Playstation 3 discussion thread

[dyazdani]

Do the screws look like phillips? If so, it might be that they are JIS screws. They look like phillips but are not exactly the same and will strip with regular phillips screwdrivers.

[Alloroc]

Do the screws look like phillips? If so, it might be that they are JIS screws. They look like phillips but are not exactly the same and will strip with regular phillips screwdrivers.

For me the screwheads were pozidriv - well that what we call them over here - is that JIS over there? Anyhow, if you use a phillips screwdriver in a pozidriv screw it will slip out at best or cam out at worst. I've read that lots have done this on various fora and made a mess of things. I used an electric driver and a pozidriv bit and I had zero issues.

Lots miss this but the pozidriv screw can easily be distinguished by a line embossed in the screw head at 45 degrees to the slots for the driver.

[Chris D]

Yeah, I'm am LOADING up on downloads and installs, and it's finally starting to reach 75% of my capacity. So I'd like to upgrade, too. I'm just wondering if there's any way to copy over all my stuff from one hard drive to the other, so I don't have to re-download stuff and lose saved games.

[Alloroc]

Yeah, I'm am LOADING up on downloads and installs, and it's finally starting to reach 75% of my capacity. So I'd like to upgrade, too. I'm just wondering if there's any way to copy over all my stuff from one hard drive to the other, so I don't have to re-download stuff and lose saved games.

Chris, you don't. Plug in an external hhd and use the backup option from the systems menu. Once the swap is complete, use the restore tool and all your info including saved and downloaded games/content will be intact. Remember, the OS is stored on eprom and not on the hdd. Only your content is on that. Sony have really made this stupidly easy for us all to do!

[dmcgowan]

I hadn't considered they might be pozidriv screws to be honest. Anyway, they strip VERY easily with standard Phillips screwdrivers. Was actually pretty easy to remove them with a pair of pliers. The ones that went back in were from my PC left over box which are Phillips head and were not done up anywhere near as tight...

I agree with Alloroc - the backup / restore to external HDD is incredibly well done. Very easy (although iirc, I had to make sure the drive was FAT32 formatted but not 100% sure).

[cdika17]

what does everyone use to connect there ps3 to reciever? HDMI/Opitcal digital cable/components, playstation brand?

[dyazdani]

I have my PS3 set up in the back of my HT room. I've got HDMI going directly to my projector (only display) and optical digital to a optical to coaxial converter and then to my pre/pro.

[Ken49r]

HDMI out to HDMI in Rotel pre/pro.

[Allegiance]

HDMI out to HDMI in on Denon AVR-2808. Then from HDMI from Denon to LCD.

[Race Car Driver]

HDMI through the HT system.

[Ken49r]

what does everyone use to connect there ps3 to reciever? HDMI/Opitcal digital cable/components, playstation brand?

If your asking for the purpose of getting the HD audio signals you have to use HDMI or analog. Optical will only let you get normal DTS/Dolby signals.

[Chris D]

All HDMI 1.3 here.

[Race Car Driver]

I havent updated my PS3 since I bought it last winter....
Suppose I should do that huh?.....

BTW, finally bought a 52" Sony XBR6 1080p 120hz LCD this week... WHOA! PS3+1080p 120hz... Im a happy camper!

[Chris D]

Oh, yeah, you should definitely update the firmware. You'll see an improvement in quality, as well as a bunch of new features. I'd recommend starting over, after you do the update, and reset all your settings to see what new stuff is in there.

[Chris D]

Anybody want to turn Sackboy into Santa Clause? DLC out now!



How about instructions so your grandma can knot you a Sackboy?

[Miyuki]

The only problem with my PS3 is its noise and perhaps also power consumption.
It is very noisy indeed even though it is far from other heat generating devices

Do you know any ways to reduce the noise? HELP ;x( !

Nope, I aint bying an expensieve blue-ray player!

[Allegiance]

The only problem with my PS3 is its noise and perhaps also power consumption.
It is very noisy indeed even though it is far from other heat generating devices

Do you know any ways to reduce the noise? HELP ;x( !

Nope, I aint bying an expensieve blue-ray player!

+1 for noise. Alot better than my 360 though :P

[PewterTA]

It's amazing but mine barely makes any noise, much beyond 2 feet and you can't hear mine. Maybe during intesive gaming it will get noisy, but never while watching blu-rays????

[Miyuki]

It's amazing but mine barely makes any noise, much beyond 2 feet and you can't hear mine. Maybe during intesive gaming it will get noisy, but never while watching blu-rays????

