For most people, the best M.2 SSD for PS5 is any PCIe Gen4 NVMe drive in the capacity you want that reads at 5,500 MB/s or faster and has a heatsink that stays within Sony's size limits. That last part is where buyers go wrong. Plenty of drives clear the speed bar easily, but a bulky cooler can stop a drive from fitting the slot at all.
Everything below comes from Sony's PS5 M.2 SSD support page (checked November 2026), plus independent reviews for one example drive.
Sony's PS5 SSD requirements in one table
Sony publishes a short, checkable list. Hold any drive you're considering against it:
| Requirement | What Sony asks for |
|---|---|
| Interface | PCI-Express Gen4x4 M.2 NVMe SSD (Key M) |
| Socket | Socket 3 (Key M) |
| Capacity | 250 GB to 8 TB |
| Form factor | 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 or 22110 |
| Width (including cooler) | Up to 25 mm |
| Length (including cooler) | 30, 42, 60, 80 or 110 mm |
| Thickness (including cooler) | Up to 11.25 mm: up to 8.0 mm above the board, up to 2.45 mm below |
| Sequential read | 5,500 MB/s or faster recommended |
Two hard nos from the same page: M.2 SATA SSDs aren't supported, and Sony says not to use an M.2 SSD without a heat-dissipation mechanism.
Check heatsink height before you look at speed
The size limits in the table apply to the drive including its cooler. Sony says most drives in the supported form factors will fit the slot without a built-in cooler, but that cooler sizes "vary greatly". So a drive can meet every other row and still be too tall or too wide once its heatsink is attached.
What to check on a product page:
- Total thickness: no more than 11.25 mm, with no more than 8.0 mm above the circuit board and no more than 2.45 mm below it.
- Total width: no more than 25 mm. Some heatsinks overhang the drive.
- Length: one of the five supported lengths.
If the listing doesn't give these numbers, or you aren't sure, Sony's own advice is to pick another product or contact the vendor. That is sensible: guessing here is how people end up with a drive that won't close under the cover.
Does a PS5 SSD need a heatsink?
Yes. Sony says an M.2 SSD in the PS5 needs effective heat dissipation, such as a heatsink and a heat transfer sheet. You have two routes:
- Buy a drive with a heatsink built in, then confirm it fits the dimensions above.
- Buy a bare drive and add your own cooler. Sony says these can be single-sided or double-sided, and that single-sided is easier to fit.
Sony supports both single-sided and double-sided SSDs.
Don't pay extra for speed past 5,500 MB/s
Sony recommends a sequential read speed of 5,500 MB/s or faster. It says nothing about needing more than that. It also says that even with a drive above 5,500 MB/s, not all games will necessarily perform identically to the console's internal SSD. If a game has trouble running from the M.2 drive, Sony's fix is to move it back to internal storage.
The practical reading: treat 5,500 MB/s as the bar to clear, not a race. Paying a premium for a bigger number on the box doesn't buy you a guarantee from Sony.
Is a Gen5 SSD worth it for PS5?
Sony's support page only lists PCI-Express Gen4x4 as the interface and doesn't mention Gen5 drives at all. Since Sony doesn't address them, there's no official basis for paying extra for one. Stick to what the table lists.
What a low TBW rating on a QLC drive means
TBW (terabytes written) is the endurance rating: how much data the maker expects you can write before the drive wears out under warranty. Cheaper drives using QLC NAND tend to have lower ratings, and that can look alarming on a spec sheet.
The Crucial P310, a mid-2024 drive, is a useful example. PCWorld's July 2024 review lists it at 220 TBW per TB of capacity, which it calls about par for QLC but well below the roughly 600 TBW of the average TLC drive. PCWorld still says 220 TBW is likely more than you'll write in a 5-year warranty period. KitGuru's review of the 2 TB model gives it 440 TBW and a 5-year warranty, and puts the lower-than-expected rating down to QLC NAND.
So a QLC drive with a lower TBW is normal, not a defect. Games are mostly written once and read many times, so endurance is a weaker reason to pay more than capacity or fit.
I'm using the P310 to illustrate QLC endurance figures, not as a current pick. The reviews are from 2024, and I haven't verified current prices or availability.
DRAM versus DRAM-less isn't in Sony's table
Sony's requirements don't mention whether a drive has DRAM, and I couldn't confirm how it affects the PS5 on a primary source, so I'd leave it out of your decision.
How the choice changes by what you need
You want the most game space. Capacity is the main lever. Sony supports up to 8 TB. Expect the formatted space to be a little less than the box says; here's why drives show less storage than advertised.
You want the easiest install. Buy a drive with a built-in heatsink whose published dimensions you've checked against the table, or add a single-sided cooler, which Sony says is easier to fit.
You're looking at a tiny 2230 drive. The PS5 supports 2230. Drives this small are mainly aimed at compact laptops, tablets, small PCs and handhelds such as the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, per StorageReview, but they still need cooling in the PS5. Most buyers will find more heatsink options in the common 2280 size.
You're on a budget. A QLC drive that meets the Gen4 and 5,500 MB/s requirements is reasonable. Accept the lower TBW rating and spend the savings on capacity.
Preparing a PS5 for an M.2 SSD install
This section covers getting ready and opening the expansion slot. It does not cover the full install: seating the drive, fixing it in place and closing the console are in Sony's installation guide, which you'll need open for those steps.
Before you start, update the console to the latest system software. You need a #1 Phillips screwdriver; a flashlight is optional. Touch a grounded metal object to discharge static, and never power on the console with the cover off.
For the CFI-2000/7000 group of consoles, Sony's guide opens the slot like this:
- Remove the triangle cover.
- Remove the expansion slot cover screw and the cover.
- Remove the spacer screw and move the spacer to match your drive's length.
The drive then goes in at an angle; continue with Sony's guide from that point. Original CFI-1000 consoles have separate instructions on the same page.
Once the drive is installed, the console must format it, which erases everything on it. Don't power off during formatting. After that, you can move games freely between internal storage, USB extended storage and the M.2 drive.
One caveat from Sony: it can't guarantee that every SSD meeting the specs will work.
My recommendation
Pick the capacity you need, then choose a PCIe Gen4 NVMe drive that meets Sony's table and has a heatsink, and confirm its total size is no more than 25 mm wide and 11.25 mm thick, with no more than 8.0 mm above the board. Don't reject a QLC drive just because its TBW looks low. If a seller can't tell you the heatsink dimensions, buy a different drive.
