If you want something thats basically guaranteed to work without any thermal throttling or weird crashes, I would look at the Seagate FireCuda 530 2TB with Heatsink. I have been running this one for about a year now and honestly I am super satisfied with how it handles the load. It peaks at 7300MB/s which is plenty for the PS5. Another sleeper pick is the Nextorage NEM-PA 2TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSD. It was actually developed by a group of former Sony engineers, so the compatibility is basically built in from the ground up. Keep these things in mind when you go to buy:

• Always check the TBW rating. The Seagate drive has a 2550 TBW which is insane for reliability compared to cheaper budget brands that might die after a year of heavy use.
• Make sure the total height including the heatsink is under 11.25mm or that expansion slot plate wont sit flush and you will get dust inside the console. Prices are creeping up lately but you can usually find the Nextorage drive for right around that 150 limit if you catch a decent sale tho. It stays very cool even after hours of playing something heavy like CoD or Horizon. No complaints from my end, it just works perfectly.

Honestly its getting harder to find the top tier stuff under that 150 mark lately which is super disappointing since prices were dropping so fast last year. I have seen way too many people lose their save data on cheap no name drives so I am always gonna lean toward the bigger brands even if they cost a bit more... safety first when it comes to storage ngl. I tried the Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB NVMe SSD with Heatsink and while its fast enough for anything you throw at it unfortunately it runs a bit hotter than I expected in that tiny PS5 slot. It makes me a little worried about long term health but it fits perfectly under the cover. Then there is the Samsung 990 PRO 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD with Heatsink which is arguably the king of speed but man those early firmware issues were such a letdown. It felt like a gamble for a while there though they seem to have sorted it out now. If you want something reliable that usually stays closer to your budget check out the Crucial T500 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD with Heatsink. It is not quite as flashy as the Samsung but it runs cooler which I prefer for longevity. Just stay away from the really cheap brands... losing 2TB of games because of a bad controller is the worst feeling. Let me know if you need help with the physical install part.

I really agree with JasonElach about the importance of heat management. When I first started looking at upgrades, I was honestly terrified of frying my console, so I spent a lot of time comparing brands that prioritize stability over just raw speed. I found a couple that have worked well for me and stay within a reasonable budget.

• Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD
• This one is specifically optimized for the PS5. The heatsink is low profile so it fits without any clearance issues, and I havent noticed any thermal throttling during long gaming sessions.
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD with Heatsink
• Sabrent has a great reputation for build quality. This specific model includes a unique heatsink that replaces the internal metal cover of the PS5 slot for better airflow. I have been very satisfied with the stability of these two. They feel like a safer bet if youre worried about long term reliability... basically no complaints at all.

Late to the party but I have learned the hard way that chasing the absolute lowest price usually leads to a headache down the road. Over the years I have tried many different setups, and I actually had a drive die on me mid-game once because I ignored the thermal requirements. It was a mess and I lost some progress because the cloud sync failed. Since then I am way more cautious about what I put in my machines.

• Heat is your biggest enemy in that tiny PS5 slot, so I always look for something with a pre-installed sink that leaves a tiny bit of breathing room.
• Speed drops are real. My current setup stays fast even when I am moving massive files around, unlike the budget one I tried first.
• Stability matters way more than an extra 500MB/s on a spec sheet. Honestly just making sure the drive fits comfortably without forcing the metal cover back on is half the battle. I usually check the physical dimensions three times before I click buy.

Been thinking about your post for a bit and I gotta say, I kinda disagree with the idea that you have to spend a premium on the biggest names to get reliability. I was in the same boat when I ran out of space for Warzone and I ended up grabbing the Lexar NM790 2TB with Heatsink instead of the usual suspects. Honestly I have been so satisfied with it. I have had it installed for about six months now and it has been rock solid. No crashes, no weird loading glitches, nothing. It hits those 7400MB/s speeds easily and I actually think it runs a bit cooler than the drive my buddy has in his rig. I know Ron mentioned sticking to the big brands for safety, which I totally get, but some of these newer controllers are actually really efficient and dont generate as much heat. Plus it fits under the cover with zero issues. Definitely worth a look if you want to stay well under that 150 dollar limit without feeling like you are gambling on a junk drive.