Really!!! Mine is about 4 meters away and behind a wall. Still, I can hear its nolisy fan during blue-ray play. I sent it to Sony for checking this out but they did not find anything unusual with it. Maybe its time for me to DIY my PS3 :stupidpc: Water-cooling ???

[cdika17]

Did any of you upgrade ur hdmi cable or just using the one it came with?

[Pez]

I am amazed at how many have issue with the noise of the PS3. The only time I ever notice it is when I turn it on and when a dvd is loading, otherwise I never hear it. For anyone that has been around an xbox 360 that thing is LOUD. I sit about 10 feet for the PS3 and never has it been an issue, even during quiet scenes in movies.

[Chris D]

No issue with mine, but it's in a separate electronics closet from my theater.

As for the HDMI cable, did yours come with one? I don't think mine did. I'm using an aftermarket, anyway.

[dyazdani]

Mine isn't very noisy... It didn't come with an HDMI cable, it only came with a lousy composite video cable... one of my few complaints for a $600 unit (I got mine early).

[Pez]

Mine isn't very noisy... It didn't come with an HDMI cable, it only came with a lousy composite video cable... one of my few complaints for a $600 unit (I got mine early).

I hear that! Got mine during the initial launch and for $600 not including even a component cable is highway robbery. With all that the PS3 can do you would never know with such an inferior connection. They should make the buyers that use TV's with only composite connections (or f-pin, yikes!)buy a cable, not the ones with a TV fitting for a PS3.

[NMG]

My PS3 is also silent when I'm at my listening position, roughly 8-10 feet away from the TV.

[Alloroc]

Mine isn't very noisy... It didn't come with an HDMI cable, it only came with a lousy composite video cable... one of my few complaints for a $600 unit (I got mine early).

Just an question on that subject.... how many went out an bought the cheapest possible HDMI cable for their PS/3? Or, what kind of HDMI cable did you buy?

Mine is pretty quiet but not silent, btw. Certainly compared to my old 360, it's much better.

[audioqueso]

I tried 4 different HDMI cables. Audio-Technica cable, Sony cable, some Nyko cable, and one from Blue Jeans Cable. None of them made any difference to me.

[Allegiance]

I tried 4 different HDMI cables. Audio-Technica cable, Sony cable, some Nyko cable, and one from Blue Jeans Cable. None of them made any difference to me.

They won't. HDMI and DVI are digital, it either gets the signal or it doesn't. No such thing as signal degration.

[dmcgowan]

I am amazed at how many have issue with the noise of the PS3.

I'm with you Pez, it's noisy on start up but when you're playing games or Blu-Ray, don't think I am ever distracted by it. Anyway, the banging from my drumkit in GuitarHero makes way more noise than any cooling fan! Best recent game purchase by a long way....

[Race Car Driver]

I just got a PS3 that needs a new laser assembly for 100 bucks. It actually comes with everything 40gb PS3 all wires and controller and even the Spider Man 3 Blu-Ray The laser is like 40 bucks shipped so pretty good deal I think. Have any of you tried the new Dual Shock 3 controller? I've heard there are a lot of issues with the Sixaxis controller. The Dual Shock 3 has the same motion sensing and everything of the sixaxis but it also has the rumble and all that and is supposed to work a lot better. I think I'll grab a DS3 controller and save the sixaxis for the second controller.

How hard is it to do the laser?

[tudorvok]

after making a few tests on ps3 by playing Burnout Paradise intensly ( online around 6h/day) i noticed some delay problems

first i started playing it on ps3->onkyo tx-sr875->Panasonic pt-ae2000e (1080p projector) and everything was ok until i moved in my living room and started playing the game ps3->normal lcd ( LG 3000 (32inch)
obviously the colors were not so alive and the resolution was smaller but the images and the car responded much more faster.

i was really amazed of it's accuracy so i tried playing it on ps3->receiver->LG because i thought it was the projectors fauls and the delays started to show up. now i can't play again using the receiver because of these slowing downs (i will definetly start loosing races big time) and i wonder if there is any reciever which can transmit the signal from the ps3 to display at a normal transfer speed or even better....


i've also seen some questions regarding cables... well, first i used a normal cable and then changed to a 70eur (around 90usd) 1.5m Real Cable and the color difference and time response was noticeable.

[Chris D]

The OS is stored on an eprom. It's not on the hdd so no reinstall! So, to change the hdd, you can simply whip it out and replace it with a bigger one. A few things to observe.... Choose a disk that's quiet and generates little heat. Also, if you've stuff you want to keep on the existing disk, use the backup and restore feature in the system menu. Use an external hdd for that. In any case, it's a cinch and I've now transfered about 200gb of my lossless CD rips (WAVs) onto it and it sounds decent enough to me.

