Patriot might've low-key revealed the PS5's first external SSD solution for high-speed gaming and data transfers.

Patriot Gaming will publicly test out its new external Viper PXD M.2 SSD at PAX East with a PlayStation 4 to see how the drive works with consoles. And the game they're using for the test is Insomniac's Spider-Man, the same game Sony used to showcase the PS5's ultra-fast loading times.
This test could be a tease for the PlayStation 5's external storage solutions and compatibility for the console's customized SSD. Massive speed discrepancies are expected between current external HDDs and the new higher-end PCIe 4.0 SSDs found in the PlayStation 5, and Patriot's compact and lightweight 2TB PXD could be a solution to this problem.
The Viper PXD is a PCIe 3.0 4x M.2 form-factor SSD that utilizes Phison's E13T memory controller to hit up to 1GB/sec read and write speeds on the NVMe 1.3 protocol.
The PlayStation 4 can't utilize the PXD's full power, though; the PXD has USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C interface, but the PS4's most powerful port is the USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A port on the back that hits 5Gbit/sec, which roughly allows for 625MB/s data transfers.
So the PlayStation 4 will only use roughly 62% of the PXD's maximum data speeds. The PlayStation 5, on the other hand, is likely to feature new USB 3.2 Gen2 ports to enable faster reads and writes to and from external storage.
"The brand-new Patriot PXD m.2 PCIe Type-C External SSD, the next generation of portable storage solutions, will be showcased and tested on the PlayStation 4 with Marvel's Spider-Man video game. This PCIe m.2 based SSD over USB 3.2 Type-C connectivity brings superb speed and stability utilizing the Phison E13 PCIe controller, capacities from 512GB to 2TB," reads a press release.

It's not the blistering-fast Samsung 980 QVO PCIe 4.0 SSD with 6th gen QLC flash that's expected to power the PlayStation 5, but it doesn't need to be; The external drive needs to be fast enough to somewhat match the system's base drive.
Again nothing's been confirmed so far, but the timing is quite interesting and Patriot could be setting itself up to capitalize on the new wave of external next-gen console storage solutions. And it could be testing the waters to see how current-gen plays with the PXD (and any other higher-end external drives it releases) so it can prep for the PlayStation 5.
Patriot PXD External SSD Specs
- Phison E13T Series Controller; Latest USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Interface
- Capacity up to 2TB; Bus speed up to 10Gbit / sec
- Type-C to Type-C, Type-C to Type-A cable included
- SEQ Performance Read up to 1,000MB / s, Write up to 1,000MB / s; 4K Aligned Random Write: up to 85K IOPs
Patriot's PXD external SSD is the next generation of portable storage. The PXD bridges the gap between USB 3.0 flash drives and high speed PCIe based SSDs. Utilizing the Phison E13T PCIe controller, the PXD supports the SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps standard. With its USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C connector, the PXD ships with two cables (type-C to type-A, and type-C to type-C) for compatibility with the latest PCs, laptops, and MacBook.
Setup is a breeze, just plug and play like any USB flash drive. The sleek, compact, aluminum body is designed for maximum durability. At just over 10 cm X 3 cm, and weighing in at just 35 grams, the PXD is the perfect solution for those who need large superfast storage in a compact design. The PXD is the ideal choice for those road warriors who are on the go, extending the storage of your favorite gaming consoles, or storing your favorite video or music libraries.
Sony's PlayStation 5 console will release in Holiday 2020, and it may cost $499.
Check below for more info on everything we know about the PlayStation 5 so far:
PlayStation 5 specs and details:
- Custom SoC with second-gen Navi GPU, Zen 2 CPU
- 8-Core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU at 3.2GHz
- Navi GPU at 2.0GHz with 36 Compute Units
- Navi, Zen SoC uses new AMD RDNA 2.0 architecture
- Ultra-fast SSD
- Support for 4K 120 Hz TVs
- Ray-tracing enabled
- 8K output support (for gaming)
- Plays all PS4 games
- Separate games that ship on BD-XL Blu-ray discs
- New controller with extensive haptic and tactile feedback
PlayStation 5 Coverage:
- PlayStation 5 could use Samsung's 980 QVO SSDs
- PlayStation 5 is beating Xbox Series X in dev kit form right now
- Hardly any devs are making next-gen PS5, Xbox Series X games
- Sony working on new horror IP for PlayStation 5
- PlayStation 5 devkit UI possibly leaked
- Leaked PlayStation 5 concepts show weird X-shaped case
- Sony's first-party PS4 exclusives are coming to PC
- PlayStation 5's new DualShock 5 may be usable on PS4
- Sony skips E3 2020, has two major events planned for February
- Next-gen console exclusives will be few and far between through 2021
- PlayStation 5's biggest features have yet to be announced, Sony says
- PS4 has sold over 1 billion games and 106 million consoles
- PlayStation 5 backward compatibility should support every PS4 game
- Sony reveals the PlayStation 5...logo
- New trapezoidal PS5 render is an expensive accident waiting to happen
- A $399 PlayStation 5 will conquer next-gen
- PlayStation 5 to outsell Xbox Series X in 2020, analyst predicts
- PS5 may only enhance PS4 games, legacy PS1, PS2 and PS3 games unlikely
- PlayStation 5 prototype dev kit console gets V-shaped clean
- Sony: The future is coming at CES 2020
- PlayStation 5 GPU: 9.2 TFLOPs with 36 custom Navi compute units
- PlayStation 5 GPU emulates PS4, PS4 Pro with special modes
- PS5, Xbox Series X SSD may use software-defined flash to boost speeds
- PS5's SSD is 'exceptionally powerful,' may beat Xbox Series X speeds
- DualShock 5 renders show new trigger design, USB-C, ergonomic shell
- PlayStation 5 to support 8K gaming, Sony confirms
- New PlayStation 5 renders show off radical different design, again
- Leaked PlayStation 5 ad prices console at $1,000, is totally fake
- Sony seeks a new Head of Strategy for Worldwide Studios
- Leaked PlayStation 5 devkit photos show new DualShock controller
- PS5, Xbox Scarlett SSD may use Optane-like ReRAM to supercharge speeds
- NVIDIA G-Sync monitors to improve PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett
- PlayStation 5: Everything We Know So Far
- PlayStation 5 confirmed to have 8C/16T Zen 2 CPU from AMD
- PS5, Project Scarlett may use Samsung's 6th gen V-NAND NVMe SSDs
- PS5 backward compatibility confirmed, will play PS4 games
- Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 has 4K 120Hz output support
- PS5, Project Scarlett to hit over 10TFLOPs of power, sources say
- PS4 will be supported into 2022, to live alongside PS5
- Sony: ultra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5
- PS5 dev kit rumor: 'ultra-fast RAM', Navi GPU with 13 TFLOPs
- PlayStation 5 rumored to ship with 2TB of super-fast SSD for $499
- Insider: PlayStation 5 dev kit faster than Xbox Scarlett right now
- PS5 cartridges aren't real, patents are for Sony kids toys
- PS5's SSD may benefit PS4 games the most
- PS5 powered by Navi in 2020, AMD making Navi with Sony input
- Cloud-powered PlayStation controller may let you play free game demos
- Gran Turismo 7 is a PlayStation 5 launch title: launches Nov 20, 2020
- PS5 confirmed to support 8K video, ray tracing, all on Navi
- PlayStation 5 rumored to cost $499, launches November 20, 2020
- PlayStation game demos are coming back with Sony's ambitious new plan
- PS5 controller: Built-in mic, USB-C, no lightbar, ergonomic design
- PlayStation 5 concept video shows totally new design
- Sony solves PS5's biggest issue
- Sony: PS5 development going according to plan
- New Viking Assassin's Creed may be next-gen console launch game
- AMD working on 'secret sauce' for next-gen Xbox/PlayStation
- The first real photo of a PlayStation 5 dev kit appears
- Next-gen PS5/Xbox Scarlett open-world game: 'best real-time graphics'
- Sony restructures workforce to prepare for PS5
- PlayStation VR 2: built-in cameras, wireless, ready for PS5
- PS5 games will ship on 100GB Blu-ray BDXL discs
- PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will both handle ray tracing differently
- PlayStation 5 could feature AI-powered 'PlayStation Assist'
- Sony won't abandon singleplayer story-driven games on PS5
- PS5 rumor: GPU is nearly as powerful as RTX 2080, GPU clocked at 2GHz
- PlayStation 5 rumored to be unveiled on February 12, 2020
- Sony to raise PS5 cost thanks to U.S. tariffs