To add to the point above: storage management on the Pro is definitely a headache. I ended up grabbing a Samsung T7 1TB Portable SSD and the load times are honestly way better, tho you pay a premium for that speed. If you want more space for cheap, the Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB Portable HDD is a decent tank that never gave me issues.

• T7: super fast, expensive
• Canvio: reliable, budget friendly Just dont drop them while running.

Coming back to this, I definitely know that struggle. I spent way too many nights deleting games just to try something new, honestly felt like a part-time job. I decided to stop messing around and picked up a Seagate Expansion 2TB External HDD because I found it on sale. Honestly, it has been a total relief. It just sits there plugged into the back of my Pro and works well, no weird disconnects or slow loading screens so far. Here is how I saved a few bucks:

• Check for refurbished units from official sites to save like 30 bucks.
• Wait for major retail holidays since these drives drop in price constantly.
• Avoid the fancy gaming-branded ones, they usually cost more just for the logo. I am pretty satisfied with how it handles everything, even open-world games.

I feel your pain. I spent years juggling installs on my original Pro, and it gets old fast. Honestly, save your cash and stick with something proven that wont break the bank. Here is what I have been using lately without issues:

• WD My Passport 2TB Portable HDD Its super solid and usually goes on sale for way under your budget. Ive had mine plugged in for ages and it never drops connection. Just plug it in and forget it.

Building on the earlier suggestion, Ive tried many drives over the years on different consoles and honestly, you want to focus heavily on long term reliability instead of just grabbing the cheapest one on sale. In my experience, mechanical drives can be finicky with USB power delivery on the Pro if you get a flaky enclosure. For around your budget, grab a SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB. It completely eliminates loading stutter and wont fail on you randomly. If you strictly need more gigabytes over speed, stick with a desktop powered drive instead of portable ones since they handle sustained read writes way better during long gaming sessions. Hope this helps you finally ditch the delete menu.