Ever since its launch in 2020, the Sony PlayStation 5 has established itself as the most-popular console around. We’ve even had a second iteration since, in the form of the PS Slim. However, even with the tweaked design, the console shares the same flaw when it comes to storage.
Its capacity for storing PS5 games is rather meek in comparison with the Xbox Series X. There’s an 825GB SSD inside, but only 667GB of it can be used for games. You could add an external drive, but that will only work with PS4 titles.
But never fear, Sony allows you to add a separate SSD card to expand the amount of space to store games on – handy when the likes of Call of Duty weigh in at over 100GB apiece.
Here then are the PS5-compatible SSD cards we recommend. They all meet Sony’s standards (M.2 NVMe cards with a minimum speeds of 5,500MB/s and a heatsink) and will stop you having to download and reinstall games over and again.
T3’s top 3 PS5 SSDs
Here are our top 3 personal picks for PS5 SSD storage. You can also check out all the options below.
1. WD_Black SN850X 1TB Heatsink
The best expansion card overall
The WD_Black SN850X is a worthy successor to the excellent SN850 – it’s faster too, with up to 7,300MB/s speeds. It is one of the most popular cards for a reason.
2. Lexar Professional NM800 Pro 512GB Heatsink
Great speeds for a very friendly price
Lexar has always been a favourite with photographers and gamers can benefit too – especially with the price of this 512GB card with up to 7,450MB/s read speeds.
3. Samsung 990 Pro 2TB Heatsink
A great option for more storage
Samsung’s flagship SSD is known to be one of the most reliable and stable cards on the market. It may cost a touch more, but the premium price comes with performance.
Rik Henderson
Rik has written about video games for more than 36 years, having edited numerous gaming magazines. He has also starred on games TV shows, such as Channel 4’s GamesMaster and Sky’s Games World. He has added extra storage to his own personal PlayStation 5, which he uses to review games and generally unwind.
The PS5 SSDs we recommend in 2024
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The best PS5 SSD overall
(Image credit: Western Digital)
Western Digital’s WD_Black gaming range has been going great guns for years. It offers fast storage for a number of devices, including PlayStation 5, and differentiates itself with metal casings and solid build quality.
We’ve previously recommended the WD_Black SN850 as our favourite in the past, but the more recent SN850X is faster and therefore even easier to recommend now
that it’s available for a decent price.
It boasts read speeds of up to 7,300MB/s – more than fast enough for the PS5 minimum spec – and has an excellent, solid heatsink included.
This is the SSD I currently use in my console, and I’m constantly thrilled by its performance. It’s even better, I feel, than the official PlayStation alternative also sold by the brand.
The best budget PS5 SSD
(Image credit: Lexar)
If you don’t have the biggest budget and just want to boost your storage a bit, opting for a 512GB SSD could be a great option – especially when there’s the likes of the Lexar Professional NM800 Pro around for relatively little outlay.
It features fast read speeds – much higher than the minimum required to run in a PlayStation 5 – and comes from a brand trusted by camera professionals. That should give you reassurance on its stability and endurance.
It’s not the sexiest SSD on the market, but does come with a heatsink preinstalled so can slot straight into the console. And, once you’ve put the cover back on your machine, you should never have to see it again anyway.
There are other storage sizes available too, as well as a version without a heatsink that is even cheaper – although you will have to source your own third-party heatsink that way.
The best premium PS5 SSD
(Image credit: Samsung)
Samsung is a hugely renowned brand in the world of storage and its SSD cards are widely considered to be among the best – hence you often have to pay extra for them.
The Samsung 990 Pro is definitely in that category. Far from the cheapest on the market, it is nonetheless highly regarded. It almost matches the superb read speeds (7,450 MB/s) with its write speeds (6,900 MB/s) which allows for quick installation of PS5 games.
Build quality is also exceptional, with a lot of thought going into such a tiny device. So, if you are thinking of shelling out extra for additional storage – such as this 2TB model – you can be rest assured that this one will last.
It’s also worth noting that the 990 Pro is great with power efficiency too, so should keep your console’s usage down a touch.
The best PS5 SSD “optimised” for the console
(Image credit: Corsair)
If your primary goal is to go big in terms of extra storage capacity on your PS5 then you can’t go far wrong with the Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB.
It comes from one of the most respected component makers in the world and also has one of the best heatsinks attached. It also comes in white to match the console and has been “optimised” for the PS5 (claims Corsair).
When we tested this drive it performed as well or slightly better than the PS5 SSD that comes in the system as standard, and while it isn’t the out-and-out fastest PS5 SSD you can buy, it’s a quality all-round package that offers plug-and-play ease.
The 2TB model is definitely the sweet spot in terms of capacity to spend in our eyes at this space level, giving you plenty of extra room for games without breaking the bank. However, if you like the design of this model, but need more or less storage, it comes in 1TB and 4TB flavours too.
The best PS5 SSD for a mammoth amount of storage
(Image credit: Addlink)
Everything about the Addlink AddGame A95 SSD makes you sit up and take notice, from the smartly designed heatsink and read/write speeds to the price that you’re going to have to pay to get hold of it – especially for the mammoth 8TB model.
That’s at the pricier end of the spectrum for these SSDs – around double the price of the console itself – but you’ll never have to uninstall and re-download a game again. It’s worth the investment if you’ve got the budget.
The stick offers read and write speeds of 7,000MB/s and 6,000MB/s respectively (with lower storage variants a touch faster). That’s roughly on a par with the internal storage that Sony has fitted in the PS5 – so you know it’s going to be suitable.
You’ll certainly have no complaints when it comes to how long games take to transfer or load up.
Best PS5 SSD without a heatsink
(Image credit: Samsung Memory / Unsplash)
The Samsung 980 Pro is our top recommendation for a PS5 SSD without a heatsink, as it not only beats the required read speed criteria set by Sony, it also does so in terms of data transfer rate.
As you can see in this guide, all drives can deliver a read speed of 7,000 MB/s or more but not all deliver that level in terms of data transfer.
And then when you factor in that this drive’s price is towards the more affordable end of 1TB PS5 SSDs, it becomes evident as to why we think it is such a good buy.
You get a premium drive that offers insane speeds for a competitive price point, and as it is made by Samsung, you’re getting a drive from a maker with a huge pedigree.
The obvious downside to buying this drive is that it does not come with a heatsink. As such, you will need to buy a heatsink from a third party. It’s very simple to attach one though and doesn’t cost much extra.
How to choose the best PS5 SSD for you
There are two big considerations to bear in mind when choosing a PlayStation 5-compatible SSD card.
To beging with, the card needs to be an M.2 SSD and you can’t just buy any model, it has to match certain criteria in terms of speed.
You absolutely cannot just buy one of the best SSDs on the market, for example, and bang it in the console. While that drive may be very good, it may not be fast enough to be PS5 compatible.
In addition, your SSD has to have a heatsink to keep the storage solution cool during persistent operation. And, that heatsink has to be compatible with the size limits of the NVMe SSD expansion bay in the PS5. Fortunately, Sony has supplied a very useful guide that details these criteria, and in our list of the best PS5 SSDs on the market we’ve included models with and without heatsinks.
If you choose the latter, you’ll have to add your own. However, they are reasonable inexpensive and easy to fit.
As a final note, for an SSD to be PS5 compatible it needs to meet the following criteria:
- PCIe Gen4 interface
- 250GB – 8TB capacity
- 5,500MB/s read speed or faster
- 22mm width heatsink required (included or third party)
How we tested the PS5 SSD cards
We have extensive experience of using multiple PlayStation SSD cards ourselves, in both standard and digital edition consoles.
The process to place them into your PS5 and then use them to store games is simple. Sony even has a step-by-step video to follow.
The best way to test how effective installed storage can be is to time a game load time when it’s running from the internal drive and then from the added SSD card.
You can even find several of the cards in this list offering faster load times than Sony’s own.
