For me, if I am going to choose, I will surely pick the best external SSD for my PS4, as capacity is not my concern. It's not that difficult, as it may seem, to get a PS4 compatible external hard drive. The PS4 external storage compatibility standards are met by most of the popular external hard drives of today. So, no worries at all. When it comes to using USB hard disks, SSDs or thumb drives with your PS4 or PS4 Pro there are two options: using a USB drive as extended storage or using a drive to back up your console's.
Almost everyone of us was there when he tried to download a new game for PS4 but got slapped hard on the face with a message indicating that PS4 system storage got full. This situation usually impelled users to thinking about how to increase PS4 storage. That way they won't have to deal with the storage deficiency issue anymore.
This situation is simply the result of having a small-size storage device inside PS4. Whether you own 500gb or 1tb, according to the modern storage requirements of standard users, this is not enough.
When it comes to increasing PS4 storage, users have two options only. Either to expand the existing storage capacity with an add-on storage; or replace and upgrade the whole PS4 storage device with a new different device. We'll be discussing both methods here in brief.
PS4 Storage Upgrade
If you want to increase both the storage and performance of PS4, the upgrade method is the way to go. PS4 storage upgrade doesn't mean only to expand the capacity of that storage, but also how that storage performs. This requires to totally replace the stock storage device of PS4 with a new and more powerful device.
In order to understand why PS4 storage upgrade method is our priority, you have first to get acquainted with the stock PS4 storage device. Afterwards you'll realize the need for a more powerful device if you care about enhancing your gaming experience with PS4.
PS4 Storage Device in Brief
PS4 utilizes a traditional mechanical hard disk drive (aka HDD) as its primary storage device. This hard drive features the following basic specifications. Which are:
- SATA II (revision 2.x) interface, formally known as SATA 3Gb/s. It is a second generation SATA interface running at 3.0 Gb/s. It was released in April 2004, which means it's a real old, outdated technology. The bandwidth throughput, which is supported by the interface, is up to 300MB/s.
- 2.5-inch form factor design. It came to be widely used for HDDs in mobile devices (laptops, music players, etc.) and for solid-state drives (SSDs), by 2008 replacing some 3.5 inch enterprise-class drives.
- 8mb cache memory. The cache memory or cache buffer is the embedded memory in a hard disk drive (HDD) acting as a buffer between the rest of the computer and the physical hard disk platter that is used for storage. Modern hard disk drives come with 8 to 256 MiB of such memory, and solid-state drives come with up to 4 GB of cache memory.
- 500gb or 1tb storage capacity. Depending on the PS4 version and model you have, the storage capacity is determined.
- 5400rpm Spindle Speed. This is the standard speed of modern mobile hard drives.
- Two Year Limited Warranty.
At the first glance, any computer savvy can easily remark that PS4 hard drive is a low-performance drive.
You can read more on PS4 storage device in this article. If you want to go into deeper details on PS4 hard drive specifications, please refer to this article.
Benefits of Upgrading PS4 Storage
Upgrading PS4 storage by replacing the stock hard drive with a newer and more powerful drive has several appealing benefits. That's why I prioritize it over the other method that just gives you more storage without any noticeable performance benefits.
There's only one major benefit of upgrading PS4 storage, that you get rid of the slow, unreliable PS4 stock hard drive in favor of a more powerful drive. This will enhance your gaming experience with PS4 and improve the performance of your console, beside getting more storage space. This is totally worth it if you do care about how your PS4 performs. Otherwise, the easiest and quickest way to get more storage for PS4 is just to add an external storage device. I have made a quick comparison between two methods in this article. Also, in our PS4 storage upgrade guide you'll find valuable information on this subject.
How to Upgrade PS4 Storage
In order to upgrade the internal storage of PS4, you need to prepare a few tools in hand first. These tools are:
Ps4 Ssd Upgrade
- The new compatible internal storage device. [Mandatory]. You can pick one from here.
- USB external storage (I recommend a flash drive). [Mandatory]
- USB External Hard Drive Enclosure. [Optional]This is to convert your NEW hard drive into an external storage for the purpose of backup. After the backup process completes, you have to connect the external hard drive to PC and transfer the backup file to your PC hard drive. Later, after you replace PS4 stock hard drive, go use it with the external hard drive enclosure and copy the backup files from your PC to it. Now connect it to your PS4 and perform a restore function.
- PS4 compatible screwdriver. [Mandatory] Kingsdun T8 T8H Torx Screwdriver works great for the purpose.
Once all tools are in hand, you're now ready for upgrading PS4 storage. But first, make sure to download the FULL package of PS4 System Software Update on your PC and save it to the USB storage. Be careful, it is the FULL package, not just the update patch.
