Lexar Play 2280 4TB SSD Review - Made for PlayStation 5

TweakTown's Rating: 90%

The Bottom Line

You can't do much better than Lexar's Play 2280 4TB SSD for Sony PS5 storage expansion.

Pros

• PS5 gaming performance
• Capacity
• Build quality
• Power efficiency

Cons

• Lower performance on PC

Should you buy it?

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Buy at Amazon for $336.06 USD

Buy at Amazon for $498.32 CAD

Buy at Amazon for £321.36

Introduction & Drive Details

Sony's PlayStation 5 is among the best-selling gaming devices of all time. There are millions of PlayStation 5 users and Lexar is looking to fill the gaming console's M.2 storage expansion slot with its newly released Play 2280 SSD. The Play 2280 is specifically designed for this implementation and is one of the better choices for this role.

The drive is composed of proven high-quality, high performance and power efficient components ideally suited for the environment that is unique to the PS5's internal storage expansion slot. First off, you want a solid-state storage device that fits properly within the confines of the expansion slot area. Check. Next, you want an SSD that is cool running, which is exactly what we have in Lexar's Play 2280 Series.

Being 4-channel controlled and DRAMless, the drive is inherently power efficient and therefore cool running. A heatsink is also recommended by Sony, and the Lexar Play comes with a sized perfectly heavy-duty heatsink pre-installed. It might be solid copper, we're not sure if it is or not, but judging by the heft of the drive seems like it would have to be.

Finally, we want lots of capacity with 2TB being what we consider the bare minimum for the PS5 storage expansion slot. Apparently, Lexar sees it this way too, as 2TB is the smallest capacity point offered for the Play 2280 Series. Currently you can get the drive at 2TB and 4TB capacity points and in just a couple more weeks there will be an 8TB model released.

Now, naturally, Lexar's Play 2280 SSDs can be employed as a DIY storage upgrade for your PC. The drive can serve competently in this role and is the primary environment in which we are testing Lexar's newest. However, when utilized for PC storage, we see this drive as best suited for a role where running cool, power efficiency, and high capacity take precedence over performance.

Now, let's get into this review so we can show you by the numbers what Lexar's Play 2280 4TB SSD can do for you.

Drive Details

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Lexar offers for free its DiskMaster and DataShield software to complement the Play 2280 Series. With DiskMaster, you can migrate data from your existing SSD to your new Play 2280, perform a secure erase, upgrade firmware, and performance test.

Jon's Test System Specifications

Intel Test System

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE AORUS Z790 Xtreme X
• CPU: Intel Core i9-14900KS - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 8000 48GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3080 12GB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: PrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit - Buy from Amazon

AMD Test System

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X670E AORUS Master
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: Sabrent Rocket DDR5 32GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3080 12GB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: PrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit - Buy from Amazon

Because we at TweakTown like to be first at everything whenever we can, we will present our storage performance results for the test subject on both 14th Gen Intel and 7000 Series AMD platforms going forward for the foreseeable future. Because Intel still delivers the best real-world storage performance, (Look Here), our running chart will continue to be Intel-based until AMD can deliver better real-world storage performance than its rival.

Best Deals: Lexar Play 2280 4TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD MSRP $380

	Today	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$336.06 USD	-	$279.99 USD	Buy
	$498.32 CAD	-	$502.41 CAD	Buy
	£321.36	-	£271.90	Buy
	$336.06 USD	-	$279.99 USD	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 3/18/2025 at 2:37 am CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.

Sony PlayStation 5 - M.2 Storage Expansion

PS5 Read Performance

With Sony's wildly popular PlayStation 5 console now enabled for M.2 NVMe SSDs to be used as fast storage expansion, we are including results for PS5 compatible SSDs we test as a part of our reviews going forward.

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We only chart SSDs that can deliver a minimum of 5,500 MB/s read, which is Sony's original recommendation.

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The result of 6,485 MB/s here is fairly average. However, do keep in mind that the Play 2280 is using less power than most of the SSDs on this chart, and with its crazy-good heatsink, it is probably running cooler than any of the others that populate our chart.

Synthetic Benchmarks: CDM, Anvil, ATTO

CrystalDiskMark

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We employ CDM as our standard measurement for both sequential throughput and Q1T1 random read. In terms of sequential throughput, we find our test subject fully capable of exceeding quoted up to factory throughput specifications.

We decided to dial up our flash ID tool, and to our surprise, it came back as being arrayed with Micron B58R flash. This is something we've not seen before - Maxio's MAP 1602 controller in front of Micron B58R. Previously, we've only seen the MAP1602 Paired with YMTC flash.

