Seagate Game Drive PS5 SSD review: Speed with a generous warranty

Price When Reviewed

1TB: $100 I 2TB: $150

Best Prices Today: Seagate Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD

$99.99

$149.99

Two issues proper off the bat. First, the Seagate Game Drive for PS5 is the second-fastest PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD with random ops that we’ve examined. It’s additionally very quick total.

Secondly, the Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD options DRAM for major caching duties. The PS5 doesn’t at the moment assist host reminiscence buffer (HMB), the place the system apportions a part of its personal reminiscence as major cache, so for finest efficiency, DRAM is a should.

Note, nevertheless, that DRAM-less HMB designs will nonetheless perform in a PS5 (Sony doesn’t specify DRAM), simply not as effectively below all circumstances resulting from their reliance upon the secondary caching (writing TLC/QLC as SLC) throughout writes.

Beyond DRAM nevertheless, there’s nothing PS5-specific about this SSD–any NVMe SSD with DRAM cache will perform at full throttle within the PS5. Buy the Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD due to its wonderful random efficiency and guarantee, not as a result of it has PS5 in its title.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best PCIe 4.0 SSDs to find out about competing merchandise.

What are the Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD’s options?

The Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD is a 2280 (22mm extensive, 80mm lengthy), PCIe 4.0 x4, M.2 SSD that makes use of 176-layer TLC NAND, a Phison PS5018-E18-41 controller, in addition to the beforehand mentioned 1GB of DRAM cache for each 1TB of storage.

The drive additionally sports activities a low-profile heatsink that sheds warmth effectively, however nonetheless matches properly right into a PS5.

How a lot does the Seagate Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD value?

The Game Drive PS5 is obtainable in 1TB and 2TB flavors for $100 and $150, respectively. While hardly the most cost effective NVMe SSD on the market, remember the fact that DRAM NVMe SSDs are pricier than HMB varieties. Those costs additionally embrace the heatsink, plus distinctive peace of thoughts, which I’ll focus on subsequent.

What’s the guarantee for the Seagate Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD?

As regular, Seagate backs its SSD extra generously than most distributors. The five-year guarantee is par for the course, however the TBW (terabytes that may be written over the lifetime of the drive) rankings are greater than double the norm–1,275TBW for each 1TB of capability. Yay, Seagate!

If you’re not acquainted, TBW rankings are just like the miles in an car guarantee, mitigating the years if exceeded. Truth be instructed, even 600TBW (the aforementioned norm) is a heck of a variety of information. It’s extraordinarily unlikely you’ll write greater than 1,275 terabytes in 10 years, not to mention 5.

How quick is the Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD?

I gave this away up prime, however the Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD gives excellent efficiency total, and distinctive 4K learn and write efficiency. The latter was better of breed for a PCIe 4.0 SSD utilizing the Windows driver. That makes it really a greater drive for operating an working system than loading video games if I get right down to brass tacks.

Note that the Solidigm P44 Pro utilizing the corporate’s Synergy driver (not proven within the charts) was a tad quicker at 4K ops–nevertheless, that driver gained’t come into play with the PS5.

The Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD (a shorter title please, Seagate!) fell off the tempo in CrystalDiskMark 8’s single-queue sequential learn check, ending barely quicker than the older Kingston Fury Renegade, however effectively behind the newer Crucial T500 and Solidigm P44 Pro. Still, 3.7GBps is sufficient to load recreation scenes directly. NVMe is quick, of us!

The Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD carried out decently in our real-world 48GB transfers, though these are below Windows and will not translate on to the PS5.

Jon L. Jacobi

The 450GB write went in a short time, which bodes effectively for loading/saving video games to the drive. The write tempo didn’t fall off drastically, both, after we wrote until the drive was practically full, nonetheless filling cells at a brisk 1.4GBps.

While the Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD wasn’t quickest below all circumstances, it’s loads quick sufficient and it’s unlikely you’d be capable of spot the distinction between it and one other NVMe SSD. That stated, the superb 4K efficiency would make it PC working system drive as effectively.

Should you purchase the Seagate Game Drive PS5 NVMe SSD?

While pricier than a variety of NVMe SSDs, the Game Drive PS5 NVMe is a superb selection for a lot of purposes, together with, after all, the PS5. The DRAM, heatsink, and twice-normal TBW ranking ought to ameliorate any considerations about spending a bit extra.

How we check

Internal drive assessments at the moment make the most of Windows 11, 64-bit operating on an X790 (PCIe 4.0/5.0) motherboard/i5-12400 CPU combo with two Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5 4800MHz modules (64GB of reminiscence complete). Both 20Gbps USB and Thunderbolt 4 are built-in to the again panel and Intel CPU/GPU graphics are used. The 48GB switch assessments make the most of an ImDisk RAM disk taking over 58GB of the 64GB of complete reminiscence. The 450GB file is transferred from a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB which additionally runs the OS.

Each check is carried out on a newly formatted and TRIM’d drive so the outcomes are optimum. Note that in regular use, as a drive fills up, efficiency will lower resulting from much less NAND for secondary caching, in addition to different components.

Caveat: The efficiency numbers proven apply solely to the drive we had been shipped and to the capability examined. SSD efficiency can and can fluctuate by capability resulting from extra or fewer chips to shotgun reads/writes throughout and the quantity of NAND out there for secondary caching. Vendors additionally often swap parts. If you ever discover a big discrepancy between the efficiency you expertise and that which we report, by all means, tell us.