Looking for when the PS5 SSD upgrade will release? You're not alone.
One of the big concerns about the PS5 is what we might term, "storage anxiety". The 825GB of internal storage (of which 667GB is actually usable) doesn't seem a huge amount when games are so huge. Up until now, it hasn't been possible to expand your PS5 storage capacity, as the console does not currently support expanded SSDs.
The vast majority of gamers, who don't want to have to be constantly monitoring their storage will certainly welcome the reported plans to enable additional SSD storage. With rumours growing about an imminent upgrade to the PS5 SSD situation, here's everything we know.
What is the PS5 SSD upgrade?
As we mentioned earlier, the lack of expandable storage is a considerable concern for gamers. An average game on the PS5 might take up 40-50GB of space, while a game like Call of Duty, even with an update to reduce file size, needs over 100GB.
So it really doesn't take long before the PS5 is filled, leaving gamers with the annoying need to juggle what they actually have on their console at any given time. This doesn't exactly scream "premium, so-popular-it's-impossible-to-get-hold-of, next-gen console".
So that's what sits at the heart of all this. The upgrade is intended to help to remedy this unfortunate situation, by making additional SSD storage compatible with the console. This will then negate the need to choose between what to delete, and what to retain.
The news is that the currently disabled M.2 expansion slot will be called into service. A firmware update will enable cooling fans to run faster, to avoid overheating, as well as allowing that expandable storage to work with the PS5.
And now, thanks to a recent update from Seagate (via Finder), we may have some more detailed information about when to expect the SSD expansion.
READ MORE:PS5 SSD storage expansion coming this summer, according to reports
PS5 SSD Upgrade Release Date
The rumour mill has long had "Summer" as the expected release date for the SSD upgrade. However, here we are well into July, and still, no official date has been given.
We do know that Sony has invited gamers to participate in Beta testing for a "major system update packed with new features". This is due to release later this year. Whether this will include the support for the M.2 expansion slot remains to be seen. But there's certainly a good chance that it could get included in a major system update.
According to Finder, Seagate will release its FireCude 530 NVMe m.2 PCIe SSD in August 2021, which will be compatible with the PS5.
"We 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," said Jeff Park, Country Manager for Seagate Technology, ANZ.
How much will they cost?
Until Sony enables storage expansion, it's hard to say definitively what it might cost.
However, the console uses an advanced interface to deliver transfer speeds of 5.5GB/s. At the moment, compatible SSD drives do not come particularly cheap. A compatible 2TB SSD for example, might cost close to £400 - almost as much as a whole PS5. A 500GB drive from the same site is available for under £100. But whether that would be sufficient storage, is another question.
According to Finder, the Firecuda 530 comes in four sizes: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB. These four models also have heatsink variants. The prices given were all listed in AUD, so we have also converted these to USD and GBP (Note: The USD and GBP are rough conversions, and so the price may vary).
- 500 GB - $199 AUD/$147 USD/£105
- 500 GB w/ Heatsink - $239 AUD/$177 USD/£126
- 1TB - $349 AUD/ $258 USD/£185
- 1TB w/ Heatsink - $399 AUD/$295 USD/£211
- 2TB - $729 AUD/$539 USD/£389
- 2TB w/ Heatsink - $819 AUD/$606 USD/£434
- 4TB - $1,429 AUD/$1,058 USD/£758
- 4TB w/ Heatsink - $1,499 AUD/$1,110 USD/£795
At the moment, Sony continues to leave us with more questions than answers. But hopefully, we'll know more very soon. Until then, we'll just have to make do with USB extended storage, or constantly decide what to delete, and what to keep.
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