For a long time, I've resisted upgrading my trusty PS4 to a PS5, though I'll admit it wasn't entirely by choice given the global chip shortage.
However, now that I've finally managed to beat the PS5 resupply game thanks to a great bundle from mobile provider EE, I can say with confidence that the console's best feature isn't the DualSense controller or the 3D audio - those are the solid 825 GB from the PS5. -state drive (SSD).
Despite the obvious jump in graphics and performance over the PS4, the PS5's SSD solved my biggest problem with console gaming by virtually eliminating the time I spent waiting for games to load and install software updates. I found it invaluable. As visually stunning as some of the best PS5 games can be - that is, recent releases like Gran Turismo 7 - my time is simply more valuable.
Faster read speeds
There are many things that make the PS5 such a sought-after product: Armed with an octa-core Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU, Sony's cutting-edge hardware can make every new game release impressive, and in some cases, even difficult to distinguish from real life. However, the PS5 SSD is a significant technological advance on its own.
To put that into perspective, the PS5 is equipped with a custom PCIe 4.0 SSD capable of delivering uncompressed data to the CPU and GPU at speeds of up to 5,5GB per second. That's about 100 times faster than the PS4 could produce at just 50-100 MB per second.
These technical specifications make the PS5 SSD the biggest quality-of-life upgrade the console has to offer. Even with graphically intensive Triple-A titles like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, boot speeds are so fast that it only takes seconds to jump from your PS5 menu to the canvas in New Horizons. York.
Interestingly, while the Xbox Series X also includes an SSD in its kit, the PlayStation appears to be more powerful, so much so that Epic Games had to rewrite parts of the Unreal Engine to cope with the PS5's faster load speeds.
Epic Games isn't the only developer making changes to accommodate the PS5's new SSD. Horizon Forbidden West game director Mathijs de Jonge recently mentioned that the PS5 reduced in-game load times so much that the developers had to "artificially slow them down so that players would be disoriented."
so many wasted afternoons
The PS5 SSD is also well-equipped to keep you from having to go through lengthy software updates, giving you more time to enjoy the gaming part of the game. Personally, while I loved my PS4, it was easy to lose track of time game I had. lost due to downloads and installations. As someone who regularly works 55+ hours a week, it can be hard to find enough time for video games as they are.
It's possible to avoid update delays with better planning or by letting your PS4 automatically download and install software patches. However, in my experience, the latter option has proven to be unreliable as I often have to update my console manually in order to connect to PlayStation online services. A quick internet search shows that this appears to be a widespread problem.
Ever since I bought the PS5, I've had times where I bought a game on sale on the PlayStation Digital Store and was able to install and play it in a matter of minutes. It used to be that my old PS4 would take at least 65 minutes to download and install a roughly 80GB game like Horizon Forbidden West, even when connected to my 1GB fiber optic broadband via Ethernet cable. Now I can remove that in about 15 minutes, thanks to my PS5.
The best reason to upgrade?
SSDs are by no means new. They've been around for over 30 years and replaced hard disk drives (HDDs) as the data storage of choice in high-end desktop and laptop computers over a decade ago. Even Apple adopted them as part of its MacBook Air line in 2008.
Game consoles have just caught up, with Sony and Microsoft including SSDs in their new generation of hardware. But as I explained earlier, this relatively simple update is one of the most critical steps in recent console gaming history.
If you're still not convinced, look at it this way: Sony has just announced its upcoming PlayStation Plus relaunch to reposition the service as a competitor to Xbox Game Pass, which is scheduled to arrive in June. And when that happens, the PS5 SSD will show its strength, given how often users will need to download and install new games.
The PS825's 5GB of storage can still fill up pretty quickly with massive games like Destiny 2, Hitman 3, and FIFA 22, so you might want to consider installing one of the best PS5 SSDs; it is much easier than it seems.