MSI has launched a new PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD designed specifically to fit in the confines of the PlayStation 5's expansion slot with a built-in heatsink.
The Spatium M480 Play is the firm's first compatible SSD, with capacities from 500GB to 4TB and offers a peak transfer speed of 7.0 GBps. However, this isn't just for PlayStation 5 owners, MSI is keen to stress that the Spatium M480 Play is also a good choice for PC gamers and content creators.
The specially designed grooved dual-finish aluminum heatsink helps prevent thermal throttling. One of the important design considerations for PS5 SSDs is that an effective heatsink maintains the device's transfer performance, but it must also not be too large due to the 11.25mm thickness restriction imposed by the PS5's hardware. Other than this design consideration, Sony is quite open to any standard length PCIe 4.0 x4 interface NMVe M.2 drive being used, as long as it can maintain a sequential read speed of 5.5GB/s or better.
For PC DIYers, there's already an MSI Spatium M480 SSD, but this design doesn't feature a heatsink. MSI also makes the Spatium M480 HS, in which the HS suffix refers to a substantial bundled heatsink which makes it incompatible with the PS5 design. (At 20.40mm thick in total, it is too bulky for the console).
Here are the technical specifications for the MSI Spatium M480 Play, which are similar to the previous non-PS5 compatible versions:
|
MSI Spatium M480 Play 2TB | |
|---|---|
|
Controller |
Phison E18 |
|
NAND |
2TB of Micron 176-Layer 3D TLC flash NAND |
|
Cache |
2 x 1GB of SK Hynix DDR4-2666 |
|
Durability |
1,400 TBW, MTBF of 1.6 million hours, 5 year warranty |
|
Performance |
Sequential Read up to 7.0 GB/s, writes up to 6.8 GB/s, and up to 1 million IOPS |
|
Other features |
TRIM, SMART, LDPC, APST plus AES256/TCG OPAL2.0/Pyrite encryption |
One difference that the Spatium M480 Play delivers beyond the PC drives is greater storage capacity. While its predecessors were only available in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB capacities, the new PlayStation 5 compatible drive debuts with an additional 4TB option. It remains to be seen whether the PC-only designs will follow with larger capacity models.
The MSI Spatium M480 Play will become available shortly. The 2TB version, with its specs tabulated above, has an MSRP of $329. While this is MSI's first PS5 compatible M.2 SSD, several other firms have launched products for this same segment. We have previously reported on the Corsair MP600 Pro LPX family, for example, as well as the TeamGroup T-Force Cardea A440 Pro Special, and we created a roundup of the best PS5 SSD options at the end of 2021, if you are in the market for this kind of device.
