PS5 System Software Updates - SSD Info - Atmos, Discord And Streaming

Very interesting results from the Verge. Almost identical load times with a slower 3.9GB/S read / 3.2 GB/s write speed SSD.

Also apparently Sony is throttling the internal SSD's write speed. Even when you're using a supposed slower SSD, it is faster to transfer games over to the expansion SSD vs the other way around.


The verdict? Surprisingly, even the slowest compatible SSD we could find had near-identical load times to the one Sony includes in the box. Sometimes it’s a second slower, sometimes a second or two faster, but basically it’s a total wash. Hopping through dimensions in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, I saw no appreciable difference with the slowest SSD.

On average, I saw write speeds of around 1,100MB/s transferring my five test games to either of my add-in M.2 drives, but just around 220MB/s sending those same games back to the PS5. Both of those are far better than the 141MB/s average transfer speeds I saw sending games to the Seagate HDD and the 97MB/s I saw beaming them back — it took over half an hour (31:24) to transfer the Final Fantasy games’ 176.5GB back to the internal SSD. But the slower internal SSD write speeds are weird, and Sony didn’t have a comment when I asked.

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Xbox owners can use what they want soon and will still just be a case of plugging it in.
You'll still need SSD's that meet a certain requirement, there's a reason you can't play native XSX games off of an external SSD other than the seagate one now and it's not just the exclusivity deal. They'll need proprietary cards made or maybe some kind of adapter but you are making it sound as if any old SSD will be able to run games and that's only true for back compat games, new games still require the newer specs. Plus plug and play at 1TB is fine and all but anything over 1TB and you'll need to start remembering which games are on what drives etc, you can hook up a 4TB SSD in the PS5 if you want to be insane and spend that kind of money and never worry about unplugging anything, you also get a 5 year warranty on most of these PS5 compatible SSD's the one for Series consoles is only 2 years.

I know the two indie games that have come out recently don't take very good advantage of the SSD speeds, elevator loading screens in the Ascent seem long now that I'm used to the quick loading of current gen games and Deaths Door isn't all that snappy either. Those are indie games though so I'm not sure how much time the devs had to optimize the game code for the SSD's but seeing characters pop in when you first get into the elevator and then having it still take over 10 seconds seems long when you consider a game like Spider-Man remastered or Miles Morales will have you fast travel all the way across the map in 2 seconds at most.
 
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Very interesting results from the Verge. Almost identical load times with a slower 3.9GB/S read / 3.2 GB/s write speed SSD.

Also apparently Sony is throttling the internal SSD's write speed. Even when you're using a supposed slower SSD, it is faster to transfer games over to the expansion SSD vs the other way around.


The verdict? Surprisingly, even the slowest compatible SSD we could find had near-identical load times to the one Sony includes in the box. Sometimes it’s a second slower, sometimes a second or two faster, but basically it’s a total wash. Hopping through dimensions in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, I saw no appreciable difference with the slowest SSD.

On average, I saw write speeds of around 1,100MB/s transferring my five test games to either of my add-in M.2 drives, but just around 220MB/s sending those same games back to the PS5. Both of those are far better than the 141MB/s average transfer speeds I saw sending games to the Seagate HDD and the 97MB/s I saw beaming them back — it took over half an hour (31:24) to transfer the Final Fantasy games’ 176.5GB back to the internal SSD. But the slower internal SSD write speeds are weird, and Sony didn’t have a comment when I asked.

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I wouldn't buy any of these slower drives until we see how they work with games that are designed around the speeds that PS5 games will be down the road. Loading times are one thing, if they need these high speeds for streaming assets that could cause a big problem and none of these people testing them have access to games like that yet. R&C may be the closest thing but even that isn't taking full advantage of the PS5 ssd.

Also that article mentions having to go through the whole logo screen etc sometimes, that's pretty much only after a game update or some other kind of update, usually once the game has gone through that once you don't have to see it again.
 
I didn't think I'd need to add a drive as I'm fine working with the 800GB or so free space, but if the extra drives end up faster and it makes sense to add one, I may end up doing so.
 
I wouldn't buy any of these slower drives until we see how they work with games that are designed around the speeds that PS5 games will be down the road. Loading times are one thing, if they need these high speeds for streaming assets that could cause a big problem and none of these people testing them have access to games like that yet. R&C may be the closest thing but even that isn't taking full advantage of the PS5 ssd.

