Language and terms

We need to clear any confusion for people that are new to this stuff. The PS4 is a relatively quirky console and it can get pretty confusing with the myriad of models there are.

TIP

Take notes and remember all you see in this page, as it will interest you during your installation.

Revisions

The PS4 family of consoles has had 3 revsions in total:

Phat/Fat

• CUH-1000, CUH-1100 and CUH-1200 series

Slim

• CUH-2000, CUH-2100 and CUH-2200 series

Pro

• CUH-7000, CUH-7100 and CUH-7200 series

Southbridges

The PS4 family is also divided into 3 major Southbridges:

Aeolia

The oldest and very supported for Linux, but is known to have some Wi-Fi or Bluetooth chips that may not work with some kernels.

It's only present on early Phat models.

Belize

The second gen Southbridge, and the one with the most support. Gets kernel updates faster and doesn't have any particular problems.

It can be found on late Phat models, but also on Slims and Pros.

Baikal

The third and final Southbridge, released very late into the console's lifespan (2018+), and the one with the least support. It doesn't have support for internal HDD installation, and is known to have issues, especially on PS4 Pros, but you may be able to get a working system.

This is because there are fewer people with Baikal PS4s, so there aren't many developers and testers.

TIP

In a nutshell, the list from most to least supported is:

1. Belize
2. Aeolia
3. Baikal

Other terms

Linux terms

To be fair, it is expected that you already know some of these, but if not, at least you'll learn something today.

• Root folder or / is the the the first folder of the entire OS. It contains all the folders of the system.
  • root is also the user that has access to the entire system.
• Distros or distributions, are operating systems that include the Linux kernel as a common base.
• Mesa: not the biome in Minecraft, but the Mesa Graphics Library. It's essentially a part of the graphics drivers and are necessary for graphics to work properly

PC terms

You are also supposed to know what all of these mean, but if not, here's an extremely quick rundown:

• OS: operating system
• CPU: the processor or "brain" of the computer
• GPU: the graphics processor, which handles... graphics
• RAM: the memory of the system, resets when the system is powered off and it's the location on which apps are moved when open
• Storage: the space where you install the OS and apps
• HDD: Hard Disk Drive, it's a type of storage based on a spinning metal disc. Very slow for our purposes.
• SSD: Solid State Drive, it's a type of storage that uses electricity instead of mechanical parts. Much faster than an HDD.

Other other terms

For all the other terms that didn't fit anywhere else:

• PS4: pfft are you serious?

To the setup

Now you've finally become the most powerful human in the world with all these achronyms! You should totally go to the next step, where you'll set up the console and PC to start the installation!