PS4 - Which one to pick up used

[jackofall84]

I used to really enjoy playing video games like Tomb Raider, Halo, Need for Speed, COD, Gran Turismo etc, etc. but after leaving uni about 15 years ago, work and then kids I gradually hung up my controller to my PS3 and it's mainly been gathering dust for the last 10 years.

My son has just go to an age though where he's starting to get into Fifa and driving games and he's been enjoying playing these on my old PS3. On top of that I have a good friend who lives a fair way from me and thought it'd be quite fun for he and I to do a few co-op missions on a few games.

So I've been thinking about picking up a used PS4...looking to spend around £100 and wondered what I should look for at this price point as I've seen some as cheap as £50.

I don't have a 4K TV and will probably only end up playing a handful of games once or twice a week so I can't see a need for a 'Pro'. So would I be best off looking to go as cheap as possible and only get a 500GB or spend a bit more for a 1TB?

[Brainpox]

From what you’ve said you’ll probably want a few games available at a time. In which case you’ll probably want the 1TB model. From memory the OS and formatting takes 130GB away which means you are at 370GB vs 870GB usable storage. Some games are 100GB so doesn’t leave much to spare. As above though can upgrade the internal storage yourself with any 2.5” drive.

[boyse7en]

I bought a standard 500GB PS4 and it has been fine for me so far. The only issue i have is that it is so noisy. I took it apart and cleaned out the fan and case with compressed air and a small brush, but it is still loud when a game starts (on the menu screen etc it is quiet, start up Uncharted 4, for example, and it sounds like a jet engine powering up). I have to use earbuds plugged into the controller to hear what is going on in the game.

If you can pick up a cheap one that isn't working, they are quite easy to repair. I replaced the hard drive on mine for £20 and a new laser for the DVD drive was £10.

[Steven_RW]

The cheapest possible one that comes with an official PS4 controller. Space isn't important and your budget set is likely to get you a wedge shaped 500gb launch model. However if lucky, then yes take a PS4 Slim. Same performance just a bit more modern. The Pro is better but it isn't within your budget.

I played my games from disc (though some part always installs) and never hit the space limit for my 500gb model, not my 1gb Pro model.

Before you buy it, make sure and see it running and taking a disc in the drive and playing the game that way. Save you getting any nasty surprises that the drive doesn't work etc.

I loved my original launch PS4 and upgraded to Pro when the Pro launched. Sold the Pro when I bought a PS5 and then re-bought the final iteration of PS4 Pro as I realised I still had use for it and I shouldn't have sold mine in the first place.

Cheers

RW

[Brainpox]

Steven_RW said:

I played my games from disc (though some part always installs) and never hit the space limit for my 500gb model, not my 1gb Pro model.

To my knowledge, the disc effectively acts as a key to play the game from the drive. The transfer speeds from Blu-rays are too slow to play from directly. Any game updates obviously apply only to the drive and not to the disc. So you need the same space whether you play disc or digital copies.

[Steven_RW]

Brainpox said:

Steven_RW said:

I played my games from disc (though some part always installs) and never hit the space limit for my 500gb model, not my 1gb Pro model.

To my knowledge, the disc effectively acts as a key to play the game from the drive. The transfer speeds from Blu-rays are too slow to play from directly. Any game updates obviously apply only to the drive and not to the disc. So you need the same space whether you play disc or digital copies.

Makes sense. Thanks. So my statement of playing games and not hitting my space limit applies to both those that buy digital and physical media games.

I have expanded my PS5 but I havent run out of the standard capacity yet. I just housekeep a bit and it seems to be fine for me.

[jackofall84]

Thanks for the advice all. I see you can buy a 1 TB external drive for about £40, so the 500GB version looks like the best option as I can always spend the money saved on an extra drive if required at a later date.

[HarryD]

FWIW (knowing it’s slightly above the £100 budget you mentioned but does give you some peace of mind) CEX provide 24 month warranty on used consoles:

[jackofall84]

HarryD said:

FWIW (knowing it’s slightly above the £100 budget you mentioned but does give you some peace of mind) CEX provide 24 month warranty on used consoles:

That is worth considering...£40 for 2 years piece of mind?