Samsung 980 Pro SSD With Heatsink Review

Manufacturer – Samsung

Platform(s) – PlayStation 5, PC

Disclaimer: Review Unit was kindly provided by PR

As of this writing, PlayStation 5 has been out for about a year and a half. There have been many third-party exclusive releases since the launch of the PS5 such as Deathloop, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and Guardians of the Galaxy. As is the case with first-party titles from PlayStation Studios such as Returnal, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and Demon’s Souls.

I know this isn’t the case with every gamer but I know storage space for the PS5 was a problem for some nearly a year into the console launch. If you’re a Call of Duty player, who knows how much larger those games will get with each new yearly installment. Simply put, if you play on one sole platform or play a ton of different games at the same time, storage space can be a pain to sort out at times.

Without a doubt, storage space started to become an issue for me earlier this year. Sony added the option to upgrade the storage in your PS5 back in September of 2021. Samsung has their own SSD made for PlayStation 5 and PC and after some research, it seemed like a great drive to test out and give my impressions on. Let me make it clear that this SSD review will be simply for the PlayStation 5.

Only a select few solid-state drives are available to use for the PlayStation 5. Any SSD you use is required to use a heatsink. If you don’t use a heatsink, you’ll more than likely end up causing permanent damage to your console. Some drives come with their own heatsink and others don’t. The version of the Samsung 980 Pro SSD I’m reviewing comes with the heatsink pre-installed. If you’re not a tech-savvy person, I’d recommend purchasing a drive with a pre-installed heatsink.

Now let’s get to the actual SSD review. The packaging is fairly simple and nicely presented. Upon opening, you’re treated with the Samsung 980 Pro SSD and the mini-booklet of the installation guide. The SSD itself is hefty for its size but that’s to be expected.

Installation couldn’t have been any easier, you can take a look at the expansion slot in the image above. To install the SSD you must remove the panel of the PlayStation 5 that covers the expansion slot. You’ll need a screwdriver for this next part. The expansion slot is covered by a metal plate. After you access the slot, you’ll have to remove a screw and holder inside the expansion slot. After removing the plate, the SSD must be slotted into the expansion slot and set in place with the screw and holder. It sounds confusing in writing but it’s not too complicated in actual practice.

When you turn on your PlayStation 5, the system will require you to format the SSD. The system does this on its own and there’s nothing that needs to be done on your end than a few button presses on the DualSense Controller. Now, we’re upon the purpose as to why most will probably purchase this SSD. The storage and performance for your PlayStation games.

The storage for the SSD comes in at 1.01 TB and can be used for games only and not save data or media images/clips. I made a point to use PlayStation 5 native games for testing to heed the best results. I played games such as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, Deathloop, and WWE 2K22. Long story short, the SSD does its job well because I can’t tell any difference between the Samsung 980 Pro from the PS5 internal console SSD storage. In some ways, I think the Samsung SSD may work a bit faster on certain titles.

I think a big factor in purchasing this product will be the price. Samsung 980 Pro SSD averages around $175 from most retail outlets. All I know is that the Samsung 980 Pro SSD lines up or is close in price with other drives such as Western Digital, Seagate, or Sabrent. For the most part, it’ll depend on which product is better for your buck and is from a company you trust.

All I can say is after a couple of weeks of use, I can recommend the Samsung 980 Pro SSD in confidence. It’s worked fine and everything came in mint condition with no issues. The read speed supposedly goes up to 7000MB/s and for me, it came up to 6600MB/s. Pricing will vary per person and depends on your current financial situation. Just like most high-end SSDs these days, this drive is on the expensive side but I feel Samsung has developed a product that is one of the best storage expansion options you can get on the market.