Picksights
Gaming

Console storage

Storage expansion works completely differently on each console, and the wrong purchase simply will not run current-generation games. This is the category where buying by price alone goes wrong most often.

What actually matters here

Picksights methodology

  • PS5 takes a self-installed M.2 NVMe drive and requires a heatsink; Xbox Series X/S takes a proprietary plug-in card.
  • An external USB drive can store current-gen games but cannot run them — it only plays older-generation titles directly.
  • Sustained read speed matters more than the peak figure printed on the packaging.
  • Usable capacity is always below the advertised number once the system formats the drive.

Rankings in this category

Best SSD for PS5 and Xbox Series X

Two rankings, one per console, covering M.2 drives and proprietary expansion cards.

Read the ranking →

Also worth a look

We add one thoroughly-researched ranking at a time rather than publishing dozens of thin pages. Every product is scored with a fixed, disclosed formula applied to real specs and prices.