How much PS5 storage?
Most PS5 owners need 2 TB. The 825GB PS5 leaves 667 GB, room for five Black Ops 7 installs; a 2TB SSD adds 15. Sony's M.2 rules and the cost per TB.
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How much storage does a PS5 need?
Most PS5 owners need about 2 TB of storage. The 825GB PS5 leaves 667 GB for games, according to Polygon, enough for five installs the size of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 with its packs, and a 2TB M.2 SSD adds room for 15 more.
The cheapest safe upgrade is a PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSD with a heatsink. The WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB, officially licensed for PS5, costs £274.23 on Amazon UK at the time of writing (October 2026), £137.12 per TB and £41.09 less than the bare WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB. The wider shortlist is in Best NVMe SSD for gaming UK 2026.
| Situation | Storage to aim for | Pick | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two or three big games kept installed | Built-in SSD is enough | No upgrade | £0 |
| 825GB or 1TB PS5, five or more big games | Add 2 TB | WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB | £274.23 |
| Lowest cost per TB with a heatsink | Add 2 TB | Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB with heatsink | £264.99 |
| Lowest price, heatsink fitted at home | Add 2 TB | Crucial P310 2TB | £229.99 plus a heatsink |
| Smallest useful upgrade | Add 1 TB | Samsung 990 Pro 1TB | £188.99 plus a heatsink |
| PS5 Pro (1.89 TB usable) | Add only past 14 big games | No upgrade yet | £0 |
How much usable storage does each PS5 have?
The launch PS5 leaves 667 GB of its 825GB SSD for games, according to Polygon, and Push Square reports 1.89 TB usable on the 2TB PS5 Pro. Sony sells two other current UK models, the 1TB PS5 and the 825GB PS5 Digital Edition, and states that a portion of each SSD is reserved for system software, so available capacity varies. Sony publishes no usable figure for the 1TB model.
Big games now take 85 GB to 132 GB each on PS5. Ghost of Yōtei needs 85.119 GB, according to PlayStation Game Size data reported by Digital Trends. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 needs 96.677 GB plus a 15.594 GB Co-op Campaign Pack and a 19.734 GB Warzone Pack, 132.005 GB in total, according to the same data reported by Game Rant.
| Model | SSD (Sony) | Usable | Black Ops 7 with packs (132 GB) | Ghost of Yōtei (85 GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition, 825GB | 825 GB | 667 GB on the launch model (Polygon) | 5 | 7 |
| PS5, 1TB (current model) | 1 TB | Not published by Sony | 7 at most | 11 at most |
| PS5 Pro | 2 TB | 1.89 TB (Push Square) | 14 | 22 |
| Any PS5 plus a 2TB M.2 SSD | Adds 2 TB | 2 TB rated | 15 more | 23 more |
The M.2 row uses the drive's rated capacity; the console reports a little less after formatting, so the last game may not fit. WD's own claim of up to 200 games on its 8TB WD_BLACK SN850P assumes a 36 GB average game, less than a third of Black Ops 7 with its packs. How the 1TB PS5 and the PS5 Pro differ beyond storage is covered in PS5 Slim vs PS5 Pro.
What M.2 SSD does a PS5 need?
A PS5 needs a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD of 250 GB to 8 TB with a heatsink, and Sony recommends 5,500 MB/s or faster. Sony's UK support page lists the rules for the launch PS5 (CFI-1000) and the PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro (CFI-2000 and CFI-7000):
- Interface: PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe (Key M); M.2 SATA drives are not supported.
- Capacity: 250 GB to 8 TB.
- Speed: 5,500 MB/s sequential read or faster recommended.
- Cooling: a heatsink or heat transfer sheet is required; single-sided and double-sided drives both fit.
- Size: 2230 to 22110 lengths, up to 25 mm wide and 11.25 mm thick including cooling (8.0 mm above the board, 2.45 mm below).
- Tools: a #1 Phillips screwdriver, with the latest system software installed first.
Every drive in this guide reads at 7,100 MB/s or faster, so speed is settled and size and cooling decide the pick. The WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB heatsink measures 80 x 24.46 x 9.89 mm, according to WD, and the Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB heatsink stands 10.5 mm high, both inside Sony's limits. A USB drive is no substitute: Sony says PS5 games stored on USB must be moved back to internal storage to play, although PS4 games run from USB.
What does PS5 storage cost per TB?
