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[Rossco EZ]

Best External Hard Drives For PC, Xbox, And PlayStation

Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X now support external hard drives and SSDs for storing next-gen games--here are the best gaming storage options we recommend in 2021.

www.gamespot.com

500Gb, 1Tb and 2Tb options.

1Tb for £206 with specs
Full Specifications
Capacity
1 TB
Interface
PCIe Gen4 x4
Dimensions (L X W X H)
80mm x 22mm x 2.38mm
Sequential Read Performance
7000MB/s
Sequential Write Performance
5300MB/s

link to SSD https://shop.westerndigital.com/en-...es/wd-black-sn850-nvme-ssd#WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0

 

[Entroyp]

How would gamespot know if it’s adequate for the PS5? Last I know it was up to Sony to benchmark these.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

Can someone explain to me the slots for the nvme chips. Looking at the picture the connectors on that is at the end but on the ps5 teardown the 4 slots look to be on the side.

 

[Darklor01]

I wonder if the version with the Heatsink will fit in PS5.

 

[AGRacing]

Not confirmed by Sony but look extremely promising. They did need to be some margin above spec to compensate for some tricks in the controller but I would imagine these could be enough.

 

[nowhat]

How would gamespot know if it’s adequate for the PS5? Last I know it was up to Sony to benchmark these.

Because Cerny said at the "GDC reveal" that 7GB/s should do?

 

[Hoho for breakfast]

I'll be going for as long as I can with the built in drive and hopefully prices on stuff like this will come down by the time I get fed up with having to manage my storage space.

 

[Woody337]

Can someone explain to me the slots for the nvme chips. Looking at the picture the connectors on that is at the end but on the ps5 teardown the 4 slots look to be on the side.

What 4 slots are you talking about? It connects at the end of that drive bay.

 

[Rob_27]

How big is the heatsink, 1.5cm high? hopefully not as big as the PS5's

EDIT: ah i see in the pic that futuristic looking thingy

 

[STARSBarry]

I mean... sorry but I am still confused how any SSD won't reach the speed requirements for the PS5, the advantage of any SSD including M.2 is that they are solid state and therefore there is time saved for when the disc needs to seek the data.

Because an SSD is solid state it can push the data out as soon as its requested, meaning you are skipping the process of the disc spinning, locating and reading the requested data, that is where the speed advantage for SSD comes from, everything past that is tiny increments of better preformance on larger and larger file sizes, mainly towards writing to the drive rather than pulling data from it.

We won't know for sure until launch of course but honestly I would be suprised if any standard gen 3 M.2 didn't work perfectly fine on the PS5. Even if the PS5 CPU is set up to poll (which does hit performance) there will be a bottleneck for the requests and I sincerely doubt the CPU of a games console is going to resolve that.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

I can't wait to put an 8tb drive in my PS5,by the end of the gen they will be dirt cheap!

 

[Entroyp]

Because Cerny said at the "GDC reveal" that 7GB/s should do?

And that everyone should hold off buying an SSD until tests/benchmarks are performed and Sony informs consumers about which drives are compatible.

He didn’t say buy any 7GB/s drive and that should do.

 

[Bojanglez]

I mean... sorry but I am still confused how any SSD won't reach the speed requirements for the PS5, the advantage of any SSD including M.2 is that they are solid state and therefore there is time saved for when the disc needs to seek the data.

Because an SSD is solid state it can push the data out as soon as its requested, meaning you are skipping the process of the disc spinning, locating and reading the requested data, that is where the speed advantage for SSD comes from, everything past that is tiny increments of better preformance on larger and larger file sizes, mainly towards writing to the drive rather than pulling data from it.

We won't know for sure until launch of course but honestly I would be suprised if any standard gen 3 M.2 didn't work perfectly fine on the PS5.

I think Cerny said in the tech overview that any SSD used in the expansion slot would have to be 7GB/s. I believe this is because the PS5 custom SSD controller expects the data to be (something like) 5GB/s across 12 channels, so in order to guarantee that these channels can be fully utilised the expansion SSD must essentially brute force data so that it can saturate these channels.

 

[Darklor01]

These drives aren't going anywhere just yet. I'm going to wait until after I know what the "recommended" drives are, and whether they will fit with heatsinks... or.. whether heatsinks are needed for them. I would prefer to have the Heatsink, but $$$$.

 

[Grinchy]

This is kinda shitty on gamespot's part if they are peddling drives to be used in a PS5 that don't actually work in a PS5. Clearly, it's best if we all wait for Sony to certify some drives.

It's also best to wait for prices to come down anyway. Why be the first to spend $200+?

