The "Super-Slim" PS3 (4000 model series) - Page 3

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2012/07/14/amazing-renders-of-the-new-ps3-cech-4000/



Here is a render courtesy of NeoGaf member MYE (via TheSixthAxis).
Edited by Mikazaru - 7/14/12 at 12:06pm

I love the over reacting to the crappy pics that are most likely just a shell made to illustrate the zise, and not the finsl product. It will come out and look great and all the internet dorks will STFU and move on to something else to bitch about.

Also, when MS released the 4GB 360, it didn't sell as well as the ones with actual HDDs. It ended up being more of a consumer perception strategy than an actual sales strategy. In other words, having a "budget model" in the marketplace actually helped sales of the other models.

But MS HDD add drives are propitiatory.

Assuming all version of this come with 16GB flash built in and a drive bay, buying the lowest model without the drive and buying a large one separate is very tempting for a lot of consumers. The higher end models would be the perception strategy for those with 0 tech ability, or care, and to push with bundling.

2 usb's on the front, none on the back. Anyone have the camera and move?

Those already disappeared long ago with the Slim redesign.
Nice Freudian slip, considering how much of an insult their overpriced proprietary drives actually are.

With the drive at the top of the console, there goes my setup. I put my slim PS3 (model 2500) at the bottom, middle plat X360 (Jasper) and top slim X360, all sitting on the horizontally. The slim X360 blows the heat upwards. Each system sucks cool air from different direction. At bottom PS3 sucks air from the front and blows hot air to the back, plat X360 sucks cool air from the right side and out at the back, and slim X360 sucks from the right side and blows the hot air to the top.

I put my launch plat PS3 away from the rest because it's like radiating so much heat. It sucks cool air from the front bottom and lower right side, and blows the radiated plasma air out to the back and upper right. I put a small laptop cooling pad on the bottom of the plat PS3 to help cooling the hottest part of the console.
Edited by Vortex3D - 7/14/12 at 5:08pm

If they come out with a new version I hope Gamestop has a generous trade in deal again. I did it befor when I traded in my PS3 FAT model for a slim version. And a new box without a hard drive would be perfect for me since I don't use it for any games. As long as the power usage makes another jump lower I wouldn't mind getting one to use along with my other media players and as a backup BD player for the rare times I play a BD Instead of a BD ISO.

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I think it has to do with each USB controller can only control 2 USB ports. Adding USB on the back sounds practical but it's extra cost for Sony to add a 2nd USB controller which they dropped after the PS3 BC models. (Still amazes me that after slim X360 dropped the two custom memory slots, Microsoft added 2 additional USB ports to the back. How is Microsoft doing this while Sony can't? Is Sony shopping from overpriced China supplier?)

Yep, sad to say, the only reason I'd replace any of my PS3's would be for a rear USB port. I'm anal, and I hate having to plug/unplug the EYE to a front port.

The current slim is the same. I have a cable that goes to my hub, you can hardly see it and it gives me like 8 USB slots in a better location.

I guess with all the excitement of the CECH-4x00 design, we have forgotten the electronics and power consumption. Up to 2500 model, Sony used the same power supply from 2000/2100 series. 3000 model reduced the power supply from 230 Watts (Japan has 250 Watts) to 200 Watts because every little non-required electronics were removed.

Anyone looked at 4000 model? Only 10 Watts reduction to 190 Watts. That looks to me like most electronics from 3000 model is there but rearranged into new 4000 model mobo without or few dropped electronics from the 3000 mobo. At least power consumption is more obvious by basing the design on 3000.

Now with heat output. When Sony switched from 2x00 to 3000 model, they reduced the fan size (120 to 80 mm) and changed the heat sink physical design. Still unknown if that was better since we just started first summer after 3000 model came out. Now with 4000 model, has the cooling been improved? We don't have any internal photos of 4000 yet. One thing we know is Sony returns 4000 model to more square shape. That gives more space from the front to back where the airflow is moving. I'll say that helps to cool the entire mobo better. 4000 model has more simple electronics like the Blu-ray drive doesn't have any auto loading. For sure if we follow Sony's history of PS3 models revisions, there will probably some other hardware features removed. Blu-ray drive is one.

