The perfect SSDs for PS5 in 2026

Storage fills up quick on a PS5, particularly when a single sport can take up as a lot area as a whole last-gen library. Including moreSSD area is the simplest solution to cease taking part in Tetris together with your installs, and as soon as it’s arrange, your console masses video games simply as shortly because it does from the built-in drive. It’s a small improve that makes a giant distinction in the event you bounce between a number of titles directly.

The difficult half is understanding which SSDs really work with the PS5. You want a drive that meets Sony’s velocity necessities and stays cool beneath lengthy play periods. Some fashions embrace a heatsink, whereas others allow you to use your individual to save lots of a bit cash. We examined the highest choices and picked the most effective SSDs for PS5 that can assist you improve with out trouble.

Learn extra: These are the best SSDs in 2026

Desk of contents

Finest SSDs for PS5 in 2026

Essential

Capability: As much as 4TB | Learn efficiency: 7,300MB/s | Write efficiency: 6,800 MB/s | Connection: M.2

If you wish to save a bit of cash by putting in your individual heatsink, the Crucial T500 is a superb possibility. With learn speeds of as much as 7,300MB/s, it surpasses Sony’s technical necessities, and you’ll often discover the 1TB mannequin on sale for as little as $60. Essential additionally affords a model with a heatsink, so it’s value including each the Corsair MP600 and Essential T500 to a worth watch checklist and shopping for whichever mannequin is cheaper whenever you’re able to improve your PS5.

Professionals

• Quick
• Out there with or with out heatsink

$148 at Amazon

SABRENT

Capability: As much as 8TB | Sequential learn efficiency: 7,000MB/s | Sequential write efficiency: 6,600MB/s | Connection: M.2

Of all of the SSDs on this checklist, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is probably the most fascinating. It comes with a singular heatsink that you just set up instead of the storage growth slot’s metallic cowl. Sabrent claims this design improves cooling efficiency. Because of this, anticipate to pay greater than you’ll for a mannequin with a generic heatsink, with the 1TB variant coming in at round $110 and the 2TB mannequin costing between $220 and $280.

Professionals

• PS5-specific heatsink design

Cons

• Not as quick as different choices
• Costly relative to different drives

$130 at Amazon

SAMSUNG

Capability: As much as 4TB | Learn efficiency: 1,050MB/s | Write efficiency: 1,000MB/s | Connection: USB 3.0

As I clarify under, you may’t run PS5 video games from an exterior drive — however you need to use one to retailer any video games you aren’t taking part in in the mean time, together with older PS4 video games.

Certainly one of my favourite transportable drives is the Samsung T7. It may write information at a speedy 1,000 MB/s. For those who plan to make use of the drive solely for at-home use, it can save you cash by shopping for the common mannequin as a substitute of the ruggedized Defend variant. I’ve been utilizing T7 drives to retailer my pictures, music and video games for years, they usually have but to fail me. The newest mannequin, the Samsung T9, boasts learn/write speeds of as much as 2,000MB/s.

Professionals

• Inexpensive
• Dependable
• Rugged variant obtainable

Cons

• Can’t play PS5 video games from exterior drive

$110 at Amazon

How we take a look at PS5 SSDs

I’ve examined many of the SSDs really useful on this checklist, both for PS5 or laptop use. I additionally purchased and used our high decide in my very own PS5.

PS5 SSD FAQs

How a lot PS5 storage do I would like?

The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro can settle for inner drives with between 250GB and 8TB of storage capability. For those who already personal a PS5, chances are high you might have an inexpensive concept of how a lot storage you want ​​on your sport library. For those who’re shopping for an SSD with a brand new PS5 or PS5 Professional, or shopping for for another person, it’s tougher to inform what you would possibly want for a high-performance expertise.

PS5 video games are smaller on common than their PS4 equivalents, sometimes taking on between 30GB and 100GB, with some notable (and very fashionable) exceptions. For those who’re a fan of the Name of Responsibility collection, putting in Black Ops 6 and Warzone 2.0 can eat as much as 240GB. In different phrases, a full Name of Responsibility set up will take up greater than one-third of the PS5’s inner storage. For those who’re not a CoD fan, although, chances are high you’ll be good to retailer between six to 10 video games on a daily PS5 internally earlier than operating into issues.

You additionally want to think about your web velocity. For those who reside in an space with sluggish broadband, the “you may simply obtain it once more” rationale doesn’t actually work. At my outdated residence, a 100GB obtain took me round eight hours, throughout which era it was troublesome to concurrently watch Twitch or, say, publish articles about upgrading PS5 SSDs. Preserving video games round on the off-chance you’ll need to play them sooner or later is smart.

Off the bat, there’s mainly no level in going for a 250GB PS5 SSD. Economically, 250GB drives aren’t that less expensive than 500GB ones — and virtually, that actually isn’t lots of area for contemporary video games to reside on. 500GB drives generally is a first rate possibility, however after years of declining costs, I feel the candy spot for most individuals is to go for a high-capacity 1TB or 2TB drive, which ought to run you at most $200. The latter will greater than double the PS5 Professional’s storage with out breaking the financial institution.

Until you’re rolling in money and need to flex, 4TB and 8TB fashions ought to principally be averted, as you’ll find yourself paying extra per gigabyte than you’ll with a 1TB or 2TB drive.

