How to upgrade your PS5 storage with an SSD for as little as $73 (1TB) or $113 (2TB)

[Admin]

Add massive storage capacity to your PS5, without breaking the bank. Here's how to install an SSD.

How to upgrade your PS5 storage with an SSD for as little as $73 (1TB) or $113 (2TB) : Read more

 

[bit_user]

Thanks for the article!

A few points to note:

1. Some custom PS5 heatsink products (although not the Sabrent heatsink mentioned in the article) are incompatible between the standard and Slim versions of the PS5. I'm not sure which design the Pro uses, but make sure you get the right one.
2. For those using a SSD with a PS5-compatible heatsink already attached, you can improve its cooling performance by simply replacing the cover with one of the vented options available, such as these (again, note that they're different for Slim vs. older PS5 models):
   • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5FCVBL9/
   • https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DCWW1HGG/

Concerning whether to get a SSD with the heatsink pre-installed, here's something to consider. The Samsung 990 Pro has two power modes. I seem to recall that, if you buy the version without the pre-installed heatsink, it defaults to low-power. If using a heatsink like that Sabrent model or a similar one from Graugear (non-slim version shown), you might first want to pop the SSD in a PC and use Samsung's Magician software to switch it into full-power mode.

 

[apiltch]

We tested with a standard PS5, but according to user reviews, the Sabrent supposedly fits in a slim as well. Can't guarantee it but it's pretty slim.

 

[bit_user]

We tested with a standard PS5, but according to user reviews, the Sabrent supposedly fits in a slim as well. Can't guarantee it but it's pretty slim.

I think issue is the shape of the indentation where the cover goes, which differs between the two cases. The Graugear heatsink and the vented covers I linked all seem to have compatibility issues with the Slim revision, but you're right that the Sabrent heatsink apparently doesn't.

Thanks for replying! I'll update my comment.

P.S. it's kind of amazing how Sony requires SSDs to have a heat sink, but then built a compartment for them which has almost zero airflow. I wonder how many people who upgraded their SSDs are simply running without the metal cover, although I expect this might have the potential to cause EMI problems.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

I think issue is the shape of the indentation where the cover goes, which differs between the two cases. The Graugear heatsink and the vented covers I linked all seem to have compatibility issues with the Slim revision, but you're right that the Sabrent heatsink apparently doesn't.

Thanks for replying! I'll update my comment.

P.S. it's kind of amazing how Sony requires SSDs to have a heat sink, but then built a compartment for them which has almost zero airflow. I wonder how many people who upgraded their SSDs are simply running without the metal cover, although I expect this might have the potential to cause EMI problems.

I really wish we had a good way of polling the SSDs for thermals in the PS5. I'm pretty sure that if you were to write 500GB of data from the internal SSD to the M.2 drive, with some of the faster SSDs you'd get throttling. It strikes me as a terrible oversight that there wasn't even a small attempt made to provide airflow to the M.2 slot. Sure, the system fan will move a bit of air around there, but Sony should have provided a heatsink cover stock, and then even a very tiny duct would have done wonders for cooling the SSD.