Summary :
Are you considering replacing PS4 hard drive with an SSD? If so, you should read this post, in which MiniTool explains whether it is worth upgrading to PS4 SSD and recommends 4 suitable SSDs to you. In addition, it also shows you how to replace PS4 hard drive without data loss and how to dispose the old PS4 hard drive.
In terms of performance and price together, the top pick for PS4 console is Samsung 860 QVO SSD. The 860 QVO SSD features Samsung's newest V4 QLC V-NAND paired with the SATA interface and its well-established MJX controller, which makes the SSD maintain high speed and large capacity while lower the costs. Samsung 860 QVO SSD —The Best overall SSD upgrade for PS4, in terms of performance and price. Crucial MX500 SSD —Very good SSD option for PS4 if you don't like the one above. WD Blue 3D & SanDisk Ultra 3D SSD —Another PS4 SSD that can perfectly do the job. ADATA USA Ultimate Su800 —A budget SSD for PS4 that's worth considering.
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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 (comparing with the huge game library), 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 (price, speed, or capacity), 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.
When loading some games, an SSD can increase the loading speed by 50%. However, there are also some games whose loading time can only be shortened by a few seconds. It seems that the speed increase effect of SSD depends on the type of game you play. But apparently, the more maps the game needs to load, the more superior the SSD performs.
Question 3: Is it worthwhile to upgrade to PS4 SSD?
Some users may wonder whether it is worthwhile to install an SSD on PS4 console, because it just increases the speed by a few seconds while it is several times more expensive than mechanical hard drives.
For game lovers, it is certainly worth doing that. Imagine that it takes 1 minute for someone to enter the map each time, and you enter in 30 seconds without wasting time waiting. Not to mention downloading and installing the game.
Question 4: Is there any alternative to SSD?
As for alternatives, some people may recommend SSHD to you. But I think whether the SSHD is suitable for you depends on your actual demands.
If you just consider performance of PS4 console, SSHD is not suitable for you, because it just performs slightly better than an HHD but extremely worse than an SSD. If you are a gamer who has a huge number of games to play, it can't meet your demands.
If you want to save a little of money, I recommend you to install a small SSD on your PS4 console and then use an external hard drive to store more games.
This post introduces the new kind of hard drive, namely SSHD, and its differences with SSD and HDD. It also shows how to upgrade to SSHD with MiniTool Partition Wizard.
Recommendation: Best SSD for PS4
If you have decided to upgrade your PS4 to SSD, you may need some advice on best SSD for PS4. Then, in this part, I will explain PS4 SSD purchase principles and recommend four SSD series to you.
Purchase Principles
Ssd For Ps4 Pro
When you buy an SSD for PS4, PS4 Pro, or PS4 Slim, you should adhere to the following principles:
Interface: SATA III. Do not buy SATA II SSDs even though the PlayStation 4 comes with a SATA II, because SATA II SSDs need continuous maintenance handled by an exceptional software package, and degrade much quicker.
https://qvkp.over-blog.com/2020/12/open-hardware-resource-monitor.html. Size: 2.5 inches.
Thickness: Online 3d printer modeling. 7mm to 9mm.
Other factors: Apart from the above factors, the most important factors when choosing an SSD for PS4 are reliability and price. The reason lies in the PS4's SATA II interface, which makes it unable to fully benefit from the high speed of SSDs. Typically, any SSD with 3Gbps (which can be easily reached) transfer rate can maximize the overall performance of PS4.
1. Samsung 860 QVO
Interface: SATA 6 Gbps (SATA III).
Size: 2.5-inch.
Capacity: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB.
Hoi4 how to create faction. Sequential Read/Write Speed: Up to 550/520 MB/s.
Random Read/Write Speed: Up to 97K/89K IOPS.
Warranty: Five (5) Year Limited Warranty.
Price: Starting at $109 in Amazon.
In terms of performance and price together, the top pick for PS4 console is Samsung 860 QVO SSD.
