Ok, sorry for the noob post here, but I only recently got an HD set worthy of the next-gen consoles. I've been happy with a Wii, so I haven't been paying a bit of attention to the PS3. But now I'm thinking seriously of picking up a PS3 in the next 2 to 3 weeks -- especially since the Blu-Ray war is over.

I was looking at the 80-gig, but I see now that it has disappeared. I'm primarily interested in the gaming and the Blu-Ray, but the couple of extra features in the 80 were intriguing to me.

Is now the right time to be purchasing a 40-gig model? I know it's speculation, but would it be worth it to wait a little while longer if there's something new on the horizon? I see talk of a 45-mm core and some other things, but I can't seem to find any generally-accepted rumors of a new model coming out or when.

I would hate to get a 40 now only to find in a week or so that another 80 (or a 120!) came out at a cheaper price. What's Sony's usual timing for releasing a new model after pulling an old one? Or do you all think the answer will be clear in next 2 to 3 weeks anyway?

Again, sorry for the noob post. But you all are pretty doggone knowledgeable! :D

I think you will see a white 40GB and maybe new high end SKU, but I doubt you will see a new price point. If you don't care about playing PS2 games then the 40GB is a safe bet now.

Almost everywhere you look there are rumors of a new SKU coming. Nobody can say for certain if they are true (as the 80G, 40G and Rumble controller all were) or not. For sure the rumble controller is coming. If you buy a 40G today you will get a controller without rumble, at some point this will end up as a packin for sure. 2-3 weeks is probably too soon, if your not willing to wait several months for the "big" shows then you'll be fine with a 40G now.

At least wait until after GDC this week... it is ripe for a SKU announcement if any are coming.

Wait till after GDC to see if anything is announced. If not, you can't go wrong with picking up a 40GB.

Thanks, everybody. Sounds like the consensus is to wait through this week, and if nothing appears than a 40 it should be.

Too bad if nothing appears. I kind of wanted the BC.

I just purchased a 40gb and am very happy with it, it is completely silent while running and from what I read on the net the 80gb have the 90nm chip which produces more heat and the 40 gb have the 65nm chip. I would prolly still wait til the GDC is over and see what comes from it

^^^yep. plus, i heard that sony is thinking of doing full software emulation for the 40 gig. so all hope is not lost on backwards compatibility.

The only potential knock against the 40GB model (other than no current PS2 support) is that more and more games are installing very large, permanent files to the hard drive. Lost Planet for example will be installing a 5GB (yes, gigabyte) file and the installation is mandatory. If more developers start to follow that model, your 40GB (nearly 1/5 of which is already reserved by the system) will quickly run out of space. You can replace the hard drive of course, but that involves extra work and expense. As such, I'd probably look around to see if you can still get an 80GB model or wait a bit longer to see if a new SKU is announced.

Thanks, everybody. Sounds like the consensus is to wait through this week, and if nothing appears than a 40 it should be.

Too bad if nothing appears. I kind of wanted the BC.

I'm sure you can still find new 80gb's on ebay.

I'm primarily interested in the gaming and the Blu-Ray, but the couple of extra features in the 80 were intriguing to me.Which extra features are you most interested in?

If you're just looking for backwards compatibility, the chances are very high that Sony will present some sort of software solution for the 40gig. But when that will happen is anyone's guess at this point. It's also not clear if they'll be simply releasing PS2 games individually for (pay) download, or if they'll enable full software BC for already existing PS2 discs.

Sony themselves may not even know the answer to those questions yet. They keep going back and forth on what they're telling the public. At first, they were all about BC. Then they said it was expendable. Now, it's "important" to them. Who knows?

If you're very interested in BC, I'd hunt down an 80gig or a 60gig. They're still around if you know where to look. Target (in-store) seems to be a good place to check.

Since Sony only recently introduced the 40gig and its cheaper price tag, I doubt they'll be lowering the price on their consoles any time soon.

The only potential knock against the 40GB model (other than no current PS2 support) is that more and more games are installing very large, permanent files to the hard drive. Lost Planet for example will be installing a 5GB (yes, gigabyte) file and the installation is mandatory. If more developers start to follow that model, your 40GB (nearly 1/5 of which is already reserved by the system) will quickly run out of space. You can replace the hard drive of course, but that involves extra work and expense. As such, I'd probably look around to see if you can still get an 80GB model or wait a bit longer to see if a new SKU is announced.

Honestly, down the line even the 80GB drives will be filled. It's actually better to get a cheap unit early (20GB or 40GB) and then upgrade later when you can get a 160-250 GB laptop drive on sale. My 60 GB drive from launch has forced me to delete some stuff, so I'll buy a 250GB drive when I find a great deal on a good unit (i.e. $100).