PS4 4.50 Firmware: Limited to 1 External HDD Only

One of the awesome announcements that Sony has made earlier this year is the ability to use an external hard drive on the PS4 as a storage of applications and games in the upcoming PS4 4.50 firmware

[FallenAngel1984]

That's strange considering that both Wii U and Xbox One allow for the use of two external HDDs.

Then again this is just a beta so the limitation may not be there in the actual update.

[moegooner88]

Why would someone need to use two external HDDs at a time ? Am I missing something ?

[Crazyglues]

well before i would say probably because you drive is not that big and you have another ( 500 GB )hard drive laying around...

but today you can even get a 5TB for $122.00 so yeah, really will be no need for more then one external if you buy something like one of these 3 to 4TB drives... that should hold all your games and future games... 4TB's is an insane amount of space.

[moegooner88]

@Crazyglues, but wouldn't you need just one for the current gaming session I presume ? Each game data is on an individual external HDD.

[Goldby]

@Messiah,

Im thankful we'll have access to up to 8tb. thats the 2 4tb hdds all in one

[PeaSFor]

@XMessiah23x
ps4 has now 2 ways of adding more storage while Xbox is restricted with one way, must suck to be stuck with the default hdd forever in the xbox on s(pretty sad that MS didnt implemented the same kind of option to easily swap the internal hdd with a faster rpm/higher capacity/ssd or sshd with their new console revision, they implemented the audio jack on the controller... so why not do the same thing with the storage option(s) ffs? hopefully we will see MS being more open minded with their scorpio.)

[Pantz]

since they started making 50gb+ patches they fill up quick

[Crazyglues]

@ Moegooner88

not sure what you mean, with current game session but the idea is people don't like deleting games so if I could put some of those games on an external that would be awesome, but some people don't have big externals, so for example i have a 500GB I'm not using...

But because of the way this will work I can't use that and then use another drive, it will only allow you to have one external. So instead of using that old 500GB I got laying around I have to go get a nice big 4TB or 5TB so I never worry about space again... because I won't have an option to use more then one external drive... So might as well be as big as i can find.

Not really that big a deal but hey I'm just happy external hard drives will now be supported.

[XStation4pio_Pro]

why put arbitrary constraints on something if you don't have to?

[kneon]

I don't even want one more box let alone two. But I've seen 8tb external drives on sale for as low as $200, you couldn't possibly fill that up with games and expect to actually play them all.

[UnHoly_One]

I can tell you why I have two connected to my Xbox One.

One of them is 8TB and carries the majority of my games, the other is 500GB and it is a SSD.

I transfer whatever games I'm currently playing over to the SSD so I can play them from there.

[Condemnedman]

I do one for games and one for media

[rigo8582]

Lets say you have a 2TB external and you go to upgrade to a 4TB or 5TB having the ability to have a 2nd drive makes it easier to copy everything from one external to another.

[Drekken]

People need two external HDD's so they can complain when a system only allows one.

[XanderZane]

Just in case your 1st external HDD ran out. If you get a 4TB or higher, you are most likely good for the generation. Some people will play it cheap though and just get 1TB or 2TB HDD and that won't be enough.

@Crazyglues
Exactly. I have a 4TB for my XB1 and I'm only about 45% filled so far.

@PeaSFor
Meh, that's not a big deal. Read Crazyglues' post. You'll never need to change the internal HDD if you get a 4TB or high external HDD. It's a pain in the butt to remove the internal HD on the PS4 anyways. Thanksfully, I only had to do it once. With that external option now, I'll never touch that internal HDD again.

[JackBNimble]

So you can have multiple external hdds, you just can't use two at a time?

I don't get what the problem is.

