You should hold off on buying an SSD for PS5. Here’s why!

Best answer: No. Sony has not stated which internal SSDs will be compatible just yet, and the PS5 does not support expanded internal storage at the moment. Only buy an external SSD if you’re looking to store PS5 games or store and play your backward-compatible PS4 games.

What’s the difference between an SSD and HDD?

To make it as simple as possible: SSDs are much faster, usually smaller, and cost more than HDDs. SSDs use flash storage to read and write information, while HDDs have mechanical parts that physically read and write information.

If you look at the PS5 vs. PS4 Pro, which uses an HDD, the PS5 is lightning fast in comparison.

Should I buy an internal or external SSD?

When Sony approves expanded storage for PS5, you should definitely buy an internal SSD. There’s a dedicated slot for one next to its fan and across from the disc drive after you take off the white plate. The problem is that Sony has not confirmed what will be compatible with it yet. As of right now, you cannot use that space to add an internal SSD. PS5 games will only play off of the console’s built-in SSD unit.

Now, if you want to just store and play your PS4 games, that’s a different storage. All backward-compatible PS4 games can be played from an external SSD connected via USB. This is a great way to free up that precious SSD space in your system because you want to save that for PS5 titles.

When will the PS5 support expanded storage for PS5 games?

Sony released an update for the PS5 in April that added support for SSD and HDD storage of PS5 games. Because PS5 games require their internal SSD to run, they cannot be played off any external drive connected via USB. Sony plans to add internal SSD compatibility to the PS5 in a later update this year.

Our pick

Samsung T7 Portable SSD (500GB)

$80 at Amazon
$100 at Best Buy

Only for backward compatible games

A lot of you may have a decent amount of PS4 games you want to play on PS5, and these can be played on an external SSD. In fact, that’s the best way to play them. Since only the built-in SSD on the PS5 can run PS5 games, you shouldn’t waste any of it on PS4 titles. This saves you precious storage space.