Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD – PS5 EXPANSION GUIDE & TEST RESULTS

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3 Testing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD with the PS5 – Test Parameters

PS5 SSD Expansion Testing with the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD

Whether you are looking at upgrading the SSD on your PS5 because you are running out of space or because you heard that some SSDs can increase load times for your favourite games, it is always going to be sensible to spend a few minutes researching before pulling the trigger and spending hundreds on the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus to avoid finding out that the benefits are negligible or, worse still, actually slow your games down! Equally, you should always factor in that the PS5 is a relatively new console and games developers are still in the early stages of maximizing how much they can do with the CPU, Memory, GPU and (of course) super-fast NVMe M.2 SSD. Therefore the commitment you make on buying an SSD upgrade to your PS5 needs to also factor in that it will still perform well in the years to come. The Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus meets a number of the key specifications of the PS5 storage bay, but then again many, MANY SSDs do. So today I want to put this SSD through it’s paces with many games to see how well it compares against the internal PS5 SSD doing the same thing. NOTE – FULL Videos of the testing of the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus that combined cover more than an hour can be found at the bottom of the article. This article primarily covers the load times of games and saves on the PS5 using the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD and how they compare with the internal PS5 loading the same game. If you want to watch the full videos that cover PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus use that feature frame rates, texture swapping, asset management and more, I recommend you watch those videos at the end of this article.

Here is the PS5 internal Benchmark for the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD at the initialization of the system:

What Are the Specifications of the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD?

Before we go through the load time testing of the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus on the PS5, it is worth taking a look at the hardware specifications. Unlike traditional Hard Drives and SSDs that were using the PS3 and PS4 that used SATA connectivity, this new generation of SSD storage using M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 architecture. This is a very, VERY big difference physically, in terms of maximum performance and opens up ALOT of specifications that you should keep an eye on. Aside from the capacity (i.e the amount of data the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus can hold in gigabytes and terabytes) the key ones to factor in when buying an SSD are the following:

  • Controller & NAND – These are the brain of the SSD (handling the transfer of data as quickly and efficiently as possible) and the physical cells on the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD that hold the data. As long as you are using 3D TLC NAND (the industry preferred middle ground for price vs performance), you should be ok. Though the better the quality of NAND, generally the better the performance and durability long term.
  • Sequential Read – This is the reported maximum access speed that the data on the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD can be access when accessing large blocks of data
  • Sequential Write – This is the reported maximum speed that data can be written to the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD. As far as the PS5 architecture goes, this is much less important right now but could become important later in the system’s life as games, services and the level to which the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus can be accessed changes.
  • IOPS – These represent the number of individual operations the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD can handle per second, based on the smallest size possible. Again, not strictly relevant in the PS5 right now because of the way data is largely front-loaded on modern games, but may well impact how larger and evolved worlds and multiplayer games are developed in future
  • TBW, MTBF & DWPD – Terabytes Written and Drive Writes Per Day, these indicate how much the drive is designed to withstand in activity over a 5 year or daily basis (respectively), Before the drive begins to deteriorate in performance or eventually fail. The PS5 will hardly be able to hit these kind of numbers daily BUT these figures will give you a good idea of the lifespan of the SSD beyond 5 years. Given the lifespan of some consoles can cross over a decade, the higher these numbers are, the better!

Here are the official specifications of the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD:

SABRENT Rocket 4 + SB-RKT4P-1TB

SB-RKT4P-2TB

SB-RKT4P-4TB

Price in $ and $ 1TB – $200 2TB – $469.99 4TB – $999.99
PCIe Generation PCIe Gen 4 PCIe Gen 4 PCIe Gen 4
NVMe Rev NVMe 1.4 NVMe 1.4 NVMe 1.4
NAND B27 3D NAND 96L B27 3D NAND 96L B27 3D NAND 96L
Capacity 1TB Single Sided 4TB Double Sided 4TB Double Sided
Controller Phison E18-PS5018 Phison E18-PS5018 Phison E18-PS5018
Memory 1GB 2GB 4GB
Size 2,280 2,280 2,280
Warranty 5yr 5yr 5yr
  SB-RKT4P-1TB SB-RKT4P-2TB SB-RKT4P-4TB
Price in $ and $ $199 / £180 $469 / £419 $1099 / £999
Total Terabytes Written (TBW) 700TB 1400TB 3000TB
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours) 1600000 1600000 1600000
DWPD 0.4DWPD 0.4DWPD 0.4DWPD
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32 350000 650000 650000
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32 700000 700000 700000
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB 7000MB 7100MB 7100MB
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB 5500MB 6850MB 6850MB

So, now you know the hardware specifications of the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD and you also know that (at the time of writing!) the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus is supported by the PS5 SSD expansion bay.