A 2TB PS5 SSD with a heatsink costs £132.50 to £137.50 per TB on Amazon UK at the time of writing (October 2026), and 1TB costs more per TB. Compare Electronic's table divides each price by the rated capacity and by the 15 Black Ops 7-sized installs a 2TB drive holds (seven on 1TB).
| Drive | Heatsink | Price | Per TB | Big games (132 GB) | Per big game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB | Yes, PS5 licensed | £274.23 | £137.12 | 15 | £18.28 |
| Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB | Yes | £264.99 | £132.50 | 15 | £17.67 |
| Crucial P310 2TB PS5 with heatsink | Yes | £275.00 | £137.50 | 15 | £18.33 |
| Crucial P310 2TB | No, add one | £229.99 | £115.00 | 15 | £15.33 |
| Lexar NM790 2TB | No, add one | £299.99 | £150.00 | 15 | £20.00 |
| WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB | No, add one | £315.32 | £157.66 | 15 | £21.02 |
| Samsung 990 Pro 1TB | No, add one | £188.99 | £188.99 | 7 | £27.00 |
Two findings stand out. The PS5-licensed WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB costs £41.09 less than the bare WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB, a 7,300 MB/s drive from the same family with no heatsink, and Crucial charges £45.01 more for the heatsink version of its P310 2TB. A 1TB drive costs 48% more per big game than the WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB, so a buyer short of space should go straight to 2 TB.
Which SSD should a PS5 owner buy?
The WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB is the PS5 SSD to buy, at £274.23 on Amazon UK at the time of writing (October 2026). It is officially licensed for PS5, ships with a heatsink built for the console's M.2 slot, and WD rates it at 7,300 MB/s reads, 1,200 TBW and a 5-year warranty.
WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB specifications (WD)
- Capacity: 2 TB, M.2 2280
- Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe
- Sequential read and write: 7,300 MB/s and 6,600 MB/s
- Random read and write: 1.2 million and 1.1 million IOPS
- Endurance: 1,200 TBW, 5-year limited warranty
- Heatsink: 80 x 24.46 x 9.89 mm, built for the PS5 M.2 slot
- Model number: WDBBYV0020BNC-JRSN
The heatsink sits 1.36 mm inside Sony's 11.25 mm height limit, and WD says the drive also works in a desktop PC with an M.2 2280 slot, which helps if the console is ever replaced. The compromise is price: the Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB with heatsink costs £9.24 less, and the Crucial P310 2TB costs £44.24 less before a heatsink is added.
WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB - pros and cons
Where to buy
Check price
Three alternatives cover other budgets, at Amazon UK prices on 6 October 2026.
Also consider
Radar · 0-100 scores
- WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB for PS5
- Kingston Fury Renegade 2TB with heatsink
- Crucial P310 2TB
- Samsung 990 Pro 1TB
Verdict
A PS5 needs about 2 TB once more than five big games stay installed: the 825GB model leaves 667 GB and the 2TB PS5 Pro 1.89 TB. The WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB at £274.23 adds room for 15 Black Ops 7-sized installs with a PS5-licensed heatsink, at £137.12 per TB. The full shortlist is in Best NVMe SSD for gaming UK 2026, other add-ons are in Best PS5 accessories UK 2026, and the next PS5 questions are Is the DualSense Edge worth it? and Which headsets work with PS5?
Frequently asked questions
How much usable storage does a PS5 have?
The launch PS5 with an 825GB SSD leaves 667 GB for games, according to Polygon, and Push Square reports 1.89 TB usable on the 2TB PS5 Pro. Sony sells the current PS5 with a 1TB SSD and the Digital Edition with 825GB in the UK, and says part of each SSD is reserved for system software, so available capacity varies.
Is 1TB enough for a PS5?
1TB suits a PS5 owner who keeps three or four big games installed. A 1TB drive holds at most seven installs the size of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 with its Co-op Campaign and Warzone packs, 132 GB on PS5. The WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB costs £274.23 on Amazon UK at the time of writing (October 2026), or £137.12 per TB.
What SSD speed does a PS5 need?
Sony recommends a sequential read speed of 5,500 MB/s or faster for a PS5 M.2 SSD, on a PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe drive between 250 GB and 8 TB. Current Gen4 drives clear that easily: the WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB, Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB and Crucial P310 2TB are rated at 7,100 MB/s to 7,300 MB/s.
Does a PS5 SSD need a heatsink?
Yes. Sony requires an M.2 SSD in a PS5 to have a cooling structure such as a heatsink or a heat transfer sheet, with the total no thicker than 11.25 mm and no wider than 25 mm. The WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB heatsink measures 9.89 mm high, according to WD, and the Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB heatsink 10.5 mm.
Can you play PS5 games from an external hard drive?
No. A USB drive of 250 GB to 8 TB can store PS5 games, but Sony says they must be moved back to internal storage before they can be played. PS4 games can be played directly from USB storage. An M.2 SSD such as the WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB is the only way to keep more PS5 games ready to play.
Does the PS5 Pro need more storage?
Less often than the other models. Push Square reports 1.89 TB of usable space on the 2TB PS5 Pro, enough for 14 installs the size of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 with its packs. The PS5 Pro takes the same M.2 SSDs as the other models, so an owner can add the WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB later.