Also that article mentions having to go through the whole logo screen etc sometimes, that's pretty much only after a game update or some other kind of update, usually once the game has gone through that once you don't have to see it again.

Yeah, no I definitely don't recommend going for slower than recommended specs if you're expanding but nonetheless interesting results.

Insomniac did say they are not close to maxing out the SSD and I/O's potential so maybe that's why no discernible difference really.
 
I didn't think I'd need to add a drive as I'm fine working with the 800GB or so free space, but if the extra drives end up faster and it makes sense to add one, I may end up doing so.

Yeah me too. I am good so far still with just deleting games I've finished playing and installing new ones. Rinse and repeat. I'm not the type that would replay a story driven game anyways.

Only ones with replayability would be multiplayer focused or a sports game like NBA 2k. Otherwise 825GB is plenty for me.

If it turns out future titles would take advantage of these faster spec SSD's then I would maybe upgrade if I find a good deal on a 1TB. Hopefully that means prices will have go down significantly then.
 
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You'll still need SSD's that meet a certain requirement, there's a reason you can't play native XSX games off of an external SSD other than the seagate one now and it's not just the exclusivity deal. They'll need proprietary cards made or maybe some kind of adapter but you are making it sound as if any old SSD will be able to run games and that's only true for back compat games, new games still require the newer specs. Plus plug and play at 1TB is fine and all but anything over 1TB and you'll need to start remembering which games are on what drives etc, you can hook up a 4TB SSD in the PS5 if you want to be insane and spend that kind of money and never worry about unplugging anything, you also get a 5 year warranty on most of these PS5 compatible SSD's the one for Series consoles is only 2 years.

I know the two indie games that have come out recently don't take very good advantage of the SSD speeds, elevator loading screens in the Ascent seem long now that I'm used to the quick loading of current gen games and Deaths Door isn't all that snappy either. Those are indie games though so I'm not sure how much time the devs had to optimize the game code for the SSD's but seeing characters pop in when you first get into the elevator and then having it still take over 10 seconds seems long when you consider a game like Spider-Man remastered or Miles Morales will have you fast travel all the way across the map in 2 seconds at most.

Well yeah no ones said it didn't have to be an SSD to get the full next gen upgrades but come November you can use which ever one you want rather than just the official one that's out now.
 
Very interesting results from the Verge. Almost identical load times with a slower 3.9GB/S read / 3.2 GB/s write speed SSD.

Also apparently Sony is throttling the internal SSD's write speed. Even when you're using a supposed slower SSD, it is faster to transfer games over to the expansion SSD vs the other way around.

I don't think it's weird at all (or throttling). They're not using super-new SSD hardware technology, they're using a custom hardware controller that allows them to read more channels and that probably introduces some overhead on writes. (Please note I'm typing this from memory, I'm probably greatly oversimplifying and possibly using the wrong terms, and I'm saying that for what they're aiming for, that's a better design than a bog standard SSD since you play more often than you write to SSD so don't get it twisted).
 
I don't think it's weird at all (or throttling). They're not using super-new SSD hardware technology, they're using a custom hardware controller that allows them to read more channels and that probably introduces some overhead on writes. (Please note I'm typing this from memory, I'm probably greatly oversimplifying and possibly using the wrong terms, and I'm saying that for what they're aiming for, that's a better design than a bog standard SSD since you play more often than you write to SSD so don't get it twisted).

We won't know until we get further tests exactly why the write speeds are significantly slower than the expansion ones.

The read speeds are the most important anyways for games streaming data so maybe Sony did some optimizing where reading is much faster than the write speeds of the internal SSD.

Edit: By the way, Cerny in his talk said that the PS5's internal SSD has 5.5Gb raw speed and an additional 4 priority Levels in comparison to normal Nand nvme Drives that come with 2. So PS5's SSD can use 6. Just a little later Cerny stated that in order to be on par with PS5's internal SSD the Third Party SSD would need to have some additional Speeds to even out the missing 4 Priority Levels. Probably the Kraken Controllers job to synthesize 4 more priority lvls with the additional speed. Which is probably part of the reason Cerny endorsed the WD SN850 with 7gb/s read speed. Some overhead from the faster speeds.
 
