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No matter the brand, you can always expect 8TB of storage to be pricey where SSDs are concerned - the larger the capacity, the more cash you can expect to spend. That's more or less the case with the WD Black SN850X, which while it is one of the fastest drives you can pop into your PS5, costs more than the console itself. At least it does when there's no deals kicking around.
Fortunately for those struggling to make space on your Sony console, the 8TB WD Black SN850X SSD is now $533.10 at Amazon, a saving of 39% off its huge MSRP of $879.99. The last time I spotted one of the best PS5 SSDs like this drop in price was over the holidays, and even then, other big retailers like Newegg still had the 8TB SSD for just under the $600 mark, making this the lowest I've seen for the gaming SSD so far.
Thanks to this limited time deal, not only does it mean this chonky SSD finally costs less than a PS5 Pro, but it comes with a saving of $346.89. While that's not enough to grab an additional PS5 or PS5 Slim, it is enough to put towards 12 months of PS Plus Premium subscription, and still have cash left over to put towards new games, and even a second DualSense controller if you need one.
Should you buy the WD Black 8TB SN850X SSD?
The PS5 may be my favorite of all the current-gen consoles right now, but that doesn't mean I'm not constantly fed up with the lackluster onboard storage. Regardless of which version you have, the current PS5 models only go up to a maximum of 2TB in storage with the PS5 Pro, which still doesn't feel like enough. Especially when you consider the storage demanding size requirements of modern games, hefty game patches, the size of some DLC, and the increasing amount of PS Plus Premium games that are itching to be downloaded.
While the onboard storage options are always a bit lacking, the PS5 makes up for it by being one of the easier consoles to upgrade. Some of the best SSDs for gaming, just like this 8TB WD Black SN850X drive, can give your Sony console that well-needed storage boost and can easily slot in the available M.2 SSD slot on the back of the console.
Whether you actually need a whole 8TB worth of storage space, however, depends on how you use your PS5. Each month I download the latest monthly PS Plus games, and am constantly trying out new and old games from the ever-growing catalog. As a result, I'm greeted by notifications about my storage every single day, and constantly have to delete games to make space for others. If that sounds like a familiar scenario, then the 8TB WD Black SN850X would be a no-brainer for your console, so long as your budget can allow it.
Even if you prefer sticking with physical games, having that 8TB of extra storage can come in handy. Patch updates for physical games can be pretty storage-demanding, and if you regularly like to record gameplay directly to your console, you'll fill up its storage pretty fast. You might just as fast fill up 8TB, but at least it's a big step up from the 825GB of the launch PS5, 1TB of the PS5 Slim, and as stated earlier, it's still larger than the 2TB of the PS5 Pro.
Not only can you store plenty of extra games on this 8TB drive, but the WD Black SN850X is also one of the fastest SSDs going, boasting sequential write speeds up to 7,300MB/s, and read speeds up to 6,300MB/s. Our hardware team's own Duncan Robertson stated in his WD Black SN850X review that through his own testing, these speeds rang true with the and were "indeed just over 7,300MB/s" with the writes also in "excess of WD’s 6,300MB/s figures."
As an SSD, it's also capable of not just storing PS5 games, but running them too. The only major issue here, other than its still big price even with Amazon's current savings, is that this version doesn't come with a heatsink. You don't have to have a heatsink in order to pop this drive into your Sony console, but it will help prevent any issues down the line.
Luckily, Western Digital does have a version with a heatsink, which is currently just $599.99 at Amazon, a saving of 35% off its MSRP of $929.99. But if you want to keep costs even lower, you can leave the heatsink for another day. If this SSD deal is still a bit too much, the WD Black SN850X is available in other storage versions from 1TB, 2TB, and even 4TB. This won't give you a huge amount of space as opposed to the 8TB version, but any extra storage for the PS5 is worthwhile in my eyes.
If you're already struggling to fill up your PS5's console's storage, picking up one of the best PS5 accessories, like one of the best PS5 headsets and best PS5 controllers will help unlock the full potential of your beloved Sony console.
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