Lexar Unveils Play 2280 SE SSD For PS5 With Storage Capacity For 100+ AAA Games
Lexar is taking direct aim at PlayStation 5 owners with its newest solid state drive offering, the Play 2280 SE, which it says has enough storage capacity to hold around 100 triple-A games. Or put another way, it's a 4TB SSD. That's four times more than the PS5 and twice as capacious as the PS5 Pro's base storage. It's also the only capacity being offered for the new Play 2280 SE model, but what's really curious is that it's exclusive to single retailer, and probably not one you would guess. More on that in a moment.
As far as we can tell, there is nothing inherently unique about the Play 2280 SE that makes it more suited for a PS5 than a desktop PC or laptop, or any other platform with a full-size M.2 2280 form factor slot. That said, it meets and/or exceeds all of Sony's requirements for the PS5, which are as follows...
The Play 2280 SE is a PCIe 4.0 drive that is rated to deliver up to 7,000MB/s (7GB/s) for sequential reads and up to 6,000MB/s (6GB/s) for sequential writes. As shown in the cart above, Sony recommends that SSD upgrades for the PS5 support sequential read speeds of 5,500MB/s (5.5GBs) or higher, and the Play 2280 SE exceeds that minimum requirement by a little over 27%.
What about cooling? According to Lexar, the Play 2280 SE touts a "unique heatsink for effortless installation and enhanced cooling during intense gaming sessions."
It looks like a standard SSD heatsink to us, albeit with a slick design that mimics the look for a PS5 console. Of course, once installed, you won't see the design. It's also worth noting that it's easy to install an SSD inside a PS5 (or any platform, really)—see our guide on upgrading your PS5's storage and/or our video embedded above.
Here's the real curious part, though. Lexar says the Play 2280 SE is exclusive to Costco, a membership warehouse that is similar to Sam's Club. It's listed for $224.99 (same as the MSRP). You can still buy it online even if you're not a member, but Costco will on a 5% surcharge, which bumps the price to $236.24 before tax.
Pricing is pretty competitive with other 4TB models that are compatible with the PS5, even with the surcharge, though it's far from the only option. Here are a few alternatives...
