Gaming

Upgrading my PlayStation 5 storage

With the Seagate Firecuda 530 2TB with Heatsink

Published

May 26, 2022

Sometimes all we need is some space. For my PlayStation 5, specifically, I wanted 2TB more space. There were plenty of brands to consider, but ultimately I landed on the Seagate FireCuda 530 2TB with Heatsink. We’ll just call it Firecuda530 from here on out for brevity.

Seagate is a brand that’s trusted when it comes to expanding storage. And the Firecuda530 meets all the requirements that PlayStation laid out for compatible m.2 solid state drive (SSD) options.

In case you were wondering, these are the requirements:

Interface — PCI-Express Gen4x4 supported M.2 NVMe SSD (Key M)
Storage — 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB* *(4TB available upon pre-order)
Supported Sizes — 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280, 22110
Size including heat-dissipation mechanism — Width: up to 25 mm / Length: 30/40/6080/110 mm / Thickness: up to 11.25 mm (up to 8.0 mm
from above the board, up to 2.45 mm from below the board)
Sequential read speed — 5500 MB/s or faster is recommended
Socket Type — Socket 3 (Key M)

Seagate’s offering even exceeds this as it promises up to 7,300mb/s of speed and performance. They also claim to have transfer rates that are two times faster than PCIeGen3 NVMe SSDs.

Rescue Data

On top of that, you also get Rescue Data Recovery Services for the ultimate peace of mind on your precious files. Personally, I think this is one of the biggest value adds from Seagate. I have encountered my fair share of hardware data getting corrupted with only a small fraction of them recovered.

With this, Seagate offers the services of world-class data recovery experts with an industry-leading 95% success rate for in-house SSD and HDD data recovery. You get one in-lab data recovery attempt. And your recovered data will be stored in an encrypted storage device.

Alright, enough of that, let’s put this thing inside the PS5.

Installing the FireCuda 530 2TB with Heatsink

First we have to take off the faceplate. Make sure the side with the PS5 logo is the one that’s faced down. You want to remove the plate that’s on the other side.

To remove it, you have to pull up from the top side and then slide down from the bottom.

Once removed, you’ll see a plate covering the storage expansion slot. Unscrew and then remove the plate. Don’t lose the screw!

Inside, there are multiple screw slots, with the safety screw placed up top at the 110 slot. Remove it, and then place it loosely on the 80 slot.

Now, take the Firecuda530 and slide it into the slot diagonally. You’ll know it’s in when you hear a click.

Afterwards, screw it in place and put back the protective plate.

I also took this opportunity to replace the faceplates to black and added some personal touch.

TWICE chibi stickers c/o @arts423

Formatting and testing

After installation, the next time you fire up your PS5, you’ll be asked to format the expansion drive. Do it by simply following the prompts. It should take less than 10 minutes.

After that, you can proceed to transferring your files to the Firecuda530. Transfer rates will vary depending on the file size.

The first time I did it, I transferred nearly 100GB and it took only around three minutes.

Before I transferred, I recorded how long it’ll take for me to load a few games. I did this for when they were on the main drive and when they were transferred.

Here are the results:

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (PS4 Game)

PS5 Storage: 31.47 seconds
M.2 Storage: 27.77seconds

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS5 Game)

PS5 Storage: 3.67 seconds
M.2 Storage: 2.49 seconds

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5 Game)

PS5 Storage: 2.61 seconds
M.2 Storage: 2.17 seconds

These are insane results as the Firecuda530 loaded the games faster than the PS5’s internal storage. Safe to say, the promised transfer speed and performance delivered as advertised.

Just playing

In the week since I moved most of my library to the Firecuda530, I’ve spent most of my time trophy hunting on the same games I mentioned earlier. So far, everything has been running great.

In terms of load times, there’s no discernable difference between the PS5’s internal storage and the expansion storage. I didn’t bother timing them anymore so this is just based on my natural internal timer. Native PS5 games load blazingly fast and PS4 games installed on the PS5 load just about as fast as one can expect.

