PS5 SSD Upgrade: A step-by-step guide to upgrading your console storage

If you’re unfortunate enough to possess a PlayStation 5, you’ll undoubtedly experience the major drawback of the device—running out of room for your games. Games are increasingly being distributed digitally, with even physical CDs requiring significant downloads to function correctly. You need to update your PS5 SSD.

Even though the PS5 claims to have a 1TB internal hard drive, only about 667GB of that space may be used to store games and other content. Big blockbuster games can exceed 100GB in size, so you’ll probably find yourself deleting and redownloading a lot (which is annoying if your internet service provider has a bandwidth quota), or moving files back and forth between your computer and an external storage device.

The ideal remedy to all of these issues is to upgrade your PS5’s internal storage by connecting a second high-speed NVMe SSD to the device. This procedure is now much simpler than it was with PS3 and PS4 consoles. Allow us to demonstrate.

What NVMe SSD should I use for a PS5 storage upgrade?

The NVMe SSD market may be highly confusing, especially because Sony was hesitant to promote any specific models when it initially made it possible to replace and increase the internal SSD storage on your PS5.

The trickiest part of the upgrade procedure is undoubtedly choosing the correct SSD, but fortunately, many storage vendors are now promoting drives that are PS5-compatible.

The challenging considerations are that you require:

• An M.2 NVMe SSD, which uses the
• PCIe Gen4 protocol (also sometimes labeled as 4.0)
• And is at least 250GB, and no more than 4TB.

A heatsink must also be mounted on the drive, whether it is pre-attached or self-attached.

We advise purchasing a drive with a pre-attached heatsink if you are the type of person who came across this tutorial while seeking assistance to avoid any more headaches.

To be clear, these are not the bigger SSD drives you can find on the shelf of your local electronics store as portable external hard drives. Rather, they are the drives that resemble huge USB thumb sticks.

Fortunately, the PS5 supports several sizes, including 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280, and 22110. One of these numbers should be present on your NVMe box.

What NVMe SSD did you use?

We contacted Western Digital to create this PS5 SSD storage upgrade guide since we have previously utilized a variety of WD hard drives and SSDs without experiencing any problems. For the procedure, they supplied a Western Digital WD BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD with Heatsink.

This is the most recent addition to Western Digital’s premium gaming-focused line of storage solutions, which was created with PC and PlayStation 5 gamers in mind. These are available in 1TB and 2TB variants, and as of the time of writing, we found them online for prices of AU $239 and AU $469, respectively. Even so, prices do change. These costs are roughly in line with similar drives from other manufacturers.

While PS5 users won’t be able to make use of the WD BLACK SN850X’s flashier features—the heatsink is rather attractive, and it includes a configurable LED light on the top meant to entice custom PC builders—you’ll still benefit from its exceptionally fast read and write speeds.

The built-in internal SSD is certified for a minimum recommended read speed of 5,500MB/sec for the PS5.

The built-in speed benchmark tests on the console revealed that our WD BLACK SN850X had an average read speed of 6800MB/sec after installation, which is far higher than the suggested objective. It’s important to note that Western Digital claims this drive has a read speed of up to 7300 MB/sec, which you might be able to attain more easily on a PC.

Sony often advises against using the external NVMe SSD extension to run games, instead advising that you move them to the internal drive first. But with these read rates, there was no discernible difference. If you want to use a different NVMe SSD drive, it’s a good idea to conduct some research to make sure nobody has reported any major issues with it.

How to install you heatsink on an SSD

The cheapest method to obtain an M.2 SSD for the PS5 would be to purchase a device without a heatsink, then mount a third-party heatsink yourself before installing it following the instructions above, and you’d be correct in your conclusion.

It’s also not as complicated as it seems. Given that the XPG Gammix S70 Blade arrives without the heatsink mounted and more than meets Sony’s speed criteria, we’ll guide you through it below.

The most crucial element, in this case, is size; be sure that the heatsink and SSD you choose won’t go above what Sony specifies in the comprehensive guide on its website.

1.Unpack your SSD and get your heatsink ready

If your SSD is double-sided, choose the side with the most storage regions. If you’re unsure which side to attach your heatsink too, it’s the side with the storage. A useful sticker is applied to one side of the Gammix S70 Blade to prevent you from inadvertently attaching the heatsink there (although it also needs to be peeled off before it goes in your console).