Finally, watch the following video and carefully follow its instructions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbw-hUnBCek
PS4 Storage Expansion
The other method to increase PS4 storage is to expand it by adding an external storage device to your PS4. This is a very popular option among a wide variety of PS4 users. That's because it's the easiest and quickest way to get additional storage without going through the long process of PS4 HDD upgrade with the potential hassles users may go through.
On the other hand, this method, although being very easy, has its own disadvantages that dissuade professionals/enthusiasts from considering it as their favorite option. These disadvantages stem from connecting externally to PS4. It makes the external storage device more vulnerable to electrical shorts due to the use of a connection cable. Cable connection are less reliable than direct connection. This is more visible in USB-powered external hard drives. To avoid this to happen, you better go for an external SSD as they are very resistant to electric shocks and sudden vibrations.
Additionally, keeping your data externally subjects them to the risk of loss. That's either by a deliberate action of a human (kids for example) or unintentionally by dropping the external device on the ground. Therefore, this method needs extra care.
You can read more on the advantages and disadvantages of this method in this article.
When to Go for This Method
You can go for PS4 storage expansion in three cases:
- You already upgraded PS4 storage device but need more storage space. That's because the largest hard drive compatible with PS4 is 2tb. This is to some users still not enough and adding an external storage to PS4 features a good workaround.
- You're not qualified enough, or have no time to upgrade PS4 storage.
- You often share your games and play them on others' PS4 consoles. You need to login to your PSN account before being able to play these games on others' consoles.
I don't see any other reason that you want to go for PS4 storage expansion before upgrading it.
Conclusion
It's very easy to know how to increase PS4 storage. Whether it's through upgrading PS4 storage or just expanding it. Both methods are easy, although one is much easier than the other.
I always recommend to upgrade PS4 internal hard drive (hdd) before thinking about the other method. That's because you'll get much better performance with the new hard drive as well as additional storage.
At the end of the day, almost every PS4 user needs more storage space. Games are getting too large in size, and so are movies. What can 1tb do in this era for you after all? This question you only can answer.
Ssd Storage For Ps4 Console
One last statement here. If you have any question regarding PS4 storage, don't hesitate to leave a comment below and I will be more than pleased to answer as soon as possible.
PS5 storage support has certainly been a topic of conversation since the full PS5 review coverage went out. When it comes to internal and external PS5 storage options for expanding the internal 825GB PS5 SSD - only 667.2GB of which is actually accessible to players - it's actually quite restricted at launch. Let's take a quick run through what exactly the score is:
PS5 compatible SSD for internal upgrades
Ps4 Install Ssd
While there is an SSD storage expansion slot within the PS5 that will take M.2 SSD stick drives, Sony has said that the slot itself will be disabled at launch. Support for this slot will be added in a 'future update', according to Sony speaking to The Verge.
'It's likely to be a bit past [launch], so please hold off on getting that M.2 drive until you hear from us,' said PS5 architect, Mark Cerny in his GDC talk back in March.
In that same talk, Cerny explained that PS5 compatible SSD would need to deliver over 5.5GB/sec of bandwidth over a PCIe Gen4 connection, and be thin enough to fit into the PS5 SSD expansion bay. Of course, it will also need to be compatible with Sony's I/O Controller to boot, so it's definitely going to be quite a specific list when Sony does confirm the full spread of PS5 compatible SSD drives for internal upgrades.
PS5 external hard drive support
When it comes to PS5 external hard drive support, it's a little more complicated. From day one, you can plug any external hard drive into your PS5 and use it for additional storage. You can even take the hard drive you're using for PS4 and then just plug it straight into PS5. It'll recognise all your games and then queue up any patches or updates they might need - handy that.
I personally bought a brand new SSD - a 1TB Samsung option - to set up as a dedicated PS5 drive, and internally we've also tried a number of HDD drives, including those already stuffed with PS4 titles, so can confirm it's a seamless transition.
However, there's a catch. You currently cannot use these external hard drives to store any PS5 games - even on a suitably speedy external SSD. You can only move PS4 titles onto external drives on PS5 right now, meaning you'll need to keep any PS5 games you want to install strictly to the 667.2GB of internal storage.
According to Sony this again will be addressed in the future, but there's no timeline on that.
Best Ssd Drive For Ps4
What you can do though is make sure you head to the settings menu > Storage > Extended Storage and set all PS4 games to automatically install to the external drive (if you've got one connected), to make sure you're usually all that internal space for pure PS5 gaming.
For more information check out the below:
