Poll: *The Official PlayStation 5 (PS5) Thread*

[CHokKA]

I'm interested in how else you were thinking of adding one, if not by opening it up and inserting it manually?

Well, given that it's a console for your average Joe Public, I'd say that a solution like Microsoft's would be how most people would expect to expand the storage in their games console. Not having to go through a list of NVMe options to find one to buy, figure out what heatsinks will fit it when it's in place, manually remove the cover and then screw it into the console and put the console back together. The last few pages of this discussion has been crazily convoluted for those trying to work out what to get for their upgrade. It's a console that's meant to simplify the gaming experience for users, not give them the PC upgrade experience.

For all the flack that Microsoft received, they sure did choose the best option and it was ready for launch, despite the initial cost. It's also turned out to be similar in price to the PS5 options, but it's so much simpler to use, and you can easily use multiple expansion drives if you needed to. Eventually there will also be other compatible MS-licensed drives so prices will come down even more.

I get that the PS5 storage is double the speed of that of the Xbox storage, but we've no idea what Velocity can do yet and that's meant to be the big thing to work with the drive speed for the Xbox consoles this generation. And I'm fairly certain that raw MB per sec isn't going to translate into that much of a difference in loading times and seamless area loading during gameplay. I'm sure it'll be pretty similar across both consoles.

I feel that Sony have let their users down with their offering. It just seems to be a rather confusing solution for a console that's meant to make gaming life simple and accessible to all.

 

[TheVoice]

Serious question now. Are people that bothered about saving 1-2 seconds in loading times?

Load times aren't the issue, it's where games may expect a certain level of performance that the SSD can't deliver that you could run into problems.

 

[chrcoluk]

lol, wasn't this the entire point when the specs first came out and people got shouted down for pointing out the difference between the storage solutions of Xbox and PS were pretty moot...

I tried to explain to many its mostly down to the API changes in how commands are queued and ordered rather than the peak burst speed of these drives. But people get blown away by the large numbers on marketing and benchmarks.

 

[stoofa]

Well, given that it's a console for your average Joe Public, I'd say that a solution like Microsoft's would be how most people would expect to expand the storage in their games console. Not having to go through a list of NVMe options to find one to buy, figure out what heatsinks will fit it when it's in place, manually remove the cover and then screw it into the console and put the console back together. The last few pages of this discussion has been crazily convoluted for those trying to work out what to get for their upgrade. It's a console that's meant to simplify the gaming experience for users, not give them the PC upgrade experience.

For all the flack that Microsoft received, they sure did choose the best option and it was ready for launch, despite the initial cost. It's also turned out to be similar in price to the PS5 options, but it's so much simpler to use, and you can easily use multiple expansion drives if you needed to. Eventually there will also be other compatible MS-licensed drives so prices will come down even more.

I get that the PS5 storage is double the speed of that of the Xbox storage, but we've no idea what Velocity can do yet and that's meant to be the big thing to work with the drive speed for the Xbox consoles this generation. And I'm fairly certain that raw MB per sec isn't going to translate into that much of a difference in loading times and seamless area loading during gameplay. I'm sure it'll be pretty similar across both consoles.

I feel that Sony have let their users down with their offering. It just seems to be a rather confusing solution for a console that's meant to make gaming life simple and accessible to all.

It's still in beta. Nobody with zero experience in completing any kind of upgrade should be taking part in a beta program - so right now, only the people who aren't bothered about choosing the right drive and installing it are using it.
In 4-6 weeks time when it goes mainstream there will be a choice of at least 5-6 drives that come packaged up with heatsink, where it will literally be drive from box to console in 5 minutes and away they go.
Non-proprietary means that manufacturers can compete on price and people are not going to be limited to one brand - so they can go and buy a far less well known brand and still get the expected performance.
The cost of proprietary is visible straight away - you're limited to a 1TB solution, you cannot currently no smaller or larger and you're getting the equivalent of a Gen3 device for the same price as a Gen4.

 

[Broken Hope]

Received my BeQuiet MC1 heatsink today and it fits perfectly on the SN850, done a test fitting on my PS5 and the SSD fits under the metal cover without issues.

 

[Broken Hope]

Well, given that it's a console for your average Joe Public, I'd say that a solution like Microsoft's would be how most people would expect to expand the storage in their games console. Not having to go through a list of NVMe options to find one to buy, figure out what heatsinks will fit it when it's in place, manually remove the cover and then screw it into the console and put the console back together. The last few pages of this discussion has been crazily convoluted for those trying to work out what to get for their upgrade. It's a console that's meant to simplify the gaming experience for users, not give them the PC upgrade experience.