[freshslicepizza]

@PeaSFor
"ps4 has now 2 ways of adding more storage while Xbox is restricted with one way, must suck to be stuck with the default hdd forever in the xbox on s(pretty sad that MS didnt implemented the same kind of option to easily swap the internal hdd with a faster rpm/higher capacity/ssd or sshd with their new console revision"

you guys make me laugh, for year you kept defending the lack of extrenal hard drive support and kept saying how easy it is to replace the internal drive and how messy it looks with an extrenal drive. you are eseentially telling everyone to throw away a 500gb drive and replace it. it is just mindblowing how you can take anything and make it into a positive all because you are so supportive of a faceless company who treats you no differently than anyone else.

of course now its better to have 2 options than 1 option microsoft gives, but to dance around and act like sony didn't deserve flack for over 3 years while you guys did their pr work is amusing to say the least.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Yes I'm a bit confused as that sounds excessive and I'm not sure I'm ever even going to use such a feature on PlayStation 4 as I actually always like to only have the games installed on my platform that I'm currently playing

[RedDevils]

@XMessiah23x what sort of craps you put in there lol

[Utalkin2me]

Sounds like some people are pack rats of video games.

[Neonridr]

maybe they have a couple of smaller ones lying around they wanted to use? Dunno...

[NextGenCeo]

You can install easily 4TB internal hdd and 8TB USB. So who is gone need more than 12TB hdd space on PS4 system!
When commenting for something thinking twice please and making sense just little bit!
(ESL guy here)

[Shadow Man]

You should be happy we get the ability to use an external hard drive at all.

[Sm3000]

Thx u shadow man

[MyDietEqualsGames]

That's right.

[jaymacx]

I ain't complainin' ! My number one requested feature.

[XanderZane]

That's what I'm talking about. Finally.

[DaGR8JIBRALTAR]

👍👍👌

[Eonjay]

If you are going to use an external drive, you might as well, get one big one. Remember it supports up to 8TB now. Why would you need multiple drives hooked up anyway? And remember the internal hard drive is swappable too, With those two drives, you can have well over 10 TBs of space.

[IamTylerDurden1]

8 tflops isn't enough?

[ShowanW]

@IamTylerDurden1...

this is NOT a tflops subject...

this is in regards to external storage space... of the TB variety...

[ziggurcat]

@tyler

I think you mean terabytes...

[Aenea]

And what's with the silly change that we can't edit our posts anymore?

[hiawa23]

I am using 2-2 TB SShds, and 1 TB SShd on my X1S, for a total of 5TB ext storage. My console has a 2TB internal, which I used for apps vids, pics.

The simple answer is because I have many X1 and X360 games, and they simply don't fit on one SSHD external drive. Using a 4 port USB hub with no issues.

[IamTylerDurden1]

When is 4.5 coming? Anyone know?

[DMZ_P]

I would say end of February. Maybe just before Horizon releases ?

[Aenea]

Usually takes about a month. Also it could be longer when they find some bugs or noticed some things need changing...

I'm kinda hoping they add 2 things:
- an easy way to get wallpapers on your PS4, Plex and Media Player do not allow you to take screenshots of Pictures so you're stuck with opening the image on the browser, hide the cursor and take a screenshot. Having DLNS and/or USB support in the Custom Themes option would be nice
- that Boost Mode can be turned on/off on a per-game basis and not system-wide. Maybe have a system-wide setting but the per-game one overrules it. So I can turn it default on for everything, when I come across a game that doesn't like it, I can turn it off for that game

(also still hoping they overhaul the Communities part to make it more like a forum with threads instead of the mess it is now)

[InTheZoneAC]

i run a 128gb usb flash drive on my wii u...

[XanderZane]

They might make support for a 2nd external HDD later. I'm not going to hate on that little omission. I'm very happy that it now supports external HDD. I'm going to get an 8TB external for my PS4 later this year to support all those exclusives coming out in the next 2 years. My 1.5TB inside my PS4 has about 20% of storage left.

[zaherdab]

Last time i tried WII U allowed only for 1 external

[Christopher]

I'm fine with this. Sure, more is nice, but, honestly, it's not that big of a deal.

[IamTylerDurden1]

More what? It's 8TB, how much do ppl want?

[Christopher]

@IamTylerDurden1: Stop being so defensive. Having the ability to have space is always a nice option, but having what we are going to get is more than enough. Heck, the 1TB that most people have is more than enough. But, this ups that for those who want more. But, just because that's 'good' doesn't mean having more wouldn't be nicer.

