I opted for the 1TB version over the 4TB (couldn’t stomach the nearly $800 for something that should be half the price within the next 12-18 months).
I am surprised at how well the side panels “pop” off and “snap” back into place. I was afraid of scarring the black inner body as I had seen some real botched panel removal/installs on various forums, thankfully not the case for me.
after powering the PS5 back on, I was greeted with the option to format, proceeded and then was greeted with a speed test of around 4800MB/s. That threw me off a little bit, so I decided to reformat it again, and on the second try it reported a speed of around 5500MB/s.
just my observation.
finally. I can now install COD. (/s).