Let’s get ready to rumble! PS5 vs. PS5 Slim is a face-off you’ll want to watch in this proverbial wrestling ring to get a better understanding as to how the skinner model differs from the original.
For years, many complained about PS5’s bulky, unwieldy, awkward body — and Sony finally addressed that with the new PS5 Slim.
In October 2024, Sony announced the brand spankin’ new slim PS5 model. This follows the game giant’s decades-long tradition of each PlayStation console getting a thinner counterpart midway through its generation. As you can probably tell, the PS5 Slim is meant to be a smaller gaming system compared to the original 2020 model — but that’s not all.
Here are all the ways in which the new PS5 Slim is different from its predecessor. This way, you’ll be able to know which system, the PS5 or PS5 Slim, is right for you.
PS5 vs PS5 Slim: Price
For context, the original PS5 has two versions: a digital one (no disc drive) and one with a disc drive. The same can be said for the PS5 Slim.
For whatever reason, Sony has elected to not drop the prices of the new PS5 Slim models. The PS5 Slim with a disc drive is still $499, while the PS5 Slim without a disc drive is, maddeningly, $449 — or a $50 increase over the original digital-only console.
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PS5 Slim (no disc drive) – $449
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PS5 Slim (with disc drive) – $499
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Original PS5 (no disc drive) – $399
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Original PS5 (disc drive) – $499
With that in mind, yes, the digital-only PS5 Slim is a money-saver in comparison to the one with a disc drive, but not in comparison to the digital-only model that launched three years ago.
The new price also means that buying a digital model before purchasing the additional disc drive would cost more than just snagging the version with a built-in drive. I don’t really have a good explanation for any of that.
My only advice is this: If you want a PS5 that only costs $399, you better get one now. This is an important note: Once the existing stock of both original models sells out, the new slim models will replace them on store shelves.
PS5 vs PS5 Slim: Size
Obviously, size is what many gamers are most concerned about here, so let’s get right to it. Looking at Sony’s stated dimensions, you can see that the new PS5 is indeed smaller than the original:
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Original PS5 (disc version): 104mm (height) x 390mm (width) x 260mm (depth)
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PS5 Slim (disc version): 96mm (height) x 358mm (width) x 216mm (depth)
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Original PS5 (digital version): 92mm x 390mm x 260mm
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PS5 Slim (digital version): 80mm x 358mm x 216mm
In other words, per Sony’s announcement blog post, that’s about a 30 percent reduction in total volume. That’s definitely an improvement, but there’s some important context missing in just those raw numbers. The Verge ran a digital size comparison and discovered that both new models are still substantially larger than the Xbox Series X.
In other words, this « slim » console is still pretty dang big.
For a visual comparison, check out this awesome PS5 Slim vs. Regular Reddit post.
PS5 vs PS5 Slim: Horsepower and storage
Another important aspect of the new PS5 models to get out of the way is that they have the exact same internal capabilities as the originals. This isn’t a PS4 vs. PS4 Pro situation. Games will run exactly the same across the spectrum of PS5 consoles.
One little internal bonus that owners of the new PS5s get, however, comes in the form of expanded storage. For some reason, the original PS5 only had 825GB of onboard storage, with the option to expand via external SSDs. The new ones have a full 1TB of built-in space, so you can install a few extra games depending on how big they are.
PS5 vs PS5 Slim: Disc drive
Just like at the PS5’s launch in late 2020, there are two PS5 Slim models. One of them has a built-in disc drive and the other one is digital-only.
Well, sort of, anyway. There’s an optional detachable disc drive you can buy for $79.99. This was actually rumored more than a year ago, but the PS5 models were expected to launch next year — not 2023.
PlayStation deals
PlayStation game deals
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PlayStation console deals
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PlayStation 5 Slim (non-bundle) — $499.99
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PlayStation 5 Slim + Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Bundle — $499.99
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PlayStation 5 Slim + Call of Duty Modern Warfare III Bundle — $499.99
PlayStation controller deals
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