What are the best internal SSD upgrades for PS5 and PS5 Pro?

Question

Hey everyone! I’ve been hitting that dreaded "storage full" notification on my PS5 way too often lately. It feels like every time I want to try a new game from PS Plus, I have to play a frustrating game of "digital Tetris" and delete something I’m not quite finished with. With the PS5 Pro now in the picture and my library only getting bigger—especially with massive titles like Call of Duty, Horizon Forbidden West, and Cyberpunk 2077 eating up well over 100GB each—it’s finally time to pull the trigger on a serious internal SSD upgrade.

I’ve been doing a bit of homework, but the market is honestly a bit overwhelming with so many different Gen 4 M.2 NVMe options out there. I know the basic Sony requirements: it needs to be a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD with at least 5,500MB/s read speeds, and a heatsink is pretty much mandatory to prevent overheating during long gaming sessions. However, I’m seeing a lot of conflicting advice on whether it's worth going for the ultra-fast 7,300MB/s drives or if the PS5 can even fully utilize that extra speed compared to a standard 6,000MB/s drive.

I’m specifically looking at the 2TB and 4TB tiers because I want this to be a "one and done" upgrade. I’ve noticed names like the Samsung 990 Pro, the WD_BLACK SN850P, and the Seagate FireCuda 530 popping up constantly in every guide, but the price gaps between them can be pretty significant. Is there a noticeable difference in loading times or system snappiness between these high-end models on the Pro versus the base console? Also, are there any newer, "Pro-optimized" drives I should be looking out for, or perhaps some reliable sleeper brands that offer the same performance for less?

I’m really looking for that sweet spot where high performance meets long-term reliability. For those of you who have already made the jump and installed one, what’s your go-to pick? What are the best internal SSD upgrades for the PS5 and PS5 Pro that provide the best stability and speed for the price right now?

TimmyCaple · Accepted Answer

Seconding the recommendation above! Diminishing returns are real. Here are two budget-friendly picks i've looked at: * Crucial T500 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD with Heatsink: Really snappy and great value.
* Lexar NM790 4TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD: Total sleeper, way cheaper for big storage. They basically feel identical to the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD in-game. Are you leaning more toward 2TB or 4TB? Hope that helps!

Edwardvon · Answer

caught this thread a bit late but honestly just get any gen4 drive from western digital or kingston and youll be totally fine. you basically cant go wrong with those brands because theyve been around forever and usually have better prices than the super high end stuff. tbh even with the ps5 pro it wont make a slightly slower drive feel bad or anything in real world use. i did have a question though... how many games do you actually keep installed at once? i thought i needed 4tb but 2tb is actually a ton of space if you arent hoarding every single title you own. knowing your actual budget would help too because the price jump to 4tb is still kinda wild right now compared to the 2tb sweet spot.

Dread_mvEt · Answer

Just sharing my experience: I went through this exact headache about a year ago when I finally got tired of deleting games. Basically, the technical reality is that while Sony's 5,500MB/s floor is the baseline, going way beyond that into the 7,400MB/s territory often offers diminishing returns. The PS5 I/O controller is amazing, but it can only push data sooo fast before the CPU becomes the bottleneck anyway. I was highkey tempted to drop huge money on the Samsung 990 Pro 4TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, but after looking at the data, I realized I was just paying for a brand name tax. I decided to be more cautious and went with a "sleeper" pick to save some cash. I grabbed the Lexar NM790 4TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD for around $230 on sale. Tbh, it’s been flawless. I compared my loading times in *Spider-Man 2* against a friend's WD_BLACK SN850P 4TB NVMe SSD for PS5 Consoles and we literally couldn't tell a difference in side-by-side testing. One thing I learned the hard way... dont skimp on the cooling. I initially tried a generic five dollar heatsink and the drive throttled hard after an hour of *Cyberpunk 2077*. I eventually swapped to the Sabrent M.2 NVMe PS5 Heatsink which replaces the whole metal bay cover. It’s been much more stable since then. If ur looking to save money, definitely check out those high-performance DRAM-less drives like the Lexar—they actually run cooler and usually cost way less than the "official" licensed stuff. Just my two cents!! peace