If you own a Sony PlayStation 5, you’ll inevitably need more disk space to store your games. However, as the latest generation of games consoles relies on ultra-fast solid state memory, plugging in an external hard drive will only take you so far.
While you can copy and store games on external drives, data transfers are too slow for the PS5’s ultra-quick start-up times, in-game world loading and seamless play. This means that while you can store games on external drives, you can’t play them from there, as only internal storage is fast enough.
Until a recent software patch, there was no way to increase the PS5’s internal storage. Since then, you can add your own internal memory, but only the high-performance kind. For example, it will need to be an M.2 type Gen 4 NVMe solid state drive, but not all of these will work.
Here’s a handy table for the PlayStation 5’s memory upgrade requirements:
Interface | PCIe Gen 4×4 M.2 NVMe SSD |
Capacity | 250GB – 4TB |
Cooling | Effective heatsink or other cooling structure needed |
Read speed | Minimum 5,500MB/s |
Module width | 22mm width (no support for 25mm) |
Form factor | M.2 type 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110 |
Socket type | Socket 3 (Key M) |
Total size (including cooling structure) | 110mm (L) x 25mm (W) x 11.25mm (H) or smaller |
PNY XLR8 CS3140 for PS5
PNY, a leading supplier of flash memory cards since 1985, has seen a large uptake in its XLR8 CS3140 memory upgrade solution. This is a M.2 NVMe Gen 4×4 solid state drive that ticks all the boxes for PS5 compatibility, and there’s also a matching XLR8 PS5 SSD heatsink to keep things cool.