 

[truth411]

Best External Hard Drives For PC, Xbox, And PlayStation

Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X now support external hard drives and SSDs for storing next-gen games--here are the best gaming storage options we recommend in 2021.

www.gamespot.com

500Gb, 1Tb and 2Tb options.

1Tb for £206 with specs
Full Specifications
Capacity
1 TB
Interface
PCIe Gen4 x4
Dimensions (L X W X H)
80mm x 22mm x 2.38mm
Sequential Read Performance
7000MB/s
Sequential Write Performance
5300MB/s

link to SSD https://shop.westerndigital.com/en-...es/wd-black-sn850-nvme-ssd#WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0

That HeatSink don't look that big, I wonder if it would fit in the PS5 SSD bay.

That make 3 possible SSDs that may work with the PS5 so far
Samsung 980 Pro
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus
Western Digital SN850

As time goes by more options will be available and prices will fall. When PCIE 5.0 SSDs appear SSDs fast enough for the PS5 will fall and capacity will increase.

Open Market > Proprietary.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

I mean... sorry but I am still confused how any SSD won't reach the speed requirements for the PS5, the advantage of any SSD including M.2 is that they are solid state and therefore there is time saved for when the disc needs to seek the data.

Because an SSD is solid state it can push the data out as soon as its requested, meaning you are skipping the process of the disc spinning, locating and reading the requested data, that is where the speed advantage for SSD comes from, everything past that is tiny increments of better preformance on larger and larger file sizes, mainly towards writing to the drive rather than pulling data from it.

We won't know for sure until launch of course but honestly I would be suprised if any standard gen 3 M.2 didn't work perfectly fine on the PS5. Even if the PS5 CPU is set up to poll (which does hit performance) there will be a bottleneck for the requests and I sincerely doubt the CPU of a games console is going to resolve that.

Depending on the controller and memory used IOPS between drives can differ greatly.

 

[evanft]

I mean... sorry but I am still confused how any SSD won't reach the speed requirements for the PS5, the advantage of any SSD including M.2 is that they are solid state and therefore there is time saved for when the disc needs to seek the data.

Because an SSD is solid state it can push the data out as soon as its requested, meaning you are skipping the process of the disc spinning, locating and reading the requested data, that is where the speed advantage for SSD comes from, everything past that is tiny increments of better preformance on larger and larger file sizes, mainly towards writing to the drive rather than pulling data from it.

We won't know for sure until launch of course but honestly I would be suprised if any standard gen 3 M.2 didn't work perfectly fine on the PS5. Even if the PS5 CPU is set up to poll (which does hit performance) there will be a bottleneck for the requests and I sincerely doubt the CPU of a games console is going to resolve that.

Uhhhhh what? Different drives have different speeds my guy.

 

[daninthemix]

WD don't have the best reputation when it come to reliability. A Samsung would be safer, but they don't have a 2TB model.

 

[mckmas8808]

Guys....just wait.

 

[BlueXImpulse]

Bought two. Thanks OP.

 

[Rossco EZ]

Bought two. Thanks OP.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

I mean... sorry but I am still confused how any SSD won't reach the speed requirements for the PS5, the advantage of any SSD including M.2 is that they are solid state and therefore there is time saved for when the disc needs to seek the data.

Because an SSD is solid state it can push the data out as soon as its requested, meaning you are skipping the process of the disc spinning, locating and reading the requested data, that is where the speed advantage for SSD comes from, everything past that is tiny increments of better preformance on larger and larger file sizes, mainly towards writing to the drive rather than pulling data from it.

We won't know for sure until launch of course but honestly I would be suprised if any standard gen 3 M.2 didn't work perfectly fine on the PS5. Even if the PS5 CPU is set up to poll (which does hit performance) there will be a bottleneck for the requests and I sincerely doubt the CPU of a games console is going to resolve that.

The amount of data and the speed at the which it is retrieved varies greatly from one SSD to the next.

It doesn't matter much if you are booting up windows or open some piece of software (including a game). But it you are running a task that actually requires that kind of performance, like a large multi-user database, some VoIP functions, etc. Where the I/O wait makes a huge difference (some applications become useless because of the relative slowness of the storage media)... Well the type of drive you use makes a pretty big difference for real time uses, I assume that this is what drove Sony to go that way.

We will see how a 3x data transfer for asset streaming pans out in the real world over the next couple of years.

 

[Physiognomonics]

How big is the heatsink, 1.5cm high? hopefully not as big as the PS5's

EDIT: ah i see in the pic that futuristic looking thingy

2,38 cm? It should fit in.

