Sony Confirms SATA 3 Hard Drive Support for PS4 Pro

Still no support for External HDD Sony? #ridiculous

Is it still on a USB controller though? If it is, it won't really matter. I should also point out, you almost certainly won't get faster install/load times unless you're using an SSD (not even with a hybrid or a 7200rpm).

Any word on drive bay size, is it still 2.5 inch?
Be great if they made it 3.5, then could fit a 4GB 7200rpm HDD nicely.

@Futureshark Yeah, I prefer 3.5mm size since it's cheaper and available at more storage than the 2.5mm one. Unfortunately, ps4 pro still use 2.5mm size

Gotta love that Gamespot article:

"Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii U do not support swapping out internal hard drives,"

FY for Sony only fans, no Nintendo console has ever had an internal HDD.

So, is Sony actually putting a compatible HDD in there for us, or still using the old slower ones? I am still happy about the extra GB of RAM though. I'm probably still get a Slim, but Sony still has me thinking about it.

@rjejr From what I see it's an extra GB of RAM to run background tasks....that also frees up 512MB of the previous set of RAM. Which means background tasks on the base PS4 either eat up 1.5GB, or the system is less memory efficient, since they added 1GB in that only frees up half a GB of what was there prior, if you catch my drift.

Either way its nice...but pointless if not used right, with the right hardware configuration for maximum efficiency

@BLPs You're getting a bit to technical for me there. My thinking goes more like this:

PS4 Slim 500GB and Uncharted 4 - $299
PS4 Pro 1TB no game - $399

What does Pro have that Slim doesn't to justify the extra $140 cost (based on U4 being $40)

500GB, 1GB RAM, SATA 3.0 vs 2.0.
And stuff I can't use on my 1080p TV - 4k, HDR

I still think when it gets closer to release they'll announce a Pro bundle w/ RotTR, as that's a game that makes the most use of Pro power on a 1080p TV. They just don't want to announce it yet b/c they want people to buy that game sepearlty first and it just came out very recently. They may also announce a FXV bundle, but at $449 on the Slim it may be too expensive.

I'm taking my kids to the Sony Game truck tomorrow to do some hands on research. Too bad Pro isn't out yet, but maybe they'll have 1 on the truck?

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/campaigns/road-to-greatness/

Watch for pics on Twitter.

@rjejr Who knows, I'm so wrapped up in an actual new console. If...I'm honest...one of the two PS4 revisions doesn't need to exist. The Slim is missing an output format, and the Pro has a marginally better HDD, if used right, and an extra 512MB for games, but the actual HDD space isn't buffed up, and you cant really use the 4K and HDR stuff, which is worth mentioning HDR is on every PS4 anyway now.

Furthermore, a lot of past games aren't getting buffed for Pro, and its not even clear if it improves performance regardless, it depends if that price is worth it, which in my eyes....not really. There's not enough there.

@BLPs "The Slim is missing an output format,"

Yes, I know, the optical port, which the Wii U doesn't have either, so I actually really had to buy an entire new surround sound system just for Wii U. I moved my old perfectly function old surround sound system into my bedroom fo rmy 2nd PS3 and cable box and over-the-air TV veiwing.

So thanks for the warning, but thanks to Ntinedo I'm actually looking forward to buying another system w/o an optical port to help justify my sound system purchase.

Great news for those of us that use SSD.

@adf86 No - you would need to reformat the 2TB HDD from what I understand and then install as 'new'

SATA 3 may have faster data transfer potential but most HDD's are actually limited by their 'read/write' speed. If the HDD can't actually read or write at 6GB's per second, then its unlikely you will see any improvement at all. Installing most HDD's would actually run just as well on SATA 2. Not many HDD's can actually read/write the data fast enough to warrant SATA 3.

USB3.0 has a higher transfer rate than SATA2 and nearly as high as SATA 3. Those that use external drives often find loading/installing times are virtually identical to their similar speed internal SATA 2 HDD as they both have the same read/write time and are not bottlenecked by the connection.

Its like making a road much wider but still only sending a single car limited to 50mph down it!

Of course if you own/buy an SSD, you could take advantage of SATA3 but traditional HDD's are unlikely to benefit at all.

I would love to know the dimensions of the cage. I am hoping Sony have increased the width to allow for higher capacity internal HDD's - especially as they seem reluctant to catch up with the competition and offer dull external support

@rjejr the ps4 pro is just future proofing. In case you ever swap up in TV or hard drives. I plan to, so it's a good investment for me. Not likely for other people.