How to activate Boost Mode on PS4 Pro and improve all your old games!


The last generation of consoles brought a new trend as the crossroad of console and PC hardware finally overlapped; mid-generation refreshes.

Sony announced the PlayStation 4 Pro in 2016, with a release in November of that year. While it's design looked like three PS4 Slim consoles sandwiched into one, its GPU saw a significant improvement over the original PS4 model released back in 2013.

Alongside games that were updated to take advantage of this GPU, there's also a 'Boost Mode' that can increase the frame rate of some games.

If you were unfortunate to not receive a PS5 at Christmas last week, this could be a fine substitute while you plan to obtain Sony's newest console.

What is Boost Mode?

To be more specific, the GPU and the RAM in a PS4 Pro is up to 24 times faster than the original PS4 model, so while games released on the system will run as normal, there may be some that have been updated to take advantage of this.

But there will be games that simply haven't got the team required to do this anymore, which is where 'Boost Mode' comes in, which automatically tries to speed up any slowdown that the player is experiencing.

The games that have been known to benefit from this mode are:

  • Battlefield 4
  • BioShock
  • Dead By Daylight
  • Dragon Age
  • Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • Oddworld; New & Tasty
  • Project CARS
  • Prototype
  • Sniper Elite III
  • Uncharted Series
  • WWE 2K17
  • Yakuza Series

If you're wanting to improve your games while you wait for a PS5, it's a perfect time to look for a PS4 Pro, as many will be selling theirs to make way for a new console, especially after this Christmas.

READ MORE: How to connect Bluetooth headphones to your PS5!

How to Activate Boost Mode

This isn't a feature that's switched on by default when you switch on your PS4 Pro for the first time, as Sony advise to switch it on and off when really needed.

First, make sure that the PS4 Pro is updated to at least the 4.50 system software. Once this is confirmed, follow these steps:

  1. Go to 'Settings'.
  2. Scroll down to 'System'.
  3. 'Boost Mode' will be here; check the box to enable it.

Simple as that; you will now have 'Boost Mode' enabled for any game you play from then onwards, as long as the tick box is checked.

It's a mode that's seen many benefits to some games as developers learnt to fully use the PS4's performance in its seven-year lifetime, but as we all move to the PS5, it's a great mode to use while you wait to attain your own PS5 in the months ahead in 2021.

READ MORE: Disk spinning at random times on PS5; How to fix for now..

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