[Jon_Targaryen]

Well the PS4 only has like 2 USB's. I thought that it would be obvious that one HDD would be the norm.

[merry321]

wow it's stunning good news...

[ocelot07]

Simple if you are that worried about only 1 external at a time. Buy an 8TB one and a 4TB 2.5" hdd to go inside the PS4. If you somehow fill that 12TB up. Then buy another 8TB external and leave it near the PS4. You can simply unplug external 1 and put external 2 in.

It's not like you can play 2 games at once.

[Tussin187]

The point is that you have to unplug one to use the other. That's too much work. I mean people have been complaining of the lack of external HDD support and we got it. Now, someone is already complaining that we can't use two at the same time. I really don't think the average(notice I said average) gamer are going to use 12TB of hard drive space. If you do then they can do what you said. But that would require to get off the couch and plugging the other HDD in. I know..I know that takes a lot of effort. Is anyone ever happy or satisfied with anything these days? There is always a "but" in the sentence.

[kneon]

People will whine about anything and everything. It wouldn't surprise me that if Bill Gates walked over to someone and handed them $1000 that there would be complaining that it wasn't more since he can afford it.

[hiawa23]

But you can use use more than one using a usb hub. I am using 3 on my X1S.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed this is what actually puzzles me about anyone that even needs such a thing.

At most I'm usually playing about three games during the week.

But other than those three games for the most part I simply have extended back logs, I don't really see a lot of reasons for anyone to have such a ridiculous amount of hard drive space.

I always delete all my disc based games with the exception of maybe three or four that I would be playing throughout the week.

I just don't see any reason to have information from a dozen games that were already being or Worse downloads from games that were already beaten.

It just seems like an enormous waste of space and resources.

[Aenea]

Well, I have an enormous backlog and I want to have them installed at all times preferably. I also have a tendency to not always finish games in one go so keep those installed too. Then I like to play some smaller games in between bigger games once in a while and then there are games like MP shooters that I regularly play with others in between my regular games.

All in all this was more than my 2TB internal could handle! For now I've added a 4TB external. If I need more than 6TB I will just buy another and swap external hdd's when needed. Beats having to install them again (and downloading big patches)...

[ocelot07]

@Aenea this is exactly my point. I understand that people may like to have as much as there collection installed as possible. So they can switch between games when ever they want to. What I don't get is why is it a 100% must to have more than 2 externals at one time. Sure it can be handy but I don't see why it's a must have feature.

Is it really that hard to get up and switch a USB cable around? (in my case this would take less than 15 seconds).

[FunkyGoron]

Ok, I need some help. I am "all digital". I have a 2 TB XB1S and a 1 TB PS4... why do people need so much data? Do you not delete your games? I bought a lot of games and finished them... then I deleted them. If I ever wanted to play a game again, I can just re-download it at that time.

Unless you're buying movies, games, songs, pictures, AND never deleting them, why would you need more than 1 external?

[deafdani]

My internet connection is 5 MB/s. It takes me forever to download a game patch of DLC.

So I'd rather not delete game data (which always include the patches and DLC) if I can help it.

[MecheSlays]

im 15mb/s and it still takes hella long

[FunkyGoron]

Fair enough, good point. I understand the issue of download speeds in different areas.

[The 10th Rider]

Our download speed over wifi is about 2mb/s, 4 is about the max.

[UnHoly_One]

I have a 100MB/s download and I still don't delete anything.

I like being able to go through my list and see everything, never know when I want to replay an older game.

[ExplodingJuice]

Same here.

[ziggurcat]

"why do people need so much data?"

Some people don't like deleting their games.

[jaycptza]

thats not really a reason, its just people being weird. How the f*** do you find time to play old games? (Grown up problems)

[ziggurcat]

@jay

Actually, it's probably the main reason. I don't have any issues deleting games off of my HDD when I'm done, but there are people who like to keep everything.

[Aenea]

People are different, people have different needs. Who knew! 😜

For me, it's what I wrote above:
"I have an enormous backlog and I want to have them installed at all times preferably. I also have a tendency to not always finish games in one go so keep those installed too. Then I like to play some smaller games in between bigger games once in a while and then there are games like MP shooters that I regularly play with others in between my regular games."

