It’s no secret that my PlayStation 5 is my go-to gaming system, but as any other PlayStation 5 owner will know, the included SSD, while great, is definitely limited when it comes to size, and it just doesn’t feel right to replace the system’s original SSD with a non-official one to improve your storage.
Thankfully if you are in the market to upgrade your PS5 internal solid-state drive and you have a bunch of disposable money just burning a hole in your pocket, Western Digital has you covered.
Well-known manufacturer Western Digital has announced its partnership with PlayStation to produce a line of officially licensed SSDs. These drives are known as the WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSDs, and while it’s great that it is an officially licenced product, it will set you back up to $549.99 or R10,440 for a 4TB. This PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD drive is set to deliver speeds up to 7,300MB/s for reading and 6,600MB/s for writing.
Introducing the NEW Officially Licensed, up to 4TB WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSD for @PlayStation 5! Get it now at https://t.co/hnUAKZN6l8 pic.twitter.com/LTe76i5RGP
— WD_BLACK (@wd_black) June 6, 2023
Now I’ll be honest with you, paying almost as much as the console itself for a drive feels beyond ridiculous to me, especially when you can buy a non PS5 licensed SSD for about half that. While most high-end, non-licensed SSDs should work just fine on the PS5, the officially licensed certification means you get a guarantee that this drive will perform as promised on the console.
So while I love that there’s an officially licensed SSD option now, I don’t love the premium price tag that PlayStation branding commands. In fact, a quick Google search will show you that you can get this exact drive, without the PS5 certification for a couple of thousand rand less. Just look for the Western Digital SN850X and thank us later.
What are your thoughts on this officially licensed SSD and price tag? Let me know in the comments.