What Type Of Hard Drive For Ps4

Is It Worth Upgrading To Ps4 Ssd

The PlayStation 4 is a home console from Sony Computer Entertainment. As we all know, it is usually shipped with a 500GB or 1TB mechanical hard drive disk. Some gamers are dissatisfied with its low capacity , while there are also some gamers are discontented with its slow speed. In a word, they want to upgrade the PS4 hard drive.

If you have a PS4 console and want to upgrade its hard drive, too, you may consider the following three choices: a larger HDD, a larger SSHD, or a faster SSD.

• HDD: It is the cheapest disk with the largest capacity. You can choose this one if you just want a larger hard disk to store your games.
• SSHD: No mater from which aspect you compare , it is a compromise between HDD and SSD. You can choose this one if you want a slightly larger capacity and a slightly smoother gaming experience while pay a slightly lower price.
• SSD: It is the most expensive, but it’s also the fastest one. You should choose this one if you want the smoothest gaming experience.

If you are considering PS4 SSD upgrade seriously, you may wonder about the following four questions:

Question 1 and 2: Will an SSD really boost your PS4 performance and how much game loading speed can it increase?

Fortunately, many users have made game loading speed comparison test between PS4 with an SSD on it and PS4 with the original HDD on it. They find that an SSD can definitely shorten the game loading time and boost the performance of the PS4, but in different degrees.

Choosing Best Hard Drive For Ps4 2022

Before going to the market to buy a product, some basic knowledge is needed so that your choice will be the best. As many users cant decide which product is best, we have some general tips to help you find the best outcome. Whether you are looking for an internal or external hard drive, you can make the final decision based on the following factors. Choosing an effect on these factors will be worthy of investment and will deliver outstanding performance.

Prepare Your Ps4 For The Update

Choosing the drive is the relatively straightforward part of the upgrade process. Next, comes actually preparing your PS4 for its little op.

Youll need to back up your saved game files before you start tinkering with the internal hard drive. Thats because once you install the new drive, youll need to start from scratch.

There are two ways of backing up your save files, along with any other content you want to keep, such as video clips and screenshots.The easiest option might be one youve already chosen. PlayStation Plus members can upload save files to the cloud, meaning you can download them right away when you boot up your upgraded hard drive.

Some of you will have this set up to happen automatically when your PS4 is in rest mode, meaning you can skip this step altogether.

You can check that by heading to Settings > Application Saved Data Management > Saved Data in System Storage > Upload to Online Storage. If any of your games listed in this section as a PlayStation Plus user say Off, their respective save games wont have been uploaded to the cloud.

To fix that go to Settings > Power Saving Settings > Set Functions Available in Rest Mode. In this menu, make sure the Stay Connected to the Internet option is ticked to perform background uploads in Rest Mode.

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The Bigger The Better

With storage cheaper than ever, wed urge you to buy the biggest external hard drive youre budget will allow. Theres no denying that doubling the consoles storage space sounds like a serious improvement, especially if you embark on a relentless uninstall purge every time you want to play a new game.

But the price difference between, say a 1 TB and 2 TB is often marginal. Even a tight budget doesnt preclude you from quadrupling the PS4s storage space. The dollar-to-GB ratio tends to drop drastically as the hard drive size increases. Although a little counter-intuitive, larger drives deliver more bang for your buck, despite the steeper list price.

There is a ceiling, though, at which point theres such a thing as too much space. The PS4 only supports external drives sized up to 8 TB. As for the lower limit, the console isnt compatible with hard drives smaller than 250 GB.

Ps4 Extended Storage Standards

The external hard drive you want to use as an extended storage on PS4 must conform to the following standards:

• Configured with USB 3.0 or Higher. Unlike the backup storage standard, PS4 system wont approve any external HDD as an extended storage unless it supports USB 3.0 connectivity.
• Capacity Ranges from Minimum 250gb to Maximum 8tb. Note that theres a limit on the minimum storage capacity, unlike the backup storage standard.
• No Hub Connection. Whether the USB hub is built in your external HDD or you just use an additional hub to connect to PS4, both wont work.
• Not a NAS drive. Network Attached Storage external hard drives are NOT supported by PS4. So just pick a regular USB drive instead.
• Wired Connection. PS4 system doesnt approve wireless external hard drives.
• Single-Layer drives. If a dual layer external hard drive connects to PS4, only the first layer will be recognized and the other PS4 system will ignore.
• Full Dedication. Note that PS4 system will totally format and encrypt your external hard drive with special file system that only works on PS4. So, unlike the backup storage solution, you cannot use this drive on a PC or MAC.