I understand my discussion of inner electronics design and operations are still too early with limited 4000 model data. But I would say that is way more important than how 4000 model looks or if the Blu-ray drive is auto loading. It tells me the reliability of the new design. Then again, if we are discussing among general electronics, how it looks is more important than how it works inside. (I would predict the first 4000 model will be easier to override the drive door to keep it open while you can swap the disc inside. 1st model of slim PS2 had this simple override problem. All I need to do was place a small plastic inside the drive door hole and it's let me swap the disc inside. Of course it's more tricky now with the latest slim PS2 model. The blue laser will also be more risky to your eyes.)

The other question is if the PSU is now external, vs internal.

That alone will zap quite a bit of heat from the unit, and allow better airflow. At the cost, of course, of now having a huge brick behind your entertainment center!

It is still internal, you can tell by the plug on the back..

I noticed when ejecting a disk the other day that the 'Eject Disc' option had changed wording to 'Remove Disc', possibly confirming the top loading tray rather than feeding drive.

I don't see how Sony could offer a 16gb system. It's not really like the 4gb 360, since Sony has been giving developers carte blanche to use the hard drive since day one and they have, quite liberally.

While I understand that casuals want a cheap system, I think a 16gb system would offer a materially worse experience.

The biggest HDD install is RAGE at under 9gb so 16gb is fine for that, but PSN downloads of some games weigh in at 14gb+
Odds are that full game downloads won't be allowed to the flash memory to avoid that problem.

Well, that's what I mean by a degraded experience. You can't buy games online, you have to juggle game installs. I do that a little with my 60gb drive and I'm definitely not getting the full PS3 experience.

I'm sure Sony decided on a 16GB minimum for that reason alone. As long as you can download/install one game at a time, you're fine. You can just keep swapping games. That's what I've been doing with my 360 for a while now. I only have room for one full game install since I refuse to pay for a proprietary drive to replace my 20GB one. And it's more or less what Sony's expecting some people to do with their Vita if they opt for the smallest available memory option. Wouldn't be out of character at all, and as I mentioned above, it paves the way for Sony to incentivize its own line of PS branded HDDs.

I cant see them changing anything major for this roll out. The feed drive has been working fine. Harddrives are actually bigger and cheaper now. Why mess with anything. My guess would be that they just consolidated the motherboard and reduce power, heat and size. Then start blowing them out at a really good price. probably see $199 with a game for X-mas.

Dont like the top loading disk. Mine is in a rack and I could see that being a problem for someone.

Out of several who asking this question, I think you are the only one who got the point. 16GB model has never been about being practical to run many installed games at the same time. Sony needs a model to compete with 4GB X360. Should Sony give the lowest end model too much storage? To be realistic, 4GB X360 can't be serious to play many games since most games today have DLC. The whole idea is get the remaining cheapo casual consumers to think about buying a PS3. If you keep thinking about making the lowest end model having too much hard drive space while keeping it at $199 like 4GB X360, then Sony must be willing to loose more money selling it. Microsoft is making money with 4GB X360, Sony has to try. Making 4000 model is a step in the right direction even many hate the look and manual Blu-ray drive loading. Anyone who thinks PS3 physical hardware and look are getting too cheap, that's life in business if you must reach the cheapo casual consumers.

Then, buy a hard drive after you have been sold the 16GB PS3 model. That is how cheapo casual consumers work.

Sometimes when I'm at Gamestop, I meet very casual X360 gamers. They only have the X360 without hard drive nor built-in 4GB storage. They use the larger memory card to store the X360 large firmware. All they care is able to play a few old kids/casual games. Amazing, they are in Gamestop because they are hoping to get some money out of older kids/casual games. If you say they are missing most of the fun, do they really care? Same as casual PS3 games. While they may have more hard drive then they ever use, their behavior isn't that much different from casual X360 gamers. All they care is play a few very simple kids/casual games. So, the 16GB PS3 may just fit those super casual gamers. Remember once the 16GB PS3 is in the market, game developers who make casual games will start to think about zero installation requirement because they will want to sell their games.

You or I will never care about this but that's still a big piece of business Sony is unable to do until they can release a PS3 at the price of 4GB X360 or maybe Wii (wishful thinking).