[jznrpg]

1 is plenty if you go that route

[Whitey2k]

Y would u need 2? Sonce u have the ability to change the internal hdd where xbox u cant

[DEAGLETURK]

So you peopel has alrealy 1 hdd and now want 2 hdd susport ?

[CobraKai]

Remind me again. How many external hard drives were we able to use for the PS4 before? Oh yeah ZERO. I'm happy to be getting support at all, thank you very much.

[Shadow Man]

Thank you thank you SONY!

Finally I can stop deleting stuff to make extra room.

[TheGoodestBoi]

Can't wait already have a 2 tb internal hard drive and its nearly full. Nice to be able to simply add to it without having to replace it again

[WickedLester]

Doesn't bother me considering the internal drive can be upgraded as well.

[chris235]

this gen is so lame it is beyond me why there is a need for external storage. most of the big titles have been a disappointment so far. who on earth needs all these sequels and even worse: who would want to keep these games on his hdd? my personal goty in 2016 was xcom and that one i played on the pc because of stupid exclusivity decisions. i say kids are overreacting and are addicted to collecting stuff.

[gwumper987]

Interesting opinion but some people actually enjoys some of what has been released this generation. Currently I only have 7 full games installed on my console and it's full. Even if you've found this generation boring, ithe isn't hard to understand how someone would need additional storage.

[UnHoly_One]

I have a total of 9TB storage on my XB1 and it's something like 39% full the last time I looked.

Just because you have a bad attitude about recent games doesn't mean everyone else is the same.

[ExplodingJuice]

Talk about overreacting...

[WickedLester]

God, you sound like Shawn Long on Class VS Crass. If it wasn't made before 2001 it's not worth a damn to play.

[Malice-Flare]

heh, turns out that Nyko Data Bank still has a use if you want to go above 12TB PS4 space...

[Deeke]

I'd imagine you have to format the hard drive to transfer save data/games onto the hard drive, so does this mean a non-formatted media drive wouldn't work too?

If you dont have to format and can use a media drive for game saves/games while keeping your movies/shows/music untouched, that'd be great.

But that's basically the only reason I could envision people wanting to use more than one external hard drive.

[Sam Fisher]

I have a question, if you have games on the ext hdd, can you play it off the ext hdd or you have to transfer the games back on to the p4 to play them? Thank you in Advance

[deafdani]

You play them off the external.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

Install & play on external HDD. Otherwise it would be a hassle and not very usable.

[Gambit_the_White]

It's probably also due to the fact that the standard PS4 has only two USB ports. How are you gonna charge your controllers if you have two external HDD's plugged in? Besides, I don't understand why this is an issue.

[Majin-vegeta]

You can always buy one of these
https://www.amazon.com/gp/a...

[Lightsbane]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/So...
I use one of these and it works fine. Don't even need to use the USB.

[ExplodingJuice]

Yup. I have two of those bad boys. Best investment.

[ExplodingJuice]

Use a controller charger? They are not expensive and usually can charge 2 controllers at once.

[nitus10]

You can use any USB to micro USB charging device for your PS4 controllers. In my case, I actually use my PC (10 USB ports) or a power bank or just a mobile phone charger and I don't lose the Bluetooth pairing.

Even my TV's USB connector can charge my DS3, DS4 or my wireless headphones or even my mobile phone so only having two USB ports on my PS4 in not a problem.

[Aenea]

What I have hooked up to my PS4 Pro currently:
- USB headphones dongle on the front
- external hdd on the front with wire looping around the console (hardly noticeable)
- on the back I have an USB hub connected
- 2 PS Moves charging cables
- headphones charging cable
- PSVR

I will be buying a steering wheel soon and have no clue how I will connect it. Hopefully it can be connected to the USB hub...

[TimeSkipLuffy]

I am fine with one external drive at a time. I wanted this feature so much I can live with that! :)

[Saithraphim]

Why on earth would you want more than one

[Pastorfuzz]

This is great news. We have an original 500GB PS4 in the house and a spare 3TB hard drive.