Once you find the drive that meets with all these standards, be sure its fully compatible for use on PS4.

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The Easy Way: How To Expand Your Ps4 Drive Via An External Usb 30 Hdd

The easiest way to increase the storage of your PS4, whether it be the original model, 2016 refresh or a PS4 Pro, is to add a USB 3.0 hard drive to your setup.

Any USB 3.0 drive will do the job and the PS4 supports drives up to 8TB in size.

We chose a dedicated PS4 edition of the Seagate Game Drive with 4TB of space. It’s great value at under £100 and is designed to match the PS4 perfectly.

Another great alternative is a WD_Black P10 Game Drive, which is specifically designed for gamers and costs only a little more for up to 5TB.

Whichever you choose, to get it work with your PS4, just plug it into any of the three USB 3.0 ports. We chose one of the rear ports to tuck it out of the way.

You then need to head to the Settings menu in order to format the drive to work as external storage. Head to Devices, then USB Storage Devices. You should see your new drive listed on the next screen.

The PS4 will automatically set your external drive to be the default to install games on.

If you want to use your internal drive instead, go back into the Settings menu, head to Storage and press Options. You will have the option to choose between the internal and external drive as the game installation location.

Solid State Hybrid Drive

This is an innovative solution thats made as a compromise between speed, capacity and price. With this hard drive solution youll get nearly the performance of SSD and the capacious space of HDD for an adequate price thats usually not $10 higher than a regular hard drive.

We have made a special article on PS4 SSHD and its great benefits it offers to its users.

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Why Upgrade Ps4 Hdd To Ssd

Updating PS4 SSD isnt easy because one has to buy new software and invest a little bit time in the research. Try to upgrade the powerful console with a genuine storage device. Lots of companies are out there that are delivering top-notch quality SSD storage devices. To upgrade the system quickly, it requires investing money storage device. Buying a genuine AAA beasts device and upgrade the PS4 console that can be great for you. After that, the user will able to store lots of games and can save the progress a little bit faster.

To upgrade properly, you need to invest money in the important SSD driver for the PS4. If you have 200GB additional storage space, then it will significantly improve the performance of the system. All you need to install almost 1TB capacity SSD in the device. There is a need to consider the following things while upgrading the PS4 SSD.

Megaz 1tb External Hard Drive

Our 1st pick for todays article is coming from quite a familiar brand name. The MegaZ Backup Slim Portable HDD comes in the standard 2.5 inches form factor and features a large 1 TB storage capacity.

This hard drive is compatible with many other systems apart from PS4 such as desktop computers, laptops, MAC, and even Xbox consoles. It is equipped with the universal USB 3.0 connectivity so that it makes it possible to download and install games at a blazing speed.

You will not be needing any external software for this to work as it is a simple plug and play type of hard drive. Also, it is quite slim in design with a thickness of just 1 cm.

Although, there is a sturdy and compact case that prevents the drive from accidental damage while providing you a comfortable grip on the drive. The default cable for this drive is 19 inches long and the product has a long 3 years of warranty period which is the best you can find in external hard drives.

Best Features:

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What Is On The External Hard Drive

You can download and install applications and add-ons to your external hard drive and add-ons where the related application is on the internal storage. Any updates will download to the same location as the corresponding applications. You cant store any screenshots or video clips on the extended storage.

Speaking Of The Storage

Nowadays, not just the speed, but storage is a big issue as games are getting bigger and bigger. For example, Mass Effect: Andromeda will take almost 50GB storage space on your PS4 hard drive. Thats just one game. Add your favorite titles as well, and you will find that the standard 500GB on your PS4 packed. Even if you have the PS Slim model or the 1TB PS4 Pro, it doesnt feel adequate. Those that often capture video know that better than anyone else.

If we sum up everything, and you still want the best possible hard drive for your PlayStation, then without a shred of doubt you need to get yourself the best SSD for PS4. The only drawback to buying a solid state drive is the price tag.

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Four: Freeing Up The Caddy

On the regular PS4 you’ll notice the hard drive is not yet in full view. There’s one screw we need to unscrew to release the frame that holds the hard drive, using a Phillips screwdriver.

It’s the largest one on the metal surface you’ll see, and is inlaid with the classic PlayStation button icons.

Once the screw is removed, you can just pull the drive caddy out horizontally from the PS4’s body.

To replace the hard drive in the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro, you’ll just need to unscrew the single screw that holds the caddy in place.

You will then be able to slide out the hard drive caddy.

