PS5 SSD from Samsung looks like first ESSENTIAL PlayStation 5 upgrade

Samsung's upcoming PS5 compatible 980 Pro SSD is faster than the SSD the PlayStation 5 console ships with

PS5 and PlayStation 5 DualSense controller
(Image credit: Sony)
Shabana Arif
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The specs for Sony's PS5 were finally revealed alongside the radical new console design and its SSD is one of the standout features, running 100x faster than the PS4. Lead system architect Mark Cerny confirmed that load times will be practically non-existent next generation, with the SSD offering speeds of up to 5.5GB/s compared to the Xbox Series X's 2.4 GB/s. 

But the PS5's 825GB of extended storage may leave some gamers wanting, while Microsoft's console fares (ever so slightly) better with 1TB. If you're looking for an upgrade, you'll want an SSD just as fast as the PS5's at minimum, and you're in luck as there's one out there that will do the job nicely and it's set to launch before the console hits the market this holiday season - if rumours are to be believed.      

Samsung revealed its 980 Pro SSD at CES 2020 back in January which is packing read speeds of up to 6.5GB/s and write speeds of up to 5GB/s. It's the Korean tech giant's first consumer SSD to support PCIe 4.0, and storage options will start at 250GB and go all the way up to 1TB. 

It makes it the perfect solution to prospective PS5 players' storage issues while offering a speed boost to the already super-fast SSD that Sony will ship the console with. Twitter leaker Ice Universe - known for their reliable Samsung titbits - has said that the SSD will launch in two months time, giving it an August release date.   

An official release date hasn't been confirmed by Samsung just yet, and neither has a price tag, but given the specs, it undoubtedly won't be cheap, and may stray outside of the bounds of 'affordable'. But with the next generation of games upping the ante on anything we've seen before, gamers may find themselves in the position of having to shell out to accommodate their library of ever-growing titles.  

It may be tempting to snap one up as soon as it hits shelves, but Sony hasn't listed the compatible SSDs for its console just yet, and you don't want to fork out a load of cash for a device that you may not even be able to use. The SSD's price may even rival that of the PS5, so it's best to put some money aside and wait for confirmation first - although not everyone will be willing to spend so much for a 20% storage boost. 

Shabana Arif
Shabana Arif

Shabana worked at T3.com as News Editor covering tech and gaming, and has been writing about video games for almost a decade (and playing them since forever). She's had bylines at major gaming sites during her freelance career before settling down here at T3, and has podcasts, streaming, and video content under her belt to boot. Outside of work, she also plays video games and should really think about expanding her hobbies. If you have any tech or gaming tips, shoot over an email or DM her on social media.

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