Western Digital has introduced the WD_Black SN850 NVMe SSD for PS5 Consoles, a ever-so-subtle variant of the common SN850 drive, however one which comes as the primary formally licensed M.2 NVMe SSD for PlayStation 5.
Obtainable now from the Western Digital on-line retailer and from mid-August from different retailers, the SN850 for PS5 will promote for £179.99 GBP for 1TB and £289.99 GBP for 2TB. This comes with the pre-installed heatsink, so all it’s essential to do is pop it into your PS5, and also you’ve greater than doubled your inside storage.
Having an formally licensed product is essential to assist some console house owners navigate the difficult waters of studying about and understanding the necessities Sony has in place for PS5 SSDs. To ensure that an growth SSD is ready to match the speeds of the customized SSD storage constructed into the console, Sony said that they have to be PCIe 4.0 and have learn speeds of over 5,500MB/s. Moreover they need to have a heatsink put in to make sure their longevity in use.
The blue gentle (and official licensing) prices further.
Up till a few 12 months in the past, that was a fairly uncommon and costly mixture, and even at the moment you can see PS5 appropriate SSDs in a jumble with older and slower drives. Having a PS5 licensed sticker helps reduce via that.
However… the one bodily distinction between the ‘for PS5’ SSD and the common SN850 with heatsink is that the LED on it lights up blue as a substitute of orange. For that minor change (which you can’t see inside the PS5), the ‘for PS5’ 1TB SSD is £180, whereas the usual 1TB SN850 with heatsink is £169 on Western Digital’s personal storefront. This drive has additionally been obtainable since October 2020, with market competitors driving the worth down in order that this similar 1TB SN850 with heatsink is at present £125 on Amazon, the place it’s prominently marketed as being PS5 appropriate.
So sure, it’s nice to see verified PS5 appropriate SSDs with Sony’s blessing, however as all the time, that licensing comes with a price to the purchaser and you will get the very same drive (with a distinct colored LED) for £50 much less.
After all, that is nonetheless a considerably preferable state of affairs to including storage on Xbox Sequence X|S. There you solely have a single choice in your SSD via a partnership with Seagate, and there’s no assist for generic SSDs of any form.
Supply: press launch