Recommended external hard drives for expanding PS5 and PS4 storage?

Question

So I finally hit the wall today. I thought the 825GB on the PS5 would last me at least a few months but between Warzone and some of the newer titles like Horizon I am literally down to 15GB. Its a nightmare. I have been using external drives for years on my PS4 Pro so I thought I knew what I was doing but the whole 'you cant play PS5 games off an external' thing is really throwing a wrench in my setup. I need something fast enough to at least store the PS5 games for cold storage but I also want to play my massive PS4 backlog directly off the drive without insane load times.

I am looking for something that hits these points:

Budget is around $120 maybe up to $150 if its really worth it

Needs to be at least 4TB or 5TB because my library is huge

Durability is a big one because my last Seagate died after like 8 months

Id prefer something that doesnt need an extra power brick if possible

I was looking at the WD Black ones but some people say the SSD versions are better even though they are way more expensive per gig. Is the speed difference really that noticeable for PS4 games or should I just stick with a high capacity HDD? I am trying to get this ordered by tonight so I can actually play something this weekend...

ThomasBouse · Accepted Answer

Caught this a day late but quick question... how often are you actually gonna swap those PS5 games back and forth? If its all the time, HDD speeds might drive you crazy. For that budget and huge size tho, these are decent options:

Silicon Power Armor A60 5TB Portable HDD

ADATA HD710 Pro 5TB External Hard Drive Both are rugged enough to last and dont need a power brick.

JosephFuh · Answer

Like someone mentioned, HDDs are the only way to get 5TB under $150. I prioritize reliability now after a drive died mid-transfer once... total mess.

LaCie Rugged Mini 5TB Portable HDD: Rubber shell for extra protection.

Toshiba Canvio Advance 4TB External Hard Drive: Reliable and budget-friendly. Neither needs a power brick. PS4 games wont see a massive boost on SSD anyway, so higher capacity is better tbh.

AzureDragon · Answer

Man, the storage struggle is real. I went through the same thing last year. Since you want 5TB on that budget, youre definitely looking at an HDD because SSD prices for that capacity are honestly insane right now. In my experience, the speed difference for PS4 games on an external drive isnt a huge dealbreaker... we are talking maybe a few seconds difference usually. Ive been using the Western Digital 5TB WD_BLACK P10 Game Drive for about two years now and its been a total tank. It doesnt need an extra power cable, just plugs straight into the USB port. Since your Seagate died, this feels way more solid physically too. It handles my PS4 backlog perfectly and moving PS5 games back and forth for cold storage is fast enough. For around $130, it hits your sweet spot perfectly and should last way longer than your last one.