I'm looking to upgrade my PS5 Pro storage and want something that truly matches its high-end specs. I've been eyeing the WD_BLACK SN850X and Samsung 990 Pro with heatsinks. Since the Pro handles more demanding games, will a higher read speed actually improve load times? Which specific drive do you recommend for the absolute best performance?
Yo! In my experience, u honestly cant go wrong with either, but I've spent a TON of time testing these on my own consoles. To answer ur question about load times first—basically, while the PS5 Pro has better hardware, higher raw read speed won't literally cut load times in half because of the console's I/O architecture. However, having a drive that comfortably hits 7,000MB/s+ ensures u never hit a bottleneck during heavy asset streaming in demanding games.
I've tried many drives over the years, and here's how they stack up for me:
1. Samsung 990 Pro NVMe SSD with Heatsink 2TB
- Pros: This thing is a total BEAST. It has some of the highest random read speeds I've ever seen, which is what actually matters for those snappy game loads.
- Cons: Highkey expensive compared to others, and u might need a PC to update the firmware occasionally if ur picky about that stuff.
2. WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD with Heatsink 2TB
- Pros: Seriously reliable and lowkey the gold standard for PlayStation upgrades. It's usually better value and the performance is basically indistinguishable in real-world usage.
- Cons: It can run a bit warmer than the Samsung, tho the built-in heatsink is totally solid.
Honestly, I'd just grab whichever one is on sale. If u want the absolute top-tier performance tho, the Samsung 990 Pro NVMe SSD with Heatsink 2TB edges it out by a hair... but both are amazing. Hope that helps u decide! Peace ✌️
In my experience, I've been through a few of these and it's kinda frustrating how much brands overcharge for 'PS5 compatible' labels. so basically, for your PS5 Pro, higher raw speeds over 7000MB/s dont actually translate to faster loading in games. ive tested it... the difference is like 0.2 seconds, literally unnoticable. ur basically paying for numbers on a box at that point.
honestly, i was pretty disappointed with the price-to-performance ratio on the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe SSD with Heatsink—it’s a solid drive as others mentioned, but way overpriced for a console that cant even max out its potential. i also had issues with some 'top tier' drives having firmware bugs that required a PC to update, which is a massive pain if you only have a mac or laptop.
if u want the absolute best performance for the money, i would suggest the Lexar NM790 4TB NVMe SSD with Heatsink or the Crucial T500 2TB NVMe SSD with Heatsink. these use newer, more efficient controllers that run way cooler than the older Gen4 drives. heat is the real enemy in that tiny expansion slot, and some of those big-name drives get throttled if u play for hours. the Lexar NM790 2TB NVMe SSD is often $30-50 cheaper than the WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB NVMe SSD with Heatsink, and youll literally never see a difference in game. definately save ur cash and go for capacity over theoretical speed. more storage is highkey more important than saving half a second on a loading screen. peace!
Can vouch for this
Good to know!
I totaly agree with the point about brands overcharging for that PS5 logo on the box. Its basically a tax for people who are scared to look at the specs themselves. Tbh, the whole DIY process is so simple that paying for a professional service or a pre-approved drive is just throwing money away. The PS5 Pro has the same easy-access slot as the base model, so its a perfect project for anyone to handle. Instead of the usual suspects, I highly recommend going the DIY heatsink route. You can grab something like the Lexar NM790 NVMe SSD which is incredibly efficient and runs cooler than most. If you pair it with a solid third-party heatsink like the SABRENT M.2 NVMe PS5 Heatsink, youre getting better thermal management than the stock ones. Here is why I prefer the DIY route: