Do try this at home
Are you tired of deleting games from your PS4 library? Then it may be time to upgrade your hard drive.
Some games - we’re looking at you, Red Dead Redemption 2 - require over 100GB of hard drive space. And with only 500GB of storage on the standard PS4, PS4 Slim and 1TB on PS4 Pro, it doesn’t take long before you quickly run out of room.
There’s another reason why you may want to upgrade, too, beyond adding additional storage space. You might want to increase performance speed with a faster hard drive or go nuclear with an SSD.
There are two ways to expand your hard drive capacity on PS4: replace the internal drive or attach an external hard drive. External hard drives tend to be cheaper than the high capacity 2.5-inch drives required for an internal storage upgrade, but remember they’ll require one of the PS4's three USB ports.
Either way, we’ll show you how to upgrade your PS4’s hard drive in this easy-to-follow guide that covers all the PS4 systems and storage options available. And don’t worry, replacing the internal drive will not void your warranty.
Along with this detailed guide, we've also produced a video that will show you everything you need to know about upgrading your PS4's hard drive.
Check our picks of the best external hard drives available (just make sure you pick a USB 3.0 drive) and our list of best internal desktop and laptop hard disk drives to find a good hard drive for your PlayStation 4 console.
Want to upgrade your PS3's HDD? We've done the same with Sony's older console, the PS3. And if you own both you can even use your PS4's old HDD in its daddy.
If you've upgraded your original PS4's hard drive but now you want to move it over to your brand new PS4 Pro, you can absolutely do this. Just be aware that the system will format the drive so make sure you back all your saved data up to either the PS Plus Cloud or an external hard drive before you do anything else to keep it safe.
The best hard drive upgrades for PS4
Before taking your PS4 apart, check out our selection of the best hard drives for your PS4, which we've listed below. No matter what your needs, we have a hard drive that will give your PS4 a boost, and they're all compatible with Sony's console.
The best all-round hard drive upgrade for the PS4
Seagate 1TB SSHD
If you want a hard drive that offers capacity and speed without costing a fortune, then you're going to want a hybrid SSHD.
This combines some of the best technology from SSDs (Solid State Drives) and standard hard drives, and by installing the Seagate 1TB SSHD your PS4 will get a speed boost – so games load faster – while also getting plenty of space thanks to its 1TB capacity.
The best SSD upgrade for PS4
Crucial MX300
Solid State Drives, or SSDs for short, have fast become one of the most cost-effective upgrades you can make to a PC, and to a certain extent that's true of the PS4 as well.
SSDs are much faster than conventional mechanical hard drives, and as such they have the potential to massively reduce load times in games, meaning you can jump into the action as quickly as possible.
They do, however, have a couple of downsides.
First is the fact that SSDs are significantly more expensive than their mechanical equivalents. Fast loading doesn't come cheap.
Secondly, SSDs have a much more limited impact on load times on PS4 as they do on PC. They certainly speed things up a little, but it's a case of reducing a load time by ten seconds or so rather than making games load instantaneously.
A Digital Foundry analysis of load times across the PS4 and PS4 Pro found that SSDs offered load time advantages of between 0.9 seconds on Project Cars and 26.4 seconds for Fallout 4 on the stock PS4. An improvement certainly, but not the biggest one in the world.
An SSD upgrade is slightly more beneficial on the PS4 Pro, which boasts a higher bandwidth SATA 3 interface, but even then the difference made to Just Cause 3 was minimal.
Personally we think these results mean that an SSD upgrade isn't essential, but if you do want to make the switch, you don't have to opt for the fastest performing SSD. Our choice if you want a hard drive that's decent without breaking the bank is Crucial's MX300. Opt for a 1TB version if you want to keep your PS4's storage the same, or the 2TB version if you don't mind paying a hefty premium.
The best all-round hard drive upgrade for the PS4
Seagate 1TB SSHD
If you want a hard drive that offers capacity and speed without costing a fortune, then you're going to want a hybrid SSHD.
