PS5 - Additional Storage Options (Internal and External)

I`m thinking of getting the WDSN850 from amazon, is it best to get with the heatsink or buy a separate one?

I don't really trust myself, so I bought mine with the heatsink option.

Amazon seems to be the cheapest right now.
 
I`m thinking of getting the WDSN850 from amazon, is it best to get with the heatsink or buy a separate one?
I think it's is better to buy a M.2 NVMe for the PlayStation 5 without a heatsink.
The WD SN850 runs pretty hot in test conditions with its standard heatsink.
My logic is that the additional M.2 NVMe will stuck inside a compartment which will get hot and will solely depend on the internal cooling system of the PlayStation 5 to keep temps low.

However there is something better that is a heatsink and a replacement for the original PlayStation 5's M.2 NVMe slot cover.

The Sabrent PlayStation5 heatsink, YouTube tests say its performs very well too and worth £19.99

Sabrent M.2 NVMe Heatsink.
 
Last edited:
— As an Amazon Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases —
+1 for the Sabrent PS5 heatsink, have one on mine. There are more elaborate ones out there but the opinion on those is that they're overkill.
 
I think it's is better to buy a M.2 NVMe for the PlayStation 5 without a heatsink.
The WD SN850 runs pretty hot in test conditions with its standard heatsink.
I've had the WD SN850 with pre-installed heatsink since the Beta and it's not caused any issues. Obviously I've not been recording the temperature it runs at, but I mean I've never had any crashes or the like occur.
 
Mine's also been fine with the heatsink on. I probably could have saved £20 doing it myself, but I equally could have burned something in an expensive way.
 
I've had the WD SN850 with pre-installed heatsink since the Beta and it's not caused any issues. Obviously I've not been recording the temperature it runs at, but I mean I've never had any crashes or the like occur.
Of course you’ve not had any issues, you’ve done exactly as Sony recommend doing, I have the same drive but with an aftermarket sink attached.

You wouldn’t experience anything untoward running it without a heat sink at all, it would surprise me if these drives started thermal throttling to the extent that it was affecting game performance.

It seems to me these heatsinks are less for performance reasons and more for the long term health and longevity of the drive over multiple years.
 
Does putting PS4 games on these NVMe internal make them load faster?

Don’t “need” one yet, but GT7 on the way, I prefer all games readily accessible and my current PS4 games are on an external USB HDD.

Would moving the PS4 games to a NVMe make the access, load, and in general, faster or is the speed only for PS5 games, and a waste for PS4?
 
No, it doesn’t make them load noticeable quicker. Just a lot quicker than USB storage.

From looking at videos, the fasted drives will load a game about half a second faster than the internal drive does.
 
No, it doesn’t make them load noticeable quicker. Just a lot quicker than USB storage.

From looking at videos, the fasted drives will load a game about half a second faster than the internal drive does.
Really, so loading a PS4 game from an external “spinny” USB HDD is half a sec slower than if it was on an NVMe?

In that case I may cancel order of NVMe as I haven’t filled up with PS5 games yet on my internal original 825Gb SSD yet.
 
Really, so loading a PS4 game from an external “spinny” USB HDD is half a sec slower than if it was on an NVMe?

In that case I may cancel order of NVMe as I haven’t filled up with PS5 games yet on my internal original 825Gb SSD yet.
Read his reply again carefully this time, you are getting all kinds of confused.

SpiderPig is talking about the onboard storage versus the expansion bay storage, in that comparison there is no meaningful speed difference. You seem to be comparing onboard storage versus a usb hard drive, in that comparison there’s a world of difference.

Playing games off of a HDD is deathly slow in comparison to playing them from any SSD option. That includes the PS5 onboard storage, the expansion slot and even plugging in a sata SSD and playing PS4 games on there is hugely quicker.
 
Last edited:
Read his reply again carefully this time, you are getting all kinds of confused.

SpiderPig is talking about the onboard storage versus the expansion bay storage, in that comparison there is no meaningful speed difference. You seem to be comparing onboard storage versus a usb hard drive, in that comparison there’s a world of difference.

Playing games off of a HDD is deathly slow in comparison to playing them from any SSD option. That includes the PS5 onboard storage, the expansion slot and even plugging in a sata SSD and playing PS4 games on there is hugely quicker.
That’s good news then, but my question was related to the PS4 games on an external USB HDD compared to if they were played off a NVMe expansion SSD. Order now re-cancelled to come to me again ha ha!

Thanks
 
I moved RDR2 onto the SSD, it didn’t seem to load blindingly quickly. Seemed a few seconds faster than my USB drive to load saved games though.

Still worth moving to SSD though. I’d only use my USB for archiving unplayed games now - my broadband is much slower than ISB.
 
thats what i use my 5tb USB external drive for. everything i play gets moved to internal before playing it. not as issue as i only play one multiplayer game and one single player game at a time so suits me just fine
 
As I say I’ve got lots of PS4 games still, and they are on a “spinny” external USB. My PS5 games haven’t filled the original internal SSD yet, obviously eventually will sometimes though.

So I was questioning wether it was worth at the moment getting another 1Tb NVMe and using that for my current PS4 games, and would it make any difference in loading, running etc compared to “spinny” drive.

At £150 for the new NVMe it has to be worth it to me that’s all, and at the moment it’ll only need for PS4 games.
 
Any HDD “spinning disc” is slow compared to any SSD for any PS4 game. There’s no way I would play any of my games off a HDD if I had an SSD available. Internal or external.

The only reason to not buy a internal SSD right now is because the price will keep going down on them like it already has. In another year you might get an extra terabyte for the same amount of money. But for a year you will be playing your PS4 games off of a slow HDD.

And you don’t need a fancy fancy heat sink unless you really want it. Read some reviews that show they are not much better than basic heat sinks.

I’m using my 1TB installed SSD as my primary drive. Using the onboard SSD as storage. Not necessary but will marginally extend the life of the built in SSD.
 
The only reason to not buy a internal SSD right now is because the price will keep going down on them like it already has. In another year you might get an extra terabyte for the same amount of money. But for a year you will be playing your PS4 games off of a slow HDD.
That’s my question, how slow is slow. I know it will be slower due to the tech, but is it noticeable in day to day use, loading, running, accessing etc, and then worth the upgrade now.
And you don’t need a fancy fancy heat sink unless you really want it. Read some reviews that show they are not much better than basic heat sinks.
Personally I’d probably buy the WD SN850 with the included heatsink just to keep it all OEM.
 
That’s my question, how slow is slow. I know it will be slower due to the tech, but is it noticeable in day to day use, loading, running, accessing etc, and then worth the upgrade now.

Personally I’d probably buy the WD SN850 with the included heatsink just to keep it all OEM.

Maybe go and move some PS4 games off of your HDD onto the onboard storage and play them, then you wouldn’t need to ask us five times 'how slow is slow'.
 
Last edited:
There are multiple tests online that you can read for the PS4 Pro and PS4 HDD versus SSD. Those benchmarks still do apply except that the SSD speed will probably be slightly faster on the PS5 a HDD certainly won’t be any faster. You should see anywhere from 10 to 20 second faster load times.

 
I bought and installed the 2TB Corsair MP600 PRO LPX into my PS5 last week. Works a treat 👌🏻
 
Some cracking prices on internal storage today on Amazon (Prime Day) - the two below are the headliners but there are other models/storage options available too.

1TB Samsung 980 Pro (with heatsink) - £96 - LINK
2TB WD Black SN850 (with heatsink) - £178 - LINK
 
— As an Amazon Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases —

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom