Ps4 Passport Hard Drive

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© Provided by GamesRadar The best PS4 external hard drives for 2020
  • Best external hard drive and SSD for 2021: Mac, PC, PS4 and Xbox. Need a backup option - or just more space? Here are our top picks for external storage options. WD My Passport Ultra USB-C.
  • 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.

Buy WD 4TB My Passport USB 3.0 External Hard Drive for PS4 featuring Designed for the Sony PlayStation 4, Designed for the Sony PlayStation 4 Pro, Store up to 100 PS4 HD Games, Store up to 40 PS4 Pro 4K Games, 4TB Storage Capacity, Micro-USB 3.0 Interface, Bus Powered, Blue LED, Includes USB 3.0 Cable. Review WD My Passport.

Yes, we know it's not the most glamorous of gaming tech purchases but adding one of the best PS4 external hard drives to your gaming set up is a very wise move indeed. Particularly if you're a keen downloader and keeper of games, apps, data, and media, you may find that your console's built-in storage will get full quickly. Nobody wants to be scrabbling around trying to free up space when you could be spending that time playing your games instead.

Some people prefer to get rid of games from the storage after completion - myself included - but some 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 HDDs for SSDs and this is actually something you can readily and easily do for your PS4 external hard drive right now. SSDs decrease load times and make it faster to transfer your games and saves. However, they are (mostly) a bit dearer, though recent times have seen a steady and general decline in their pricing.

Another thing to consider with the best PS4 external hard drive is... well, does it need to be external at all? As the PS4 is built to be quite agreeable upon closer, internal exploration and inspection, it's very possible that you can simply remove your console's existing hard drive, and substitute it out for an internal option of your choosing. This is a bit of a bigger job than just plugging an external like the Toshiba Canvio Advance in, and then promptly forgetting about it. However, it's worth considering so we've listed some below. While the necessary tinkering means a bit more work to get them in, the pay off is considerable: you get a tidier set-up; internal SSDs are a bit cheaper than external SSDs; and you get that sweet payoff in terms of speed at the end of it all. So if speed is a concern, this is something to consider. Finally, think about reliability - all our HDDs have been tested and they're as reliable as HDDs get, so even if they're slightly more expensive than some brands, the extra money is worth it to remove any risk of losing all your data.

All the external HDDs on this list are full compatible with PS4. They're also listed with the cheapest price today, so you know you're getting decent value.

PS4 external hard drives

1. WD My Passport 4TB Portable Hard Drive

The best PS4 external hard drive - storage and reliability on a budget

Capacity: 4TB | Storage Type: HDD

Really great price
Not quite as fast as SSD

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.

2. Toshiba 1TB Canvio Advance

The best budget PS4 hard drive option

Capacity: 1TB | Storage Type: HDD

Decent transfer speeds
Is 1TB enough for you?

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.

3. Seagate Expansion 6TB HDD

The best for big storage

Capacity: 6TB | Storage Type: HDD

Holy hell, that's a lot of storage

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. There's no need for any mains cables either, just plug and play, and USB 3.0 will keep things 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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4. WD Black P10 1-5TB Game Drive

Capacity: 1-5TB | Storage type: : HDD

Great portable size
3-year warranty
'Only' normal speeds

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.

5. ArmorATD 4TB

The best tough and resistant portable HDD

Capacity: 4TB | Storage Type: HDD

Incredibly reliable
Great connectivity
Boring design

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'.)

6. WD My Passport SSD 1TB

The best external SSD, for those on a bigger budget

Capacity: 1TB | Storage Type: SSD

Easy to set-up
More expensive than HDD

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.

7. Samsung SSD T5 500GB

A great alternative SSD from one of the biggest names in storage

Capacity: 500GB | Storage Type: SSD

External hard drive for ps4
Very reliable
Expensive compared to HDD

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.

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PS4 internal hard drives

1. Seagate FireCuda 2.5' 2TB SSHD

The best internal HDD you can buy

Capacity: 2TB | Storage Type: SSHD

Four times the size of the standard PS4 hard drive
More expensive than traditional HDD

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.

2. Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SSD

The best internal SSD for PS4

Capacity: 1TB | Storage Type: SSD

Reliable and comes with a warranty

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.

3. Seagate 1TB Gaming SSHD ST1000LM014

Capacity: 1TB | Storage Type: SSHD

SSD-like performance without the SSD price
5400RPM spindle speed

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.

Summary :

If you are a game lover, and you have downloaded many games on your PS4, you may feel that your device is running out of space. In this case, you can upgrade your internal hard drive to a larger one or add an external hard drive to your PS4. MiniTool Solution will help you learn the difference between the two options.