Rivet and Clank

Same thing is true during actual gameplay. The expansion storage simply matches, if not exceeds, the performance of the built-in one, you wouldn’t know the difference unless you have your timer out to really see the milliseconds or sometimes even seconds of difference.

The biggest benefit, of course, is I’m now able to increase the number of my installed games from a measly eight all the way up to 20. And that’s with plenty of room to spare. That is simply incredible and extremely convenient.

Price and availability

The specific version I installed, as mentioned earlier, has a 2TB capacity. It has an SRP of PhP 25,895. The FireCuda 530 Heatsink also comes in 1TB and 4TB. The SRP is PhP 13,760 and 56,789 respectively. You can purchase these on Shopee, Lazada, or any of their authorized sellers. Find out more about Firecuda here.

This feature is a collaboration between GadgetMatch and Seagate.

Related Topics:Firecuda Firecuda530 PlayStation PlayStation 5 PS5 Seagate Seagate Firecuda Seagate Firecuda530 2TB with Heatsink

Gaming

ASUS brings 2026 ROG Zephyrus Duo, G16, and G14 to the Philippines

New Zephyrus laptops arrive

Published

June 24, 2026

GadgetMatch

ASUS Republic of Gamers has announced the Philippine availability and pricing of its 2026 ROG Zephyrus lineup.

Headlining the range is the new ROG Zephyrus Duo, joined by refreshed versions of the Zephyrus G16 and Zephyrus G14. The latest models feature Intel Core Ultra processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Laptop GPUs, upgraded cooling systems, and ROG Nebula HDR OLED displays.

The lineup is available through authorized retailers starting June 24, 2026.

ROG Zephyrus Duo introduces dual-screen gaming

The 2026 ROG Zephyrus Duo (GX651AX) is billed as the world’s first 16-inch dual-screen gaming laptop.

It features two 16-inch 16:10 touch displays with 120Hz refresh rates. Together, they provide up to 32 inches of combined screen space for multitasking, content creation, streaming, and gaming.

The primary display is a 3K ROG Nebula HDR OLED panel with up to 1,100 nits peak brightness, Dolby Vision HDR support, and 100 percent DCI-P3 color coverage.

A new 320-degree kickstand hinge enables multiple usage modes, including Laptop Mode, Dual-Screen Mode, Book Mode, Tent Mode, and Sharing Mode. ASUS ScreenXpert software manages display layouts and transitions between modes.

Powering the device are an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, 64GB LPDDR5X memory, and 2TB SSD storage.

ROG Zephyrus Duo price in the Philippines

ROG Zephyrus Duo GX651AX-SR071WSM (RTX 5090, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — PhP 559,995

The laptop comes bundled with an ASUS Pen 3.0, ROG Universal Backpack, ROG Gladius III Gaming Mouse, and ASUS warranty package.

ROG Zephyrus G16 gets RTX 5090 option

The refreshed ROG Zephyrus G16 (GU606) retains its slim aluminum chassis, measuring 1.49cm thick and weighing 1.85kg.

Configurations include up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with up to 160W TGP. ASUS says the laptop supports NVIDIA DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation technologies.

The 16-inch display uses a 2.5K ROG Nebula HDR OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, VESA DisplayHDR True Black certification, and NVIDIA G-SYNC support.

Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours of video playback, while ROG Intelligent Cooling combines Tri-Fan Technology, liquid metal, and expanded ventilation for sustained performance.

ROG Zephyrus G16 prices in the Philippines

ROG Zephyrus G16 GU606AR-TB061WSM (RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 289,995
ROG Zephyrus G16 GU606AX-TB084WSM (RTX 5090, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — PhP 429,995

Both variants include an ROG Exclusive Sleeve and ROG Strix Impact Gaming Mouse.

ROG Zephyrus G14 focuses on portability

The ROG Zephyrus G14 (GU405) continues to target gamers who want a more compact machine.

