Seagate has partnered with the FireCuda 530 M.2 SSD A theoretically compatible additional storage device for the PS5 has been announced. This device not only matches the speed of the new-gen console, but surpasses it.
According to Seagate, the FireCuda 530 M.2 achieves a read speed of up to 7300 MB/s, which is significantly more than the PS5's internal storage, rated at 5.5 GB/s. Only the PS5's architecture allows the data transfer speed to reach up to 9 GB/s. Nevertheless, the new SSD storage is a viable option for the PS5 – at least on paper – as it is specifically targeted at the gaming sector.
Seagate writes the following:
"The FireCuda 530 utilizes the potential of PCIe Gen4 and impresses with a speed of up to 7.300 MB/s. The transfer rates of this SSD are 2 times faster than PCIe Gen3 SSDs and 12 times faster than SATA SSDs for unhindered gaming."
Waiting for Sony
It remains unclear when Sony will enable the PS5's external SSD slot. Some PS5 owners are starting to run out of storage space, and Sony has remained silent on the matter for over a year.
The feature might be included in the upcoming PS5 beta firmware with it, which can be tested shortly. However, details about its scope are not yet known.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has offered since the beginning a practical and external solution for additional storage for the Xbox Series X, even though it's not exactly cheap. That won't be the case with the PS5 either, as Seagate is quoting a hefty $500 for the 2TB version – roughly the same price as the PS5 itself.
I bought the Samsung 980 Pro sight unseen; it'll either work or it won't. By the time Sony unlocks the slot, PCIe 5 will already be on the market. Even though it was announced for summer, it makes absolutely no technical sense to wait that long. The 980 was the first SSD with a 7GB read speed; they could have at least allowed that. Then they would have had a model like the Series X that could be used for next-gen games. Now that all the graphics cards for mining have been disabled, SSDs and HDDs are being used for this purpose and are being snapped up, driving the price up again. I even think it would have been better in hindsight if they had used a dedicated form factor.