[uth11]

Sony clearly doesn't for us customers who want to run giant RAID farms on our PS4s!

What the hell are we supposed to store all our custom wallpapers on?!?

That does it, knack 2 preorder cancelled! /S

[Sm3000]

Is anyone ever happy? Jeezus chrise one isn't enough?
I'm also hearing this is coming qtr3

[Fishy Fingers]

Don't see anyone complaining about it...?

[CP_Company]

so why write Limited? Limited is a bad word.

[shadowT]

Who needs 2x external HDD? PS4 is now supporting up to 8TB storage..

[esmittystud101]

Release date for the update yet?

[Silly gameAr]

This is the definition of not a real issue.

[MasterCornholio]

That sucks. At least you can use one external though.

[ziggurcat]

8TB max is still a *lot* of space, though. And higher capacity internal drives are only going to get thinner to be able to install if you ever want to replace the internal HDD.

[nitus10]

Don't worry I am quite sure we will get people complaining about needing more storage a few days after the 4.5 firmware is release. 😉

[hiawa23]

A USB hub should work. I am using a 4 port hub on my X1S. I would assume it would also work on my Pro if I needed.

[Ninjamonkey82]

Just get a 8tb hdd lol, tbh though i'am just getting a 4tb it is enough imo

[nitus10]

Consider most AAA games are between 20GB and 50GB (The Witcher 3 is approx 51GB and that includes all DLC). If you also include Indies and none AAA games sizes can range from a few hundred MB to 20GB with a mean of approximately 12GB although that does depend on what games you like.

Just for the sake of an argument you only get AAA games with a storage size of 50GB then the most games you could put on a 3.9TB HDD (assuming 100GB for overhead) then you would need more storage after installing 78 games. Are there actually that many games of that size for the PS4?

Without knowing what games people like I can assume that the average game size for their library is 12GB to 20GB so using the same logic then you would need to get between 325 and 195 games on a 4TB storage device. No matter which way you look at it that is an incredible amount of games and it is eve more incredible considering that most people prefer between one and three genres.

BTW. Yes, I am aware all that I have said breaks down if the person concerned is a collector.

[rainslacker]

I was able to keep about 12-15 AAA releases, maybe 10 or so mid-tier games, along with whatever system stuff, saves, those trophy screen shots, some apps, update data, etc, on the 500GB drive that came with the OGPS4. So, with 4 TB, I can see maybe 75-100 games, since you would still have the internal drive as well.

While I wouldn't really question someone claiming they would use two drives or more space, because I know some people are hoader types(which I can be on my media server) , I do certainly question how many people would actually come to a point where not being able to use 2 drives would become a problem.

Seems like a whole lot of concern over something that is pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. I mean, up until a few days ago. people got by without an external at all, now they're disappointed they can't have two? Funny how the biggest complainers are also well known Xbox fan boys though.

[acemonkey]

So people wanted and external HDD and now they are bitching about only having access to only one? You have the HDD in the ps4 (that most people updated) and now whatever size external. Still not happy

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

I'm fine with that. I go all digital so 4 more TB should last me the rest of this gen.

[Mrveryodd]

Beter than nothing😅

[madpuppy]

What's the difference? I would (and I am) just be really appreciative that they finally capitulated and gave us that feature.

[yeahright2]

So with this update, will we be able to copy a game like say... PT, unto a usb and give it to a friend who foolishly deleted their copy and can non longer re-download?

[DMZ_P]

most probably not.

[yeahright2]

Dang!

[ExplodingJuice]

No. The download is still registered to your PSN ID. Unless your PSN ID is also on your friends PS4 what you are asking for isnt happening.

[nitus10]

You could try the following. Install a huge game from media onto your storage device and patch the game.

Now take that patched game that is on your storage device and your game media to a friends place. This now begs the question in the case of a game that has an online capability:

1) Do you need to sign into PS+?
2) Can your friend sign into PS+?

Obviously, since you did install the game from media you will need the media to authenticate so a game that does not have a network capability should not need PS+ or PSN authentication.

