Friday, March 29, 2024

How to Install an SSD in a PlayStation 4 or PS4 Pro

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Despite the fact that solid-state drives (SSDs) read and write data much faster than mechanical hard drives do, the PlayStation 4 and even the PlayStation 4 Pro come with the latter. Fortunately, Sony made the PS4 hard drive replaceable, so users can expand the consoles internal storage or, better yet, swap out the mechanical drive with a solid state drive.

More: 6 tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your PlayStation 4 Pro

With a few basic tools, you can add an SSD to your PS4 in no time at all. Here’s a glimpse at what an SSD can do for you, and instructions on how to drop one in yourself.

SSDs vs. mechanical hard drives

Before we swapped out the PS4’s hard drive with an SSD, we tested the hard drive that the system came with by measuring the amount of time the PS4 needed to boot up to the screen where the OS asks you to press the PS button on your controller. We tested it twice, and got times of 27 seconds, and 24.9 seconds.

Once we removed the PS4’s hard drive and performed the task that we’re about to take you through, we ran the boot tests again. We got boot times of 19.2 and 19.4 seconds with the SSD in there. So, boot-up is anywhere between roughly 5-8 seconds faster with an SSD than with the mechanical hard drive that the PlayStation 4 ships with.

If you don’t think that’s significant, remember that loading save games, loading levels, and more will also get substantially faster. Over time, those shaved seconds will make your PS4 feel a lot faster.

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