Don't Get Ripped on a PS5 Do this SSD Mod to a PS4 Pro Instead
Here's How to Beat the PS5 Supply Crunch
The scammers are out in force this holiday season and they are charging much more than retail for hot electronic devices like the Sony PS5 game consoles. Ever since it was released last year, finding a PS5 online has been next to impossible. It's not uncommon seeing the $499 retail Blue-ray version of a Sony Playstation 5 selling for over $1000 on eBay.
But you know what is easy to find, and often for less than retail on eBay? The PS4 Pro. This was the fastest PS4 model before they released the PS5. It is actually nicer in some ways than a PS5 and here's why.
1. A PS4 Pro Looks Nicer. Sorry, but the new larger case design of the PS5 is actually much larger. And with the white and black case, it looks a little gaudy.
If you plan on displaying your Playstation on a shelf or out in the open, the PS4 still looks better. It's so bad, some they are now selling skin case covers for the P5 to improve its looks. While it helps the overall look, it still does not look nearly as nice as the smaller, more streamlined PS4 Pro. Skin covers for a PS5 can be purchased on eBay for $24.
2. With current games, the PS5 is not that much faster than a PS4. One enormous improvement is the SSD Hard Drive Sony installed in the new PS5. But when you install a SSD drive in a PS4 Pro, you can even exceed a PS5 in game loading times sometimes. Watch the video below for a real time comparison. Adding a 2TB SSD to a PS4 Pro can also give you much more storage space than the 825GB drive Sony used in the PS5. Instructions for upgrading your hard drive to an SSD are listed below.
3. The Cost of a PS5 is Still Crazy High. The reason the average person can't get their hands on a PS5 is because unscrupulous scalpers are buying them 20 to 40 at a time with the help of bots.
Bots are automated software scripts that go out on the Internet and refresh a seller's website automatically every 5 seconds. When they detect a change of stock, they automatically add the item to the cart and even check out and pay. This can be done in seconds. So the average shopper waiting for an inventory dump on Best Buy or Walmart never stands a chance to buy one at the going retail price.
Bots are automated software scripts that go out on the Internet and refresh a seller's website automatically every 5 seconds. When they detect a change of stock, they automatically add the item to the cart and even check out and pay. This can be done in seconds. So the average shopper waiting for an inventory dump on Best Buy or Walmart never stands a chance to buy one at the going retail price.
Then the Bot buyers turn around and sell their PS5 on Craigslist or eBay for many times for $1000 or more.
But there is a silver lining. PS4 Pros are selling on eBay for a considerable discount. We picked up a PS4 Pro recently with a Dual Shock Controller and 6 popular games on eBay for $300. So while everyone is fighting for a PS5 and often paying over a grand, you can buy a PS4 Pro, mod it with a larger 2TB SSD. Then you have something nicer in some ways than Sony's latest gaming console for $450. The money you save can pay for a Nvidia SHIELD, an Apple TV and a year's subscription to Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max.
Search for PS4 Pro on eBay
PS4 Pro SSD Hard Drive Mod
To perform this mod, you will need to get a SSD Drive. Currently, the best drive that everyone recommends for upgrading the spinning platter drive in a PS4 Pro is the Samsung EVO Series SSD.
You can find them in different sizes, but don't get one smaller than 500GB. They also come in sizes 1TB, and 2GTB if you can afford it. This gives you much more storage for games which makes lets your Blu-ay player work less hard. Your games will load much faster and your Playstation will run smoother and load much quicker. And the best part is it will be less noisy.
In case you are wondering, no, you won't get the same performance increase by upgrading the standard PS4 drive. Because a standard PS4 uses a SATA 2 drive which is limited to (250Mbs), and a PS4 Pro uses a SATA 3 controller which maxes out a (550Mbs).
Adding an SSD as external storage won't help either. But upgrading the internal drive on a PS4 Pro is easy. Follow along with the video instructions below to upgrade your drive.
As a side-note, on the PS5, the drive is part of the motherboard, so you won't be able to upgrade these drives either. So by upgrading the PS4 Pro with a larger SSD, you will have more storage than on a new PS5.
Here's What is Needed to Upgrade the PS4 Pro Drive with SSD
• Samsung EVO SSD
• Philips screwdriver
• USB flash drive.
For backing up your games, apps, and important data, you will also need to use an external hard drive to move this back to the SSD.
But if your PS4 Pro is a new purchase, an external drive will not be needed.
1. If you need to back up your data. Attach the external hard drive to the PS4 Pro USB port. You need to use a large enough hard drive to transfer all your data. Then, power on your system. On your PS4 Pro, navigate to Settings/System/Backup and restore. Then choose "Backup PS4." Press X to add a check for saving applications. Your PS4 Pro will then reboot and begin the process of transferring all your data to the external drive. This could actually take several hours depending on how much data there is on your device.
2. Power down the PS4 Pro and make sure it is unplugged from AC power. As shown in the video, pull down the cover tab on the back side of the PS4 Pro. Remove the screw holding the hard drive tray and slide it out. Now, remove the four screws holding the hard drive to the mounting bracket. Once that's done, place your Samsung EVO SSD in the mounting bracket and tighten the four small Phillips screws.
3. Attach the SSD to the PS4 Pro by replacing the screw and slide the cover tab back on.
4. After the drive has been replaced, the system software must be reinstalled. Using a computer, go to the Playstation website to download the latest system software. SCROLL DOWN TO: PS4: reinstall system software. You need a USB flash drive that has a minimum of 1GB of free space.
5. This is the tricky part. With the USB drive plugged into a computer, make sure it's formatted to FAT32, then add a folder. Name it PS4. Inside this folder, add another folder and name it Update. Save the file into your new folder. Be sure the filename is ps4update.pup otherwise your PS4 Pro won't be able to find the file and the update will fail.
6. Power down PS4 Pro and make sure it's powered off. Insert the USB drive into your PS4 Pro, then press and hold the power button for 7 seconds. Select Initialize PS4 Pro, Reinstall System Software, and follow the on-screen instructions.
7. Connect the external hard drive with your saved data. Then go to System/Backup and Restore, and select Restore PS4 Pro. You will be prompted to navigate to your backup file. If an error occurs. Go back to step 5, and reconfirm the names of the file and folders are correct.
If you have your heart set on a PS5 or some other hard to find popular item online, then you will need to compete with the bots. Your best bet is to build and use your own bot, that can instantly buy an item when it shows up in stock.
We found a great script that works with the Tapermonkey Extension for Chrome or on a Brave Browser. Watch the video below on how to install Tapermonkey.
But if your PS4 Pro is a new purchase, an external drive will not be needed.
1. If you need to back up your data. Attach the external hard drive to the PS4 Pro USB port. You need to use a large enough hard drive to transfer all your data. Then, power on your system. On your PS4 Pro, navigate to Settings/System/Backup and restore. Then choose "Backup PS4." Press X to add a check for saving applications. Your PS4 Pro will then reboot and begin the process of transferring all your data to the external drive. This could actually take several hours depending on how much data there is on your device.
2. Power down the PS4 Pro and make sure it is unplugged from AC power. As shown in the video, pull down the cover tab on the back side of the PS4 Pro. Remove the screw holding the hard drive tray and slide it out. Now, remove the four screws holding the hard drive to the mounting bracket. Once that's done, place your Samsung EVO SSD in the mounting bracket and tighten the four small Phillips screws.
3. Attach the SSD to the PS4 Pro by replacing the screw and slide the cover tab back on.
4. After the drive has been replaced, the system software must be reinstalled. Using a computer, go to the Playstation website to download the latest system software. SCROLL DOWN TO: PS4: reinstall system software. You need a USB flash drive that has a minimum of 1GB of free space.
5. This is the tricky part. With the USB drive plugged into a computer, make sure it's formatted to FAT32, then add a folder. Name it PS4. Inside this folder, add another folder and name it Update. Save the file into your new folder. Be sure the filename is ps4update.pup otherwise your PS4 Pro won't be able to find the file and the update will fail.
6. Power down PS4 Pro and make sure it's powered off. Insert the USB drive into your PS4 Pro, then press and hold the power button for 7 seconds. Select Initialize PS4 Pro, Reinstall System Software, and follow the on-screen instructions.
7. Connect the external hard drive with your saved data. Then go to System/Backup and Restore, and select Restore PS4 Pro. You will be prompted to navigate to your backup file. If an error occurs. Go back to step 5, and reconfirm the names of the file and folders are correct.
How to Build Your Own Bot to Help Score a PS5 at BestBuy
If you have your heart set on a PS5 or some other hard to find popular item online, then you will need to compete with the bots. Your best bet is to build and use your own bot, that can instantly buy an item when it shows up in stock.
We found a great script that works with the Tapermonkey Extension for Chrome or on a Brave Browser. Watch the video below on how to install Tapermonkey.
From the Script Developer:
"I made a best buy bot using JavaScript and Tampermoney. I built this FREE BOT in response to the severe tech scalping situation that's happening right now. Almost every tech product that's coming out right now is being instantly brought out by scalping groups and then resold at at insane prices. $699 GPUs are being listed for $1700 on eBay, and these scalpers are buying 40 carts while normal consumers can't get a single one. Preorders for the PS5 are being resold for nearly $1000. My take on this is that if I release a bot that anyone can use, for free, then the number of items that scalpers can buy goes down and normal consumers can buy items for MSRP. If everyone is botting, then no one is betting."
Copy the following Script into Tapermonkey and save it. Then enable it so it will run. Visit the developer's GitHub page for more directions on how to use this script.
You need to add the Blu-ray PS5 model number into the script 3006634/3005718. You can also choose another hard to find item or different Playstation model. To do this, change the keyword inside the quotes next to ITEM_KEYWORD= "3006634/3005718" with the model number of the item of what you want to buy.
You also need to change a few other parameters in the script to match what's shown below in the picture. You can either edit this in Tapermonkey. (Be sure to save the file.) This will make sure the item is not just added to the cart but actually purchased. If you want to test it, leave the line that says: TESTMODE = "No"; to Yes.
Test this script by visiting Bestbuy.com and add an in stock item model number to the script. Once you reload the page, the item will automatically be added to your cart.
Adding your credit card as a payment source in your BestBuy account and then setting the line: CREDITCARD_CVV = "***"; with your Credit Card CVV number will automatically purchase the item. Also, be sure to enter the last four digits of your cell phone in this line: SMS_DIGITS = "****";
You can either edit this in Tapermonkey or the JS file before you copy and paste it. (Be sure to save the file when you change it in Tapermonkey.)
One final warning: When running this script, make sure not to place items in your cart that you don't plan on buying right away. Because if the script runs and finds a PS5, it will purchase everything already loaded in your cart.
Once you visit the BestBuy page that contains the PS5 that is out of stock, you will see the script running by the small info window it presents in the bottom left-hand corner of the browser window. See the image below.
The script will automatically refresh the page and then if it sees the PS5 is in stock will automatically either add it to your cart, and buy it or just leave it in your cart depending on what you set in the preferences.
If you look online for other Tapermonkey scripts, you can find some for other online stores. These can run at the same time in other browser tabs on your browser.
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Use of third-party trademarks on this site is not intended to imply endorsement nor affiliation with respective trademark owners.
We are Not Affiliated with or Endorsed by Roku®, Apple, Google or Other Companies we may write about.