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Two Options for Increasing the Storage Capacity of PS4

PlayStation 4, which is also known as PS4, is one of the most popular game consoles in the world. There are three versions of PS4:

  • PlayStation 4: The original version that is announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in 2013.
  • PlayStation 4 Sim: A smaller version of the console.
  • PlayStation 4 Pro: A high-end version which features an upgraded GPU and a higher CPU clock rate.

Generally, the capacity of PS4's original hard drive is 500GB or 1TB.

You may think that the storage of the two versions is large enough, but the truth is that the game size is dramatically increasing and some games have been up to 80GB. With a slew of AAA memory-hungry games like The Outer Worlds, Cyberpunk 2077, Borderlands 3 and so on, your console is going to need more capacity to store your games.

If you are a game enthusiast, it's time to extend the storage of your PS4.

There are two options for you if you decide to increase your game console's storage capacity.

The first is to add an external hard drive for PS4. The second option is to upgrade your internal hard drive for PS4.

You may be confused on which option is better. In this post, you can know the advantages and disadvantages of using the internal and external hard drive for PS4 to get additional storage. As well, you can find the right hard drive for PS4 according to your demands here.

Do you know how to safely remove some games from your PS4? This article shows you 3 different ways to do that to free up space.

When to Choose an Internal Hard Drive for PS4

Generally, you'd better upgrade the internal hard drive for PS4 first. Then if you still want more storage space, you can go for an external hard drive. But you can also choose to upgrade the internal one or use the external one according to your needs.

Keep reading to know the advantages and disadvantages of upgrading the PS4 internal hard drive.

The Pros

  • You may get noticeable improvement of performance and reliability. After you upgrade the internal hard drive with a better SSD or HDD, you can feel real improvements in your gaming experience with PS4. Your operating system can boot faster and your games will launch in a shorter time.
  • Everything is done in-house. It means you don't need to add an external hard drive to your PS4 which might be uncomfortable in some situations. If you upgrade the internal hard drive, your storage device will be in a safe place and not vulnerable to external factors that may do harm to it.
  • If you have the standard model of PS4, you can upgrade the internal hard drive up to 8TB capacity.

The Cons

Actually, the major disadvantages come from the upgrade process. Let's look at them one by one.

  • The PS4 hard drive upgrade process may cost you a long time (at least one and a half hour).
  • You need to back up data in your PS4 and then restore it on the new hard drive.
  • You need to reinstall the PS4 system software.
  • It could be a more expensive choice than add an external hard drive to your PS4, because you need to buy additional tools, such as a USB flash drive, a screwdriver and an external hard drive enclosure.

The Best Internal Hard Drive for PS4

If you decide to upgrade the internal hard drive for PS4, you may wonder what hard drives are compatible with it. In the following context, you can know 3 best internal hard drives for your PS4.

Seagate BarraCuda: the Most Money-saving Hard Drive

If you need to upgrade the internal hard drive to add extra storage space to your PS4, the Seagate BarraCuda is going to be a good choice. It only cost you about $53. However, it has the same spin rate as the original PS4 HDD, which means it doesn't provide a lot of extra speed improvement.

Some of the benefits of BarraCuda are as follows:

  • The BarraCuda hard drive comes with 64 MB Cache.
  • Storage options rangefrom 500GB to 4TB.
  • It's a quiet hard drive.
  • You will get two years limited warranty.
  • It has 250 MB/s transfer rate.
  • Price: $53.04 for 1TB.

If you are looking for a low-cost hard drive for PS4, this one is that you should take into consideration.

Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSHD

Solid state hybrid drives are the combination of SSD (the faster storage medium) and HDD (with higher capacity). An SSHD can add quite a bit of speed to your system and give you smoother gameplay with less frame rate drops.

Here are some benefits of this SSHD:

  • You don't need to cost too much (list price: $94.99).
  • The loading speed can be up to five times faster than your original PS4 hard drive.
  • It has better performance with 8 GB SSD cache memory.
  • It hasall of the benefits of BarraCuda.

This FireCuda SSHD is specifically designed for gaming users.

WD Black Performance Desktop HDD: Largest Capacity

If you are playing many games, you may want as much storage space as possible on your PS4. The WD Black is a 6 GB hard drive with a faster spindle rate than the original PS4 drive.

Let's see more features of the WD Black Performance Hard Drive:

  • You can get five-year manufacturers limited warranty.
  • It serves premium data protection.
  • You will get the Cross Shippingservice (if you have an issue with the drive WD will ship you the replacement that day).
  • It has 7200 RPM spindle rate.
  • Price: $299.99.
Tip: Only PS4 CUH-1200 and higher version can accommodate this large hard drive. If you have a PS4 below CUH-1200, you should get a 4GB WD Black Performance Hard Drive or smaller one.

How to Upgrade the Internal Hard Drive in PS4

After you buy the right hard drive for PS4, you can start upgrading your internal hard drive. Here is the tutorial on how to upgrade your PS4 hard drive.