For all the flack that Microsoft received, they sure did choose the best option and it was ready for launch, despite the initial cost. It's also turned out to be similar in price to the PS5 options, but it's so much simpler to use, and you can easily use multiple expansion drives if you needed to. Eventually there will also be other compatible MS-licensed drives so prices will come down even more.

I get that the PS5 storage is double the speed of that of the Xbox storage, but we've no idea what Velocity can do yet and that's meant to be the big thing to work with the drive speed for the Xbox consoles this generation. And I'm fairly certain that raw MB per sec isn't going to translate into that much of a difference in loading times and seamless area loading during gameplay. I'm sure it'll be pretty similar across both consoles.

I feel that Sony have let their users down with their offering. It just seems to be a rather confusing solution for a console that's meant to make gaming life simple and accessible to all.

XBox are ripping off people with their pricing though, the equivalent NVME drive that does 2400 MB/s is around £98 for 1TB, you're paying double for that for an easier install using the official memory upgrade.

 

[steve5424]

Well, given that it's a console for your average Joe Public, I'd say that a solution like Microsoft's would be how most people would expect to expand the storage in their games console. Not having to go through a list of NVMe options to find one to buy, figure out what heatsinks will fit it when it's in place, manually remove the cover and then screw it into the console and put the console back together. The last few pages of this discussion has been crazily convoluted for those trying to work out what to get for their upgrade. It's a console that's meant to simplify the gaming experience for users, not give them the PC upgrade experience.

For all the flack that Microsoft received, they sure did choose the best option and it was ready for launch, despite the initial cost. It's also turned out to be similar in price to the PS5 options, but it's so much simpler to use, and you can easily use multiple expansion drives if you needed to. Eventually there will also be other compatible MS-licensed drives so prices will come down even more.

I get that the PS5 storage is double the speed of that of the Xbox storage, but we've no idea what Velocity can do yet and that's meant to be the big thing to work with the drive speed for the Xbox consoles this generation. And I'm fairly certain that raw MB per sec isn't going to translate into that much of a difference in loading times and seamless area loading during gameplay. I'm sure it'll be pretty similar across both consoles.

I feel that Sony have let their users down with their offering. It just seems to be a rather confusing solution for a console that's meant to make gaming life simple and accessible to all.

Not only that but the xbox option let's you easily unplug it and use it on a different console. Eg taking it to a mates house.

 

[CHokKA]

XBox are ripping off people with their pricing though, the equivalent NVME drive that does 2400 MB/s is around £98 for 1TB, you're paying double for that for an easier install using the official memory upgrade.

Sure, when talking numbers it's easy to try and compare the price against others, but the fact is the storage had been custom designed for the Xbox by Seagate in partnership with MS to support and facilitate the Velocity Architecture within the console, so as an average user we have absolutely no way of knowing exactly what that entails or how much extra cost it adds. It's a mistake to compare like for like on the speed alone. There are many other factors that make the storage expansion what it is. At the end of the day it's still an incredibly convenient solution to have and far better than Sony's offering.

 

[CHokKA]

Not only that but the xbox option let's you easily unplug it and use it on a different console. Eg taking it to a mates house.

Exactly. And paying extra for convenience is something that most people are happy to do.

It's still in beta. Nobody with zero experience in completing any kind of upgrade should be taking part in a beta program - so right now, only the people who aren't bothered about choosing the right drive and installing it are using it.

It still isn't a very user-friendly process to install one for those that aren't capable of performing a PC upgrade. I've encountered many people that can't even fit a stick of RAM properly, and even some that have broken motherboards when trying. And a RAM upgrade is one of the simplest PC upgrades around. Expecting a user to mess about with an NVMe inside their expensive, hard to buy console is just madness.

Non-proprietary means that manufacturers can compete on price and people are not going to be limited to one brand - so they can go and buy a far less well known brand and still get the expected performance.

Choice is great, and I agree with competition. The only reason that there isn't any with the MS expansion right now is because MS worked directly with Seagate to create their storage solution, and for it to be available at launch. Within the next few months the exclusivity deal will be up and other drives will be made available. That will hopefully bring along cheaper prices but remember that the Xbox Series X has almost an extra 100GB of storage space available over the PS5 which helps as well. Other storage solutions work really well on the Series X. I use a 1TB NVMe within an enclosure and obviously I can't play X|S enhanced games from that drive, but all other older games run perfectly and benefit from the speed boost of the drive.

The cost of proprietary is visible straight away - you're limited to a 1TB solution, you cannot currently no smaller or larger and you're getting the equivalent of a Gen3 device for the same price as a Gen4.

Again, we don't know the specifics of the drive when it comes down to the other enhancements for Velocity. Comparing just the form factor and speeds isn't really a fair comparison. It was custom-designed by engineers from MS and Seagate so it's more than just a mere Gen3 device.