This combines some of the best technology from SSDs (Solid State Drives) and standard hard drives, and by installing the Seagate 1TB SSHD your PS4 will get a speed boost – so games load faster – while also getting plenty of space thanks to its 1TB capacity.
The best SSD upgrade for PS4
Crucial MX300
Solid State Drives, or SSDs for short, have fast become one of the most cost-effective upgrades you can make to a PC, and to a certain extent that's true of the PS4 as well.
SSDs are much faster than conventional mechanical hard drives, and as such they have the potential to massively reduce load times in games, meaning you can jump into the action as quickly as possible.
They do, however, have a couple of downsides.
First is the fact that SSDs are significantly more expensive than their mechanical equivalents. Fast loading doesn't come cheap.
Secondly, SSDs have a much more limited impact on load times on PS4 as they do on PC. They certainly speed things up a little, but it's a case of reducing a load time by ten seconds or so rather than making games load instantaneously.
A Digital Foundry analysis of load times across the PS4 and PS4 Pro found that SSDs offered load time advantages of between 0.9 seconds on Project Cars and 26.4 seconds for Fallout 4 on the stock PS4. An improvement certainly, but not the biggest one in the world.
An SSD upgrade is slightly more beneficial on the PS4 Pro, which boasts a higher bandwidth SATA 3 interface, but even then the difference made to Just Cause 3 was minimal.
Personally we think these results mean that an SSD upgrade isn't essential, but if you do want to make the switch, you don't have to opt for the fastest performing SSD. Our choice if you want a hard drive that's decent without breaking the bank is Crucial's MX300. Opt for a 1TB version if you want to keep your PS4's storage the same, or the 2TB version if you don't mind paying a hefty premium.
External HDD Support
With the PS4 4.5 firmware update, you'll have another way to expand your console's memory – using an external hard drive.
To use this method, make sure you have an external hard drive of no more than 8 TB with a USB 3.0 connector.
Then simply connect the drive to your console and you'll be able to download, save and install games, apps and add-ons directly onto it. You can also move any files you've previously saved onto the console's internal hard drive over to the external drive to stay organised.
When you connect your external drive, it'll be accessible from the PS4 home screen just like your internal drive so finding everything is a straightforward process.
The best external hard drive for your PS4
Western Digital My Passport 4TB
The newest Western Digital My Passport range of external hard drives is here and it's available in sizes 1TB to 4TB. It features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WD's own backup software.
Even better, it performs very well when it comes to data transfer speeds, beating many of its competitors. It's not quite at the same speed levels SSDs are capable of, but for an external drive based on a traditional HDD this is your best option.
This is older than our previous suggestion but it also boasts more storage for the price you pay – perfect if you really want to take advantage of that generous 8TB limit. In fact, you can expect to shell out just under £20 per TB if you're in the UK or a little less than $24 in the US.
The Seagate 5TB Expansion has 64MB of cache and demands an external power supply unit to get it going.
This drive is ideal for gamers as it complements quite nicely the internal storage of gaming consoles like the PS4.
Conclusion
Is upgrading your PS4 hard drive worth doing? Absolutely. It's easy, takes less than half an hour - if you're quick - and is relatively inexpensive: around the price of a brand new game. It doesn't even invalidate your warranty - it's as though Sony is willing you to do it!
The only question as of the arrival of the 4.50 firmware is whether to opt to upgrade the internal hard drive or go external.
Larger external hard drives are certainly cheaper, but you'll need to find space for them and remember to take them with you whenever you move your console.
However, whichever decision you make, you'll be happy with the expanded space.
For enthusiast gamers, you'll no longer have to delete games to make space for the new additions to your library. Just think about it: most games take up 40GB these days, even when you're running off the disc. With 500GB you just can't store that many games.
Upgrade to an SSD or high-speed HDD and you'll also see significant improvements in load times and, in some titles, texture pop-in during the game itself. It's a no-brainer.
