SanDisk unveils an official SSD for PS5: the price exceeds that of three Pro consoles
SanDisk unveils an official SSD for PS5: the price exceeds that of three Pro consoles
SanDisk has presented the new Optimus GX PRO 850P NVMe SSD, a storage unit officially licensed for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro. The product has been designed to allow gamers to expand the storage capacity of Sony's consoles, but its particularly high price has immediately attracted attention in the industry.
The unit will be available in various capacities, including versions of 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB, and 8 TB. The latter represents the most extreme model in the range. According to SanDisk, the 8 TB variant can hold up to approximately 200 PlayStation 5 games, considering the average size of installations. However, the expected cost is $2,959.99, discounted from the initial list price of $3,699.99.
The comparison with Sony's consoles makes clear the extent of the required expenditure. Even considering the recent price hikes applied by Sony, the cost of the 8 TB SSD exceeds that necessary to purchase three PlayStation 5 Pro consoles.
Introducing the SANDISK Optimus(TM) GX PRO 850P NVMe(TM) SSD, the officially licensed drive for the @PlayStation®5 and PlayStation®5 Pro consoles. Play and store more titles with worry-free installation--up to 8TB of storage. Learn more at Sandisk.
Pricing and technical specifications of the new PS5 SSD from SanDisk
Even the versions with smaller capacities are particularly expensive. The 4 TB model is offered at $1,499.99, compared to a list price of $1,874.99, while the 2 TB version costs $759.99 instead of $949.99. The latter is even about $100 more expensive than a standard PlayStation 5.
From a technical perspective, SanDisk highlights the presence of an optimized heatsink specifically for the M.2 slot of the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro. The company also states that the device has been tested on both consoles to ensure reliability and compatibility during use.
The growing demand for memory related to the development of artificial intelligence is contributing to rising hardware costs, fueling the so-called "component crisis" (not just memory), making it increasingly expensive to use and expand gaming platforms.