I added a new SSD to PS5 Pro for faster loading times. This is what happened

When you buy from our articles through links, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

The basics PS5 already offered super fast loading times, but the PS5 Pro goes one step further and in some cases shaves off a few extra seconds best PS5 games. That should be more than good enough, but gamers always want better. So, in hopes of further reducing the time I spend staring at loading screens, I upgraded my Pro console with one of the top-rated PS5 internal SSDs.

Back in the summer of 2021, I upgraded my launch PS5 with a WD_Black SN850 drive and found that loading times were often reduced (in most cases only by fractions of a second, but it all adds up!), so this time I opted for the newer model of that same drive, the WD_Black SN850X.

After all, I had just upgraded my PlayStation console to a Pro model, it seemed only logical to simultaneously expand the additional internal SSD that would be installed in the storage expansion bay. Here is my experience…

The WD_Black SN850X is a best-selling SSD that is fully compatible with PS5. This 1TB comes complete with a pre-installed heatsink so it can be placed directly into your console. Once added to your PS5 or PS5 Pro, you’ll have plenty of extra storage to play with and it’s currently on sale for $99. View offer

Adding a new SSD to PS5 Pro is a piece of cake

Adding an internal SSD on PS5 Pro is same simple process like on PS5. All you need to do is remove one of the console bezels, locate the storage expansion bay, unscrew the cap, snap your SSD into place, and close everything up. Simple.

All existing SSDs that are compatible with the base PS5 are also compatible with the PS5 Pro. This will come in handy for anyone with an extra SSD installed in a base PS5 console and who wants to upgrade to the PS5 Pro this year, as you can transfer the SSD over. Please note that the SSD you choose must comply with this requirement Sony’s stated specificationsand you must have a heat sink to ensure effective cooling.

One of my favorite things about adding an internal SSD to PS5 is that it doesn’t replace the console’s standard hard drive. This means you also keep the original storage space (825 GB on PS5, 1 TB on PS5). PS5 Slim and a hefty 2TB on PS5 Pro). So with the SN850X installed in my PS5 Pro, I had a whopping 3TB to play with.

PS5 Pro SSD vs WD_Black SN850X – the results

After turning on my PS5 Pro with the WD_Black SN850X safely installed, I was greeted with a notification screen telling me the drive needed to be formatted. This only took a few seconds and I was then told that the SSD recorded a read speed of 6498 MB/s. Not a bad result, but this is actually slightly lower than the stated maximum speed of 7,300 MB/s.

I decided to test the transfer speeds and load times of four PS5 games, and one PS4 game: Elden RingHorizon Zero Dawn remastered, The Last of Us Part 1, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 And Red Dead Redemption 2.

First, I transferred the game from the PS5 Pro’s internal storage to the SN850X SSD and then restored the game. You can view the results in this table:

Then it was time for the real test: loading speeds. As noted, when I tested loading speeds between a base PS5 console and the WD_Black SN850 in 2021, loading times decreased marginally (on average) when using the Western Digital SSD. So I had high expectations of the WD_Black SN850X, which has a higher read and write speed than its predecessor.

I opted to test the same five games as before, and for reference, to test load times, I timed how long it took for a game to boot from the PS5 Pro home screen to the first possible gameplay.

I also tested these five games on a standard PS5 console and a WD_Black SN850 (installed on a base PS5) to see which loaded the fastest.

NB: The significant discrepancy between loading times on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PS5 Pro and WB_Black SN850X compared to PS5 and WD_Black SN850 is due to the inability to skip the developer’s opening animations on the latter. I’m not sure if this is due to the extra power of the PS5 Pro or if it was a technical bug.

Should you buy an internal SSD for PS5 Pro?

Based on my testing, the fastest loading times largely come from playing games directly from the PS5 Pro’s standard SSD. The WD_Black SN850X loaded faster than the base PS5 and the WD_Black SN850, but was a few seconds slower when placed against the PS5 Pro’s internal components.

Of course, we’re talking just a few seconds here. Load times when playing a PS5 (or PS4) game directly from the WD_Black SN850X are still impressive. Not to mention, I’d still argue that it’s worth adding an internal SSD to your PS5 Pro console for the extra storage space alone. Yes, 2TB is enough, but with 3TB (or more if you opt for a larger model) you are good for the rest of the PS5 generation.

Plus, now is a good time to be in the market for a new PS5 SSD Black Friday sale go live. We’ve seen the 1TB WD_Black SN850X SSD drop below $100 in seasonal sales before, and that’s already happening Marked down to just $99 at Amazon now, with the potential of further discounts over the Black Friday weekend.

So while adding a WD_Black SN850X to my PS5 Pro may not have further reduced the console’s already super-fast loading times, I’ll be keeping it installed on my console for the foreseeable future. I love having so much available storage that I don’t have to worry about deleting old favorites to make room for new releases.

More from Tom’s Guide