighthawk PCIe 5.0.
• Adata Project Blackbird PCIe 5.0.
• Apacer AS2280F5.
• Corsair MP700.
• Zadak TWSG5.
• Gigabyte AORUS Gen5 10000 SSD.

Tips on how to buy a PS5 SSD in 2023

There are a few things to consider when searching through the drives in the below list. There are often other versions of a card with very similar names, or even the same basic name, that are different generations. As a result, they have slower speeds or may be missing a heatsink. It's important to keep an eye on this – especially if you see a price that seems a lot lower than expected. The full specs you need to look out for are below the table.

I've linked out to the correct cards in the table, so that's a good place to start your comparison.

Also know that stock availability can come and go. I've saw this drive up prices beyond the RRP at times during COVID, but thankfully those days seem to be over. Also, it means you need to make sure that the price you're looking at isn't in an alternative currency. Or that it's not being shipped from an international location. This could incur more import and shipping costs, and a delay.

How to find a PS5 SSD deal

I've put together a table below that lists every PS5 compatible SSD in Australia as of the start of 2023. I've linked through to the best deals I could find on those drives. Be advised, however, that PS5 SSD deals come and go. And that we have seen a significant price drop through 2022 in the cost of almost all the PS5 SSDs that were available at launch

How to install a PS5 SSD hard drive

Once you've found the best PS5 SSD deal, you need to install it. Although it may sound technical at first, installing the PS5 SSD expansion drive is straightforward. I've previously detailed a step-by-step guide on how to install a PS5 SSD, which you can look through. However, I think you'll get everything you need to know from the below video.