SanDisk's 8TB PS5 SSD costs nearly $3,000 — more than three consoles

SanDisk has launched the Optimus GX PRO, a line of officially licensed PS5 and PS5 Pro SSDs ranging from 1TB to 8TB — and the flagship 8TB model will set you back $2,960, even at its current promotional price. That's more than three standard PlayStation 5 consoles at $649.99 each, or about 3.3 times the cost of a PS5 Pro ($899.99). For most PS5 owners, the price tag alone makes this a hard sell.

The drive

The Optimus GX PRO is, as Kotaku reports, a rebrand of the WD_Black SN850X — same specs, same write speeds of 6,600 MB/s, same 4,800 TBW endurance rating. What you're paying extra for is the PlayStation-licensed branding, a console-optimized heatsink, and official certification. Read speeds reach up to 7,300 MB/s on the 1TB through 4TB models, dropping slightly to 7,200 MB/s on the 8TB. All versions come with a five-year warranty.

Here's the full pricing, currently with promotional discounts applied:

- 1TB — $380 - 2TB — $760 - 4TB — $1,500 - 8TB — $2,960

Without the discount, the 8TB climbs to around $3,700, and TweakTown notes the full MSRP has been listed as high as $3,828.99 depending on the channel.

The value question

The PS5 doesn't require an officially licensed SSD. Sony's own spec sheet calls for any PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive with compatible speeds — and a decent third-party option with a separate heatsink can be found for under $300. The WD_Black SN850P, which carries PS5 certification without the Optimus branding, is available in an 8TB configuration for around $1,300 on Newegg — less than half the price of this drive.

The licensing premium is real, but it's hard to point to a tangible performance benefit. For the vast majority of players, a cheaper compatible drive is the sensible choice. The Optimus GX PRO at 8TB is, practically speaking, a collectors' item priced as one.

The drives are available now on SanDisk.com. No UK pricing or availability has been confirmed at launch.