 

[Panajev2001a]

I think Cerny said in the tech overview that any SSD used in the expansion slot would have to be 7GB/s. I believe this is because the PS5 custom SSD controller expects the data to be (something like) 5GB/s across 12 channels, so in order to guarantee that these channels can be fully utilised the expansion SSD must essentially brute force data so that it can saturate these channels.

He said that SSD’s slightly faster than 5.5 GB/s would be required to fix the extra overhead from not having 6 priority levels (above the current NVME SSD specs) like their own onboard SSD does, but that was not going to be a problem as SSD’s coming out this year would hit up to 7 GB/s.

He did not state you need 7 GB/s or more.

 

[Warnen]

I'll wait for the "works on ps5" sticker

 

[Rocco Schiavone]

He said that SSD’s slightly faster than 5.5 GB/s would be required to fix the extra overhead from not having 6 priority levels (above the current NVME SSD specs) like their own onboard SSD does, but that was not going to be a problem as SSD’s coming out this year would hit up to 7 GB/s.

He did not state you need 7 GB/s or more.

He said for the same performance you would need a 7gb read speed drive. So if you want worse performance than the included ssd your problem.

 

[McHuj]

I'll wait for the "works on ps5" sticker

Everyone should. Too many people are just focusing on the 7 Gb/sec bandwidth. That's important, but we also need to make sure the IOPS, latencies, and thermals are within spec for what the PS5 needs.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

New drives that are in the performance bracket should all have superior sequential speeds to what the PS5 has. Sony most-likely went with their solution, because they anticipated the next-gen of drives coming to market this year. If anything, COVID delayed the release of these drives. However, speed probably isn't the full picture, as I'm curious to know how the various drive controllers work with the PS5 SSD controller and/or I/O processor.

 

[Tripolygon]

And that everyone should hold off buying an SSD until tests/benchmarks are performed and Sony informs consumers about which drives are compatible.

He didn’t say buy any 7GB/s drive and that should do.

It literally would not hurt anyone to try some of these to see if they work before Sony releases their list. I intend to even try a slower PCIE 3 SSD.

 

[Ar¢tos]

It literally would not hurt anyone to try some of these to see if they work before Sony releases their list. I intend to even try a slower PCIE 3 SSD.

PS5 OS might accept only certain SSD's models (list updated with every new fw version).

 

[Entroyp]

It literally would not hurt anyone to try some of these to see if they work before Sony releases their list. I intend to even try a slower PCIE 3 SSD.

Oh absolutely, I hope we see some wild experiments from the community in the name of science (and breaking stuff).

 

[Tripolygon]

PS5 OS might accept only certain SSD's models (list updated with every new fw version).

I doubt it. It would make no sense to whitelist certain brands and models of SSDs in the OS. The worst they would do is run an internal benchmark after the format process and it would tell you drive too slow to run PS5 games. They might go as far as preventing you from installing PS5 games on it but you may install PS4 games and use it for backup drive for PS5 games.

What i hope they will do is allow you to run all games from it but if you put a slow drive then you get slower load times. I can live with slight slower load time. It makes no sense to tie a game to a particular SSD speed.

Oh absolutely, I hope we see some wild experiments from the community in the name of science (and breaking stuff).

Tis going to be a fun November. Lol

 

[post-S]

WD don't have the best reputation when it come to reliability. A Samsung would be safer, but they don't have a 2TB model.

The 2t variant from Samsung is launching by end of the year

 

[MastaKiiLA]

WD don't have the best reputation when it come to reliability. A Samsung would be safer, but they don't have a 2TB model.

I thought this applied only to their HDDs. I've heard nothing but positive reviews of their SSDs. I would've gotten a WD SSD, if the 970 didn't beat it in random r/w benchmarks.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

How would gamespot know if it’s adequate for the PS5? Last I know it was up to Sony to benchmark these.

Psssht, that marketing deal between GS and WD needs to be a success.

 

[Trogdor1123]

So, when will these drop in price given previous history on SSD drives? They cost as much as another system lol

 

[Panajev2001a]

He said for the same performance you would need a 7gb read speed drive. So if you want worse performance than the included ssd your problem.

Nope... here comes the transcript with some key quotes added here too: https://playstationvr.hateblo.jp/entry/2020/03/30/181003

When I gave the Wired interview last year I said that the PlayStation 5 SSD was faster than anything available on PC.
At the time commercial M.2 drives used PCIe 3.0 and 4 lanes of that cap out at 3.5 gigabytes a second.
In other words no PCIe 3.0 Drive can hit the required spec. M.2 drives with PCIe 4.0 or now out in the market we're getting our in samples and seeing 4 or 5 gigabytes a second from them.

