WD_BLACK SN850P 1TB NVMe SSD - Officially Licensed PS5 Storage Expansion

Our analysis

The Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB holds the same 1 TB on a bare M.2 drive meant for a PC; this WD_BLACK adds a fitted heatsink and Sony's official license, which is what the PS5 slot asks for. It is the licensed PS5 expansion in its smaller size, with nothing extra to buy before you install it.

What stands out

• Officially licensed for PS5. WD built it for the console, and the heatsink is designed for the PS5's M.2 slot, according to the brand.
• Up to 7300 MB/s read and 6300 MB/s write. WD's figures over PCIe 4.0 x4.
• Five-year limited warranty and a 600 TBW endurance rating. Both per WD.
• M.2 2280 with the heatsink on. Unscrew the slot cover, fasten the drive and the console handles the rest.

Where it falls short

• 1 TB fills up quickly with big modern games. If you keep many large titles installed, you will be deleting games again sooner than you think.
• WD rates the 1 TB a bit lower than the 2 TB: 6300 against 6600 MB/s write, 800K against 1200K random read IOPS, and half the endurance (600 against 1200 TBW).

Look elsewhere if

• You keep several big games installed at once: the WD_BLACK SN850P 2TB is the same drive with twice the space and the higher ratings. For the rest of what a PS5 setup needs, see our essential console accessories guide.

If you ask me, the 1 TB is for someone who plays a few games at a time and wants the official, no-research option. If you already delete games every month, go straight to 2 TB.