Exactly. We're seeing this generation bleed out rapidly. Sony has to do something to prepare for a record-breaking sluggish holiday season this year. Getting a sub-$200 model on the market this holiday is a necessity. And once a consumer has bought that 16GB model, they'll have invested in the platform. Once they start buying more games, then they may decide they want a HDD. If Sony gets a PS branded one into the market at the same time (and at a reasonable mark-up), they may be able to come out of this holiday season without too many cuts and bruises.

IMO this holiday season is going to be brutal for the console gaming industry. Wii U is coming. The new cheap iPad is coming. The big game releases have all been pushed out of the holiday season and into March 2013. We'll likely see sales (on games, hardware, and peripherals) like we've never seen before. Get ready.

Have console sales dropped that hard? Last I heard they were still selling at a good clip.

Software seems to be the problem. And yet again were in store for another Sept-Oct "surprise" rush of AAA titles. This spring and summer has been the worst release scheduled yet this gen. Ever worse when factoring in marketing and hype. I can't get over the idea that 1/2 the problems software side are problems that are industry imposed themselves. Too many big budget AA games, too many games period, not enough spacing and strategic release dates, ect.

It be like if the movie studios released Spiderman, Batman, Avengers, Snow White, Prometheus, Brave, Madagascar, Ice Age, TED, Total Recall, and The Bourne Legacy all within 6 weeks. You gotta space out your AAA's a bit better, and find periods were there's less competition.

Last NPD, 360 sales were down about 53% from last June. Wii was about 63%. PS3, no word on sales yet but it's probably the same or worse than the 360. So, yea, they are bleeding out pretty rapidly.

I don't think that releasing more games in August or March is the answer to the problems. Fact is that every year a lot of these games do get pushed into the following Spring, where they flop just the same.

Go into a GameStop in August and it's just dead. Nobody is buying games in August. Companies release games when the most amount of people are shopping for them.

I mean, Assassin's Creed 3 or Call of Duty would be big hits in any month. But that lower tier of game? I don't think it'd do any better in February than it would do in October, and probably worse. I know people like to cite Rayman Origins last year of launching at the wrong time, but that game would've bombed in any month.

Compared to when? Hard drive have skyrocketed since the flooding in Thailand. You might find some articles that say the prices have come back down, but I disagree. Hard drives are far higher per GB right now than they were before the flooding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/business/global/07iht-floods07.html?pagewanted=all

PS3 is only down like 28%, so it fell the least YoY.

In end, it's all about the total sales. Sony knows they have to bleed first to release the 16GB hard drive model. But many of the casual buyers may consider buying a hard drive later if they do get more into the games. This is a tested and proven market area by Microsoft with X360. My opinion is Sony built originally built PS3 too expensive that they couldn't touch the casual market until now. (Remember, what's his name, the Sony CEO of the time before PS3 came out said you need to work two jobs to be able to own a PS3? PS3 was built to be expensive unlike X360 and Wii. Yes it had tons and tons of features with with launch models but the price just didn't justify in the rest of the gaming market where the price of the console is the most important.)

We also must remember that most casual gamers will not have the technical understanding how to swap the PS3 hard drive even it's super easy. If Sony cares, they can release some "Sony branded hard drives for PS3" for the market. If not, it's not going to kill them since it's just regular hard drive only. (One area that X360 won because of non-standard firmware in X360 hard drive). One good business area is stores that do up hardware upgrade for casual customers. They will love being paid to upgrade 16GB PS3 model. (Yes, unplug the old drive and insert the new drive and make sure the firmware is intact.)

It depends on what you mean by "it." Without continued hardware sales growth, there is no market--regardless of how many "total sales" there are or have been. For example, the Wii market is effectively dead even though its "total sales" figures are through the roof.
If less savvy consumers can figure out how to swap the 360 HDDs and swap the Wii's SD cards, Sony should be able to figure out an easy method for swapping HDDs on newer PS3s. It's pretty easy as is, but some folks might be intimidated by having to buy specific types of HDDs. If Sony can manufacture and distribute their own brand of HDDs, then I'm certain that less savvy consumers would feel more confident with the whole process.

Do you really think there's a platter 16gb drive in there? I'm guessing it's some sort of flash memory. Could be as simple as an SD card on an adapter. I've seen this sort of thing in some older tablets, there was a CF card on an IDE adapter inside.

Let's hope it isn't Vita memory stick.