Why you need to buy a 2TB hard drive for PS4

What is PlayStation 4 list some of the main reasons why you'll want to upgrade your PS4 hard drive to 2TB sooner than later.

[nX]

1TB SSHD > 2TB HDD

[svoulis]

I have a 1TB Hybrid drive or SSHD, and its not worth it over double the storage, you shave maybe 1-5 seconds loading times on some games others aren't effected. That is because the way the caching works on the drive.

If I could I would replace my 1TB drive with a 2TB as i am more than half full with the games I own (mainly digital) and its not even a year in yet :D.

[nX]

Two reasons why I disagree:
1) I buy every game digitally and I use the share button very often and I still have lots of space available, 1TB is more than enough.

2) My brother has a PS4 with the stock HDD and I can assure you that it takes much longer to boot it up and especially in Destiny I've noticed some major differences in loading times.

Also watch some comparisons, you'll see that SSHD's are the best value for your money. The 2TB HDD is 50 bucks pricier than my 1TB SSHD.

[Baka-akaB]

I disagree , it's definitively not worth it and the cost , on console . especially if the best you can come up with is one game with notorious loading issues .

On pc going SSD ? great , on current and previous consoles ? Nope

I capture a lot of videos on ps4 .. and most of my current games are digital , i'm still doing fine on 1TB drive ... and would manage on the stock hdd .

That being said , i wouldnt be caught buying movies from the ps store

[ipach]

some 2TB drives can actually outperform 1TB SSHDs because the platters are 'bigger' and more data dense, allowing faster reads. the <$100 seagate portable external is an even cheaper option (you hack it open and pop out the SATA 2.5" HDD inside).

[XtraTrstrL]

@Baka-akaB,

"it's definitively not worth it and the cost, on console ."

What are you talking about? The price difference is almost negligible. You must be confusing SSHD for SSD, the H stands for Hybrid. You're only saving a few bucks by going with HDD over SSHD. I'm just waiting for the 2TB SSHDs in 2.5in size to become more widely available. It's definitely worth it to go with SSHD over HDD, for the huge boot-up speed boost alone almost.

[svoulis]

Yes 50$ for an entire TB more vs the initial cost of 1TB SSHD and you only get seconds over a standard boot on the stock HDD. There are plenty of test that argue your theory on how much "faster" the system is loading games etc. Its seconds at best. I am not saying having a SSHD isn't great but if you are the kind of person who owns almost every game worth owning and plan on more in the future, you may want to opt for the 2TB instead I plan on doing it either way in the near future at this rate.

Also, I know the argument of "just reinstall the game blah blah" I don't like that kind of inconvenience so I'd rather just keep every game I own installed for my own convenience.

[mikeslemonade]

I prefer stock 500gb HDD. Games install fast in comparison to last gen and the X1. And there's always good deals to be had when you go the physical disc route. For example through Dell recently I got games with a $25 gift card and then when I trade a game in to GameStop I get like $40 something back through the power up rewards. So in effect the game was free for me to play.

500 GB is enough space for this entire generation. When you finish a game just delete it. Stop being lame and replaying multiple games. You can fit about 15 big AAA games on a HDD, do you honestly need to have 15 games at any given time!?

Now on the X1 the installs feel like a snails pace. The PS4 suprises me on how fast these games download and install.

[MRMagoo123]

And this is why I dont go digital at all, I have the stock drive in and its easily enough for me and I have a bunch of games now, I cant also just delete and re install when ever, I dont have to worry about downloading 50gigs of game when ever I delete a game and wanna play it again.

[UltimateMaster]

The PS4 needs a special sized 2Tb HDD.
The only one I know of is the Samsung one.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sam...
Any 1Tb or 1.5Tb will fit. Not all 2Tb fits due to a change in size.
A bit expensive tough, you can find much cheaper 1.5Tb for a great price.
Unless you plan on doing a lot of remote play with your Vita and have a larger library of games or a lot of video capture, then yes go with the 2Tb.

[thisismyaccount]

.. dunno why ipach got downvote

Capacity > ~10% quicker loading times
Bigger HD (Capacity, Platter) > higher density > faster than the 500GB PS4 drive or any 1TB out there
Access Time Bigger HD < faster SSD/SSHD

4TB 3.5 HD > 1TB SSHD

[decrypt]

Console gamers bickering over minor performance difference which probably dont exist is hilarious.

[Dynasty2021]

They're proven to make almost no difference, which makes no sense.

Slap an SSD or SSHD in a PC and you make a massive difference in loading times.

[ipach]

completely agree. i've been sporting a 1TB SSD in my PS4 and it's not nearly as satisfying as the SSD in my PC. it does improve boot times and certain games might have less pop in, but load times are still fairly long for most games that have any. i think the OS doesn't know how to split up the files across chips the way a PC one does, so we're probably not getting the max benefit of SSD. it is faster, and i'm happy to be running max speed, but not fast enough...

[Volkama]

Ipach, the pc doesn't split up data across the storage types. The pc isn't aware that the drive has 2 parts.

That logic is all handled internally on the controller in the drive, so it actually works in exactly the same way on the PS4 and PC.

The difference is that on the PS4 you don't have such obvious patterns in what you access.

Your description that boot times are improved, but games don't seem to load fast makes perfect sense because the games will typically be loading off the mechanical part of the SSHD.

SSHDs on a PC offer little benefit it you only store games on them. Same deal there.

[Shaaunyb]

@ipach i feel like you don't have a 1TB SSD in your PS4. 1TB SSHD yeah, but hard to believe 1TB SSD

[tee_bag242]

PS4 only reads at Sata 2 speed too. There's that to think about too. Trowing a SSD inside would be an utter waste.

[Volkama]

SSHDs on a PC make a big difference to boot-up times, and work well for people accessing the same applications regularly (ie Outlook, maybe some Excel spreadsheets). That is because they cache frequently read files to the flash storage for quick access. Most SSHDs have about 8GB of fast flash storage. Plenty to boot up an OS and remember your favourite office programs and files.

A games console is far less regular and predictable in what it accesses. You play different games all the time, and even within those games you access more than 8GB of data because the bulk is textures and assets. For that reason most of the data that you read will come from the mechanical drive, and most SSHDs have a mechanical drive that spins at 5400rpm, giving very little performance benefit over the standard internal drive the console ships with.

Don't trust benchmarks unless they are very specific with the testing methodology, and measure the first use of a game, or use across numberous games in sequence.

If you want storage and speed then a 2TB 7200rpm drive is probably the ideal choice.

Edit for above: Yeah, Destiny might actually make a strong case for it. Accessing those 5 maps over and over again is actually a good fit for the caching. Funny, but actually true.

[jriquelme_paraguay]

Nope. Wrong

[I_am_Batman]

Little to no speed benefit at all > double the storage? No.

Especially when loading and install times are already good on PS4.

[tman7302]

I don't know why you're getting disagrees. Obviously people aren't education on why SSHD are way superior.

Despite the size disadvantage, SSHD is gonna provide longer time of usage and less wear and tear overtime compare to the old HD. Since consoles have to use the hard drive to run games all the time, it makes much more sense to get the SSHD. More money upfront and less you spend over time replacing the crappy hard drives. For me I don't look at speed, I look at size and reliability. I'll sacrifice size if the hard drive is more reliable.

[LamerTamer]

Of course you do know that solid state flash memory has limited write cycles right? They try to use write leveling (write to different cells to avoid over using the same ones) but that becomes less effective as the drive fills.

If an OS pounds the SSD allot it won't last either.

[Christopher]

The 500GB is more than enough. Not every game is 50GB and you can easily delete and re-install games as you play them.

There's no reason you need 1TB or 2TB just for games unless you have a ton of people using the same console and playing a lot of different games.

[MRMagoo123]

Exactly what I said above lol I didnt get to your point till after other wise I would have just said ditto, I have all my games on disc besides the indies from plus, so when I want I just delete a game and when I want to play the game I just install it again which takes about 4 minutes or something, I cant imagine how long it would take to download a game every time if I chose all digital, but I do know it would be far too long.

[rainslacker]

Overall I'd agree. At least for the time being. Unless you're all digital and buy lots of games, along with all the PS+ stuff, I'd imagine you'll be OK for a while.

I would personally recommend unless you are constantly deleting and redownloading stuff to just hold off until bigger/cheaper drives come out. Maybe even super big SSD drives which are becoming cheaper every year.

[zero_gamer]

Eh, the stock 500GB HDD in my PS4 is fast enough for me. What's the hurry? I'd rather use a new HDD with 7200rpm and have more storage than what some SSD offers for the same dollar spent.

Not worth sacrificing a lot of storage for about 3 seconds less of loading times. 3 seconds, whoopie doo.

[MRMagoo123]

well they all add up , you can maybe save your self a whole hour of game time in 70 years of using one on a ps4 /sarcasm

[Spenok]

While the better loading times are defintely nicer, personally I want more storage. Though that's because I have a TON of games. So it's kind of necessary for me. I went the 2TB route and am very happy.

[Irishguy95]

The ****ing thing should have came with a 2TB harddrive.

[DarXyde]

We're less than a year in, of course you've got lots of space left. Next year a lot more AAA titles are dropping and will very likely chew up HDD space. Now, the biggest game on PS4 is what, The Last of Us Remastered (50 GB)? I'm telling you, 1 TB will probably not be enough by 2015 year's end.

[CustardTrout]

For memory.

[InTheZoneAC]

already got my 2TB the day it released. My 1.5TB was just big enough for the ps3 so we'll see how this goes...

[Sokol]

Hmm, I don't think I will need 2tb anytime soon. I upgraded to 1tb few days after I got the ps4 and I honestly dont see a point unless I go with full digital purhases.
Plus the 1tb hdd is 65$.

[Volkama]

Getting discs doesn't really save anything on storage space. You install the entirety anyway.

It can help in storage management though. If you are deleting things then having a hard copy in hand can certainly make re-installing less painful.

[Sokol]

I agree, I was pointing out in full digital copies being on the hdd all the time, that would make good sense to upgrade.

I mostly just keep my disk games that way I micromanage the data after I'm not playing the game.

I will wait until 4gb hdd becomes affordable then make a purchase which will last for the ps4 generation.

[LamerTamer]

Yes true but then again most all games now days come incomplete and buggy on disc. When you delete a game all of the patches go too. When you re-install you have to go online and wait hours to get all of the patches back. Of course this is a problem when they no longer have the patches online, you end up with a busted game on disc forever (which is why the release now, patch later scheme is BAD).

It is still better/faster with the disc though as it is faster to DL 4 gigs than 50. I just wish they allowed us to either back up patches, or delete the main game but keep the patches so that when you re-install the game your patches are there.

[ramiuk1]

i dont want to make a full digital jump until prices lower.
im on the 500gb and after i finish a game i know i wont be going back too and sell the game i just delete the game.
i have played prob everyps4 game released in UK and im still at 200gb left.
only things installed perm are games i keep for the year like sports and shooters and ps+ games

[uth11]

I did a one 1tb upgrade. Mostly because there weren't any good options for 2Tb at the time.

I think it's best to get as much storage as possible now, it will save the hassle of upgrading for a second time later.

[ipach]

all purchases are full "digital" so to say. so many people misunderstand this for the new-gen. discs do EXACTLY the same thing as download - they unload/cache all the data on the system storage and run the games off of the storage. the disc only serves as an easier way to install the game. and when using a disc based install, the game won't run without the disc in the drive. no difference in storage space or access speed. none.

http://blog.us.playstation....
http://venturebeat.com/2013...

[bleedsoe9mm]

i'm waiting for external HD support

[WitWolfy]

With only 2 USB slots I dont think we'll see that feature anytime soon.

[Volkama]

Do we even know what spec the usb ports are? If they're USB 2.0 we won't be running games directly from external drives.

If usb 3.0 then it depends if Sony want to offer it or not.

[tman7302]

@Volkama

Witwolfy has a point. There are external hardrives that have two USB plugs...one for powering the unit and the other for identifying. With PS4 having 2 USB outlets, sony can see this as a waste of resources. That's probably why they offer removable hard drive option.

[bleedsoe9mm]

@Volkama i hope sony offers it because i know i'll never open it up , i'll just end up playing multiplatforms on my xb1 especially in the fall when there are a glut of games and i don't want to delete games from my ps4 hd .

[SamPao]

Just boughta 2terra one the other week :)))

[Butters360]

What 2TB HDD are you guys using?

[ipach]

i would totally use the external 2TB hack option if I were upgrading today:

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

[tee_bag242]

Yep. That's what I did.
With these massive installs getting a 2tb HDD makes good sense.

[fanboysmackdown]

I can't justify an upgrade yet. Still not many games that are must own and I still have lots of space. Next year will be a different matter when the good stuff starts rolling in. Lots of good info on this post though.....now to decide between SSHD and HDD.

[Macdaddy71]

I think it's BS Sony n MS both knew how big games was going to be n they still give us 500gb hhd, on top of all the BS MS won't let us replace the hhd least Sony was smart to do that part

[Volkama]

You realise MS do allow you to use any external usb 3.0 drive?

I agree that 500gb it's a bit short sighted, and the 5400rpm drive they both include is just silly. But at least we have quite easy upgrade options on both sides.

[paradigmfellow]

Buy physical.

[tman7302]

The physical copies still install full games on the hard drives. The only time the blu ray drive is running is when you install the game and when it checks you have a authentic copy.

[LamerTamer]

@tman7302

Yes but it is still much faster to re-install from disc for 5 minutes than to wait hours to DL 50 gigs of game.

Now if they allowed us to backup the digital copy (that would only work on the console the account is on) that would be different, I would consider digital more but as it is now physical for me.

[HighResHero]

It's interesting that some people think they need to be "all digital". Unexpected bandwagon. Maybe it is a "hipster" thing.

[Lazyeye79]

What is the speed up of switching to a 2tb drive vs. The stock drive?

[yezz]

I used to be worried about this but there aren't actually too many games that I play forever so I've been deleting most of them. There is still loads of space left so unless these games grow ridiculously large then I'm not going to need an upgrade any time soon...

[truegame]

The 2TB has to be 9.5MM

Some options:

http://www.newegg.com/Produ...

http://www.amazon.com/Seaga...

Also, you can use the external version of the slim and take the drive out: Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB Portable External

http://www.amazon.com/Seaga...

[PCBOX]

I am buying games mostly digitally so need larger hdd.Damm game sizes averagely 30-50 gb tahts alot....!!!

[RosweeSon]

People never heard of data management im all for keeping the classics games installed but unless your 100% digital I don't understand how you've all crammed your hard drives already haha, hey hi at least we can add additional storage if needs be.

[mt]

I got my 80 gb fat PS3 and I upgrade to 500gb worth never filled until recently because PS+, when I get my PS4 i'll upgrade it to 2tb it sounds reasonable.

[Evil-Gouki]

With less that 100Gb left on my system, looks like I'll be upgrading sooner rather that later.

[OculusRift]

Uh, how about no? I have blazing fast internet(D100Mbps/U50Mbps), and I'm not a hoarder, so a big HDD is a waste for me. Why don't you just just delete the things you download?You're not going to be playing everything at once and you'll save yourself some money too. (IMO)

EDIT:
MY 250TH COMMENT!! YAY!!!

[NitrousX]

Well not everyone is fortunate to have fast broadband speeds. Like some who may live in rural areas may only be able to get speeds less than ~8Mbps downloading any 8GB+ game takes forever

[OculusRift]

True, and I respect that.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

I travel a lot and have my (2nd) PS3 with me on all travels. The internet connection elsewhere might not be as good. Also I play 1-3 games at the same time sometimes because it gives me variety. Switching CDs is very old fashioned :D
Another reason are gaming with friends. You just take the console to a friends house and can start the game party right away with plenty of games to choose right off the HD.

[jay2]

Still got the 500GB hd in theere, no need for a bigger one for me. I'll keep my discs thanks.

[jmc8888]

More like a 3TB hard drive if you want to go all digital and don't want to re-download that much.

My Steam account easily has more then 3TB's on it and I have tons of crap not even installed. Lots of PC gamers have multiple 2-3 TB hard drives without using them for a RAID setup.

With games getting to 50 GB's a pop, even a 2TB hard drive will only hold like 35 games at that size.

With most U.S. data cap being 200 GB's or less per month, trying to do the delete and redownload when needed isn't a very good option.

Of course remember if you want to upgrade your HD in your PS4 you'll need to redownload everything, so it's better to do it earlier then later.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

best solution would be external HD support!

[Evil-Gouki]

Totally agree, I've got a WD 2Tb just sitting there.

[Minute Man 721]

Eventually I'll upgrade, sometime next year

[prodg52]

I wasn't going to get another hard drive, but once they start giving out AAA games on plus, the 500gb is going to fill up fast. My drive is already 3/4 of the way full and it hasn't been a full year yet.

[Locknuts]

I only have 1 game on the PS4 and will probably only get one more this year. At this rate 500GB will be fine.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Solid state is the way to go.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

I dont feel I need too. My download speed is so fast, when Im done with something I erase it, if I ever want it again I'll download it again.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

I have a 2TB drive and I already know it won't be enough. Currently I am switching 3 x 1TB drives on my PS3. With current gen games taking much more space, I will have my hard drive full in no time. But I might be an exception because I play almost any kind of game :D

Oh and yes! I like to have my games on my harddrive. I travel a lot and I usually take my PS3 with me. Also I hate to switch CDs... XD

I just wish Sony would add external HDD support. Then I would go for a 4TB solution. With USB 3.0 external HD should be fine!

[purp13m0nk3y]

I am all digital (except for BF4 and KZSF that I bought at launch) and looking to upgrade soon.

I've been waiting for 2Tb SSHD drives to become easily available. But I'm completely out of space on the stock drive.

Might just have to settle for a 1Tb for now and update again later. I have several PC/laptop so will always have a use for a quality drive.

[ziratul]

You don't need anything more than 500 GB, It's stupid to have 120 games installed when you play only 4-5. There is a Library where you can download your game anytime you need it.

[purp13m0nk3y]

@40-50Gb per AAA title. You'll be struggling to fit more than 7-8 games on a stock hard drive once you take into account the space the OS occupies.

Mine is currently full. Currently installed.

KZSF
BF4
Second Son
AC4
TLOU-RM
Watch Dogs
MGS-GZ
+ all the Free Ps+

Drive basically full.

Next game I buy I will have to delete either KZSF or BF4 as these are the only games I own a physical copy of. Everything else is digital.

[rashada07]

I always wonder if I am the only one who deletes things they don't play- also it's not like you can't just re-download it later OR the general fact that game installs from disc on the PS4 are pretty quick. On that latter note and somewhat of a tangent; my X1 takes forever to install a game- quite irritating when I just want to get home and play something.

[BlackSpartan187]

I only by disks, unless it is a good PSN game, or in the future a PS Plus game that I may want to download. My thing is you not going to play 30 games at one time. I have no problem deleting a game that I not going to be playing. All my saves will still be there. In addition, I don't play music or watch movies. Therefore, 500 GB is good for me.

[DualWielding]

Sony really needs to add external HD support or they'll be a big trouble.... it can be a killer feature for Microsoft if Sony doesn't implement it