The XPG Gammix S70 Blade is a PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD that brings the blazing speeds of its S70 SSD to a low-profile version perfect for Sony’s PS5 expansion storage guidelines. The PlayStation 5 is almost everything you could ask of the new generation of consoles, but if there was a major complaint, it would be the lack of available storage. The S70 Blade brings the same read speed of 7400MB/s and write speed of 6400MB/s as its S70 counterpart at the same price point of $159.99 for 1TB or $299.99 for 2TB. When installed into a PS5 XPG notes that the speeds are throttled to a read speed of 6100MB/s, but that is likely due to the firmware on the PS5 rather than the SSD itself not being able to keep up.
I believe the price point is the best thing about this SSD. I have searched high and low for an M.2 SSD with competitive speeds that are compatible with the PS5 and the S70 Blade either blows them away with speeds or destroys them in value. For other SSD’s at these speeds expect to pay upwards of $250 for equal amounts of storage. I think you would be hard-pressed to find another SSD anywhere that performs this well at this price point much less one that has meets Sony’s requirements to be used as a PS5 expansion. XPG could have easily made a slower product for the PS5 or pushed up the price and advertised and PS5 compatible, but they gave a powerful product that is compatible without bleeding the consumer’s wallet. All of this is great for the PS5, but the S70 Blade would also be a great upgrade for a laptop that couldn’t fit some of the larger heatsinked SSDs on the market.
The S70 blade offers little in the way of customization, but it’s not intended to be a great looker. The point of this low-profile SSD is to be tucked away in some compartment such as the PS5 expansion storage or possibly a laptop without much room for the larger flashier SSD options.
Out of the box, the S70 blade only contains the SSD itself and the heatsink that you must install yourself. While installing the heatsink is not exactly rocket science it would be nice if there were included instructions lining up the heatsink correctly. The heatsink simply has an adhesive surface that just sticks to the top of the stick. It would be nice if they included a universal stand-off and screw if you intended to install this into a PC as some other SSDs I have received do.
Installation into the PS5 is a breeze with only a single Phillips head screwdriver required. This is largely due to Sony’s expectation of people needing to expand their storage. Simply pop off the PS5 case, and unscrew the storage cover held by a single Phillips head screw. Install the SSD the same way as any other M.2 drive would be and secure it down with standoff and screw Sony has provided inside the console. The PS5 is prepared for a new drive and once booted up will immediately start the formatting process for the new drive.
The PS5 is a fantastic piece of equipment and XPG is bringing the hardware to really take it to the next level. With the size of today’s games, a storage upgrade is almost a necessity for the next-gen of consoles. Bringing PC-level SSD speeds to meet the requirements of Sony’s console as well as some of the most competitive prices in the market XPG have delivered brilliantly for console gamers!
