On it’s own merit, the Lexar Play is a speedy PCIe 4.0 SSD. Lexar is mum on details like the controller hardware and what type of NAND flash memory chips it employed it for its latest storage drive. However, the company claims it can achieve up to 7,400MB/s for sequential reads and up to 6,500MB/s for sequential writes. Those metrics place it among the top performing PCIe 4.0 SSDs.
It also sports an included heatsink that Lexar says is “optimized for PS5,” though there’s nothing to stop anyone from picking this up and plopping it in a gaming PC.
“The Play 2280 PCIe 4.0 SSD can also be used for PC gaming. It features HMB and SLC dynamic cache which deliver improved performance, accelerated data access speeds, and enhanced overall responsiveness when used with a PC,” Lexar says.
Regarding the PS5, however, Sony’s requirements allow for a variety of M.2 form factors (2230, 2242, 2260, 2280, and 22110), with the following restrictions…
- Storage Space: 250GB to 8TB
- Width: up to 25mm
- Length: 30/40/60/80/110mm
- Thickness: up to 11.25mm (up to 8.0mm from above the board, up to 2.45mm from below the board)
- Sequential Read: 5,500MB/s or faster
Lexar’s challenge is that it’s going up against some better value propositions. For example, here are some cheaper 4TB models with comparable specs…
- 4TB Corsair MP600 Pro LPX w/ Heatsink (7,100MB/s reads, 6,800MB/s writes): $349.99
- 4TB Samsung 990 Pro (7,450MB/s reads, 6,900MB/s writes): $319.99
- 4TB WD_Black SN850X (7,300MB/s reads, 6,600MB/s writes): $304.99
- 4TB XPG Gammix S70 Blade (7,400MB/s reads, 6,300MB/s writes): $298.99
- 4TB Acer Predator GM7000 (7,400MB/s reads, 6,700MB/s writes): $269.99
Not all of the above models come with a heatsink, so there’s some added value proposition on Lexar’s Play SSD. Still, there are some far cheaper alternatives. We’ll have to wait and see if discounted street pricing emerges, as is typically in the storage sector.