Clear space first
Who is it for?Anyone who can free up 212 GB on their console. Costs nothing.
- PS5
- Settings › Storage
- Xbox
- My games & apps › Manage
Storage and SSDs for 212 GB
You need up to 212 GB free. Clearing old games may be enough. Drive data comes from makers; we tested nothing.
Data from maker pages, not tested by us
Three picks for this slot
Samsung990 PRO 2 TB
Who is it for?Anyone who wants a Gen4 SSD with a confirmed maker figure above the Sony recommendation. For PS5, pick the version with a heatsink.
- Read speed
- 7,450 MB/s
- Connection
- PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe, M.2 2280
Same class, more room
Who is it for?Anyone who wants to keep several big games installed: a Gen4 SSD above 5,500 MB/s, but 4 TB instead of 2 TB.
- PS5 limit
- up to 8 TB
- Cooling
- required
What the PS5 needs
- 1Connection: PCIe Gen4 x4, M.2 NVMe (Key M). M.2 SATA drives do not work.
- 2Size: 250 GB to 8 TB
- 3Read speed: 5,500 MB/s or faster is recommended
- 4Form factor: 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 or 22110
- 5Cooling: Required: a heatsink or heat transfer sheet. If the drive already has one, do not add a second.
- 6Dimensions: Up to 25 mm wide and 11.25 mm thick (8 mm above the board, 2.45 mm below)
Source: PlayStation Support, checked 9 Nov 2026. Status: Confirmed
Read speed compared
- 7,450 MB/s Samsung 990 PROManufacturer page
Status: Confirmed - 7,300 MB/s Sandisk (WD) WD_BLACK SN850XDatasheet
Status: Unverified - 7,400 MB/s Crucial T500Datasheet
Status: Unverified - 7,300 MB/s Kingston FURY RenegadeDatasheet
Status: Unverified - 5,000 MB/s Crucial P3 PlusDatasheet, below the recommendation
Status: Unverified
Dashed line: 5,500 MB/s, Sony's recommendation. Bar length = value ÷ 8,000 MB/s. See the same data as a table
More speed than recommended rarely makes a difference in games. Size, a fitting heatsink and the drive's thickness matter more. Figures marked “Unverified” could not be read on the maker's page on 9 Nov 2026 (still open on 11 Nov). They are previously published datasheet values; we will check them against the maker pages before release and give them no recommendation until then.
| Feature | Samsung 990 PRO 2 TB | Sandisk (WD) WD_BLACK SN850X 2 TB | Crucial T500 2 TB | Kingston FURY Renegade 2 TB | Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read speed (MB/s) | 7,450 | 7,300 | 7,400 | 7,300 | 5,000 |
| Meets Sony recommendation | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Capacity | 2 TB | 2 TB | 2 TB | 2 TB | 2 TB |
| Connection | PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe, M.2 2280 | PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe, M.2 2280 | PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe, M.2 2280 | PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe, M.2 2280 | PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe, M.2 2280 |
| Heatsink version | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Where the number comes from | Manufacturer page | Datasheet | Datasheet | Datasheet | Datasheet |
| Status | Confirmed | Unverified | Unverified | Unverified | Unverified |
And on Xbox?
Xbox Series X|S games run from internal storage or from a storage expansion card that plugs into the back. USB drives are for keeping games, not for playing them. Status: Unverified
Microsoft's support page was not readable on 9 Nov 2026. We will check this before release and name no card models until then.
Questions about storage
Do I need a new SSD for GTA VI?
Not necessarily. You need up to 212 GB of free space. Deleting a few old games may be enough.
What does “heatsink” mean?
A metal cooler on top of the drive. Sony requires cooling for an extra SSD in the PS5.
Can I play from a USB drive on Xbox?
Xbox Series X|S games are meant to run from internal storage or an expansion card; USB drives are for storing them. We could not read Microsoft's support page on 9 Nov, so this is marked unverified.
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