Product: Seagate FireCuda 530 PCIe Gen4 NVME SSD with Heatsink
Type: Expansion Storage (SSD)
Price: $399 AUD (1TB), $819 AUD (2TB), $1,499 AUD (4TB)
Availability: Now
Link: seagate.com/au/en/products/gaming-drives/pc-gaming/firecuda-530-ssd

The new Seagate FireCuda 530 with or without a heatsink is one of the fastest M.2 form-factor drives currently available, making it perfect for the PlayStation 5. As a follow-up to the also Seagate FireCuda 520 M.2 SSD (which we reviewed last year) it offers up a sizable 30% bump in the already very-fast PCIe Gen4 speed department. Although you can just as easily put one of these in a capable motherboard for blazing-fast PC action, we’re approaching this review of the new Seagate FireCuda 530 as an expandable option for the PlayStation 5.

The PlayStation 5 not only ups the visual detail and 4K-capability of modern console gaming but it pushes the connect-to-a-TV-gaming-box-ideal to the next level when it comes to storage. This can be seen first-hand without having to look at technical specs. Simply fire up Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales or Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and you’ll be presented with just about instantaneous loading. It’s impressive to say the least, and a major leap forward when you put it side-by-side with the PlayStation 4.

Of course, this level of pure data speed comes at a cost; the PS5 is limited to 667 GB of usable internal storage and you can only use the fast internal storage for PlayStation 5 games. Well, could. When the PS5 launched Sony wasn’t able to offer up a storage expansion path for early adopters on the account of getting something as fast as the internal PS5 SSD was all-but impossible.

Until now.

Plug-and-Play with a Few Screws

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Thanks to the latest firmware update, all PlayStation 5 owners are now capable of expanding the available storage inside their consoles for running the latest games. There are a few caveats, Sony recommends a minimum speed spec of 5,500 MB/s to match the internal drive in addition to recommending a heatsink for cooling. On that front the Seagate FireCuda 530 ticks both boxes as an all-in-one solution, with this review covering the Heatsink model.

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The new Seagate FireCuda 530 with or without a heatsink is one of the fastest M.2 form-factor drives currently available, making it perfect for the PS5.

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Here you get faster than the minimum spec performance outlined by Sony thanks to the on-paper up to 7,300 MB/s read speed. Which makes this, again, one of the fastest drives on the market. Plus you get robust cooling without having to worry about overheating or trying to install a third-party heatsink.

Related: Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S Review

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Unlike the Xbox Series X, which features a card system to house its SSD expansion, upgrading the storage on a PlayStation 5 is very much like upgrading a PC. It’s a strange thing for a 2021 console to be sure, and a definite hurdle for those that might be a little weary screwing in new bits of hardware. You will need to remove the cover and bust out a screw driver installing the Seagate FireCuda 530 with Heatsink. It isn’t difficult, but you kind of need to have Sony’s Installation Video nearby to figure out how to remove the lid and access the SSD slot without trial-and-error.

One installed though the PS5 itself detects the new drive, does a quick format and then runs its own internal speed test. With that the 4TB Seagate FireCuda 530 with Heatsink we installed displaying a read speed of 6,557 MB/s. A considerable increase over the internal speed and recommended 5,500 MB/s.

Now Loading…

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Copying games over from the internal drive to the Seagate FireCuda 530 is quick and painless, as is marking it as the new drive of choice for new stuff. And with that, after the actual setup, loading games can be even faster than the already fast internal drive. It’s seamless and without issue, and when you add in Seagate’s 5-year warranty there’s peace of mind that it won’t falter over the course of the next few years of PS5 gaming.

Specs

• Form Factor: M.2 2280 double-side with Heatsink
  
• Type: NVMe PCIe Gen4
  
• Sequential Read: Up to 7,300 MB/s
  
• Sequential Write: Up to 6,900 MB/s
  
• Capacity: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB
  
• Weight: 8.1 g

But, it’s speed that comes at a cost -- having cutting edge storage tech inside the PS5 means expanding it with something like the Seagate FireCuda 530 is costly. Especially if you’re looking at adding an additional 2TB or 4TB, both of which feature a price tag higher than that of the console itself. Naturally as Sony’s SSD implementation is open to all makers of M2 SSDs hopefully this means pricing comes down in the near future. As it stands, for those looking for more storage space right now, the 1TB version of the Seagate FireCuda 530 presents the best value -- and makes the most sense. With it installed the PS5 doesn’t lose a step in the speed department, in fact it remains one of the fastest gaming machines on the planet.