It measures 1.59cm thin and weighs 1.5kg. Despite its size, ASUS equips the laptop with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU with up to 130W TGP.

The device sports a 14-inch 3K ROG Nebula HDR OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, NVIDIA G-SYNC support, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1000 certification.

ASUS also redesigned the thermal system with thicker heat pipes, additional copper fins, and improved ventilation to boost cooling performance.

ROG Zephyrus G14 prices in the Philippines

ROG Zephyrus G14 GU405AP-SY057WSM (RTX 5070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 224,995
ROG Zephyrus G14 GU405AW-SY069WSM (RTX 5080, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 324,995

Each model ships with an ROG Exclusive Sleeve and ROG Strix Impact Gaming Mouse.

Warranty and launch promos

All 2026 ROG Zephyrus laptops sold locally come with ASUS’ No. 1 Quality & Service Program. This includes a three-year international and local warranty, one-year accidental damage protection, and Premium Care support.

Buyers also receive a gaming mouse, three months of PC Game Pass, an Office 2024 lifetime license, one year of Microsoft 365 Basic with 100GB cloud storage, and up to 700GB of ASUS Cloud Storage.

Meanwhile, the new ROG Slash Collection 4.0 accessories, including the Slash Backpack 4.0 and Slash Sling Bag 4.0, will arrive in select ROG stores starting July 2026.

Gaming

Steam Machine was supposed to be much, much cheaper

Was the price increase justified?

Published

June 23, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The Steam Machine is the most anticipated gaming device this year. Valve’s upcoming machine aims to deliver a PC gaming experience in a convenient package. Today, the price of the Steam Machine was finally unveiled, and it’s a doozy. But did you know that it was supposed to be much, much cheaper?

Now, we already know that the Steam Machine was cheaper before, but we didn’t really know how much cheaper. Speaking to IGN, Valve essentially confirmed the Machine followed the same price hikes as the Steam Deck, which experienced an increase of over US$ 200.

After doing a bit of algebra, it can be assumed that the Steam Machine was supposed to start at around US$ 750. That’s a huge jump, considering that the more expensive variant currently costs almost US$ 1,500, almost double the price of the original.

Unfortunately, that’s just how the industry works these days. Because of the ongoing RAM crisis, several manufacturers have already confirmed price hikes happening throughout the year. Apple, most recently, announced that price increases might come soon because of the untenability of shouldering the costs themselves.

It gets worse for the Machine, though. Despite being expensive, the price tag doesn’t really reflect the specs you’re getting. You can certainly grab a gaming laptop with better specs for around the same (or even a smaller) price tag, especially considering that Valve’s console-but-not-really-a-console doesn’t come with peripherals yet.

Gaming

Epic Games Launcher is getting a huge update to make it faster

The update will also add customizable profiles and user reviews.

Published

June 23, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Admit it; you probably have a hoard of free games languishing on the Epic Games Store. Though it’s nice that Epic gives away games every week, the overall inconvenience of using the platform sadly outweighs the freebies. Now, the company is finally redesigning the app from the ground up with a distinct focus on making it much faster.

Earlier this year, Epic admitted that “the launcher sucks.” Though the company cited a number of reasons, the number one culprit is certainly speed. Compared to its contemporaries (especially Steam), the Epic Games Launcher leaves much to be desired. The platform just doesn’t let users into their games as quickly as Steam does.

During the recent Unreal Fest, Epic, via @LuKaOnIndeed on X, confirmed that the entire launcher will be rebuilt to be “5x to 6.5x faster.”

The performance improvements will come with other new features including player profiles and user written reviews. Epic’s vision of the future looks completely different from how the launcher is today.

Though the company doesn’t have a definite timeline right now, Epic promises that the updates will come later this summer.

It does remain to be seen whether these updates will change anything about how users perceive the platform. For the longest time, gamers consider Steam as the platform of choice. Some users even repurchase their Epic games (sometimes obtained for free) on Steam just to have it on the platform they prefer.