Checking Out the External Hard Drive Capability on PS4

On 03/11/2017 at 10:37 AM by mothman

As you are probably aware PS4 update 4.50 came out this week and with it the ability to plug in an external USB 3.0 drive (up to 8 TB) and store game downloads on it.

This is a big boost for those who don't want to swap out their internal drive or want more storage than the 2 TB limitation of the internal option allows.

However there is a caveat. Once you mount your "extended storage" all games download to it. You don't have the ability to choose between the internal or external drives. This includes updates to games that are on the internal drive.

I guess this isn't a big deal for those who are almost out of space on their 500 GB stock drive but how easy would it have been to allow the OS to detect both drives and let you manage them accordingly.

Also keep in mind that you must keep the external drive plugged into one of the two USB ports at all times. If you wish to remove it you have to stop using extended storage first.

SanAndreas

03/11/2017 at 11:03 AM

Win some, lose some. I've filled up my PS4's stock HDD and I'd rather be able to plug in an external HDD rather than going through the trouble of futzing around with replacing the internal drive.

mothman

03/11/2017 at 01:40 PM

Well it does seem to be quite simple to set up. I can't speak about performance though but I may install a game on it and play for a while when I get a chance.

Super Step Contributing Writer

03/11/2017 at 11:52 AM

Tha t came out? Don't think I got the update yet.

03/11/2017 at 01:00 PM

Thursday I think.

KnightDriver

03/11/2017 at 10:14 PM

I'm not really keeping much on my HD except for what I'm actually playing. The rest sit there up on the cloud.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

03/12/2017 at 01:41 AM

I don't know. Like Knightdriver, I can keep a lot in the cloud. But long term, I would like to have them all available. I have been buying digital games during PSN sales, so I have a bunch. I like to not have to put in a disc to play. I'm lazy. :)

03/12/2017 at 10:05 AM

I pretty much need to download stuff so I don't forget I have it. On PS4 it's easier to see because of the library function but on PS3 and Vita it's ridiculous.

03/12/2017 at 10:10 AM

goddamn those expensive Vita cards!

03/12/2017 at 10:22 AM

I have two 16 GB and 2 8 GB cards and that still isn't close to enough to hold all my content.

03/12/2017 at 12:55 PM

i have 1 16. I switch out games a lot. Of course, I always have FFVII and FFIX and Tactics Ogre permanently installed.

goaztecs

03/13/2017 at 12:38 PM

Right when I think Sony is doing the right thing they go and ruin it by this nonsense. How hard is it to let users choose where they want to install their content. I just saw that random Walmart's are clearancing out 2TB drives for $40 and of course the local stores are out. I guess I saved $40

Blake Turner Staff Writer

03/13/2017 at 09:19 PM

Oh shit, this is great news! So sick of having to delete 30 games off my hard drive to make space for half a triple A game!

PixlBit