Hardware PS5 M.2 support arrives

[subcon959]

Does air from the fan not circulate throughout that chamber? I know there are at least a couple holes on the inside of it, and it is positioned right near the front of the fan.

I'm not sure but if it does then it's very minimal with such small holes. Most of these modules were made with PC cases in mind so it's not an ideal situation, even with the heatsink.

Huh? My 980 Pro in an x570 (PCIE Gen4) was getting near 7K on crystaldisk.

Apparently though, there are reports of slower drives working fine, such as the 5000MB/S Rocket 4 (non-plus).

It's rated up to 7000 so I was surprised when the PS5 measured it so much lower at first, but then I thought about the heat issue and it makes sense that it would be throttling. It could also be my choice of heatsink.

 

[tech3475]

I'm not sure but if it does then it's very minimal with such small holes. Most of these modules were made with PC cases in mind so it's not an ideal situation, even with the heatsink.


It's rated up to 7000 so I was surprised when the PS5 measured it so much lower at first, but then I thought about the heat issue and it makes sense that it would be throttling. It could also be my choice of heatsink.

Your drive was used in a PC? Not sure if perhaps it’s worth starting again. Putting the drive in the computer, checking for firmware updates, running Trim and then sanitising the drive fully before putting it back into the PS5.

If you can, maybe also checking the temps using the heatsink.

If heat is the cause, god help the SN850, I measured that being up to 10C hotter than the 980 Pro in my PC.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find any benchmarks for other drives inside the PS5 I.E. that could be the right speed.

 

[subcon959]

Your drive was used in a PC? Not sure if perhaps it’s worth starting again. Putting the drive in the computer, checking for firmware updates, running Trim and then sanitising the drive fully before putting it back into the PS5.

If you can, maybe also checking the temps using the heatsink.

If heat is the cause, god help the SN850, I measured that being up to 10C hotter than the 980 Pro in my PC.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find any benchmarks for other drives inside the PS5 I.E. that could be the right speed.

Yeah, I did all that before putting it in the PS5, which reformats it anyway. It was running great in my PC, but the heatsink I was using was too big to fit in the PS5 so I replaced it with a smaller one. I guess I'll just wait till more people start posting results. I do remember seeing a video of someone testing a Corsair module and their speed was over 6000 so I was a bit disappointed with the 980 Pro. However, the main thing is that games run fine so the numbers aren't a big deal.

 

[tech3475]

Yeah, I did all that before putting it in the PS5, which reformats it anyway. It was running great in my PC, but the heatsink I was using was too big to fit in the PS5 so I replaced it with a smaller one. I guess I'll just wait till more people start posting results. I do remember seeing a video of someone testing a Corsair module and their speed was over 6000 so I was a bit disappointed with the 980 Pro. However, the main thing is that games run fine so the numbers aren't a big deal.

Done some digging around, reportedly on reddit others are seeing similar results for the 980 Pro.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PS5/comments/ou5lam/ps5_internal_ssd_expansion_megathread/h70sflx/

 

[linuxares]

" just need a heatsink for it"
No one needs a heatsink for a SSD. Why are people falling for this?

 

[tech3475]

" just need a heatsink for it"
No one needs a heatsink for a SSD. Why are people falling for this?

SSDs can be affected by heat, one review I saw for the SN850 without a heatsink showed that it was affecting performance.

 

[linuxares]

SSDs can be affected by heat, one review I saw for the SN850 without a heatsink showed that it was affecting performance.

Yes if you use a benchmark tool. Else no, heck even Linus from Linus Tech Tips say it's unnecessary and then you know it's really unnecessary

 

[subcon959]

It seems the 980 Pro is almost exactly the same speed as the internal storage for loading, but it's almost twice as fast for writing.

The heatsink reduces the temperature by around 20C so it's an easy call to fit one.

 

[tech3475]

Yes if you use a benchmark tool. Else no, heck even Linus from Linus Tech Tips say it's unnecessary and then you know it's really unnecessary

They actually did a Techquickie episode on the subject, the biggest issue is staying away from the extremes of the rated temperatures and a heatsink can help:

 

[subcon959]

LTT is mostly just entertainment at this point, but even Linus mentions that you should make sure to provide an M.2 module plenty of airflow and to use a heatsink if available. That's in a well-ventilated PC case not in a small PS5 compartment with 2 little holes to suck air out. I think it would be foolish to not go with Sony's own recommendation.

 

[gnmmarechal]

Seem safer to just use an external HD but maybe that's just me

You mean an extremely slow drive? And how is it safer in any way? Installing a drive like this isn't exactly rocket science

 

[linuxares]

LTT is mostly just entertainment at this point, but even Linus mentions that you should make sure to provide an M.2 module plenty of airflow and to use a heatsink if available. That's in a well-ventilated PC case not in a small PS5 compartment with 2 little holes to suck air out. I think it would be foolish to not go with Sony's own recommendation.

Hmm true, I can accept that as a valid answer. I didn't think where the m.2 port on the PS5 where. I needed to double check and it might do something, but probably not much still.

 

[subcon959]

Hmm true, I can accept that as a valid answer. I didn't think where the m.2 port on the PS5 where. I needed to double check and it might do something, but probably not much still.

From the tests people have done with the PS5 (using an IR probe so not perfect) the temp was ~75C before and ~50C with heatsink. I think throttling starts around 82C so the heatsink is well worth it. This was just with 980 Pro, other modules could be better or worse.

 

[tech3475]

Hmm true, I can accept that as a valid answer. I didn't think where the m.2 port on the PS5 where. I needed to double check and it might do something, but probably not much still.

There are sites listing ‘compatible’ heatsinks for around $5-25, so you may be able to add one for just a few bucks.

 

[linuxares]

From the tests people have done with the PS5 (using an IR probe so not perfect) the temp was ~75C before and ~50C with heatsink. I think throttling starts around 82C so the heatsink is well worth it. This was just with 980 Pro, other modules could be better or worse.

Oh wow... the airflow must be terrible up there

 

[Deleted member 473940]

lol great. I will have a collection of m2 drives ready, before I even get a hand on the PS5

 

[tech3475]

From the tests people have done with the PS5 (using an IR probe so not perfect) the temp was ~75C before and ~50C with heatsink. I think throttling starts around 82C so the heatsink is well worth it. This was just with 980 Pro, other modules could be better or worse.

Out of curiosity, were these idle temps? Or had they just installed a bunch of games?

I found my highest temps on my PC when testing the 980 Pro and SN850 were when I restored a backup of my drive (sustained writes for hours).

 

[Goku1992A]

You mean an extremely slow drive? And how is it safer in any way? Installing a drive like this isn't exactly rocket science

For some people the majority of their games will be PS4 games and the performance will not change if they install the games on an external HD. Also upgrading your drive maybe be like $200 to do so it’s better to wait on a revised PS5 model or something because 693 free gb is not sufficient in 2021 the drives need to be 2TB at minimum. For me personally owning a PS5 will just to get better performance with my PS4 games as there are no PS5 games that catches my eye.

So using a 5TB external HD for my PS4 games and playing them is a win to me and just play the 1 or 2 PS5 games on the internal drive doesn’t seem that bad. If you beat the game you can always delete the game and repeat the process no point of filling up your drive with games you are never going to play

 

[subcon959]

Out of curiosity, were these idle temps? Or had they just installed a bunch of games?

I believe it was during a file transfer, but could be wrong. Idling at 75C would be terrible.

 

[subcon959]

DF tested the 980 Pro..