Best SSD for PS5 in 2024

The difference between consoles and PCs is narrowing all the time, and the Sony PlayStation 5 is the latest machine to capitalize on that merging of technologies. Not only is the underlying technology essentially a PC, but the PS5 allows you to do some things that would have been unheard of only last generation. You can, for instance, upgrade the PS5 with an m.2 SSD to improve your gaming experience significantly. It will allow you to fit more of your games onto the console so you can enjoy faster access to your games with the minimum of fuss.

You may be sat there thinking that the PS5 has plenty of storage space already, so why would you need more? Well, there are two versions of the PS5 available. The original machines shipped with a 825GB SSD, which after updates and various patches leaves you with around 667GB to play with. That’s not much when you consider that the latest Call of Duty can take up over 200GB for itself, and while that is a bit extreme, plenty of games want around 100GB. Even if you have the newer PS5 slim, which ships with a 1TB SSD, you’ll still quickly run out of space if you have a reasonable library of games.

Sony has published a list of minimum specifications for any SSD destined for the PS5. Plenty of recent PCIe 4.0 SSDs cover off these requirements though, at least in terms of raw performance. There is one element of this that could catch you out though, and that is the need for a heatsink on the drive. Just make sure you pick an SSD that has some form of cooling present.

The full requirements are as follows:

Here at CORSAIR, we have developed a couple of SSDs specifically for use in the PS5. The MP600 PRO LPX and MP600 ELITE for PS5 not only surpass the performance requirements needed to get the most from the machine, but they also have the requisite heatsink needed to keep the drive running optimally even under the most intense of gaming sessions.

It's worth noting that you do not have to choose the SSDs marked specifically for PS5, we have many other SSDs that will work totally fine with the PS5 that you can go see over on our main website. Just remember to make sure that they meet the specs above.

The MP600 ELITE for PS5 gets the nod as the best upgrade option for Sony’s console as it offers strong performance at a great price point, thanks to use of the latest technologies. The MP600 ELITE for PS5 is available in either 1TB or 2TB capacities, and that fetching white heatsink not only makes the drive stand out from the crowd, but it ensures the drive keeps cool in use.

You’re looking at sequential read throughput of up to 7,000MB/sec and sequential writes of up to 6,500MB/s, both of which are way beyond Sony’s requirements, this is a modern drive that won’t have you hanging around unnecessarily. This is a standard M.2 2280 SSD as well, which means it’s just as happy running in a PC as it is a next-gen console, so even after the PS5 is a thing of the past, you’ll still be able to get plenty from this sturdy SSD.

If you’re looking for a large SSD for your PS5, then the MP600 PRO LPX is available in capacities up to an incredible 8TB. That drive will cost you a good chunk of cash though, so you’re probably going to need a convincing reason to buy one – maybe you just hate downloading updates you’ve already grabbed, or the idea of not being able to play every game you’ve ever bought on a whim is just too much to bear. Or maybe, you want to upgrade your PS5 just once and never think about storage ever again. This is the drive for you.

If that’s a bit too rich for your needs, then the 4TB MP600 PRO LPX is a more affordable option that still offers a serious chunk of storage that more than handles most gaming libraries. You’re looking at sequential read performance of up to 7,100MB/sec and sequential writes at up to 6,800MB/sec, which more than meets the minimum specifications. But hey, we know your time is precious. 1TB and 2TB models are also available in the MP600 PRO LPX lineup, given you plenty of options for upgrading your console.

Yes. This is why the drives we’ve recommended here have heatsinks, as without sufficient cooling the drives with throttle and produce a suboptimal gaming experience.

Sony has made the whole process of upgrading the PS5 a pain-free experience, and slotting a speedy SSD into the console won’t take more than a couple of minutes.

We’ve produced a video showing you exactly how to do it yourself, which you can find below. Alternatively we've written a separate article on how to install a CORSAIR SSD into the PS5.

As with modern gaming PCs, we’d recommend a 2TB SSD as the best option that covers you for your games today but also leave plenty of wiggle room for tomorrow’s as well. If you already have plenty of games and are likely to keep buying more going forward, then a 4TB drive is worth looking at.

The PS5 does allow you to play some games directly from a USB drive, but only PS4 games. So, your best bet is to upgrade to an SSD and use that instead.