The Need To Upgrade Ps4 Internal Hdd

Therere heaps of benefits you can bring to your PS4 console if its internal HDD is replaced with a newer and better drive. The reason behind it is that, unfortunately, the PS4 stock HDD is slow, small and outdated. Over time it will generate errors and become even slower than before, especially with the releases of new resource-demanding games/apps. For that big reason you see many PS4 users complaining of performance issues with their console, especially slowness and freeze.

You may be interested in reading more about why PS4 freezes and why the PS4 becomes slow to see how a bad internal PS4 hard drive can lead to that situation.

Note that although most of the PS4 performance issues are caused by a bad hard drive, one issue can be an exception here when the PS4 wont turn on, then thats usually something that has not to do with the hard drive.

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Best Internal Ps4 Hard Drive List

Below is a list that gathers all the drives we recommend for PS4. They are clickable and will take you immediately to the corresponding item once you click on them.

Note that most, not all, these drives come in a maximum 1tb storage capacity. We have placed a notice below each one clarifying whether theres a 2tb capacity available for that specific model or not.

These are the best PS4 hard drive replacements you can find on the market as of today. Remember that if you opt for an SSD, youll get the utmost out of your game console, and have a great drive in terms of performance, durability and speed.

Toshiba 2tb Ps4 Hard Drive

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. , a committed technology leader, produced a great PS4 hard drive replacement designed basically for use in notebook PCs, all-in-one and slim-line desktop systems, and other applications requiring high capacity storage and 2.5-inch mobile-class durability.

The MQ04ABD200 dual-disk model delivers 2tb of storage capacity in a compact 2.5-inch, 9.5mm height form factor. The drives 6 Gbit/s SATA interface and 5,400 rpm performance, combined with a large 128 MB buffer, result in a 34 percent increase in maximum transfer rates and a 50 percent improvement in power efficiency compared to Toshibas previous 1TB mobile-class model generation, MQ01ABD100.

You can use this drive as an external hard drive for PS4, it will work pretty well. Moreover Toshiba offers a 3-year limited warranty on this drive. This makes it a very appealing deal for PS4 users.

Basic Features

• Single-layer caching system

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Do Consoles Have Ssd Or Hdd

PS5 and Xbox Series X both come with SSD storage, but what does that actually mean for us? In the next-generation consoles, youll be able to store your game installs on SSD rather than a hard drive . Solid state drives, or SSDs, are faster than drives that are flash memory. In this way, game data can be loaded more quickly, which has a significant impact on the loading time of games.

Wd Black 2tb P10 Game Drive

Best for fast transfer of files.

The WD Black 2TB P10 Game Drives portable form factor is light in weight and easy for you to travel. The sleep metal top covering prevents from overheating and crashing while you are playing games. You can get a 3-year warranty from the manufacturer as well.

Technical Specifications:

Verdict: If you are looking for an external drive with a faster transfer speed, the WD Black 2TB P10 Game Drive is the best choice for you. It has a super speed interface of 5 Gbps which can quickly transfer files. The product also has a variable of size and formatting options.

Price: $54.99

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Top 11 Best External Hard Drive For Ps4

Read our review of the top External Hard Drive for PS4 and compare their features, etc. to identify the best PS4 Hard Drive:

Are you thinking about playing your favorite games on your favorite gaming console? A gaming experience in a PS4 is amazing. But, whats the use if you cannot store your favorite games? Thus, having an external hard drive will be helpful.

An external hard drive gives you the extra storage space you need, which will help you play your favorite game whenever you want. Having an external hard drive with maximum transmission speed will not decrease the refresh rate and allow you to get a fantastic game experience!

There are so many external hard drives available, and picking the best one out from them is an arduous task at hand. Thus, weve placed a list of the Top External Hard Drive for PS4 for you.

Scroll down below to pick your top choice.

What You Will Learn:

Ssds Vs Mechanical Hard Drives

Before we swapped out the PS4s hard drive with an SSD, we tested the hard drive that the system came with by measuring the amount of time the PS4 needed to boot up to the screen where the OS asks you to press the PS button on your controller. We tested it twice and got times of 27 seconds and 24.9 seconds.

Once we replaced the PS4s stock hard drive with an SSD, we ran the boot tests again and got boot times of 19.2 and 19.4 seconds with the SSD in there. So, boot-up is roughly 5-8 seconds faster with an SSD than with the mechanical hard drive that the PlayStation 4 ships with.

If you dont think thats significant, remember that loading save games, levels, and more will also get substantially faster. Over time, those shaved seconds will make your PS4 feel a lot faster.

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What Isnt On Extended Storage

Any themes and saved data will only save to the internal storage. You can only save screenshots and video clips to the internal system storage as well. If you think you will want to save many of these, then its probably best to keep your games and other applications saved to the external hard drive, so you have room.