The 860 QVO SSD features Samsung's newest V4 QLC V-NAND paired with the SATA interface and its well-established MJX controller, which makes the SSD maintain high speed and large capacity while lower the costs. Although the Samsung 860 QVO SSD doesn't have the highest performance, it will perfectly do its job inside PS4.
If you want to buy a Samsung SSD with a smaller capacity, you can choose Samsung 860 EVO SSD whose read and write speed is similar to the Samsung 860 QVO SSD's. The capacity of Samsung 860 EVO SSD ranges from 250GB to 4TB and it starts at $49.
2. Crucial MX500
Interface: SATA 6 Gbps (SATA III).
Size: 2.5-inch.
Capacity: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB.
Sequential Read/Write Speed: Up to 560/510 MB/s.
Random Read/Write Speed: Up to 95K/90K IOPS.
Warranty: Five (5) Year Limited Warranty.
Price: Starting at $44 in Amazon.
Crucial, a subsidiary of Micron, is a brand known for memory and storage for over a decade. Its MX500 SSD is one of the highest end SSDs in the SATA form factor and can compete at the higher end of consumer SSDs with brands like Samsung.
In addition, it is also one of the most affordable SSDs with high capacity available on the market at this moment, with a price of around 105 USD for 1TB capacity.
3. SanDisk Ultra or Western Digital Blue
Macos screen ruler. Interface: SATA 6 Gbps (SATA III).
Size: 2.5-inch.
Capacity: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB.
Sequential Read/Write Speed: Up to 550/525 MB/s.
Random Read/Write Speed: Up to 95K/84K IOPS.
Warranty: Five (5) Year Limited Warranty.
Price: Starting at $49 in Amazon.
Interface: SATA 6 Gbps (SATA III).
Size: 2.5-inch.
Capacity: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB.
Sequential Read/Write Speed: Up to 560/530 MB/s.
Random Read/Write Speed: Up to 95K/84K IOPS.
Warranty: Five (5) Year Limited Warranty.
Price: Starting at $49 in Amazon.
Good Ssd For Ps4
These two series are internally identical, although they have different brand names on them. The reason is that Western Digital acquired SanDisk in 2015.
Therefore, the similarities run deep between these two SSDs: the same BiCS 3 64-layer 3D flash, the same Marvell 88SS1074 4-channel controller, the same flash array, the same firmware, and the same performance specifications. The only difference between the two is the manufacturer's label.
If you want to purchase a new SATA SSD with a relatively large capacity and high speed for your PS4 console, you should take the WD Blue 3D NAND and Sandisk Ultra 3D SSD series into consideration. Video editing in adobe creative cloud.
This article explains how to measure disk performance and how to interpret the disk performance test result.
How to Upgrade to PS4 SSD
Simple png editor. If you have decided to upgrade to PS4 SSD, you should read the following content to know how to back up game data and replace the PS4 hard drive.
Here is the tutorial on how to back up game data and replace the PS4 hard drive:
Step 1: Prepare a drive that is large enough to store all the content of the original PS4 hard drive. Then, connect the drive to your Windows PC.
Step 2: Format the partition on the drive to FAT 32 or exFAT file system so that it can be recognized by the PS4. In this step, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard or Windows built-in tools to do that. Please refer to this post: How to Format External Hard Drive for PS4 Safely.
Step 3: Connect the formatted drive to your PS4 console and then back up your entire PS4 internal hard drive with all game, app, saved data, captures, and themes.
- Sync your Trophies by going to Trophies, pressing the OPTIONS button, and selecting Sync Trophies With PSN.
- From the PS4 Home screen, go to Settings > System > Back Up and Restore.
- Select Back Up PS4.
- Confirm which data you'd like to back up and then click the Next In this step, if you uncheck Applications, you'll need to download or reinstall them later.
- Click the Back Up button and then the PS4 will restart and complete the backup process.
Step 4: Disconnect the drive, turn off the PS4, and remove the hard drive cover. Then, replace the old hard drive with the new SSD.
Step 5: Install the PS4 system software on the new internal hard drive. To do that, you should download the system software to a USB drive, and then enter PS4 Safe Mode to initialize PS4 SSD. After that, plug the USB drive and update PS4 system.
Step 6: Restore data from the drive that contains the backed up data. To do that, you should connect the backup drive to the PS4 and navigate to Back Up and Restore again to choose Restore PS4 option. Then, select the backup file to restore.
PS4 can't read USB storage drive when plugging a USB flash drive to PlayStation 4? This post will provide you with solutions about 2 cases.
How to Dispose the Old PS4 Hard Drive
After upgrading the PS4 to SSD, how do you deal with the old PS4 hard drive? Some of you may want to use it as an external cold storage device to back up computer. The issue is that the PS4 uses a format not recognized by Windows.
If you connect the old PS4 internal drive to computer and open Disk Management, the PS4 drive will display weird partitions like the following picture:
If this problem is not solved, the drive won't appear in Windows Explorer and you can't use it. To solve this problem, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard. Please refer to the following steps:
Step 1: Free download MiniTool Partition Wizard. Launch it and go to its main interface. Then, right-click the PS4 drive and choose Delete All Partitions.
Step 2: Right-click the Unallocated space and choose Create. Then, follow the wizard to create a new partition.
Step 3: Click the Apply button to execute the above pending operations.
Now, the Windows can recognize the old PS4 hard drive and you can use it to store important data.
Do you often play PS4 game? Have you ever encountered some problems? This post will show you four frequently encountered problems and responding fixes.
Bottom Line
After reading this post, do you have any doubt or problem in upgrading to PS4 SSD or disposing the old PS4 hard drive? Please leave a comment below or email us at [email protected]. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
PS4 SSD FAQ
One of the best PS4 external hard drives is a near-vital accessory now as we enter the very peak fo the PS4's days. With more games, saves, data and screenshots and capture, than ever, you may find that your console's built-in storage won't cut it anymore. This will be acutely felt by those who may still joyously run a 500GB model. Regardless of size, however, our consoles can get full very quickly and one of the best PS4 external hard drives is an easy route out of that conundrum.
Some gamers prefer to get rid of games from the storage after completion - myself included - but others prefer to have everything to hand. And if you are of the latter disposition and require some extra storage, how do you choose which hard drive to go for? Well, that all depends on what you need and how big your budget it. The best way to narrow down your selection is deciding on how much capacity you need – naturally, the bigger the better generally applies, and getting the largest space for the lowest price should be your goal, but if you can roughly work it out, then you'll start to see your potential selection narrowed. However, there are also other factors to think about when making your final decision, such as portability, reliability, connectivity, and design.
Also, as we've heard, the PS5 will be ditching internal HDDs for a new SSD and this is actually something you can readily and easily do now: a PS4 SSD will decrease load times and make it faster to transfer your games and saves. They are more expensive, though recent times have seen a steady decline in their pricing. And remember, what with the internal PS5 SSD situation not being totally clear just yet, a PS4 external hard drive is actually a very safe bet right now to ensure you are well backed-up by the time the PS5 arrives.
Another thing to consider with the best PS4 external hard drive is. well, does it need to be external at all? As the PS4 design makes it easy for anyone to open it up and replace the internal hard drive and it won't void your warranty either.
All the external and internal HDD and SSD picks on this list are fully compatible with PS4 and PS4 Pro. Our price comparison charts have dug out the cheapest prices from the best retailers too. If you're thinking about upgrading your storage capacities on your other consoles, then be sure to check out our picks for the best Xbox One external hard drive and Nintendo Switch SD Cards.
PS4 external hard drives
The My Passport drive from Western Digital is one of the most reliable, convenient, and versatile HDDs you can buy. Anyone looking for a standard, reasonably priced PS4 external hard drive will be fine with this. It's USB 3.0 compatible, importantly, and only requires a quick reformat the first time you use it. It's small and sturdy too, about the size of a larger smart phone like the iPhoneX or the Galaxy S9 Plus, and the My Passport series is even styled to look a little like the PS4 console itself, so you should be able to slot it right into your set-up. The new aesthetic is arguably even more pleasing and brings further style to a quality HDD.