Anvil's Storage Utilities

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The performance here is lower than what we have attained with MAP1602/YMTC 232L TLC SSDs such as the addlink S93 4TB. We believe B58R is superior to YMTC 232L when both are optimized for the controller, so what we think is going on here is that MAP1602 is not as optimized for B58R as it is for YMTC TLC.

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We employ Anvil's random read test as our standard for measuring max random read IOPS. This test is very accurate, as it is, at its core, Iometer skinned over. We test at QD128. Lexar gives no random performance specifications, so we have nothing to compare our results with. 739K IOPS is very much on the low end of the spectrum, again pointing to less optimization between the flash and the controller than other SSDs controlled by Maxio's MAP1602 controller.

ATTO

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ATTO gives us a clear picture of what transfer sizes a particular SSD favors in terms of QD4 sequential throughput. We chart 128K transfers. At a queue depth of four, the Play 4TB favors sequential transfers of 512KB or larger when serving data to the host (reading) and 64KB or larger when programming (writing) data. This is decent small-file sequential performance.

Real-World Testing: Transfers, 3DMark SSD Gaming Test, PCM10 Storage

Transfer Rates

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Our 100GB data transfer test is not your ordinary 100GB of data, ours is a crushing mix composed of more than 62K files. Write performance random or sequential, is an infrequent operation and such, we do not consider it to be an important performance metric in the consumer space. An example being how many times is a game installed vs. how many times it's played.

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Unlike programming (writing) data, serving data to the host (reading) is typically an important performance metric as it relates to the consumer space. Upper mid-range for a PCIe Gen4 SSD. Plenty good enough for our liking.

3DMark SSD Gaming Test

UL's newest 3DMark SSD Gaming Test is the most comprehensive SSD gaming test ever devised. We consider it superior to testing against games themselves because, as a trace, it is much more consistent than variations that will occur between runs on the actual game itself. This test is the same as running the actual game, just without the inconsistencies inherent to application testing. In short, we believe that this is the world's best way to test an SSDs gaming prowess and accurately compare it against competing SSDs. The 3DMark SSD Gaming Test measures and scores the following:

• Loading Battlefield V from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Call of Duty Black Ops 4 from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Overwatch from launch to the main menu.
• Recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) while playing Overwatch.
• Installing The Outer Worlds from the Epic Games Launcher.
• Saving game progress in The Outer Worlds.
• Copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike Global Offensive from an external SSD to the system drive.

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Gaming is a performance metric that matters to most DIY consumers, especially for the enthusiast crowd that TweakTown caters to. Now, we've reached the point where results start to matter, as they are a direct reflection of user experience.

Here we find our B58R arrayed test subject generating roughly 10% less PC gaming performance than the other 4TB MAP1602 controlled SSDs we have on our chart.

PCM10 Storage Tests

PCMark 10 Storage Test is the most advanced and most accurate real-world consumer storage test ever made. There are four different tests you can choose from; we run two of them. The Full System Drive Benchmark and the Quick System Drive Benchmark. The Full System Drive Benchmark writes 204 GB of data over the duration of the test. These tests directly correlate with mainstream user experience.

PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark

This test writes 204GB data and covers a broad range of common consumer tasks, including booting Windows 10, file transfers, Adobe and Office applications, and startup times for games including Battlefield V, COD Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. Unlike synthetic numbers, this is comprehensive real-world data which is why we use it to rank SSDs in terms of user experience.

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Here we are running about 7% slower than the YMTC arrayed comparable SSDs. Good enough.

PCMark 10 Quick System Drive Benchmark

The Quick System Drive Benchmark writes 23 GB of data over the duration of the test.

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Of all the benchmarks we run, it can be argued that this one offers the best reflection of a typical consumer use case scenario.

We would like to see better performance here, to be sure. However, if employed as storage for a PC with less demanding requirements, the Play 2280 will do just fine. In fact, I have a work PC where I need the SSD to run cool, and that's exactly where this SSD is destined to wind up as the current 990 Pro with HS gets quite hot.

Final Thoughts

Lexar specifically designed its Play 2280 Series SSDs for PlayStation 5 storage expansion, and if that's what you have been looking for, then we are of the opinion that this drive, with its unique attributes, is one of the better choices out there. High capacity and cool-running storage are where it's at for Sony's powerful console.

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We rank SSDs in terms of overall user experience (performance where it matters most) as expressed by PCMark 10 storage and 3DMark gaming storage tests. Currently, we consider a user experience score of 15K or more to verify an SSD as a TweakTown Elite performer.

While it's an excellent overall choice for PS5, it's not the best choice if you are seeking enthusiast-level storage performance for your PC.

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Typically, we award based strictly on real-world performance delivered on PC, in which case we would not award the Play 2280. But this time, we see it a bit differently because the Play 2280 is specifically intended for PS5 storage expansion, and we will award it strictly for that intended implementation.