The PS5 worked fine with the slowest compatible SSD we could find

From The Verge: "If your PS5 is already running out of speedy solid state storage, there’s a fix on the way. Sony’s new beta update for the PS5 allows you to expand your paltry 667GB of usable space by popping in the same sort of M.2 SSD stick you might slip into your laptop or desktop PC. My colleague Mitchell has a PS5 SSD buying guide right here that meets all of Sony’s recommendations, such as speeds of at least 5,500MB/s. That might leave you wondering, though: what about slower SSDs?

That’s why we tracked down an ADATA XPG Gammix S50 Lite, one of the slowest compatible PCIe Gen4 drives we could find at 3,900MB/s reads and 3,200MB/s writes, and stuck it into a PS5, along with another drive."

[Vits]

Really a shame that Sony doesn't allow Gen 3 to operate on the console. It would really cool to see if a much slower SDD like the SN550 would work.

[kneon]

The problem will hit you in the future when more games are taking full advantage of the PS5's SSD performance. And it's not about loading speed.

[Vits]

We can't know that can we? As Sony don't want us to test it in the first place.

The lowest spec SSD that can be tested is the one in the article. And even games like R&C that supposedly make use of the PS5's SSD performance run without issues.

[kneon]

If the end to end throughput of the add-on SSD can't at least match that of the internal SSD then it will hold you back. Even R&C isn't pushing it to it's max yet, but eventually we will have games that do.

[Vits]

Sure "eventually".

Shame we will not be able to prove it.

[Eonjay]

If it's compatible it's compatible.
Why would they have min requirements if the min requirements didn't work?

[Babadook7]

The problem with this article is it focuses on load times. Not response time. Testing a pc based ssd with 2 priority levels instead of the 6 that are in the ps5s stock drive doesn’t compare that. Pocket dimensions in Rift Apart doesn’t really check it either. Only full on dimension jumping would somewhat test it at the monument and Insomniac has said they’ve found lag with some drives. But the more important consideration is of course the future UE5 tech which will provide many other challenges and it’s much too early to say a lower end 5.5 GB/s 2 level pc drive will cut it.

[Eidolon]

Well. I would like for them to support slow drives for at least storage, so I wouldn't have to use an external enclosure.

[ElvisHuxley]

Yeah, SN550 is what I have in my PC, pretty happy with it. It's interesting, CP2077 loads much faster on my PC with an SN550 than it does on my ps5, like 3 times faster. Most likely due to optimization though. I'm fine with gen 4 though, that's where the industry is going anyway.

[jznrpg]

Gen5 is where the industry is going as it will be supported next year Gen4 is now .

[ElvisHuxley]

@jznrpg Didn't think I had to explain what I was saying, thought it was obvious. Ackshually, I guess I forgot i was on the internet.

[Grievous]

Cyberpunk doesn't even have a PS5 version.

[ElvisHuxley]

@Grievous That is some rapid action deja vu right there...
I said I played it on my PS5. I didn't say I played the non-existent PS5 version. I guess I need to start being really specific...

[Eonjay]

@ElvisHuxley

Sony limits the IO of storage when running PS4 games on the PS5. Apparently this has something to do with compatibility,

[VenomCarnage89]

@elvis
Really, that's what you took away from Grievous' comment? Dude he's telling you that PS4 games essentially run at PS4 speeds on the PS5. Your comment of cyberpunk loading faster on PC compared to ps5 means nothing because you're not comparing apples to apples whatsoever.
I thought this was obvious but, it is the internet after all, like you said

[ElvisHuxley]

Lol, is everyone on this site childish? Is this Twitter? Do Playstation fans think I was bashing my PS5, the one that I play every day? That I spent months of trying to get? Is facepalming still a thing? You people need to relax.
Let me clarify, I'm not actually asking if this is Twitter.

[northpaws]

I don't get your thinking, what exactly would Sony gains/loses from not letting you to use gen 3 if it actually work? Not everything is an evil scheme. It would be a shame to design a console around crazy SSD speed and then let everyone use gen 3 tech and then complain it doesn't work.

[Vits]

Marketing.

[1Victor]

Pepperidge farm remember when members like Vits said we wouldn’t see games 50gigs or more when PS3 used blue ray ,Pepperidge farm remember the power of the cloud making xb1 5x stronger

[mkis007]

If a drive eventually fails to load textures fast enough or even world geometry data and causes you to clip or crash the game, i would think you would be mad at the price you paid for something that doesn't work.

The whole point is a guaranteed speed for devs. 5.4gb/s...they can make their games with that number.

[Sephiroushin]

They would not juat be mad, they would murder the game because its "full of bugs"!

