Sony PlayStation 5: These SSDs are compatible with the console

Updated on July 30, 2021:

Seagate has officially confirmed that the new FireCuda 530 is compatible with the PlayStation 5 – the manufacturer even offers a version with a very flat heat sink, which should guarantee the best possible performance under continuous load.

It is an M.2-2280 SSD that is connected via PCIe 4.0 x4, with dimensions of 80.15 x 22.15 x 3.58 millimeters, the SSD fits easily into the M.2 slot of the PlayStation 5. This means that the SSD achieves sequential read speeds of up to 7.3 GB/s while writing data should still be 6.9 GB/s – this significantly exceeds the speed of 5.5 GB/s recommended by Sony.

Original Story:

The Sony PlayStation 5 has an 825 GB SSD, but the memory can be expanded with an M.2 slot. Sony has finally revealed what requirements SSDs have to meet in order to be compatible with the PS5. The PS5 SSD expansion update beta firmware already allows the memory to be expanded.

The PS5 internal SSD is extremely fast with a data throughput of 5.5 GB/s, with a capacity of 825 GB, of which only 667 GB are available for storing games, but it is only full with a handful of games. Even before the launch, Sony announced that the PS5 storage expansion could be possible using an M.2 SSD, but it was unclear when this feature would be activated.

Now Sony has announced that the latest PS5 internal SSD update beta firmware will enable the M.2 slot. When the function will be available to all users is not yet known, but Sony has already announced which SSDs will be compatible with the console. The requirements are not surprising – the console only accepts M.2 NVMe SSDs that are connected via PCIe 4.0 x4, PCIe 3.0, or SATA SSDs are not supported.

Sony recommends using an SSD with a heat sink so that it offers the best possible performance even under continuous load – this is a bit difficult in view of the space requirements, for example, the Seagate FireCuda 530 (approx. $240 for 1TB on Amazon.com) fulfills this requirement, or you can also try the Patriot Viper Gaming VP4300 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (approx. $225 for 1TB on Amazon.com) drives use Innogrit IG5236 controller and 3D TLC NAND flash memory.

For the PS5 SSD expansion update, the SSD may only be 25 mm wide with a module width of 22 mm, a maximum of 110 mm long, and up to 11.25 mm thick. Sony recommends a sequential read speed of at least 5.5 GB/s. The Sony PlayStation 5 (see the latest pricing on Newegg.com) is compatible with SSDs that have a capacity of 250 GB to 4 TB. Installing an M.2 SSD in the PlayStation 5 is very easy, as the teardown of iFixit shows.