Sony has added support for M.2 solid state drives in the latest firmware update for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition.
So, can you use a M.2 SATA SSD or an SSD with Host Memory Buffer with this gaming system? You can find out in this guide from Seeking Tech.
Does the PlayStation 5 support M.2 SATA Solid State Drives?
Although a M.2 SATA solid state drive may fit into the M.2 slot of the PlayStation 5, the system does not support the SATA interface as it is too slow to load PS5 games.
The maximum sequential read speed for SATA is 600 MB per second, which is far less than 5500 MB per second speed of the built-in solid state drive of the PS5.
If you install a M.2 SATA solid state drive on the PlayStation 5, you will get an on-screen message upon turning on your system stating that the storage drive is not compatible.
The same message will also list out the supported M.2 requirements. Lastly, you will be asked to turned off the PS5 and remove the M.2 SATA SSD as you won’t be able to use the system until you do so.
Does the PlayStation 5 support Host Memory Buffer?
The PlayStation 5 is not compatible with the Host Memory Buffer interface. However, the game system may still support a M.2 solid state drive with HMB.
With that said, you may get a slower than expected read speeds as a result of using an SSD with Host Memory Buffer.
What M.2 Solid State Drives are Compatible with PS5?
So, what M.2 solid state drives are supported the PlayStation 5? So far, the GIGABYTE AORUS Gen. 4 7000s with Heatsink, Seagate FireCuda 530 with Heatsink and Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850 with Heatsink have been confirmed to be compatible with the PS5 right out of the box without the need of adding and/or modifying a heatsink.
If you are interested, you can purchase either of the aforementioned products on Amazon with the following links:
- GIGABYTE AORUS Gen. 4 7000s with Heatsink(#CommissionsEarned)
- Seagate FireCuda 530 with Heatsink(#CommissionsEarned)
- Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850 with Heatsink(#CommissionsEarned)
In general, you will need a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD with a recommended maximum sequential reading speed of at least 5500 MB per second or higher.
Sony also recommends using a single-sided or double-sided heatsink with the storage drive.
Furthermore, your M.2 SSD should also fit into the system. Thus, it should have an overall maximum length of 110 mm (or 4.33 in) as well as an overall maximum width of 25 mm (or 0.984 in). For height, you need 2.45 mm (0.096 in) of space underneath the solid state drive as well as 8 mm (0.314 in) of space above the SSD. In total, the solid state drive should be no taller than 11.25 mm (or 0.442 in).
As you can see, even if your PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD meets the 5500 MB per second maximum sequential reading speed requirement, you still have to worry about whether or not it will actually fit into the PS5 system.
Thus, we recommend sticking with any of the three aforementioned products (GIGABYTE AORUS Gen. 4 7000s with Heatsink, Seagate FireCuda 530 with Heatsink and Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850 with Heatsink) that have been officially confirmed so far to be compatible with the PlayStation 5.
If you want to learn about how you can install a compatible M.2 SSD to the PS5, then you can check out this tutorial.