[FyBy]

Its not shame. Its logical. On ps4 Sony guaranteed 50MB/s read speed for developers. And thats reason every game update was followed by slow copying of whole game. It was defragmenting data to be able to guaranteed the speed. For example spiderman used this whole speed and was designed around it. If Sony claims every ps5 guaranteed 5500 MB/s speed, you can run into problems with games, that are designed to that speed eg late texture streaming etc... So I would be careful.

[MeteorPanda]

bro its not a pc. they cut file size of games, they run faster... u know how many issues there will be if u take the consoles key thing over pcs - a set package in hardware- and start budgeting parts?

[Kaze88]

If your hardware is specked to run certain speed to feed the ram and cpu data, you need to put the limit somewhere. I think they did right choice to support only gen4 since it's more future proof. Manufacturers currently in Gen3 space are changing the components of their SSD to sell them cheap and they do not even run to the spec they are promised (Linus tech tips even made a video about it). SSD manufacturers need to start have standard certifications to prove that their stuff run the promised speeds they provide. Currently in Gen3 cheap/budget SSD you cannot trust the speed that they advertise. Also your suggested SSD is 2,400 MB/s only, the one verge tested on the first ps5 gen games specs to 3,200MB/s. To beat that you would have to buy high tear Gen3 SSD and it would run 3,500MB/s.

[waverider]

Of course they work but what about the future. This new doenst make any sense. You want a drive that takes advantage of the fast speed that the PS5 can reach...

[darthv72]

Rather interesting results. could it be it worked because this is still the beta? If sony says it has to be a minimum of a certain speed then I certainly wouldnt want to go below that. Still... it is interesting that this worked, but they didnt say if they had to use a heatsink at that lower speed.

[sinspirit]

Have people been not using heatsinks and running these fine? Without a heatsink, the controllers are basically guaranteed to throttle.

[darthv72]

no idea... its understandable that a faster drive would generate more heat, thus requiring a heatsink. but this being slower would just be cooled by the natural flow of the system. Less speed, less heat but similar load times/performance.

[sinspirit]

@darthv72

They are still super high end drives, even the lowest speeds that work for the console. The other thing is the PS5 would be running the drive closer to its max speed than most other devices.

I'd only assume that older gen m.2's are fine with no heatsink.

[darthv72]

looking at the drive, it appears to have some thin passive cover. this one also says it runs 20% cooler... cooler than what i have no idea. Cooler than it would without that thin cover perhaps.

https://www.amazon.com/XPG-...

[Rhythmattic]

Darth
"Less speed, less heat but similar load times/performance."
Riiiiighty oh then.... You can't be that obnoxious? Surely...

Then your saying forget gen 4 speeds because gen 3 is up to the task....

Well my Apple ][e had 64k.... Why would we ever need more....

You really are pushing buttons that are made of mud.

[Darkborn]

I would say the real problem is because games are using the kraken compression tech, as well as super fast loading like in ratchet and clank rift apart. They are targeting a certain speed on games to not have loading screens or random pop-in and loading areas like in destiny 2 for instance. So yeah, Gen 3 SSD's could work, but like they said, it might be undesirable. And if your game has a loading screen and mine doesn't, that's on you.

[Grievous]

It's not loading up the game that might cause problems it is when playing a game and assets are being streamed during gameplay where you might encounter problems sooner or later. Also the Verge is the last outlet I would trust regarding advice after some of the stuff they put it out recently.

[elazz]

They should have tried game sections in Ratchet and Clank switching dimensions and do the fast gameplay traversal sections to see if it makes a difference.

[Richhard1]

Sony are future proofing the console, hence why faster speeds are required, even now.

[mkis007]

Yes because as we know consoles are maxed out in the first year.

[Sayai jin]

That's good and all, but many of these sites don't understand what true testing is. I am not hust referring to the PS5 ssd. True test is multifaceted and can last quite a while. True testing incorparates things like Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF), environmental, etc. Especially crucial simce these ssds will be 3rd party. Sure something may be fine for the day or two you test it, but what about unfer heavy load, updates, etc. I am glad there will options, but if Sony made and licensed a ssd soley for the PS5 I would get that option, because you knownthey did proper testing and they will honor the console's and ssd's functionality, longevity, and warranty.

[Lamusiqa]

It'll work now but Sony has stated that they might put a minimum speed cap in the public release of the firmware. This would be the ideal way to go because every PS5-exclusive game will be made with the internal SSD read speed (5.5GB/s) in mind. In the future, AAA games will most likely take advantage of the maximum capability of the internal SSD which can only be matched by an equivalent or faster NVMe SSD.

[poppatron]

That’s nuts, those things are £120 for a 1tb on Amazon right now… as soon as the update goes live for normal users I’m going to get one

[Father__Merrin]

If someone just makes 5.5ghz drives instead of 6 7 8 plus they will hit a lucrative market in after market ps5 space.