2. Peel off the adhesive sticker from you heatsink

Peeling back the sticker on you heatsink will expose the adhesive that will stick the component onto your SSD.

3. Attach the heatsink carefully to your SSD

From there, attaching the heatsink to the SSD is a quick but accurate process that requires gentle but strong pressure. To make sure you can secure it in place in your PS5 when you come to install it, you may align the notch on one end with the notch on your SSD.

The drive is now ready to be inserted in your PS5 using the procedures we explained higher on; just make sure to align it straight. You’ll soon be able to make use of extra storage as long as your heatsink is the proper size to fit into the expansion slot in your console.

How to upgrade your PS5 SSD storage – Step-by-step guide

Prepare a few items before starting to increase the storage on your PS5.

• Ensure that the system software on your PS5 is updated to the most recent version.
• Locate a #1 Phillips screwdriver (for SSD installation).
• Find a coin or a flat-head screwdriver (to remove the stand).
• Ensure that your workspace is well-lit (for seeing).

Step 1: Prepare the PS5 console

• Your PlayStation 5 system needs to be turned off, not merely put in Rest Mode, so be sure you do this first.
• After ensuring that none of the console’s lights are on, disconnect all of the wires, including the HDMI, power, and ethernet cables (if using).
• If used, take the vertical/horizontal stand apart. For this, you’ll need a flat-head screwdriver or a coin.
• Flip your PS5 around and place it horizontally over a flat surface. Ensure that the PlayStation logo is downward.

Step 2: Remove the Back Faceplate of the PS5

It might seem like you’re going to shatter anything since this can be a little tough, but don’t worry. You must raise and move the little hooks that hold the faceplate in place to remove it.

• To begin with, check that the power ports are facing you.
• When you’re certain, take hold of the faceplate’s top left and bottom right corners with both of your hands.
• Lift the front-right corner while pressing to the left at the same time.
• You’ll see the NVMe SSD expansion slot just past the fan

Step 3: Remove the SSD Expansion slot cover

• Remove the one screw holding down the expansion slot cover using the #1 Phillips head screwdriver you prepared previously, and then put it aside in a secure location. It has PlayStation form insignia, as you can see.
• Expansion Slot cover removed; place aside in a secure location.

Step 4: Remove the NVMe screw and spacer

You can see a screw holding down a tiny, metal, cylindrical spacer on the right side of the expansion slot.

• To remove this screw, use a #1 Phillips head screwdriver. Put the screw in a secure location.

Step 5: Move the spacer to the hole appropriate for your NVMe SSD

NVMe SSDs come in a variety of sizes, including 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280, and 22110, as previously mentioned. The expansion slot’s holes match the various drives.

As you can see, the holes have the final two digits of the size numbers—30, 42, 60, 80, and 110—as their respective labels.

• Place the spacer in the hole that corresponds to the size of your NVMe SSD.

We utilized the ’80’ hole for our sample drive, the Western Digital WD BLACK SN850X.

Step 6: Insert your NVMe SSD into the expansion slot

You can see the slot where you must insert your NVMe SSD on the side opposite from where you discovered the screw and spacer.

• If there is a gap between the pins of your NVMe SSD and the slot, verify sure your drive is oriented correctly by checking it twice.
• Carefully lower and insert your drive, pressing the pins into the expansion slot, starting at a 45-degree angle.
• Make sure the drive is firmly inserted. The notch on the edge of the drive should be hovering directly above the spacer you placed.

Step 7: Replace and secure the Expansion Slot cover

• Pull off the Expansion Slot cover, position it over the NVMe SSD where it is already installed, and lower it down to reinstall it.
• Retrieving the screw with PlayStation shape symbols, secure the Expansion Slot lid by screwing it back into the original hole.

Step 8: Format your drive, and enjoy!

• I’m done now! Now, you may access your disc by choosing ‘Storage’ from the ‘Settings’ menu. On it, you may move already-played games and, if preferred, set it as the default installation place.

You may put more games on your PS5 and play them whenever the mood strikes thanks to your new, improved storage. Let’s hope that PS5 game sizes aren’t expected to increase much very soon.