Hello folks...

I haven't owned a console since the PS1 and I am planning on buying a PS3 to utilize as a gaming console but more importantly as a Blu-Ray player... I can't figure out which one to pick up.... The 80GB version will be out of my price range, it comes down to the 60GB ($499) version which will be sold out soon, and the soon to be released 40GB ($399) version....

Can someone run down the differences in these units for me in terms of what comes in the box & features...

Secondly, why would I need an extra 20 GB of hard drive space? What's that used for? If I just plan on playing games and watching Blu-Ray discs, do I really need to opt for more hard drive space?

Normally this wouldn't be a difficult decision but having never owned the unit, I need to determine why one would need to shell out an extra $100 for more HD space.

Thanks for your help.

Hello folks...

I haven't owned a console since the PS1 and I am planning on buying a PS3 to utilize as a gaming console but more importantly as a Blu-Ray player... I can't figure out which one to pick up.... The 80GB version will be out of my price range, it comes down to the 60GB ($499) version which will be sold out soon, and the soon to be released 40GB ($399) version....

Can someone run down the differences in these units for me in terms of what comes in the box & features...

Secondly, why would I need an extra 20 GB of hard drive space? What's that used for? If I just plan on playing games and watching Blu-Ray discs, do I really need to opt for more hard drive space?

Normally this wouldn't be a difficult decision but having never owned the unit, I need to determine why one would need to shell out an extra $100 for more HD space.

Thanks for your help.

You'll have to wait a week or two to find out the specific facts on the 40gig ps3. It may not have backwards compatibility, which is something you might want to consider if you want to play old games on if you still have any.

Anyway, as a general rule, you DO NOT need much space if you are just going to be doing some casual gaming and blu ray playing. Get the SMALLEST hard drive that fits what you want to pay and then you can always upgrade later. This is the fantastic thing about the PS3, you can easily upgrade the HD at a later date.

Makes sense DPE... I have no need for backwards compatibility...

I'm leaning more towards the 40 GB version once that's confirmed...

Do PS3's still utilize memory cards or can all that information just be stored on the main unit's hard drive?

Makes sense DPE... I have no need for backwards compatibility...

I'm leaning more towards the 40 GB version once that's confirmed...

Do PS3's still utilize memory cards or can all that information just be stored on the main unit's hard drive?

Everything can be stored (and will be automatically) on the hard drive. This is one of those things that the average customer doesnt know, which is too bad. When you buy a Wii or a core 360, you have to buy a memory card. This is not needed for any PS3. 40 gigs should be more than enough for what you want. The only other issue may be that that model is only supposed to have 2 USB inputs. I seriously can't think how this might hurt you though. Even if you need more (maybe for Rock Band if you want all the instruments at once) you can always get a super cheap USB hub.

Everything can be stored (and will be automatically) on the hard drive. This is one of those things that the average customer doesnt know, which is too bad. When you buy a Wii or a core 360, you have to buy a memory card. This is not needed for any PS3. 40 gigs should be more than enough for what you want. The only other issue may be that that model is only supposed to have 2 USB inputs. I seriously can't think how this might hurt you though. Even if you need more (maybe for Rock Band if you want all the instruments at once) you can always get a super cheap USB hub.

You do not need a memory card for the wii or at least not for the five or so games I have played on the wii.

The Wii has internal memory so you do not need a memory card for it. The Core 360 does require a memory card, however as of Oct 26th the core 360 will come bundled with a 256mb memory card, 5 live arcade games on CD, and a wireless controller.

Hello folks...

I haven't owned a console since the PS1 and I am planning on buying a PS3 to utilize as a gaming console but more importantly as a Blu-Ray player... I can't figure out which one to pick up.... The 80GB version will be out of my price range, it comes down to the 60GB ($499) version which will be sold out soon, and the soon to be released 40GB ($399) version....

Can someone run down the differences in these units for me in terms of what comes in the box & features...

Secondly, why would I need an extra 20 GB of hard drive space? What's that used for? If I just plan on playing games and watching Blu-Ray discs, do I really need to opt for more hard drive space?

Normally this wouldn't be a difficult decision but having never owned the unit, I need to determine why one would need to shell out an extra $100 for more HD space.

Thanks for your help.

As a blu-ray player you'll need very little HD space, the HD space is mainly for games and saving downloads from the PS Network. I would recommend hooking it up online and browsing through, trailers and demo's are still worth trying out.

Plus if you need a larger HD, you can spend $100 bucks next year and probably get a 160GB or larger HD replacement.

-Splints

As a blu-ray player you'll need very little HD space, the HD space is mainly for games and saving downloads from the PS Network. I would recommend hooking it up online and browsing through, trailers and demo's are still worth trying out.

Plus if you need a larger HD, you can spend $100 bucks next year and probably get a 160GB or larger HD replacement.

-Splints

What's the average size of a demo download from the PS Network?

What's the average size of a demo download from the PS Network?

Between 700 MBs and 1.5 gigs. Usually under a gig.

The PSN demos are the #1 filler of my 60gig drive -I'm down to about 14gigs left. That and a bunch of mp3 mixes that are too big to burn to cd.