We'd go for the 4TB version, for several reasons. Right now, you see the biggest savings on the 4TB, and you tend to get better value the bigger the storage capacity. With 4TB, you've easily got space for 50+ AAA games, and loads more indies and smaller downloads from the PS Store. Essentially, this HDD will last you for about 2-3 years before you ever need to manage your storage, and that's with heavy use and loads of games installed on it. Definitely the best PS4 external hard drive today.
We recently changed our best budget pick for PS4 hard drives. Gone is the Canvio Basics, and newly arrived is the Canvio Advance - a superior drive, which performs as well as most other HDDs on this list but for a lower price. It's roughly the same cost as the Basics, but comes with a few extra tricks. The read and write speeds are marginally faster, and almost on a par with the WD MyPassport. However, the Canvio Advance comes with a two year warranty, and if you decide to start using it with your PC it has password protection and automatic back-up, which is lacking from the Basics model. The Advance also comes with a gloss finish, instead of the cheaper plastic matte of the Basics.
It's super easy to use - just plug into your PS4, and format it as extended storage. We have the red version, but the blue color actually fits in better with the PS4's aesthetic (it even has a glowing blue light when powered on). The Advance doesn't require an external power source, and just functions off the PS4 (or PC) USB 3.0 ports. Overall, it's a great device, and at less than $50 for the 1TB version it's a steal.
Increase your storage again with this ridiculously well priced 6TB offering from Seagate. It's slick, slim and you can get versions from 2TB upwards - although this 6TB model represents the best value for money. It's a simple plug and play setup on two counts: mains power; and USB 3.0. The latter being excellent for transferring speedily. The price is kept low by the fact this is a standard HDD, so read speeds won't be as fast as the SSD hard drives like the Samsung. If you get a 6TB drive. that'll probably store between 80-100 PS4 games, so you'll never need to worry about space again.
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We've found the WD Black P10 hard drive to be a really solid semi-rugged portable option for external storage for consoles. It might not be as tough as the ArmorATD below, but you certainly get a really sturdy drive for your money - without paying for that bonafide ruggedness and durability.
In terms of performance the hard drive runs cool (and quietly too), even with multi-hour sessions of work copying over and downloading a library's worth of games. The transfer and data speeds you get are not mind-blowing, but team its work ethic with that consistency and get a really reliable drive. A really solid option from a reputable maker, perfect to store the backlog on as we rumble toward the end of this generation.
Seagate's beautiful limited edition external PS4 hard drive comes with branding for The Last of Us Part II along with a laser-etched fern pattern design that matches Ellie's tattoo from Naughty Dog's excellent game. Let's be clear though, this product does not include the game or any form of digital or physical extras based on the game - a bit of a missed opportunity.
Seagate is an excellent brand in the hard drive market though and makes some of the most reliable drives on the market. You can run this alongside your PS4 or PS4 Pro's internal drive and even set it as your default to download items to first if you like. It runs super quietly and you'll fit more than 50 games on here (assuming an average size of 39GB). Look around this page though, and you'll find models with more storage for less money per gigabyte, especially as the Limited Edition nature of this external PS4 hard drive is making it harder to find at a low price. But damn, none of them look this good.
If you're looking for another safe pair of hard drive-shaped hands to plug in and out of your PS4, and take wherever you go, then the ArmorATD from G-Technology is a fine model to consider. It's seriously tough and feels incredibly solid in your hands, and can withstand, well, a great many thing. But to put it simply, it is: rain resistant; dust resistant; and crush resistant (up to 1000lbs). The latter stat in particular means you can have total confidence in the drive even if it were to fall out of bags or pockets and have to endure a big and bouncy fall. The shock mounts, solid aluminum enclosure, and protective rubber bumpers see to this HDD being a super well protected drive. If you like to err on the side of caution or want to take a belt and bracers approach to ensuring your PS4 external drive is safe then this is the one to go for. (Note: it's sometimes referred to as the 'G-Technology 4 TB ArmorATD All-Terrain Drive'.)
