Pros and cons of using an external hard drive for PS4

If you're experiencing any of these or other problems, it might be time to upgrade your PS4 hard drive.

If you're thinking of buying an external hard drive for your PS4, here are suggested pros and cons to help make your decision.

Reasons you should buy an external hard drive for PS4

First, let's start with some of the great benefits a PS4 external hard drive will give you.

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1. You get a library of mobile games

An external hard drive is the perfect place to store your portable gaming library. With it, you can take all your digital games and installed game data with you wherever you go.

This is a huge advantage if you use physical games, digital games, or both. If you use physical games, you can bring your save data to a friend's house and you won't have to wait long for their PS4 to install the game data, if you use an external hard drive.

If you want to play a digital game, you can simply plug in an external hard drive, log into your PSN account on your friend's PS4, and play. Just remember to log out afterwards!

2. You'll have a PS4 with tons of storage

The PS4 can support up to 8TB of external storage, much higher than its basic 500GB hard drive.

If you are having to delete games on your PS4 to free up space, an external hard drive will solve this problem. You'll notice and appreciate the difference immediately, because your PS4 can suddenly hold more than 5 games!

This is especially helpful if you have a large digital library: Deleting and re-downloading digital games can be extremely time-consuming.

3. PS4 external hard drive is easy to set up

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Unlike with the PS4 internal hard drive, it is quick and easy to set up an external hard drive for the PS4.

There's very little hassle and you'll be ready to use your new hard drive within minutes. The best thing is that you don't have to open your PS4 or worry about having the right size for your hard drive.

All you need is a 250GB to 8TB external hard drive using USB 3.0 or higher and a USB-A connection.

4. Takes up physical space, but worth it for the benefits it brings

While the external hard drive is a separate device from the PS4 and thus takes up physical space, it really shouldn't be a big deal, especially when you consider its benefits.

In fact, you can store dozens of games on an external hard drive and take it anywhere you like. The amount of space the hard drive takes up shouldn't be much of a problem, as you can easily place it next to or above your PS4.

5. External SSD is perfect for both PS4 and PS5 game libraries

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While the PS4's base hard drive is a slow HDD, the PS5 boasts a lightning-fast SSD that can boot and load games within seconds.

If you buy an external SSD for PS4, you'll experience the benefits of loading games faster than ever and you can transfer them to PS5. You'll also be able to bridge the gap between your PS4 library and your PS5 library when storing PS5 games on your external USB.

6. You can use it to backup your PS4's internal storage

If you're happy with your PS4's internal storage, you should still consider using an external hard drive for your PS4 to back up your data.

No one likes corrupted data. In games, this means losing all game progress or re-downloading and installing the game from scratch, updating software, etc. And, with the size of the game increasing, that won't be as interesting anymore. .

You can bypass all of this by backing up your PS4's internal data to an external hard drive. It was a smart move.

Why you shouldn't buy a PS4 external hard drive

External hard drives are great but not perfect. Here are some downsides to consider if you want to use an external hard drive for your PS4.

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1. External PS4 hard drives are more prone to failure

External hard drives are more prone to failure than internal hard drives. While this may not be a big deal, everyone's gaming setup is different, so it's something you should take into account.

2. You risk data corruption if you don't disconnect properly

If you disconnect the external hard drive from your PS4 without following the proper procedure, you run the risk of data corruption and loss of your game files.

Thankfully, safely disconnecting your PS4 external hard drive is super easy. Taking these steps ensures that you won't have to worry about losing hours of your game progress.

3. You easily lose your external hard drive

External hard drives don't take up much space, which is great. But this also means that you can lose them quite easily.

This problem will be worse if you take the drive out often. You can lose it somewhere or drop it from your pocket and lose it forever. You can also leave it at home and never find it again.

4. SSDs are more expensive than HDDs

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External SSD is extremely fast and will improve your gaming experience. However, this leads to a huge price difference between the two types of hard drives.

SSDs will get cheaper over time. However, right now, if you decide to buy an SSD or an external HDD with the same level of storage, the cost of an SSD will be much higher.

Choose the best PS4 external hard drive for your gaming needs

While they have some downsides, external hard drives offer many great benefits and serve as a great storage option for your gaming needs.

If you're going to buy an external hard drive for your PS4, make sure you've done your research thoroughly. There is a wide range of external hard drives to suit a variety of needs.

Hope you find the right one for you!

Samuel Daniel

Update 27 September 2021