Best Hard Drives for PS4
Common questions about the PS4 hard drive answered
While you check out our list of the best PlayStation 4 hard drives currently on available, know that they are all internal hard drives for a reason. The PS4 only supports swapping the stock HDD with a new one, which means there is no
external hard drive support like Xbox One. Another frequent concern is if replacing the original hard drive with a different compatible one will void your PS4’s warranty. The answer is no!
What’s great is that the process is fairly straightforward and doesn’t require you to be a technical expert or anything. Downloading the needed file (depending on your internet speed) doesn’t require more than 20 minutes, and all your save data will be swapped over, safe and sound.
Convinced that a hard drive upgrade is right for you? If so, check out our list of the best hard drives for PS4 based on price, customer reviews, and more.
Seagate 1TB Laptop SSHD SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 2.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive (ST1000LM014)
For the longest time, this
Seagate solid state hard drive has been perhaps the best any PlayStation 4 owner in need of more space can own. Affordable and made by a very reliable company, you can’t go wrong with picking up this fantastic SSHD; it even boasts an amazing customer review score out of nearly 2K customers.
Although there is a 500GB hard drive, which doesn’t make sense to purchase unless all you care about is the slight boost in performance, we definitely recommend the 1TB version. You’ll not only double the amount of space the original hard drive has, but you’re also getting solid state speed that’s proven to be 4 times faster than the standard 7200RPM hard drive.
All in all, this is the hard drive to get if you’re fine with 500GB of extra storage, especially when they currently only cost around $80. And in case you ever want to use it for something else, Seagate’s SSHD cuts Windows 8 boot times in half, works on virtually any laptop, and is compatible with PlayStation 3 consoles.
Features
- Either 500GB or 1TB of storage
- Boasts flash management technology for SSD-like performance
- Integrated NAND flash with traditional hard drive storage
- Slim 9.5mm design fits in any laptop
- Also compatible with PS3
- 4.4 / 5 star rating out of 1,000+ customer reviews
HGST Travelstar 2.5-Inch 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache Mobile retail kit
What if we told you that HGST’s Travelstar is powerful enough to read and write data 25% faster the PS4’s original drive? If extra performance is just as important to you as doubling your storage, there’s no valid reason not to pick up this fantastic hard drive soon.
HGST offers a 500GB (7200RPM) and 1TB (5400RPM) version, but
we highly recommend the 1TB (7200RPM) to get the most bang for your buck. Not only does it boast higher speeds than the other 1TB hard drive, but it’s also only about $10 more. $75 is hardly a dent on anyone’s wallet, considering how great this hard drive is—if you don’t believe us, consider the 4.5 out of 5 customer review rating on Amazon.
Other convincing features include an efficient design that offers the fastest speeds without reducing the quality in battery life, audio, or capacity. The fact that it is compact enough for any laptop and also comes with a 3-year limited warranty is extra icing on the cake.
Features
- Spacious 1TB storage with 7200 RPM
- 3-year limited warranty
- Latest operating shock and power management technology
- 20-25% faster boot and load times for PS4
- Leader in green power consumption
- 4.5 / 5 star rating out of nearly 1,000 customer reviews
Seagate Momentus 7200 750 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 16 MB Cache 2.5 Inch Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive ST9750420AS
If you’re confident that you don’t need to double your storage but would like more than the 500GB that the stock drive offers, we’ve got you covered.
Seagate’s Momentus line has various sizes, but the one you’ll most likely be considering is the 750 GB. It’s a 150% increase in storage space, which means you can potentially store between 4 to 6 more AAA titles and many smaller digital games without any hassle.
The 7200RPM drive delivers a consistent boost that will help you waste less time watching your game load saves, maps, cutscenes, and more. Combined with a 16MB cache, you’ll quickly notice the enhanced performance thanks to data transfer rates of around 76MB/s. Not bad, when you’re only paying $60 for this high-quality hard drive!
Other noteworthy additions include a two year warranty as well as the promise of frustration-free packaging if you order it on Amazon. For those interested in PC use, Seagate’s SmartAlign technology also makes transitioning to 4K sectors a possibility without software utilities. Instead, AF migration is done in the background automatically.
Features
- 750GB + 7200RPM for only $60
- Impressive 16MB cache for 76MB/S transfer rates
- 2 year warranty
- Frustration-free packaging
- Supports Seagate SmartAlign technology
- 4.3 / 5 star rating out of 500+ customer reviews
Samsung Spinpoint 2TB M9T Mobile SATA Drive ST2000LM003
If you’re going to swap out that 500GB hard drive, you might as well quadruple your storage space, right? Samsung offers the perfect choice with their
2TB Spinpoint drive that’s only around $100, which makes this an incredible deal—considering that many 1TB hard drives are around the $70-80 range.
Boasting SATA 6Gb/s, 32MB cache, and impressive rotation speed of 5400 RPM, you can certainly expect a slight but significant boost to performance. Even though it isn’t 7200 RPM, the Spinpoint will still cut loading times down when compared to the stock PS4, and with 1,500GB more to boot.
Additional features include a 1.5TB capacity that’s also available, although we advise you to just go for the 2TB version. You’re also getting SilentSeek and NoiseGuard technology, as well as an ATA Security Mode feature set and the ATA SMART feature set. Note that having some of the earlier versions (version 1.7 and older) of PS4 firmware may make this hard drive not work properly, so make sure you update to the latest firmware.
Features
- 2TB of storage
- 5400 RPM w/ SATA 6Gb/s and 32MB cache
- SilentSeek + NoiseGuard technology
- Low power consumption
- 4.7 / 5 star rating out of 50 customer reviews
Seagate 3TB Desktop HDD SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive (ST3000DM001)
Warning: These hard drives are 3.5” and will not fit inside your PS4. For them to work you must hook them up externally. A comprehensive guide can be found
here:
Last but not least is perhaps one of the most popular hard drives today. The
Seagate Barracuda 7200 series offers impressive specs at even more impressive prices, making these as close to stealing as you can get when it comes to upgrading your PS4’s hard drive. The best part is that Seagate offers five different sizes to consider: 1TB, 1.5TB, 2TB, 3TB, and 4TB.
Although any of them are a huge step forward from the original HDD, we feel that the 3TB version is perfect at $88, since you’re essentially paying about $20 for every 500GB. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a 3TB hard drive with 7200 RPM, 64MB of cache memory, and a 2-year warranty for less than $100.
Again, we want to make clear that these drives are 3.5” and thus will not fit inside your PS4. Instead you have to set the hard drive up externally, which is not as difficult as it sounds. Of course, not following the instructions properly can result in damaged devices, so if you do plan to go for it, do so carefully!
Features
- 1TB, 1.5TB, 2TB, 3TB, and 4TB.
- 7200 RPM + 64MB cache memory
- 2 year warranty
- 4.1 / 5 star rating out of 5,000+ customer reviews