The main reason for doing so is that you are going to want the console to last you several years and since hard drives tend to break down over time, then a solid state drive is preferable to keep our games safe and not scare us with it. time when we want to play with our favorite console again.
Why install an SSD for your PS4 and PS4 Pro?
In any case, do not expect the speed of the new generation console, since all the PS4 variants were not designed for the SSD and make use of a SATA interface that really transforms into a USB 3.0 when communicating with it. system, so the maximum bandwidth is 5 Gbit per second and therefore 625 MB / s. Which puts it far from the speed of the PS5 drive, but it is fast enough to support most of the SATA SSDs on the market without issue.
What’s more, the PlayStation 4 disk drive reaches 300 MB / s at best, so technically what we have talked about in the previous section translates into doubling the bandwidth between the storage unit and the console, but this does not mean doubling the loading speed. In any case we give you a few data so that you have an idea of the improvement:
- The Witcher 3 using SSD takes 45 seconds to load, if we use a hard disk then the load takes 20 seconds more.
- In Just Cause 4 if we have a solid state drive it takes 21 seconds to load the game menu, while with a hard disk it takes 34 seconds.
- In Crysis Remaster it takes 70 seconds to load a level if we use the SSD, on the other hand if we use the unit that comes standard with the console, the loading times go to an additional 20 seconds.
So as you can see the loading times get better, but since the games are not designed to use the solid state drive and given the limitations of the SATA interface compared to an NVMe, the difference is not so much. In any case, PS4 lacks an interface to install an M.2 and we are limited to 2.5-inch SSDs.
The best SSDs for your PS4 console
After the introduction we are going to present you a series of 2.5-inch SATA SSD models that we believe are the ideal candidates to replace the hard drive of your PS4 Pro consoles, by the way remember that these recommendations also work for the standard PS4, already be it the original model or the Slim one that came out several years later and is still on sale today.
Samsung SSD 870 EVO
We start with the Samsung unit, which comes in 1, 2, 4 and 8 TB versions. It is a unit with a long life by supporting up to 2880 TBW of writing in its entire useful life, so if you are one of those who has a huge collection of games purchased on the PSN you can download and install them to enjoy them for long years.
In terms of its bandwidth, Samsung’s 870 EVO can perform sequential reads and writes of up to 560MB / s and 530MB / s respectively, which is to be expected from such a unit. If we already talk about its performance when it comes to accessing random data, reading goes to 98,000 IOPS and writing to 88,000.
It is the best unit in the comparison, with good performance and we do not see any failure to replace the disk drive of the fourth generation PlayStation.
Crucial MX500
The second SSD for PS4 that we bring you is the Crucial MX 500, with very close specifications, since it has a sequential read speed of 560 MB / s, but it is somewhat worse in sequential writes than the Samsung model when it works at 510 MB / s. As for its performance in random reading, this is 95,000 IOPS, but in writing it is 90,000.
To all this, we must clarify about this last data that is not very relevant for a video game console, since it will rarely do random writes because it only accesses the storage unit to make automatic saves or to install the game. In any case, it is a good option if you want to replace the HDD of your PS4 with an SSD.
WD Blue 3D and SanDisk Ultra 3D SSD
No, we have not been wrong and we are not telling you to buy and install both SATA SSDs in your PS4, but if we have put them together it is due to the fact that it is the same hardware, although under a different brand and therefore specifications and same characteristics. Its sequential read speed is 560 MB / s, which is standard in all these types of units. As for the sequential writing speed, it stays at 530 MB / s, so it ties in with the Samsung model.
If we go to random performance, this solid state drive reaches 95,000 IOPS in reads and 84,000 IOPS in writing, so in performance both hard drives win the silver medal, but because we have to choose one of both for price we are left with the WD Blue that usually costs a little less.
ADATA SU800r
The last on the list is the ADATA SU800, its read speed we will not say since it is the same as the rest, but its read speed is 520 MB / s, its IOPS performance is 95,000 for reading and 84,000 for writing, both obviously sequential.
Your best asset? The fact of having a dynamic SLC cache and a RAID Engine, which keeps its performance stable and does not decline. Which is ideal in very large play facilities.