Of course, it may not be possible to take your storage device to your friend's place and connect it to his/her PS4 since that storage device is only valid on the PS4 that is was formatted from.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[Aenea]

Nope, hard disks are encrypted using a key which is unique to each PS4 and can only be decrypted by that PS4, not any other one.

[Profchaos]

Misleading title is misleading. AT A TIME

Which is standard really it's still swappable.

Also my xbox one is the same as there's only one port on it I'm not ripping the console out of the cabinet to go to the back to plug a hard drive in. Plus I can't remember seeing one there

[UnHoly_One]

There are two USB ports in the back of the Xbox One, and one on the left side.

I have two externals plugged in at once and I am not using the side USB port.

[BigGamersSmallTalk]

Ouch, guess you should read the fine print. I know I have 2 external HDD on my Xbox One S right now. A 5TB and a 3TB. I probably have more games than the average gamer, but not sure why there's so much damage control in this thread about "Why would you need more than 1?". It's pretty obvious Nintendo and Microsoft allow for more than 1 and Sony doesn't. Took them 3+ years to finally add the support at all. I guess be grateful?

[DMZ_P]

Damage control ? people are just excited that they finally can hookup up to a 8TB external HDD to their PS4 and really don't care about having 2 or more.

[Stogz]

Honestly only fanboys would count this as a big deal, you're seriously just searching for a reason to make this bad news. I'll make sure to tell you to be grateful when you finally get another exclusive to play 😂😂😂

[rainslacker]

Yeah, whatever shall all of us do? *rolls eye*

Guess you found a way to disparage the feature now. I know just saying it took them too long wasn't really getting the results you desired.

Lets face it. The vast majority of people won't even use a external hard drive, and for those that do, 99% will likely only need 1 drive anyhow.

You haven't really answered the question though, why would people need more than one? And then if they do, is it such a big deal if they have to swap a cable? What kind of people need access to that much data at one time. I have a media server computer which doesn't have as much space available as the largest external drive does now, and it's not even close to full. How much porn do you need to store, because 8TB is more games than a person can play in a generation.

[ecchiless]

" because 8TB is more games than a person can play in a generation. " <-- So true, even more if they own a xbox one.....

:D

[corroios]

I dont understand why?

[Dragonscale]

Better than none. You can swap out anyway.

[Condemnedman]

@Peasfor your comments are so childish grow up you sad person.

[jjb1981]

Just more reasons to complain about stuff. 1 extra drive is enough.

[ExplodingJuice]

Just get a 8TB HDD. You won't have to worry about space for a LONG time. I am in the Beta and once I discovered that the limit was 8TB i purchased a 8TB Hard Drive and never looked back. Filled it up to about half with half to go. I will not have to worry about space for a very long time.

Do NOT invest in a 4 or 5 TB if you are worried about space. If you are one to download Digital over Physical that will fill up rather quickly especially since as we all know you never get the exact amount displayed (you get 7.35TB instead of the full eight.) Just something to think about when its purchase time.

[Dragonopolis]

I wonder if it is hot swappable? usb device ok.... so you can only use one drive..... big deal so eject that usb device and plug in the other usb drive should only take a few seconds.... makes sense right? Don't see a reason why Sony would lock the external drive to the USB port once attached.....? Hmmmm

However, since you can swap usb drives pretty quickly and Sony has limited usb ports..... It does make some sense as to why Sony would limit how many usb drives are attached..... just a thought......

If you read the warning it does detect that there was already another external storage device.... you can only use one extended storage device at a time and gave the option to switch to it so I don't see an issue here..... at least in this scenario.....

[SojournUK]

Meh, no drama, get a big HDD.

[KevWriter]

Now people are going to complain that you can't have more than one external HDD. If they allowed 2, people would complain that it's anti-consumer to not allow for 5 external HDDs.

[mastershredder]

For those that have a few dead cats in the house.

[ziggurcat]

Okay... but 8TB is still nothing to shake a stick at...

[alfcrippinjr]

i suppose there a way around this and its by cloning the pcb board on the hard drive with the other one
but what going to happen when you decide to unplug the usb lead
is it going to say needs a formatting

[The_KELRaTH]

Id really like to know if you use an external drive then upgrade or just have to change to a new PS4 due to a fault etc. you can simple plug in the external drive and continue playing like the Xbox.