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Well yeah no ones said it didn't have to be an SSD to get the full next gen upgrades but come November you can use which ever one you want rather than just the official one that's out now.
How exactly are you going to plug them in? they have a specific port for SSD's that Series X games can be played off of you can't just plug any SSD into that port it's proprietary. I've been looking and can't find a single place where they say any SSD can be used the same way the seagate one can. I've read that more will come but that is up to 3rd parties to make a proprietary SSD for that one product that has a special plug in. You won't get those speeds through an SSD plugged in through USB.
 
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You'll still need SSD's that meet a certain requirement, there's a reason you can't play native XSX games off of an external SSD other than the seagate one now and it's not just the exclusivity deal.

*pushes glasses back* you can’t play native ps5 games on an external ssd….*calls upon the spirit of zoolander to imitate his voice* does Sony have an exclusivity with itself?
 
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Well yeah no ones said it didn't have to be an SSD to get the full next gen upgrades but come November you can use which ever one you want rather than just the official one that's out now.

Those other companies also have to be proprietary, no? So you can't just pick one out on the open market that can do at least raw 2.4gb/s read speed like the internal Xbox one. It would have to be the special proprietary version.
 
Those other companies also have to be proprietary, no? So you can't just pick one out on the open market that can do at least raw 2.4gb/s read speed like the internal Xbox one. It would have to be the special proprietary version.
It would have to be made to fit the port in the Series X/S I'm sure, they didn't design their console with that in the back just for seagate ;) so I don't think he's understanding it properly.
 
Well yeah no ones said it didn't have to be an SSD to get the full next gen upgrades but come November you can use which ever one you want rather than just the official one that's out now.
This is a PS5 thread so we shouldn't be discussing this here but since you brought it up this is from the xbox.com page

  • Custom NVME SSD: The foundation of the Xbox Velocity Architecture is our custom, 1TB NVME SSD, delivering 2.4 GB/s of raw I/O throughput, more than 40x the throughput of Xbox One. Traditional SSDs used in PCs often reduce performance as thermals increase or while performing drive maintenance. The custom NVME SSD in Xbox Series X is designed for consistent, sustained performance as opposed to peak performance. Developers have a guaranteed level of I/O performance at all times and they can reliably design and optimize their games removing the barriers and constraints they have to work around today. This same level of consistent, sustained performance also applies to the Seagate Expandable Storage Card ensuring you have the exact same gameplay experience regardless of where the game resides.
You won't be able to just use any SSD you are going to need SSD's made for the Series X/S console. You can already use external SSD's for BC games but anything made for the Series X needs to run at a certain spec and will need to be made to fit the consoles plug in bay.
 
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Those other companies also have to be proprietary, no? So you can't just pick one out on the open market that can do at least raw 2.4gb/s read speed like the internal Xbox one. It would have to be the special proprietary version.
Jesus Christ. The card inside is a standard size. The slapped a piece of plastic on it to make it consumer friendly. The vast majority of gamers aren’t looking to find more space for their console that they can move back and forth with a PC. The price will and also drops, has different manufacturers coming, more sizes, similar performance with XVA as the PS offering and in many cases is already lower in price.

Sony fan will defend Sony offering. Xbox fan will support Xbox offering.

This should be in the console war thread not here.
 
Jesus Christ. The card inside is a standard size. The slapped a piece of plastic on it to make it consumer friendly. The vast majority of gamers aren’t looking to find more space for their console that they can move back and forth with a PC. The price will and also drops, has different manufacturers coming, more sizes, similar performance with XVA as the PS offering and in many cases is already lower in price.

Sony fan will defend Sony offering. Xbox fan will support Xbox offering.

This should be in the console war thread not here.

So it's a repackaged SSD in a proprietary format like I said. I wasn't wrong.

Yeah I'm not sure why Wolf King brought Xbox SSD's in a PS5 SSD thread.
 


PS5 September System Software Update Features​

PS5 UX Enhancements​

The PS5 September Update features new UX enhancements that make it easier than ever for players to view, personalize and manage their game content and console experience:

  • Control Center customization.Players can now customize their Control Center more freely by rearranging or choosing which controls to hide or unhide at the bottom of the screen.
  • Enhanced Game Base. Players can now easily view and write messages to friends and Parties directly from Game Base in the Control Center.

While viewing Game Base in full screen, players can also see how many of their friends are online, busy, or offline, as well as accept, decline or cancel multiple friend requests at once.

