PS5's SSD Speeds Can't Be Matched Even By High-End PCs, Epic Says

With Epic Games revealing its next-generation-ready Unreal Engine 5, more of the capabilities of both the upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X have come into focus. Specifically, their custom storage solutions, with Epic's Tim Sweeney saying PCs aren't able to replicate them today. This could give the PS5 an unexpected advantage against the PC, a platform that has consistently been able to outperform consoles for generations.

In an interview with The Verge, Sweeney explained that the PS5 and its custom SSD solution will inform the future of PCs, and that no commercially available products can replicate the speed Sony has achieved yet.

"The storage architecture on the PS5 is far ahead of anything you can buy on anything on PC for any amount of money right now," said Sweeney. "It's going to help drive future PCs. [The PC market is] going to see this thing ship and say, 'Oh wow, SSDs are going to need to catch up with this.'"

That's not to say commercial storage options won't catch up. Sony itself is expecting them to, with the company electing to list compatible SSDs for PS5 expansion over creating custom peripherals. Microsoft, on the other hand, have already revealed a partnership with Seagate to create custom Xbox Series X SSDs that will be used to expand on internal storage.

Sweeney had a lot to say about the PS5 during today's Unreal Engine 5 reveal, including how Epic Games is working closer with Sony on its hardware than Microsoft. Despite that, Sweeney says Unreal Engine 5 will deliver great performance on a range of hardware.