Expand the capacity of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

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As the storage demands for AAA games continue to increase year by year, both PC and console gamers are facing growing challenges. While PC gamers enjoy a wide range of flexible storage options and easy expandability, console gamers, particularly those with PlayStation 5 (PS5), PS5 Pro, and Xbox Series X/S consoles, are encountering more limitations.
The Xbox Series X comes with a 1TB SSD, providing roughly 800GB of usable space for games and apps. There's also a 2TB version, which offers about 1.6TB of accessible storage. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S is available in two variants: a 1TB model with around 800GB of usable space and a 512GB model, which leaves users with just 364GB for games and apps. Both consoles support expanding storage with official Seagate or Western Digital (WD) expansion cards designed for current-gen games. For older Xbox One titles, however, players can use any USB 3.0 drive, with the option to transfer new games onto these drives for temporary storage.
On the PlayStation side, the original PS5 is equipped with an 825GB SSD, but only 667GB is available for games and apps. The more recent PS5 Slim, launched in 2023, boosts storage to 1TB, giving users around 840GB of usable space. The PS5 Pro, which offers even more capacity, comes with a 2TB SSD and almost 1.9TB of usable storage. When it comes to upgradability, the PS5 has an advantage over Xbox, thanks to its internal M.2 SSD slot. However, there are specific compatibility requirements for SSDs used in the PS5, as only select models are officially endorsed by Sony, and others are labeled as compatible by the manufacturers. Like the Xbox consoles, the PS5 can run previous-gen games from a USB drive and use it for storing current-gen games as well.
However, the PS5 has stricter limitations regarding SSD compatibility. It does not support SATA drives, even in the M.2 form factor, and requires SSDs to feature PCIe 4.0 speeds with four PCIe lanes and a recommended sequential read speed of 5,500MB/s. The PS5 does not support host memory buffer (HMB) either, so SSDs without dedicated DRAM could lead to slower game load times and a shorter lifespan. Additionally, PS5's compatibility rules extend to the drive’s heatsink. The heatsink must be no wider than 25mm (with only 3mm more space than the drive itself), no taller than 2.45mm beneath the drive, and no taller than 8mm above the drive. If your SSD has a suitable heatsink, but it’s not up to the PS5’s standards, you can purchase a compatible heatsink separately, with prices starting as low as $7, or $9 for high-capacity, double-sided drives.
Whether you’re looking to expand your storage for current-gen Xbox or PS5 games or need an external drive for legacy titles, there are plenty of options available for both platforms, each with its own unique considerations for storage upgrades.
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