Since the release of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S there have been many comparisons made between the two launches. Of course, we talked at length about the games available on either console, the subscription services available on each platform, and even what console would look better under your TV. But one of the main undeniable advantages to the Xbox Series X was that it immediately came with the option to expand your storage in one simple 1TB input plugged into the back of the machine. Now, though not as simple, the PlayStation 5 has finally got its own expandable storage too.
With this new update available to beta users (which you can sign up to be part of here), PlayStation 5 owners will be able to purchase an M.2 SSD and slot it into the currently inactive SSD slot inside the console. As VGC reports, although external hard drives are useable for PlayStations at the moment, they only work for PS4 era games. Internal SSD storage, however, will be able to process new-gen games.
One of our favourite games from the year so far, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is only available on the PlayStation 5...
Additionally, it's not going to be all NVMe drives that will work with the PlayStation 5, and as some of these internal storage units can be very expensive (like a grand upwards if you're looking at 4TB) you should be looking for PlayStation recommended SSDs.
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How convenient, then, that VGC also reports that Seagate has just confirmed its first PS5-compatible SSD, but it's not cheap. According to the original report the Seagate FireCuda 530 NVMe M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD will cost $169.99 for 500GB, $274.99 for 1TB, $569.99 for 2TB and $1,049.99 for 4TB.
Finder spoke to the Australia and New Zealand country manager for Seagate Technology Jeff Park, who said Seagate "have done some testing with Sony on the PlayStation 5 and today we can confirm that the FireCuda 530 with the heatsink has met all the PS5 requirements. With the PS5 design, the SSD card slot is very narrow, so there's not much room for the SSD to mount. However, with the FireCuda 530 - even with the heatsink on the top - the slim design allows for it to fit. Of course, the FireCuda 530 without the heatsink is slimmer, so both of them will fit into the PS5."
It seems that the PS5 isn't equipped to deal with the extra heat that using one would produce, so it's important that players sort out their own cooling systems when adding any new hardware. It might be better for those inexperienced with building tech, to wait until some custom builders start offering the service to make sure they get the expansions they want.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: News