In the past Sony locked the data to a particular console rather than an account which was a huge pain when a console failed.

[nitus10]

I suppose people will have to think seriously about backups and the possibility of restoring in case of a disaster.

BTW. Even after years and years of warnings as well as horror stories it appears a simple thing like backing up and testing your backups still hasn't sunk in.

[Hendog1981]

My xbox one has 2 external hard drives. 1 for media and 1 for games. the ps4 lacking this function is a big reason why it hasn't been used that much since uncharted 4 came out. It looks like that trend will continue.

[Skillz1215]

oh no now that's a major deal breaker lol

[theXtReMe1]

I changed out my system drive for a 525GB SSD, then bought a 6TB Western Digital external drive from Staples for $90 on clearance(if you live close to a Staples, I suggest you go and see if they have any there... you will not get a better deal on a 6TB external drive and it is fast, 177MB/ sec sustained over 12 hours).

So, now I have 500GBs of system storage and 6TBs of external, which should last me the life of the Pro. I downloaded the entire library of games I bought and got for free via PSN and still have over 4.5TB left. Thats over 60 retail titles and more than 100 Indie.

So, why then did I switch out the larger system drive for a smaller SSD? Speed. With the 4.50 beta and the system boost, loading speeds have increased and SSDs are now seeing their full throughput potential. I loaded GTA V, which generally takes a minute thirty to load into single player via the stock system drive, and it loaded in 30 seconds. Ratchet & Clank loaded from cold boot to gameplay in 8 seconds, 2 of that being the Sony splash screen.

I highly recommend this to anybody out there. Remember that you dont need a huge SSD. The minimum size drive you can put in a PS4/ Pro, is 250GB. Which a 275GB Crucial SSD only costs $89 on Amazon, a 525GB(the one I have) $130. I truly feel as if I'm back in the cartridge age of gaming, with load times as minimal as Im seeing with this setup. Not to mention, faster streaming, which means minimal(if any) draw in of textures or in game objects(cars, peds, etc...). The first thing I noticed with GTA V is how far out cars and pedestrians were drawing, I didnt see one pop in or out of existence looking down a highway from a bridge where I could see for, what seemed like, miles. Whereas before, cars would pop in and out at about the 2-3 block distance.

I hope you guys and gals her can find one of these great 6TB external drives at your local Staples. It is the Western Digital My Book 6TB(2016) before the new case design change. They are only available at the store and not online and are $90. Just look for "clearance" on the shelf price sticker. Good luck!

[DJ]

Not an issue

[Aenea]

When you disconnect the external hdd the game icons are still visible, you just can't start them until you connect the hdd again.

You can also disconnect it and connect another external hdd and start installing games on there, just means you need to disconnect/connect the proper external hdd. And you don't need to re-install everything!

Also, since it needs you to connect it straight to the PS4 and PS4 only having 2 (or 3 with a Pro) USB ports the number was already rather limited especially since most users will already be using those anyways...

Time for more USB ports tho!

[FITSniper]

Not an issue to me. I have a 2TB drive in my PS4 and that's not even half full.

[tweet75]

I wonder if the size of every ps4 game now together equals 8 gb

[Cartelera]

For the players

[tealive]

I guess it'll change once it's out of beta.

[GoldPunch-TR]

No problem for me

[FyBy]

And this is a problem? I understand that someone dont want to upgrade internal drive because 2,5" drives are slower and more expensive than their 3,5" counterparts. So I assume it makes sense to atttach external 3,5" drive to PS4. But if you have 500 GB internal and attach 500 GB external drive (for example) and want to connect another one....it simply doesnt make sense for me. Yeah, I have a friend, who is immune to buy new big drive for his PC and has 5 hdds of low capacity inside his case and always trying to manage space. I always telling him "buy one large slower cheap data drive (which will be faster than any other drive you have) and one small SSD for system". But no, he is still stacking that old slow noisy drives inside his case. It seems similar to me. Either buy large internal 2,5" drive and change it or attach big drive outside - 3,5" ones are really cheap nowadays. Where is the problem? :-)