 

[FoxEye]

Serious question now. Are people that bothered about saving 1-2 seconds in loading times?

Is it possible that if it doesn't meet the speed rating then sony will just stop ps5 games being played from it?

It's quite possible that some (PS5) games that use streaming from the disk will require the miminum rated speeds that Sony mandate.

So whilst a 2 sec delay loading some PS4 game isn't a big deal, if you're installing a disk that doesn't meat Sony's requirements, then you only have yourself to blame if it brakes some future PS5 title.

 

[DeliciousStorage]

Well, given that it's a console for your average Joe Public, I'd say that a solution like Microsoft's would be how most people would expect to expand the storage in their games console. Not having to go through a list of NVMe options to find one to buy, figure out what heatsinks will fit it when it's in place, manually remove the cover and then screw it into the console and put the console back together. The last few pages of this discussion has been crazily convoluted for those trying to work out what to get for their upgrade. It's a console that's meant to simplify the gaming experience for users, not give them the PC upgrade experience.

It's not difficult to install it, you make it sound like you have to disassemble the console. You shouldn't need to remove it frequently either, once it's installed for most people it will stay there for years. When the feature is officially released I'm sure the drives that are compatible will be keen to advertise that fact, I don't see how it will be confusing for average Joe.

It's also turned out to be similar in price to the PS5 options

It is? Lowest I've seen the 1TB Xbox drive is £180, whereas the 1TB SN850 has been £120. The Xbox drive is a lower speed class too, it's incredibly overpriced for what it is.

 

[ic1male]

I’d be really interested to know what percentage of Joe Public are still running with their stock drives in their PS4s. It’s difficult for me to guess as I only know two people with PS4s. I upgraded mine but my nephew hasn’t.

 

[Broken Hope]

Sure, when talking numbers it's easy to try and compare the price against others, but the fact is the storage had been custom designed for the Xbox by Seagate in partnership with MS to support and facilitate the Velocity Architecture within the console, so as an average user we have absolutely no way of knowing exactly what that entails or how much extra cost it adds. It's a mistake to compare like for like on the speed alone. There are many other factors that make the storage expansion what it is. At the end of the day it's still an incredibly convenient solution to have and far better than Sony's offering.

You do realise the velocity architecture is just the name they are giving to direct storage and their hardware decompression tech right? The drive itself isn’t anything special.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I’d be really interested to know what percentage of Joe Public are still running with their stock drives in their PS4s. It’s difficult for me to guess as I only know two people with PS4s. I upgraded mine but my nephew hasn’t.

I didn't have that many games bought on PS4, with only the stock 500G HDD I can only really have about 6 games on at a time. Didn't even have any external plugged in either.

Now both my Xbox and PS5 have 4TB external attached already.

 

[ic1male]

The Xbox card is cheap as chips when you look at other cards based on the same technology - Compact Flash Express. 256GB for putting in your camera is a nuts £350 and the Xbox has four times that capacity.

 

[Raymond Lin]

The Xbox card is cheap as chips when you look at other cards based on the same technology - Compact Flash Express. 256GB for putting in your camera is a nuts £350 and the Xbox has four times that capacity.

The man is not wrong, i didn't even blink twice when i had to buy a few of these...

 

[Plainsong]

I’d be really interested to know what percentage of Joe Public are still running with their stock drives in their PS4s. It’s difficult for me to guess as I only know two people with PS4s. I upgraded mine but my nephew hasn’t.

I only used the stock drive for the entire duration of the PS4 lifespan. Outside of this forum no one I know with a PS4 uses additional drives. At a guess I'd say ite pretty niche but it would be interesting to see the stats.

 

[Superpatsy]

I’d be really interested to know what percentage of Joe Public are still running with their stock drives in their PS4s. It’s difficult for me to guess as I only know two people with PS4s. I upgraded mine but my nephew hasn’t.

I had the stock drive in my launch PS4 until I sold it to get my PS5. My Xbox One X was my main console and only had the PS4 for exclusives so it never got used much. Had it been my primary console, I probably would have swapped the drive over.

 

[biron_w]

It's not difficult to install it, you make it sound like you have to disassemble the console.

I'd argue that it's a pain that you have to look up guides to find which ones you can use. It's fine for tech savvy people but for average person it could be a pain.

 

[Robbo]

Just had my PS5 delivered from Very, which turned out to be an interesting experience.

They sent it with Royal Mail Tracked 24, which I thought was a bit odd, considering the cost of the item.

I saw the post van pull up, and waited... nothing. Then I got a notification saying it had been delivered and signed for, with some random squiggle of a signature.

Concerned, I tracked down the postwoman, who informed me that she'd signed for it herself, and put it in my recycling bin... which was actually my neighbours bin...

Astonishing.

Anyway, I have it now and all looks well.