  • Game Library and Home Screen updates. If you have PS4 and PS5 versions of the same game installed, they’ll now appear separately in the “Installed” tab of the Game Library and on the Home screen. Each game’s tile now also clearly indicates its platform.
  • Screen Reader controls. Players can now pause or resume Screen Reader (Press “PS + Triangle buttons”) and have it repeat anything it reads (Press “PS + R1 buttons”).

New Gaming and Social Experience Customizations​

  • PlayStation Now resolution selector and connection test tool.PlayStation Now subscribers can choose between 720p or 1080p (depending on individual game) to accommodate their preferred video resolution for game streaming. A streaming connection test also helps them identify and troubleshoot any problems with their connection.
  • New Accolade Type: “Leader.”Following an online match, players can award others with a fourth accolade type, “Leader,” which is visible on players’ profiles.



  • Automatic capture of “personal best” videos. When players compete in challenges for a better time or a higher score and set a new personal best, a video clip of the action will automatically be recorded. Players can also share clips of their personal bests directly from the challenge card in the Control Center, or from their Media Gallery. Players have direct control over this functionality via their Captures and Broadcast settings.



  • New Trophy tracker. We’ve added a new Trophy Tracker that lets players quickly access up to five trophies per game through the Control Center.

3D Audio Support for Built-In TV Speakers​

The PS5 September Update adds support for players to experience 3D audio through their built-in TV speakers. Once enabled in the Sound menu, this feature transforms standard two-channel TV speaker audio into three-dimensional sound, heightening the sense of gameplay immersion.* Players can measure the acoustics of their room using the microphone on their DualSense wireless controller to apply the 3D audio setting that’s optimized for their room.**

3D audio via compatible headsets on PS5 has been a popular feature among fans and developers. We’re thrilled to bring this feature to life for players directly through their built-in TV speakers, in addition to the headset support that’s been available since launch.


In addition, players with a Pulse 3D Wireless Headset now have access to equalizer settings within Sound Controls, allowing them to customize the sound profile according to their preference.


M.2 SSD Storage Expansion​

Starting tomorrow, PS5 players around the globe can expand their storage capacity with an M.2 SSD, a type of high-speed solid state drive that can be installed in the PS5 console or PS5 Digital Edition console.

Once installed in the PS5 or PS5 Digital Edition console, M.2 SSD storage can be used to download, copy, and launch PS5 and PS4 games, as well as media apps. You can play PS5 and PS4 games directly from M.2 SSD storage and freely move games between storage options.


Important: M.2 SSDs must meet the minimum performance and size requirements outlined on this page. Using an M.2 SSD also requires effective heat dissipation with a cooling structure (such as a heatsink) that meets the dimensional requirements. Please read the page linked above carefully before purchasing any M.2 SSD or cooling structure for use with PS5.

Here’s a look at how to install an M.2 SSD in your PS5 console:

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PS5 September System Software Update Launches Globally Tomorrow


PS Remote Play App and PS App Enhancements​

  • PS Remote Play App over mobile networks
    • With the PS Remote Playapp, players have enjoyed the ability to remotely stream and play PS4 and PS5 games, switch between games, and browse their console’s menus on any compatible device connected to their broadband network.*** Now, players using the mobile app for iOS and Android have the option of using a mobile data connection when WiFi is not available.
    • Broadband internet with at least 5Mbps is required for PS Remote Play. For the best experience, we recommend a high-speed connection with upload and download speeds of at least 15 Mbps.
    • To help manage the amount of data used through a mobile connection, players can select their preferred video quality for mobile data streaming.
    • Please note the quality and connectivity of your Remote Play experience may vary depending on your mobile carrier network and network environment.


  • View Share Screen broadcasts on PS App
    • Starting next Thursday, Sept. 23, a PS App update will begin rolling out globally and give users the ability to view their friends’ Share Screen broadcasts together.
    • To start, join a party voice chat from your mobile device with a friend who’s playing on a PS5 console. Then ask your friend on PS5 to start their Share Screen broadcast. Please note, only players on PS5 can broadcast via Share Screen.
    • The Android version of the update is a phased release and may take one week until the update is available on your mobile device.

PS4 Console Enhancements​

We’re also introducing some new features for PS4, including the ability for players to view their PS5 trophies on their PS4 profile and Trophy list. Players can also view other players’ PS5 trophies on PS4. On both PS4 and PS5 consoles, Party owners now also have the ability to disband a Party without having to remove players individually.
 
