SanDisk has introduced the Optimus GX PRO 850P, a new line of officially licensed NVMe SSDs designed to expand storage for both the PlayStation 5 and the upcoming PS5 Pro. These drives, which are also compatible with PCs, aim to address the growing need for more storage in modern gaming setups.
The Optimus GX PRO 850P series offers a range of capacities, starting with a 1TB model priced at $380 (approximately £339). The lineup escalates to a 2TB model for $760 (£678), a 4TB model for $1,500 (£1,337), and culminates in an 8TB variant that carries a hefty $2,960 (around £2,639) price tag. Notably, all models except the 1TB option exceed the retail price of a standard PlayStation 5 console, with the 8TB drive costing more than three times the price of a PS5 Pro.
These new SSDs utilize the PCIe 4.0 standard, delivering impressive performance with sequential read speeds of up to 7300MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 6600MB/s. Each drive features an integrated heatsink that bears the PlayStation logo, ensuring it meets the console's thermal requirements.
The elevated pricing of these storage solutions is attributed to the ongoing global memory and storage crisis, exacerbated by increased demand from data centers driven by AI development. This situation has led manufacturers across the consumer electronics sector, including console makers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, to implement multiple price increases over the past 14 months. The current market conditions suggest that these elevated costs are likely to persist.
This trend has made affordable computing components increasingly scarce, impacting not only PCs and consoles but also hobbyist projects. Industry analysts do not foresee a clear end to this crisis in the immediate future, with estimates suggesting it could last for a couple of years. This prolonged period of high prices is also influencing the timelines for next-generation console releases, with potential launches now projected for 2028 or 2029.