IMPORTANT – This article contains ALOT of gifs to demonstrate the loading times of the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD versus the internal PS5 SSD, so the page/gifs might take an extra minute to load. Please be patient OR watch the videos of the full testing a the bottom of the page.

Testing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD with the PS5 – Test Parameters

All of the tests of the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD on the PS5 were conducted in groups of 5 games at a time. In the event of a game arriving on a disc, the full disc data and all current updates were transferred over the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD. The disc might be present, but it is only for system verification and would be an identical setup to the PS5 internal SSD that it is being compared against. The SSD was tested using the latest PS5 Beta Firmware update (3.0 or 3.1 depending on the time of testing as a further update was made available during the widespread testing) and although the supported drives when the SSD expansion feature might change, the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD is fully functioning and supported on the PS5 at the time of writing. So, let’s get started on the testing of each game:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Demon Souls Nexus Loading Test

This test was loading from the title screen to the central hub world (Nexus) of Demon Souls, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Demon Souls Archstone 2 Test

This test was loading to the Smithing Grounds of Demon Souls, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Demon Souls Archstone 1 Test

This test was loading to the first main area of Demon Souls, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Ratchet & Clank World Loading Test I

This test was loading to the starting area of Ratchet & Clank Rifts Apart, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Ratchet & Clank World Loading Test II

This test was loading to the first main transitional area of Ratchet & Clank Rifts Apart, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Borderlands 3 Full Loading Test I

This test was loading Borderlands to the Title Screen fro the PS5 Main menu on Borderlands 3, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Borderlands 3 Level Load Test II

This test was loading a save game from the title screen to the Pandora World Area, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Resident Evil Village Castle Loading Test I

This test was loading the Castle Area of Resident Evil Village, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Resident Evil Village Stronghold Loading Test II

This test was loading the Stronghold of Resident Evil Village, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Hitman 3 Dartmoor Loading Test I

This test was loading the Dartmoor level on Hitman 3, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Hitman 3 Mendoza Loading Test II

This test was loading the Mendoza level on Hitman 3, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Oddworld SoulStorm Loading Test

This test was loading from the title screen to an early, lighting heavy area of the 2.5D platformer Oddworld Soulstorm for PS5, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Terminator Resistance Level Loading Test

This test was loading Terminator Resistance Infiltrator Mode, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – GTA V Full Game Loading Test

This test was loading the Grand Theft Auto V from the PS5 menu to gameplay on the Single Player Mode, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Dead By Daylight Bots Test

This test was loading the tutorial Bots Mode on Dead By Daylight, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Red Dead Redemption II Campaign Loading Test

This test was loading the Blackwater Area of Red Dead Redemption II in single Player, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Subnautica Loading Test I

This test was loading from the title screen to a fresh creative mode save load on Subnautica, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – No Man’s Sky Creative Mode Loading Test

This test was loading No Man’s Sky in Creative Mode from the Title screen, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – In Rays of the Light Loading Test I, Outside

This test was loading the outside world area of In Rays of the Light, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – In Rays of the Light Loading Test II, Inside

This test was loading the underground bunker area of In Rays of the Light, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Star Wars Fallen Order Level Loading Test I

This test was loading the Kashkykk area of Star Wars Fallen Order from the title screen, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Star Wars Fallen Order Trial Loading Test II

This test was loading a combat challenge, mid-game, of Star Wars Fallen Order from the title screen, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Doom Eternal Level Loading Test I

This test was loading a level in Doom Eternal from the title screen, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Control Level Loading Test I

This test was loading to an early area of the game from the title screen on Control, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Maneater Level Loading Test I

This test was loading the first area of Maneater from the title screen, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Destruction Allstars Level Loading Test I

This test was loading the first arena of Destruction Allstars from the title screen, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

PS5 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD Testing – Destiny Level Loading Test I

This test was loading the first area of Destiny 2 from the title screen, comparing the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus vs the internal PS5 SSD:

Full Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD PS5 Test Videos

If you want to see the FULL testing of every PS5/PS4 game with the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD, you can watch the videos below. These tests have been grouped into 5 games per video, with each game being assessed on Loading Times, Frame Rate, Texture swapping, Asset Popping and compared against the exact game being loaded on the PS5 SSD. NOTE – These videos are being edited and published throughout September and October, so if a video is showing as ‘unavailable’ below, it might not be published yet, but should be up shortly!

