• Form Factor: M.2 NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen4 x4).
• Interface: PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) is mandatory. A Gen3 drive will physically fit but is not supported and will not function correctly.
• Capacity: 250GB to 4TB. For a serious game library, a 1TB or 2TB drive is the recommended sweet spot.
• Sequential Read Speed: 5,500 MB/s or faster is the official requirement. While some slightly slower drives may work, adhering to this ensures optimal performance.
• Form Factor: 22mm width, 30/40/60/80/110mm length. A 2280 drive (22mm wide, 80mm long) is the standard.
• Cooling Solution: The PS5’s SSD slot includes a metal cover and a small standoff for heat dissipation. Most high-performance Gen4 SSDs require an additional heatsink. You must purchase a drive with a built-in heatsink or install a compatible one yourself.

Top SSD Recommendations for PS5 in 2024

Based on performance, reliability, value, and community validation, these drives are consistently top performers for the PS5.

1. WD_BLACK SN850P with Heatsink

Western Digital collaborated directly with Sony, and the SN850P is the officially licensed SSD for PS5. It’s essentially the SN850—a performance champion—but comes with a perfectly fitted, sleek heatsink that guarantees compatibility with the PS5’s expansion bay.

• Key Features: Official PS5 licensing, exceptional read/write speeds (over 7,000 MB/s), and a purpose-built heatsink.
• Best For: Gamers seeking a guaranteed, hassle-free, top-tier installation.

2. Samsung 980 Pro with Heatsink

A legendary name in the SSD market, the Samsung 980 Pro is a workhorse known for its reliability and blistering speeds. While Samsung now offers a 990 Pro, the 980 Pro remains more than fast enough for the PS5 and often can be found at an excellent price, especially the version with an integrated heatsink.

• Key Features: Trusted Samsung NAND and controller, consistent performance, and wide availability.
• Best For: Those who value brand reputation and proven reliability.

3. Seagate FireCuda 530 with Heatsink

The FireCuda 530 is one of the fastest consumer SSDs on the market, often outperforming the official requirement. It’s built for endurance and high-performance workloads, making it overqualified—in a good way—for gaming. It comes with a robust, pre-installed heatsink that is both effective and fits perfectly in the PS5.

• Key Features: Top-of-the-line speed, exceptional endurance rating, and a high-quality integrated heatsink.
• Best For: Enthusiasts who want the absolute fastest performance and future-proofing.

4. Crucial P5 Plus (Add Your Own Heatsink)

For the budget-conscious gamer who doesn’t mind a small DIY step, the Crucial P5 Plus is a fantastic value. It delivers excellent Gen4 performance that meets the PS5’s needs. The key is to purchase a separate, low-profile M.2 heatsink (readily available online) and install it before slotting the drive into your console.

• Key Features: Excellent price-to-performance ratio, reliable Micron NAND.
• Best For: Value seekers who are comfortable installing a third-party heatsink.

Installation and Final Thoughts

Installing an M.2 SSD in the PS5 is a straightforward process. You’ll need a #1 Phillips screwdriver, and Sony provides clear, step-by-step instructions. Simply power down the console, remove the white side panel, unscrew the SSD bay cover, insert the drive, secure it with the provided screw, and replace the cover.

Once formatted by the PS5 system software, the expanded storage becomes a seamless part of your console. You can choose to install and play PS5 games directly from it, just as you would from the internal SSD.

Conclusion: Expanding your PS5’s storage is one of the best investments you can make for your gaming setup. By choosing a drive from our recommended list—like the officially licensed WD_BLACK SN850P, the reliable Samsung 980 Pro, the performance-leading Seagate FireCuda 530, or the value-packed Crucial P5 Plus—you can rest assured that you’re getting a quality component that will keep you in the game without compromise.

Just a few years ago, web-based learning through PCs was seen as revolutionary. Companies could put their orientations and ongoing trainings on line and all employees would get standardized learning. Soon, with the spread of wifi, router-based, and satellite wireless networks, people could tap into this type of training while on the run. A salesperson could get trained in the latest marketing presentation while riding on a plane to her or his next destination. Or a person could get oriented to their new job from home before the first day they work.

Now, web-based trainings have taken another step forward due to the technology involved in internet-enabling devices besides computers. There are some obvious examples of how this might work. For example, your TV may be connected to the internet in a way that allows you to tune in to a training or conference as easy as changing to a specific channel. You could use your DVR and truly get the most out of the conference.

There are also less obvious but still valuable examples of the potential of internet enabled devices. For example, an internet enabled printer could tap into web-based trainings in helping you maximize the quality of photographs before printing them. You could learn how to crop, sharpen, lighten, etc. your photos by having an online guide that directs real-time information to a nearby computer. That web-based guide, because the device is internet enabled, can actually “know” what you’ve just done and direct you about whether that was correct or not. If you have an internet-enabled all-in-one device, you could also learn how to scan and fax for maximum results.

