PS5 SSD deal: Essential WD Black 1TB hits best price of 2026
PS5 owners running low on space have a rare PS5 SSD deal to consider: Woot is selling the officially licensed 1TB WD Black SN850P for $179.99 with coupon code APPLETEN, IGN reported Thursday, Oct. 1. IGN called it the drive’s lowest price of the year.
The code knocks 10 percent off at checkout. Woot is owned by Amazon, so Prime members get free shipping; everyone else pays a $5 delivery fee. The drive is new, not refurbished, and comes with WD’s original five-year warranty. IGN described the offer as limited time, so it could end or sell out without notice.
Is this PS5 SSD deal actually cheap?
Not in absolute terms. IGN’s deals team admitted $179.99 is still steep for a fast 1TB drive, but said a comparable SSD is hard to find for less right now. IGN added that good PlayStation storage deals have been scarce in 2026. Rising component costs have been a theme across gaming hardware, as we covered in our look at how soaring RAM prices could hit the next console generation.
A few drives cost about the same as this PS5 SSD deal, IGN noted, but most come from brands shoppers are unlikely to recognize.
What the WD Black SN850P brings
- Capacity: 1TB (the SN850P line also comes in 2TB and 4TB, according to WD’s 2023 launch announcement)
- Interface: PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe
- Speed: up to 7,300MB/s reads; WD rates the 2TB and 4TB models at up to 6,600MB/s writes
- Cooling: a slim heatsink built to fit the PS5’s expansion bay
- Cache: dedicated DRAM, which IGN said most rivals at this price skip
- Warranty: five years
Because the heatsink is preinstalled, there’s no separate cooler to buy or mount. The PS5 logo on the drive won’t be visible once it’s inside the console, but the license means WD built it to Sony’s spec.
Does it meet Sony’s requirements?
Yes. Sony’s PS5 storage guide calls for a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe drive between 250GB and 8TB, recommends sequential reads of 5,500MB/s or faster and requires a cooling structure that fits within set size limits. Sony also says to update the console’s system software before installing a drive and warns that M.2 SATA SSDs won’t work.
Installing it takes one screwdriver
Sony’s guide lists a #1 Phillips screwdriver, a well-lit table and, optionally, a small flashlight. On the newer slim and Pro models, you lift off a triangular cover, remove the expansion slot cover, set the spacer to the drive’s length, slide the SSD in at an angle, screw it down and close everything up. The original PS5 takes a few extra steps, since you have to unplug it, let it cool, remove the base and reposition it first.
When you power on, the console walks you through formatting the drive. PS5 games can be installed and played straight from M.2 storage, though Sony cautions that not every game will match the performance of the built-in SSD.
A strong pick for gaming PCs too
The SN850P isn’t locked to PlayStation. It can serve as a boot or game drive in a PC, where IGN said its DRAM cache is more likely to make a noticeable difference than it would in a PS5.
If you’re upgrading a PS5 now, the PS5 SSD deal offers headroom for today’s large installs. Prices can change at any time, so check that the PS5 SSD deal still applies in your cart before you buy. Sony’s next console is already the subject of PS6 rumors pointing to a 1TB Gen5 SSD. For more hardware deals and news, visit our gear and tech section.