Move One: Back up Your Data in PS4

Step 1: Download MiniTool Partition Wizard on your computer.

Step 2: Prepare an external hard drive which is large enough to store all the data in your PS4 and connect it to the computer. Then launch MiniTool Partition Wizard.

Step 3: Right-click the external hard drive and choose Format. Follow the instructions to format your hard drive to exFAT.

Tip: You can also format the external hard drive to FAT32, but you'd better format it to exFAT to store programs larger than 4GB.

This article aims to help users select an external hard drive for PS4 and format it to increase its storage when they find insufficient storage space on PS4.

Step 4: Unplug the hard drive from your PC and connect it to PS4 after you format it. Go to Settings > System > Back up and Restore > Back up PS4 to back up all the data in the original internal hard drive of PS4.

Move Two: Replace the Hard Drive in PS4

Step 1: Disconnect the external hard drive and shut down PS4. Then open the hard drive cover and replace the old drive with a new one.

Step 2: Install the PS4 system software with a USB flash drive.

Tip: You can download the latest PS4 system software from the website.

Step 3: Connect your backup drive to PS4 and navigate to Back Up and Restore > Restore PS4 to restore the data you have backed up. When it's completed, disconnect the external hard drive.

Once it's done, you can use the new and larger hard drive to install everything you want (like games and apps) without concern about the storage.

You can know the detailed information about upgrading PS4 hard drive in the following article: Best SSDs for PS4 and How to Upgrade to PS4 SSD.

When to Choose an External Hard Drive for PS4

Ps4 Passport Hard Drive Replacement

Using an external hard drive for PS4 is a time-saving way which can be finished in 10 minutes. If you want an easy method to get more storage, you can choose this option. And you'd better know more pros and cons of adding an external hard drive before you make a decision.

The Pros

  • It is the easiest and quickest way to expand PS4 storage. You don't need to take off the internal hard drive and replace it with a new one, and you can also get rid of the complicated process of upgrading the internal hard drive (such as back up data and reinstall PS4 system software). So, you will save a lot of time.
  • You are able to share your games installed on the external hard drive with your friends.
  • You don't need any kind of hardware modification. It's just a plug-in solution and there will be no screws removed or cover opened.

The Cons

  • It may be easy to lose and vulnerable to damage if you choose an external hard drive for PS4.
  • It occupies extra space on the table.
  • It doesn't offer any remarkable performance improvement as the internal hard drive upgrade solution does.

You can take these pros and cons into consideration when you decide to expand the storage of your PS4.

In short, if you want better performance, you can upgrade the internal hard drive. If you want to save time, you can choose to add an external hard drive for your PS4.

The Best External Hard Drive for PS4

Cheap Ps4 Hard Drive

If you choose to buy an external hard drive for PS4, you can find 3 best hard drives which are compatible with your PS4 in this article.

WD My Passport Portable Hard Drive

  • It has a 4TB capacity but it's not as fast as SSD.
  • It has a great price (less than $149.67).
  • It gets great transfer speeds.
  • It's small (like iPhone X) and sturdy.
  • It's USB 3.0 compatible.
  • You will get 3-year manufacturer's limited warranty.
  • It only needs to be formatted the first time you use it.

Toshiba Canvio Advance

  • It has 1TB capacity.
  • It offers decent transfer speeds (up to 5 Gb/s). The read and write speeds are marginally
  • It doesn't require an external power source.
  • You can save money (at less than $50) if you choose this one.
  • You will get 2 year standard limited warranty.

WD My Passport SSD

  • It has 1TB capacity.
  • It is easy to set-up.
  • It comes with brilliant read/write speeds (540 MB/s) but higher price ($139.99).
  • It serves password protection with hardware encryption.

After knowing these external hard drives, you can choose one you prefer according to your needs.

This article introduces some great 8TB external hard drives and some easy and effective ways to manage them.

How to Connect an External Hard Drive to PS4

In this part, you can know how to connect an external hard drive to PS4.

Step 1: Update the system of PS4 to version 4.50 or later, or your PS4 won't support adding the external hard drive to it.

Step 2: Format your external hard drive for PS4 to exFAT.

Step 3: Plug the external hard drive into PS4 directly through the USB port.

Step 4: Set this external hard drive as the default location for all of your downloads.

Then you can store games and applications on the external hard drive.

Ps4 Passport Hard Driver

This article gives a detailed introduction to 'PS4 hard drive size'. Furthermore, it states how to upgrade PS4 hard drive without data loss.

Bottom Line

You may be hesitate to make a decision between replacing the hard drive in PS4 and adding an external hard drive. After knowing the pros and cons of the two options, you can choose the right one according to your needs.

Feel free to choose a great hard drive for your PS4 and expand the storage of it.

If you have questions or better ideas for this topic, you can post in the comment section. If you are confused about MiniTool Partition Wizard, you are welcome to contact us via [email protected].





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