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I don't know if it's placebo effect or not, but my stereo speakers sound a tad more crisp / detailed when I played a bit of Tales of Arise this morning... lol.
 
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I put my SSD in today and it took just under 4 minutes from when I unplugged the console to when I put the plate back on, it's VERY easy lol. It may take someone a little longer if they've never removed the plate before, the first time it is a little stiffer and you tend to baby it more than you have to, it came off much faster for me this time but still snaps on night and tight when you put it back.
 

New Party Chat Options​

In response to community feedback, we've made some updates to the Parties system:

  • Open and Closed Parties (PS5 and PS4 betas)
    • When you start a party, you can now select either an open party or a closed party:
      • An open party lets your friends see and join the party without an invite. Friends of party members can also join.
      • A closed party is only for players you invite.
    • Note: in Game Base on PS5 and Party on PS4, if you select [Open Party] when starting a party, only players using the beta version of the PS5 or PS4 system software will be able to join. To start a party that players who aren't using the beta version can also join, select [Closed Party].
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  • Voice chat reporting feature update (PS5 beta)
    • If you want to report something that someone in a party said, there are now visual indicators for you to identify who was speaking. This will help PlayStation Safety take appropriate action based on your report. You can learn more about this feature here.
  • Share Play update (PS5 beta)
    • Start Share Play directly from the voice chat card. You no longer need to start Share Screen first to use Share Play.

PS5 Game Base Enhancements​

  • Voice chats are now called parties. For easier access, we've divided the Game Base menu into three tabs: Friends, Parties and Messages.
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  • From the Game Base control menu and cards, you can now:
    • View all your friends under the [Friends] tab in the control menu, or access the player search feature and friend requests through links on this tab.
    • Add a player to a group or create a new group directly from Game Base in the Control Center. You can also send text messages, quick messages, images, video clips, and view a group's shared media from this card.
    • When someone in a party is sharing their screen, you'll now see the (on air) icon.
    • We've made it easier to decline friend requests by adding a [Decline] button to your friend request list.

New PS5 UI Features​

  • Filter by genre
    • We've added an option to filter your game collection by genre, letting you quickly find specific types of game experiences.
  • Keep in Home
    • You can now keep the games or apps you choose on your home screen by selecting "Keep in Home" with the (options) button.
    • You can keep a maximum of five games and apps on each home screen with this feature.
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  • Increased apps on the home screen
    • You can now have a total of 14 games and apps appear on your home screen.
  • Trophies UI update
    • We've updated the visual design of trophy cards and the trophy list. You can also see suggestions for which trophies to earn on the trophy tracker and access it from the Control Center whenever you're playing a game.
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  • Start Share Screen from the Create menu
    • From the Create menu, you can now start a Share Screen and stream your gameplay to an open party.

New Accessibility Features​

  • More Screen Reader languages
    • Screen Reader, which reads aloud on-screen text and provides spoken guidance for operating the console, is now supported in six additional languages: Russian, Arabic, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, and Korean.
    • This expands Screen Reader support to 15 languages, including the current ones (United States English, United Kingdom English, Japanese, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, French and Canadian French).
  • Mono audio for headphones
    • You can now enable mono audio for headphones so the same audio is played from both the left and right headphones, instead of a stereo or 3D audio sound mix. This feature provides an added option to enhance the PS5 audio experience, particularly for players with unilateral hearing loss.**
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  • Check marks for enabled settings
    • You can now show a check mark on enabled settings so you can easily see that they're turned on.

Voice Command (Preview): U.S. and U.K. limited release​

  • We're also testing a feature that enables voice commands for finding and opening games, apps, and settings, as well as controlling media playback on the PS5 console.
  • This feature is currently available in English for beta participants with accounts registered to the U.S. and U.K.
  • To get started, enable Voice Command (Preview) from the Settings menu. Then, call out "Hey, PlayStation!" and ask your PS5 console to find a game, open an app or setting, or control playback while enjoying a movie, TV show or song.
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  • You can help us improve the feature through our feedback program, which will sometimes record your voice commands (in accordance with our Privacy Policy) and let you provide instant feedback from time to time. You can turn this feature off at any time within system settings(see above). This feature never records audio for child accounts.
  • We're in an early testing phase for this feature and will be closely assessing it and listening to your feedback throughout the beta. For more details, check out this page.