Is your console GTA 6 ready? Storage, heat and a quick service (PS5, PS5 Slim, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S)

How much room has your console got?

"Just buy a bigger SSD"? Have you seen the prices?

SSD prices are climbing fast. Memory makers are sending their chips to AI data centres, and the analysts at TrendForce expect memory prices to keep rising through the end of 2026. Before you spend big, try the cheaper routes:

• Clear out what you don't play. Your saves stay on the console or in the cloud (PS Plus, Xbox cloud saves), so deleting a game doesn't delete your progress.
• Park games on a USB drive.
  PS5 can store PS5 games on USB and play PS4 games from it.
  Xbox Series X|S can store Series games on USB and play Xbox One and older games from it.
  To play the new games you move them back to internal storage (or, on Xbox, use an official expansion card).
• Already got an M.2 SSD in your PS5? Sony says it needs a heatsink. Make sure yours has one.

Adding an SSD for GTA 6? Fit a heatsink

A PS5 takes an extra M.2 NVMe SSD in its expansion slot, and Sony says the drive needs a cooling structure such as a heatsink. Without one, or fitted badly, an NVMe drive runs hot, slows down and can fail. We fit a 1TB SSD with a heatsink for £199.00, set up and tested.

• Why heat matters: NVMe drives get hot when a big game loads and streams from them. A heatsink pulls that heat away so the drive keeps its speed.
• What we do: fit a 1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe drive and heatsink in the PS5's expansion slot, check the PS5 recognises and formats it, and test it before it goes back to you.
• Works with: PS5, PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro. Post it in from anywhere in the UK, or book a drop-off at our London workshop.
• Your games stay put: nothing on the PS5's own storage is touched; you move games across when you're ready.
• Turnaround: usually fitted within 2 to 3 working days of your console arriving (we order your drive the day you pay), with a 12-month warranty on the fitting and the drive.

Get a 1TB SSD fitted, £199.00 →

Already running hot? Dust and dried thermal paste make a PS5 louder and hotter with every big game. See our PS5 overheating repair.

The part people forget: heat

More storage and longer sessions mean the console works harder, and runs hotter for longer:

• PS5, PS5 Slim, PS5 Pro: the main chip (the APU) is cooled with liquid metal. Over years of heat, we often find it has moved or dried out, and the console runs much hotter.
• Any extra M.2 drive adds its own heat inside the case.
• Xbox Series X|S: the APU works just as hard on a game this size, and dust plus old thermal paste makes it run hotter and louder.

Signs yours needs a service

• a jet-engine fan;
• "Your PS5 is too hot" or a sudden shutdown;
• stutter in long sessions;
• a console that's never been opened in 3+ years.

Get it GTA ready

A deep clean and fresh thermal compound brings temperatures and fan noise back down, so launch night is smooth:

• PS5 / PS5 Slim: deep clean with fresh liquid metal, £74.99
• PS5 Pro: ask us
• Xbox Series X: deep clean and thermal paste, £74.99
• Xbox Series S: deep clean and thermal paste, £64.99

The 60-second GTA-ready checklist

1. 250 GB free (PS5) or room cleared on Xbox.
2. Fan quiet under load, no heat warnings.
3. HDMI picture solid: no flicker, no "no signal".
4. Controller not drifting: test it free on our Gamepad Tester.