SABRENT Rocket 4 + SB-RKT4P-1TB

SB-RKT4P-2TB

SB-RKT4P-4TB

Price in $ and $ 1TB – $200 2TB – $469.99 4TB – $999.99
Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus PS5 SSD Test 1

Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus PS5 SSD Test 2

Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus PS5 SSD Test 3

Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus PS5 SSD Test 4

 

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      93 thoughts on “Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus SSD – PS5 EXPANSION GUIDE & TEST RESULTS

      1. I never bought more room for my PlayStation before and been thinking of getting one for my ps5 because I’m tired of having no room and my friends have like 2 TB and I’m here with 800GB so I couldn’t download the games they had without having to delete a game and idk what to buy I just know the ps5 can go up to 4TB
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      2. I just installed the 2tb rocket 4 plus and only had a read speed of 4650. So disappointed as I removed and reinstalled it formatting over and over and could only get to 5000mbps which is significantly below what their advertising and what I have seen others ssds get
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      3. I have the 1 tb the original format read spead was 5420 something which is lower than ps5 recommends so I tried to reformat it and it was 5795.688 is there a reason it’s so low maybe because I have it on a 75 inch lg tv??
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      4. This a good video however, your test reflects the 500gb. If you test at least the 2 tb we will be able to see this ssd’s true performance. For example I’m currently using the 2tb of the sabrent rocket 4 plus on my PS5 and I get read speeds of 6658. ( the highest of seen on any ssd to date.) Please test the 2tb of the firecuda 530 for the ps5. Test games like red dead redemption 2, gta 5, cyberpunk ect…games with the longest load times.
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      5. could you test the Sabrent SSD interne Rocket Q4 NVMe PCIe 4.0 ? it’s less expensive for a bit less of speed , but it’s maybe could be invisible less loading time , Wait for your test
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      6. I would advice to use one of the available SSDs in place of the PS5 internal storage to run all games, to prolong the life of the PS5’s internal storage since it’s not user exchangeable!
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      7. DF did a test for Rift Apart, and confirms what you’re seeing. A faster M2 will be a slight advantage over the PS5’s internal SSD. The result, is a slightly smoother transition when the portals open. The PS5’s internal dipped to 58 fps, while the M2 (980 PRO) stayed a steady 60fps. So even if load times for games are going to be indiscernible, the smoother transitions during real loads is a nice touch for faster M2 drives.
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      8. long story short: yes, Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus Drive (PCIe 4.0) is faster than the internal SSD. Question is, will the Sabrent Rocket Q be faster? Then we can have an 8TB NVMe. Or if PCIe 3.0 compared to PS4’s internal SSD…. hmm…
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      9. Warning Warning Warning Warning !!! If you do not have the 2.0 firmware on your PS5 do not waste your time putting an SSD in it because when you power it on it will tell you
        to power down and remove the SSD from the internal Bay.
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      10. correct me if im wrong but the ps4 games with ps5 updates seem to load faster over ps5s ssd except with destruction allstars .. be interesting to see what the difference is with more actual ps5 titles e.g returnal rachet and clank etc..
        iam waiting for the firecuda 530 review and i think i might bite the bullet and go the rocket 4 heat sink with the firecuda 530 2tb that ive already brought!
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      11. The speed difference seems more noticeable for multiplayer online games like destiny then for others, if you can test the load times with more online games like fallout 76 or call of duty that would be nice too. Aside from that great video! Love your channel man ????????
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      12. Just so you guys know the last gen Sabrent rocket 4 nvme 2tb is working perfectly for me at 5600 read speed tested in the ps5 speed test . Well over the 5000mb it’s rated for. I played demon souls all night as well as legion and Valhalla . All load times are equal to internal sad load speed. Demon souls loads in an instant and it work’s flawlessly
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      13. I’m starting to think that SSDs like WD-SN850, Samsung Pro and this one will be good enough for PS5 at this point until the devs start to make their games that will be use these speeds and command my power.

        It’s still early in the gen and a good portion of these are cross gen. Probably in the next two years will see this.
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      14. Thanks for the video and recommendations I just picked up this ssd 4tb and heat sink should be getting everything soon wanted the fire Cuda but can’t find it anywhere
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      15. Thanks for the vid man! It’s fairly impressive, but I still can’t stare at a black screen for 90 seconds every time I wanna transfer 150gb of games to my internal drive, so downloading it is 🙂
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      16. I heard wd makes the most reliable ssd of them all and second only to firecuda 530 in speed. It comes with its own heatsink for 249 for 1TB. Just installed it today in my ps5. Works very good actually some games like devil may cry ps5 version look better run better with the wd ssd. I saw the free ps plus game control looked better on the wd too.
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      17. Well, I don’t know why they call PS5 SSD a “Magical SSD” while it has almost the same performence as my Samsung 980 PRO SSD that I’ve bought 1 month before the PS5 came out.
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      18. Woohoo First!! I ordered a FireCuda 530 4TB! Looking forward to early September when it ships! great hype video! I was seriously looking at this Sabrent Rocket Plus 4TB for months… but the issue of having to install a heatsink pushed me towards the FireCuda 530!
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