One of the first mods that enthusiasts made on their PS4 was upgrade the storage, at least until the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro upgraded its base hard drive. Even early on in the last generation of consoles, 500 GB of space was not nearly enough to manage the libraries of players. Both quantity and size of AAA games have continued to balloon in size, whether it's live service games with tons of new content, or even the standalone open-world adventures with hours of content. Of course, when fans found out that the PS5 would have a whopping 825 GB of free storage, many were planning to expand the internal storage immediately. A beta software update now makes that possible.
Over six months after the console has launched, many have already been looking for external options to expand storage, and even those options are limited to storage-only. However, in a more recent beta software update for the PS5, the extra M.2 SSD slot that's in every console will soon be available to use for additional PS5 data storage. There are a few caveats due to the nature of the PS5's custom SSD architecture, but for the most part, all of the more modern M.2 SSDs are compatible with expanding the PS5's hard drive space. There are several M.2 SSDs that are relatively affordable, and would be perfect to expand players' storage on PS5.
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It's important to start with the criteria necessary to activate this additional SSD slot and use the extra story mode. Firstly, at the moment, the use of the additional M.2 slot is strictly available in a beta software update for the PS5 currently. At this time, Sony has not announced a specific date for when this capability will be available to all PS5 consoles, but any players can opt into the beta at any time. Additionally, from a hardware perspective, the process of adding the additional drive is not quite as plug-and-play as it is for Xbox Series X. For those familiar with changing the hard drive on PS4, the PS5 requires similarly minimal legwork and a screwdriver to add the drive.
Outside of that, the more complicated criteria is what players need to know before purchasing and installing a new drive. Other than being in the M.2 form factor, compatible PS5 SSDs have to match size requirements, minimum reading speeds, and cooling requirements as well. The full list of requirements are on PlayStation's website, but the gist of it is as follows: SSDs need to be PCIe Gen 4 M.2 drives, the additional drive "requires effective heat dissipation" meaning some drives may need a heatsink (or use a drive with a built-in heatsink), the SSD needs around a 5,500 MB/s read/write speed, and must be 22mm width (25mm drives are not supported).
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Beyond that, assuming players are aware of the prerequisites for installing the SSD, there are quite a few modern Gen4 SSDs to choose from when expanding the PS5's memory. One of the most popular choices for high speed PC storage in the M.2 form factor is the Samsung 980 Pro, which is arguably the ideal choice for the extra SSD slot in the PS5. Utilizing the new PCIe Gen4 interface, the 980 Pro easily manages read/write speeds of 7,000 and 5,000 MB/s, respectively. Evolving on the 970 Pro's previous generation memory structure, this SSD outpaces even some mid-range gaming PCs out there, given how not many Gen4 capable motherboards are out there.
For those looking for the bleeding edge of speeds capable from a Gen 4 NVMe SSD; the WD Black SN 850 is easily the best of the best, with 7,000 and 5,300 MB/s read/write speeds, though not without a few catches. Tests from numerous sources and consumers have reported that WD's Gen4 SSD does run hotter than most drives in PCs, and would definitely require a heatsink installation in the PS5 as well. Additionally, it's unclear how well optimized the beta software in the PS5 is, so all that extra speed may not necessarily be tapped into with the PS5, regardless of how capable the drive actually is.
Runner-up choices that are worth considering for PS5 storage expansion as well are the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, and the Corsair Force MP600. The Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is also an excellent choice, as it is capable of peak performance of 7,000 and 6,600 MB/s read/write speeds, outpacing the Samsung drive, but comes in a bit pricier as a result. The Sabrent drive also runs just a bit cooler under load, so it may not necessarily need a beefy heatsink, unlike comparable drives. As for the Corsair Force MP600, Corsair's drive would be a solid budget option, as it reaches about the minimum 5,500 MB/s read/write speeds for cheap, and includes a heatsink as well.
Overall, these are all fantastic M.2 SSDs that can utilize the PCIe Gen4 architecture to match the read/write speeds of the PS5's internal SSD. For those who want to jump in early, this beta release for PS5 is available now for players to opt into, and perhaps the official support will come to all PS5 consoles in due time.
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