Whereas the 825GB PS5 solely supplies 667GB of storage, that’s largely attributable to storage being reserved for the working system and caching. For those who set up a 1TB PS5 SSD, you will have, inside a margin of error, 1TB of storage obtainable for video games. Out of the field, the PS5 Professional affords 1.86TB of storage for video games, although you may eke out extra in the event you delete the pre-installed Astro’s Playroom (gasp).

Since neither the PS5 Slim nor PS5 Professional characteristic up to date CPU structure, all of our suggestions will work with no matter PS5 mannequin you personal.

Are you able to play PS5 video games on an exterior SSD?

Exterior exhausting drives are likely to price lower than inner SSD counterparts (and there’s a very good likelihood you would possibly personal one already). Sadly, there are restrictions on what you are able to do with them. An exterior SSD connects to your PS5 through USB, and is just appropriate for enjoying PlayStation 4 video games, or storing PS5 titles. That’s helpful when you’ve got something however the most effective high-speed web — it’s quicker to maneuver a PS5 sport out of “chilly storage” on an exterior drive than it’s to re-download it — or need to maintain your PS4 library available.

Because of the limitations right here, you don’t want the highest-performing mannequin, though you must go for SSDs over HDDs for improved switch speeds and cargo instances. Any primary transportable drive from a good model will do, with the Essential X9 Professional and Samsung T7 being choices we’ve tried and may suggest.

Which SSD playing cards are appropriate with the PS5?

The official answer to this query is an “M.2 Socket 3 (Key M) Gen4 x4 NVME SSD.” However even inside that seemingly particular description, there are extra elements to think about. The primary necessities Sony has laid out for compatibility come down to hurry, cooling and bodily dimensions.

For velocity, Sony says drives ought to be capable of deal with sequential reads at 5,500MB/s. Early testing confirmed that the PS5 would settle for drives as sluggish as 4,800MB/s, and that video games that faucet into the SSD often — corresponding to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart — would trigger no points. Just about the one factor the PS5 will outright reject is one that does not match the Gen4 x4 spec.

In our opinion, although, utilizing a drive slower than the specification is a threat that, in the event you don’t have already got that drive mendacity round, just isn’t value taking. Simply because we haven’t discovered points but doesn’t imply there received’t be video games that could possibly be problematic sooner or later. The worth distinction between these marginally slower Gen4 drives and those that meet Sony’s spec isn’t large, and also you would possibly as nicely cowl all of your bases.

Barely extra sophisticated than velocity is cooling and dimension. Most new SSDs are going to be simply superb; the PS5 can match 22mm-wide SSDs of nearly any size (30mm, 40mm, 60mm, 80mm or 110mm, to be exact). The overwhelming majority of drives you discover shall be 22mm large and 80mm lengthy, so no downside there.

It ought to be famous that the system can match a 25mm-wide drive, however that width should embrace the cooling resolution. Talking of, Sony says SSDs require “efficient warmth dissipation with a cooling construction, corresponding to a heatsink.” The utmost peak supported by Sony’s slot is 11.25mm, of which solely 2.45mm might be “under” the drive.

This beforehand meant among the hottest heatsinked Gen4 SSDs, together with Corsair’s MP600 Professional LP, wouldn’t match inside the PS5’s storage growth slot. Since Engadget first revealed this information in 2021, most NVMe makers, together with Samsung, have come out with PlayStation-specific fashions that meet these necessities. That stated, if you wish to avoid wasting cash, naked drives are sometimes cheaper and it’s trivial to discover a cooling resolution that may work for the PS5.

The one element in an NVMe SSD that actually requires cooling is the controller, which with no heatsink will fortunately sear a (very small) steak. Most SSDs have chips on just one aspect, however even on double-sided SSDs, the controller is more likely to be on high, as producers realize it must be positioned there to raised dissipate warmth.

So, head to your PC element vendor of alternative and decide up mainly something that meets the really useful dimensions. search time period is “laptop computer NVME heatsink,” as these shall be designed to slot in the confines of gaming laptops, that are much more restrictive than a PS5. They’re additionally sometimes cheaper than those labeled as “PS5 heatsinks.”

One advice is that this $6 copper heatsink, which attaches to the PS5 SSD with sticky thermal interface materials. It really works simply superb, and in performing stress exams on a PC, we couldn’t discover something metallic that didn’t maintain temperatures beneath management. Once you’re looking, simply ensure the answer you go for measures not more than 25mm large or 8mm tall (together with the thermal interface materials) and has a easy methodology of set up that’s not going to trigger any complications.

One final thing: When looking for a PS5 NVMe, there’s no motive to purchase a Gen5 mannequin over a extra inexpensive Gen4 mannequin. As issues stand, Sony’s console can’t make the most of the brand new normal, and although Gen5 drives are backward appropriate, they’re costlier than their Gen4 counterparts. Simply purchase the quickest and highest-capacity Gen4 mannequin you may afford.

The way to set up an SSD into your PS5

For those who want steering on how to install your new NVMe into your PS5 or PS5 Professional, we now have a separate information detailing all of the steps right here. Set up is fairly simple, however our how-to may also help you in the event you’re caught. Simply make word: Earlier than making an attempt so as to add extra storage through a PS5 SSD, guarantee that you’ve Sony’s latest software installed.