Stadia now experimenting with free game trials starting with Hello Engineer

Expand your PS5 storage for less on Black Friday

Black Friday SSD deals will be in hot demand this year now that Sony has finally unlocked the storage expansion bay of the PlayStation 5. Users can upgrade the console's internal storage capacity beyond the measly amount the PS5 launched with.

Picking up one of the best PS5 SSD options around on Black Friday may save you a bit of cash compared to the normal MSRP, but at the same time, the 'deals' might actually just be managing to find stock in the first place as many of our favorite models have been selling out. Don't worry, though; we're constantly testing new PS5-compatible SSDs, so we'll let you know which ones are available too beyond the old favorites likes the Samsung 980 Pro, WD SN 850 Black, and the Firecuda 530.

If you're going to have a look around yourself, we've listed some retailers below that we'll be checking for Black Friday PS5 SSD options for the next few weeks. Be careful, though; you'll want to make sure the specs of the SSD meet Sony's particular requirements. We'll run through those on this page, too. First up, you can find our favorite PS5 SSD deal of the day directly below, too; it's a real catch.

Samsung 980 Pro

<img src="https://ift.tt/28Enj5O

$189.99 at Dell

Save $40: This is one of the very best SSDs you can get on the PS5 with some of the fastest speeds around, and this is an excellent price given stock often sells out without a discount. Samsung is an incredibly well-respected brand in storage, especially for modern SSD tech. You'll need to attach your own heatsink, but we've picked out some compatible models further down this page.

What stores will have Black Friday PS5 deals?

When shopping for a PS5 SSD on Black Friday, the stores below will be your best bet. They've had regular stock of them as PC components for a while and have a strong track record. As big-brand stores, they'll have solid chances of getting the most popular drives back in stock when they do sell out. Be mindful of MSRPs, though, as third-party sellers are allowed on most of these stores and won't be afraid to jack up the prices. And with PS5 SSDs being expensive enough to begin with, you shouldn't pay anything extra. Look out for "sponsored" slots at the top of retailer search listings as they're often not compatible matches.

What requirements are there for a PS5 SSD

This isn't like the old days of just buying a PlayStation memory card. You'll have to be mindful of the following spec when picking up an SSD for your PS5 on Black Friday, as many models out there are only for a PC. Don't forget, some SSDs do not come with a heatsink built-in, and we severely recommend you do indeed attach one (it's very easy), or you risk the SSD overheating and burning out in your PS5. We've dropped a few links below for some PS5-compatible heatsinks to save you the hassle of measuring all the specs.

  • Interface: PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVME
  • Capacity: 250GB - 4TB capacity
  • Read speed: 5,500MB/s or faster
  • Form factors: 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280, 22110
  • Width: up to 25mm (with heatsink)
  • Length: up to 110mm (with heatsink)
  • Thickness: up to 11.25mm (with heatsink)
  • Heatsink: built-in or manually added as a separate purchase

The following PS5 compatible heatsinks are usually priced around $15-$20 and are often available in red, black, or silver - not that you'll be able to see it once you close the PS5 up again. They're double-sided, which adds a tiny bit extra to the price over the dirt-cheap models, but it's more than worth it to protect your new PS5 SSD. Pro tip: the version of SSDs with a heatsink built-in already are often a lot more expensive, so adding your own manually is a great way to save up to $40 sometimes!

When do the Black Friday PS5 SSD deals begin?

Black Friday officially begins on November 26 this year, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should wait that long. We see many stores go super early. Black Friday has become more of a week-long affair, so many might go live on the Monday of the 22nd.

Given how often the Firecuda 530 and WD SN850 have been selling out, though, it might be worth bagging yours next time you see it, even if there isn't a discount. The 1TB Samsung 980 Pro might actually go even cheaper than usual, as it seems to be well-stocked at most retailers and gets regular discounts. Which we're delighted with as it's one of the best models out there for the PS5.


by Brendan Griffiths