The rise of the SSD (Solid State Drive) is extremely well documented on PC, and it's now commonplace to see an SSD in all gaming laptops and gaming PCs. However, SSDs are less well established in the console space, but do offer big benefits over regular HDDs. The only problem is, you guessed it, the price. Even one of the cheaper SSDs, like our top pick, this WD My Passport SSD is still three times the asking price of a regular 1TB HDD. So what do you get?
Well, read and write speeds are significantly quicker, so if you're using this SSD as extended storage, or for copying files to and from your PS4, you'll notice a big difference in how long it takes. While WD claims higher, you'll get write speeds of about 300Mbps, and read speeds of 390Mbps via the USB connection. For reference, the WD My Passport HDD manages about 120-130 for both these speeds. This does cut game load times, and will boost the speeds of your transfers, but won't chop them in half. What's more, the WD is better value than its competitors, which is why it's our pick here. Overall, this is a great PS4 SSD option. if you can afford it.
The Samsung T5 remains one of the best SSD drives you can get, and if you're looking for slightly superior performance over the WD My Passport SSD, this is the one to get. However, it comes at a slightly higher price too, so you constantly have to weigh that against what you actually get. Both read and write speeds come out marginally quicker with the T5.
There's no doubt the Samsung looks the part, and it's both compact and durable, making it ideal if you're carrying PS4 games and files between locations. However, because the performance isn't hugely different to the WD, it's probably not worth getting the Samsung if you're simply using it as extended storage and not taking it with you. We've included the Samsung T5 here because, technically, it offers the best performance of all the PS4 hard drives we've tested, but because it doesn't offer the same value for money as other SSDs or the regular HDDs, it's tough to recommend unless you find a sweet deal and get serious money off.
PS4 internal hard drives
If you're looking for a more permanent solution to your PS4's storage, the Seagate Firecuda is the SSHD to pick. It's a 2.5' drive, so it'll fit neatly into your console (doubling the storage of your PS4 Pro, and potentially quadrupling the size of a regular 500GB model), and Seagate is a big, well-established name in PC HDDs, so this model is always going to be reliable and efficient.
While most now choose external PS4 hard drive storage, as you can set-up an external HDD as extended storage, there's a lot to be said for keeping a clean gaming set-up by having an internal drive. What's more, the Firecuda offers better read and write speeds than a standard HDD, which means you get near-SSD performance at a cheaper price. That's common sense, right there. Check our video above for learning how to install an internal SSHD into your console.
Now is the time to swap an SSD into your PS4 Pro. With the price of SSDs constantly tumbling, thanks to a vibrant PC market, drives like the brilliant Samsung EVO 860 are now affordable and easy to use. When it comes to SSDs, the EVO series has long been the gold standard, and the 860 EVO replaces the 850 series, thanks to superior performance and more modern design and parts. It's actually cheaper than most 850s now too.
While the EVO is mid-range in terms of price, it's one of the best SATA drives for performance, putting it ahead of rivals like Crucial and WD Blue in terms of value. What's more, you'll often find the EVO series on sale via sites like Amazon, so you'll rarely pay full price for it. SSD speeds are x3-4 quicker than those of HDDs, and while there are a number of other factors at play when it comes to console gaming, you will notice a boost in performance with a pure, internal SSD. What's more, this is actually a cheaper option than buying an external SSD drive for your PS4. Highly recommended.
The Seagate 1TB Gaming SSHD offers some of the improvements granted by a full SSD (shorter load times, faster installs, etc) without the enormous markup. The caveat, of course, is that since this SSHD does also rely on a physical disk spinning at 5400RPM, the improvements may not be as dramatic as with a traditional SSD. In practice though, this isn't that huge of a concession to make for the money you're saving, as different games will/won't take advantage of your drive's enhanced capabilities on a case-by-case basis. Regardless, this drive will double your storage capacity and in many cases increase performance, which are great benefits to walk away with for less than $100/£100.
