Samsung's 990 Pro SSD is one of the fastest drives available today, and it's great for pretty much any gaming or professional desktop or laptop. That's also true for the 990 Pro and the PS5. Samsung advertises that the 990 Pro is compatible with the PS5. Installing a 990 Pro could not only improve loading times, but the 2TB model would also double the storage. And since the PS5 only comes with 825GB of storage, you'll likely need that extra space.

The installation process is easy too, and Sony even supports it. Just lift off the cover, unscrew a tab to reveal the existing SSD, remove that, replace it with the 990 Pro, and just put everything back in place.

Do you need the heatsink version of the 990 Pro?

Of course, just because you can doesn't necessarily mean you should. The 990 Pro, as a top-end SSD, is going to deliver lots of performance and provide more space for games, but can also consume lots of power in doing so. That's why Samsung sells a model of the 990 Pro with a heatsink included, but it costs far more than the regular model. The 2TB model with the heatsink is over $300, 75% of the way there to a PS5 Digital. Whether this heatsink is necessary or not for optimal performance on the PS5 isn't something Samsung makes clear.

Thankfully, testing data suggests that not only does the 990 Pro work well in the PS5, but the heatsink also isn't even necessary. In its review, Android Central found that the 2TB 990 Pro was usually noticeably faster than the standard PS5 SSD, and in a few cases, was about on par. This means you can skip out on the heatsink model and save quite a bit of money (as long as the regular 990 Pro continues to retail at current prices, anyway).

If you're looking for an SSD for your PS5, we recommend the 990 Pro. It provides fast speeds for a Gen 4 drive and comes in at a decent price for what you get. Do note that if you're planning on using a 990 Pro in your PS5, you should update the firmware first as early versions reduce drive health very quickly. You can do this by installing it in a PC and running Samsung Magician.