[...]

By year's end I expect there will be drives that saturate 4.0 and support seven gigabytes a second having said that we are comparing apples and oranges though because that commercial M.2 Drive will have its own architecture its own flash controller and so on.

[...]

We can hook up a drive with only two priority levels definitely but our custom I/O unit has to arbitrate the extra priorities rather than the M.2 drives flash controller and so the M.2 drive needs a little extra speed to take care of issues arising from the different approach.

Until they give the exact data, I am not sure why we should take the words "a little extra speed" and assume that means 1.5 GB/s of extra speed (would you define an SSD that needs to be ~27.27% faster as needing "a little extra speed" ... assuming SSD's do not start going above specs and add the full 6 required priority levels?).

Full Video:

 

[TheMan]

200 bucks for HD
70 bucks for games

poors need not apply for next gen.

 

[ManaByte]

The 2TB version is FUCK NO.

 

[Jaguar Victory]

I mean... sorry but I am still confused how any SSD won't reach the speed requirements for the PS5, the advantage of any SSD including M.2 is that they are solid state and therefore there is time saved for when the disc needs to seek the data.

Because an SSD is solid state it can push the data out as soon as its requested, meaning you are skipping the process of the disc spinning, locating and reading the requested data, that is where the speed advantage for SSD comes from, everything past that is tiny increments of better preformance on larger and larger file sizes, mainly towards writing to the drive rather than pulling data from it.

We won't know for sure until launch of course but honestly I would be suprised if any standard gen 3 M.2 didn't work perfectly fine on the PS5. Even if the PS5 CPU is set up to poll (which does hit performance) there will be a bottleneck for the requests and I sincerely doubt the CPU of a games console is going to resolve that.

Feel free to Google "SSD speed ratings". Or "Why are SSD's different speeds?"

 

[notseqi]

I think Cerny said in the tech overview that any SSD used in the expansion slot would have to be 7GB/s. I believe this is because the PS5 custom SSD controller expects the data to be (something like) 5GB/s across 12 channels, so in order to guarantee that these channels can be fully utilised the expansion SSD must essentially brute force data so that it can saturate these channels.

What's 'brute force data'?

 

[Bboy AJ]

Good for me as a primarily PC gamer.

 

[Bojanglez]

What's 'brute force data'?

Sorry probably bad terminology. I was just referring to the data transfer rate having to be above that which the onboard SSD runs at.

 

[Jaguar Victory]

What's 'brute force data'?

 

[GHG]

Sorry probably bad terminology. I was just referring to the data transfer rate having to be above that which the onboard SSD runs at.

The word you are looking for is overhead.

And until Sony start confirming which drives will and won't work with the PS5 we don't know what the required overhead is (if any).

 

[Aceofspades]

Open Market > Proprietary.

Easily, notice how a 1TB 7GB/s open market SSD is cheaper or at the same price of a 1TB 2.4GB/s proprietary one.

And we are talking RIGHT NOW. Open market will get even cheaper faster than proprietary one.

Sony has done the right thing with PS5 storage solution.

 

[Imtjnotu]

I mean... sorry but I am still confused how any SSD won't reach the speed requirements for the PS5, the advantage of any SSD including M.2 is that they are solid state and therefore there is time saved for when the disc needs to seek the data.

Because an SSD is solid state it can push the data out as soon as its requested, meaning you are skipping the process of the disc spinning, locating and reading the requested data, that is where the speed advantage for SSD comes from, everything past that is tiny increments of better preformance on larger and larger file sizes, mainly towards writing to the drive rather than pulling data from it.

We won't know for sure until launch of course but honestly I would be suprised if any standard gen 3 M.2 didn't work perfectly fine on the PS5. Even if the PS5 CPU is set up to poll (which does hit performance) there will be a bottleneck for the requests and I sincerely doubt the CPU of a games console is going to resolve that.

Per his road to ps5 he stated the priority level was the issue and the sad controller could make up the difference when reading from less priority levels

 

[DaleinCalgary]

What 4 slots are you talking about? It connects at the end of that drive bay.

This looks like 4 side connectors, no I guess??

 

[notseqi]

This looks like 4 side connectors, no I guess??

Not sure if you have seen a M2-SSD before.

The pinny boiis (or contacts) are kind of laid into a small slot like old ISA or small PCI-slots, then put slightly under pressure by screwing the M2 down at the half circle (left).
These multiple screw holes you see are for different M2-SSD sizes.