As a blu-ray player you'll need very little HD space, the HD space is mainly for games and saving downloads from the PS Network. I would recommend hooking it up online and browsing through, trailers and demo's are still worth trying out.

Plus if you need a larger HD, you can spend $100 bucks next year and probably get a 160GB or larger HD replacement.

-Splints


Would that be a Sony proprietary hard drive you are alluding to?

My coworker was telling me that you can hook up an external hard drive to the PS3, it just has to be formatted and used exclusively w/ the PS3 as you cannot use it for both your PS3 and PC storage...

Would that be a Sony proprietary hard drive you are alluding to?

My coworker was telling me that you can hook up an external hard drive to the PS3, it just has to be formatted and used exclusively w/ the PS3 as you cannot use it for both your PS3 and PC storage...

Wow, that's a lot of rumor and no facts to back any of it up. Let me see if I can help clarify.

Ok, so a few points to make about those looking at alternative HD's.

1) You can only save demo's to the internal PS3 drive. If you download trailers or video's or mp3's, you have the option of downloading them to an external drive or internal hd. On internal HDD downloads you can download in the background and do other things, but if you save directly to the external drive, you won't be able to do anything else till the download finishes. Typically I save to the internal drive and hop into warhawk and then just copy the files to my external drive later.

2) The external HD can be used for other machines, it just needs to be formatted in FAT32. The issue is that WinXP in it's infinite wisdom will only format to a maximum of 32GB. Probably because MS wants you to format in NTFS and not FAT32. You can download free utilities for WinXP that will format the drive to it's full 500GB or 1TB capacity, I did such for my 500GB external USB 2.0 drive. As for not being able to use for PC and PS3 storage, I claim that is false. I have plenty of vacation photos stored on my external drive that came from my pc. For the PS3 you need to have a directory named "GAME", "PHOTO", "MUSIC", and "VIDEO" to be recognized by the ps3. From there you can play mp3's, jpg's, etc. The video is a bit more restricted, a little research will be required to determine what video's can be played on the ps3. Here's another instruction guide on external HDD's: http://www.wikihow.com/Add-an-External-Hard-Drive-to-a-Playstation-3

3) For those looking for a ps3 internal replacement drive, the only requirements are 2.5" SATA drive, commonly known as laptop HD's. It's been shown that 7200RPM's don't make a difference, so go with 5400RPM's and save the extra bucks as well as keep your ps3 cooler. Here's a link about how to do it: http://www.gamersreports.com/article/43

Make sure you backup your internal HD before you perform the upgrade. For a brand new system, just swap it out. Ebay your old drive to make some coin back and your all set!

Hope that helps!

-Splints

It may not have backwards compatibility, which is something you might want to consider if you want to play old games on if you still have any.

The 60 GB PS3 (also 20 GB) is the last one to have the EE chip, which does hardware emulation of older PS2 and PS1 games. You should be able to play 100 % of the older games on that.

The newest 80 GB and 40 GB PS3 will only have software emulation of older games. You will still be able to play "most" older games, but definately not as many as a hardware emulation based PS3.

As far as the hard drive for the PS3, it uses a standard SATA 2.5" laptop hard drive, and is easily replaced. It does not void the warranty. I think they are selling up to a 250 GB laptop hard drive now in the computer stores.

The new PS3 will apparently have 2 less USB ports on them! No need to worry, as you can get a USB hub if you have more than 2 devices you want to hook up! Also, they will be dropping the memory card slots from the 40GB.

I think they are selling up to a 250 GB laptop hard drive now in the computer stores.

320GB's are coming soon, lol :D

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/toshibas-320gb-2-5-inch-hard-drive-a-worlds-best-for-laptops/

I have a feeling that when the 40GB is officially announced, the 80GB will also get a price drop to $499. Then you can pick up that one, problem solved! :D

I have a feeling that when the 40GB is officially announced, the 80GB will also get a price drop to $499. Then you can pick up that one, problem solved! :D

Perhaps thats the 3 announcements, 40gig, 80gig to 499, and 60gig about sold out. Although honestly for 499 i would rather get the 60gig for the b/c.

Perhaps thats the 3 announcements, 40gig, 80gig to 499, and 60gig about sold out. Although honestly for 499 i would rather get the 60gig for the b/c.

Same, but there's a surprising number of people that don't care about BC at all. Once they go next-gen, they never look back. And then there's people like the TC who don't care about BC because they didn't own a ps2.

Plus if you need a larger HD, you can spend $100 bucks next year and probably get a 160GB or larger HD replacement.

-Splints
Agreed. Hell, I was able to do this 6 months ago. HDD prices have gotten pretty cheap.

Same, but there's a surprising number of people that don't care about BC at all. Once they go next-gen, they never look back. And then there's people like the TC who don't care about BC because they didn't own a ps2.

Unfortuntely, I have a few friends I play with online, that I have been unable to convince to buy a PS3 yet. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good some of the PS2 games look when upconverted. It has made it a lot less painful to play those old PS2 games.

320GB's are coming soon, lol :D

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/toshibas-320gb-2-5-inch-hard-drive-a-worlds-best-for-laptops/


SWEET!

Looks like we won't see it until after November, according to the article!