There are even some far out, but truly interesting ways this technology could be used. In the kitchen, internet-enabled appliances could actually teach you how to cook as you go, sending information to a nearby monitor about when food is done, or ready for the next step. An internet enabled coffee maker could use web-based training to help you brew perfect coffee that responds in real time to the fineness of the ground beans, the temperature of the water, or the density of the resulting beverage.

In all of these examples, web based learning would take place in real time, and could lead to new skills being developed. And in each example there is also the potential of tapping into live help. In the first example, a guide could catch you up with whatever you’d missed in the conference if you “arrive late”. In the internet enabled printer example, live help could assist you when a document presents particular difficulty – the person on the other end could “see” what is going on in real time. In the third example, a cook could teach people how to cook her or his recipes almost like he or she is there – even checking the temperature and other information from their remote location.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of web based learning and internet enabled technology is the ability for people to do things together even when they are far apart. Literally hundreds of people could be part of a web based conference that helps them learn the latest uses for an internet enabled device. Or, your friend, relative, or teacher who knows how to do something you don’t could provide you with web based learning where they can see and react to your input on an internet-enabled device.

Built in wireless capabilities are becoming almost standard equipment on most laptop and home computers these days for a couple of reasons. One of the primary reasons is cost. Adding wireless capacity is so inexpensive that it would be silly for the manufacturers not to add it. The perceived value of any machine with wireless capacity far exceeds the cost to add it. Wireless is the wave of the future, so if the manufacturers want to stay ahead of the technology curve they need to add it to all but there most basic models.

However, if you’re like most people you probably can’t even check how much memory your computer has, let-alone if your computer is wireless enabled. Throw in the fact that you may not even know what wireless networking is and it’s easy to ignore even trying to determine if your computer has that capacity. As a result, having ever taken the time to set it up is clearly out of the question.

However, since you bought your computer you’ve probably heard more and more about “going wireless” because it’s becoming the hip thing to do. If that’s the case with you or I’ve simply peaked your imagination then read a bit more because I’ve outlined a few things you can to do to check if your computer has wireless capabilities.

Laptops – Intel Centrino Mobile Technology
Computer manufacturers do less than a perfect job at explaining what this means but if you if your laptop came with this built in then that’s good news for you! In a nutshell, it means that your laptop has wireless networking built right in and you don’t have to do a thing. Intel Centrino Mobile Technology is a marketing name for a combination of the Intel Pentium M processor and Intel’s’ Pro Wireless card.

If you have Intel Centrino Mobile Technology then your computer should have a “Centrino” sticker on it somewhere. If you can’t find a sticker but you suspect you had one at one time then simply do the following. Right click on your “My Computer” icon. It’s probably on your desktop but if not then go to your Start Menu, find My Computer, right-click and select Properties. When the menu opens look at what it says after or under the word Computer.

On a side note, Intel Centrino Mobile Technology also increases battery life and allows manufacturers to build computers smaller. If you can’t find anything referring to Intel Centrino Mobile Technology under the word Computer — don’t worry because as long as your laptop has a free card slot, installing wireless is a piece of cake.

Desktop Computers
If you’re not sure whether or not your desktop computer has a wireless connection, the easiest thing to do is to simply turn it around and look for a small aerial sticking out of the back towards the bottom. If it’s there then you are wireless enabled. On the other hand, if there’s nothing then it’s still possible that you have a wireless device in the computer, especially if you purchased anytime in 2005 or beyond. However, because it’s not the best idea (unless you’ve done it before) to try and open up your computer to check something I’ll show you a way to check, if your wireless enabled, using Windows.

Using Windows to Check Wireless Capacity
Rather than messing with your computers hardware to verify what you’ve got installed, you can just as easily check using your Windows’ Device Manager. To use it, right click My Computer / Choose Manage / and then click Device Manager.

After you click Device Manager a list of everything you can install will appear on the right half of the screen. Take a look under Network adapters and ignore anything that says 10/100 or Ethernet because they are simply normal network connections — not wireless ones. If there’s anything else there, it could be a wireless device.

If you think you have a wireless device, but it has a yellow warning sign alongside its name in the Device Manager, you should take a look at it to see what’s wrong by double clicking on it. Windows should then tell you why the device is not working at the moment and may even suggest that you go through its troubleshooter program. Do that before you do anything else.

If it turns out to be a driver problem, you should insert the driver CD that came with your computer. If you can’t find the driver CD that came with your computer – don’t worry because you should be able to find and then download the appropriate driver online. The first step would be to go to website of your computers manufacturer and do a search for the name of the wireless device that showed up in your Device Manager. Once you find the correct driver simply download it and follow the instructions.

After all this (actually about 5 minutes) you may discover that you don’t have a wireless enabled computer — oh well, those are the breaks. However, it’s clearly better to find out your computers wireless capacity now — before you go out and buy some wireless equipment and then realize that you didn’t even need it.

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