Xbox Series X and PS5 SSD explained: open-world games like GTA 6 will benefit


With both the Xbox Series X and the PS5 laid bare for us this week, we've got a lot more information on what to expect from the next console generation.

The power level is over 9,000 of course, but it's not just brute force. The thing that makes these consoles special is how they use their newfound power.

A lot of the buzz is due to the new SSDs that both consoles have because they completely change the way the consoles can work. Better yet, it's the way that they'll affect games like GTA 6.

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The main thing that an SSD offers over a traditional HDD is vastly improved load times. This is thanks to the way that an SSD is built.

You see, an HDD uses multiple moving parts to save and load data on a disk contained within it. This means that it has to move around a bit to access specific data, and that's one of the things that slows it down.

An SSD, on the other hand, has no moving parts whatsoever. Instead, it uses special chips to access data that allow for a significant boost in loading speeds.

GTA 6 Map
click to enlarge
Could the map look like this?

In fact, in both the Xbox Series X and the PS5, the claims are that the times could be as high as ten times faster.

One of the main things that this affects in a game like GTA 6 is how the open-world works. As the data is loaded as you're journeying around the world, it can lead to small stutters or parts where the world doesn't load in correctly.

The addition of an SSD means that these little hiccups never occur. Instead, the world will feel silky smooth, loading in an instant and being truly seamless as you adventure around.

It also allows for the potential of both more detailed and more expansive worlds.

Read more: GTA 6 Map: Why The PS5's SSD Will Make Grand Theft Auto 6 The Biggest And Most Detailed Yet

That means that each building could be full of people and items, no more fake doors or closed off shops. It also means that the worlds could be bigger than ever before but with no performance hit whatsoever.

It also means that the world could be bigger in different ways, so not just the scale of the world, but things like full working subway systems or giant skyscrapers that are replete with things to do.

It's genuinely the next level of gaming, and it's all enabled by the new technology within the Xbox Series X and the PS5, but a huge amount of it is due to the power of the SSD.

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