Cool, Vincent, I thought I'd drag up this old post of yours. I'm flat out of room on my 80GB PS3 now, so I NEED to replace the HDD now. Since I just bought 3 of these for a Drobo, and they're working well, what if I bought another for the PS3? Would be more space than I'd ever need. Western Digital Black Caviar 1 TB. Or do I need something with a different interface?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C271MA/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

[Alloroc]

First things first. You need a 2.5" drive. Your Caviars are 3.5" and too big.

2.5" inch is the standard for laptops etc. 500gb it the largest available at a cheap enough price with 750gb hitting the market now but at a heavy premium. 1tb is due next year.

Now, like I said - imo, it should be quiet and run cool - 5400rpm is fine. You can go faster but they will run a lot hotter and the PS3 will hacew to work harder to stay cool. I put a 300gb Fujitsu in mine last year and it's bang on the money. Newer drives have come out since then that are designed to run cooler and save battery life on laptops. I've read decent things abiut the Seagate Momentus and the Samsung Spinpoint drives but I've no experience of them. My buddy Dave went with a spinpoint and he's chuffed with that!

Before you replace, hook up a usb hdd and use the backup util to back up the ps3. The OS is on the eprom so that can't be messed up.

As I mentioned, replacing is a cinch. Use phillips - I read a number of dolts used pozidriv and bore out their screw heads making the job a lot tougher. Take care here though - you don't want to bore out the head!

Swap the drives put back in and it will format the drive and you can then restore from your usb drive.

Here's a walkthrough with pics to guide you....

I'll read up on current drives and post back later!

[Chris D]

Aha... so maybe something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Scorpio-Drive-WD5000BEVT/dp/B001JSSDGU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246156852&sr=1-1

Did you mean to post a link for a walkthrough as well?

[Allegiance]

Aha... so maybe something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Scorpio-Drive-WD5000BEVT/dp/B001JSSDGU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246156852&sr=1-1

Did you mean to post a link for a walkthrough as well?

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/12/28/playstation-tips-5-diy-hard-drive-upgrade/

If you want more space on your Playstation 3, using an external drive might be easier. Then you still have your main hard drive, but with the additional space. It also saves you copying over your save files etc :T

EDIT: Here are some links for external drives:

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Essential-External-WDH1U10000N/dp/B000VZCEUI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246161462&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Elements-External-WDE1UBK10000N/dp/B001JTQCU8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246161462&sr=8-3

[Alloroc]

Aha... so maybe something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Scorpio-Drive-WD5000BEVT/dp/B001JSSDGU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246156852&sr=1-1

Did you mean to post a link for a walkthrough as well?

I did.... doh!

http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/127009/how-to-swap-out-and-upgrade-a-ps3-hard-drive/

That drive is right on the money, other than I think the PS3 is SATA 1 and that's a SATA 2 drive. It should work but at SATA 1 speeds though you might have to 'jumper' it - check the WD website for info on that. There's always some thing! :roll:

[Chris D]

Whoa... that just jumped beyond my level. I don't have a clue what SATA 1 and SATA 2 is.

EDIT: I've look pretty hard at the documentation for the PS3, and all I can find is that it requires a "Serial ATA" hard drive. Doesn't say anything about SATA 1 and/or SATA 2 specifically.

[Allegiance]

Whoa... that just jumped beyond my level. I don't have a clue what SATA 1 and SATA 2 is.

EDIT: I've look pretty hard at the documentation for the PS3, and all I can find is that it requires a "Serial ATA" hard drive. Doesn't say anything about SATA 1 and/or SATA 2 specifically.

SATA 2 is fully backward compatible

[Chris D]

Aha! Taking a look at the user reviews for that hard drive that I linked, there's actually several reviews regarding using that product for a PS3 HDD upgrade. They're all very similar, but here's one of the better ones.

Ok, this is for PS3 owners/upgraders. This drive fits the PS3 wonderfully and runs nice and cool with no issues. For the price you can't go wrong. I have the 40 GB PS3 (Spider Man 3 bundle) and have the data (saves + install) of about 10 games and I was running out of space. I did a lot of research of the various SATA 2.5" laptop hard drives available. I researched all the various brands and compared reviews and prices vs size. I came to the conclusion that a 500 GB drive for $100 is a steal given the extra space gained, so that's the direction I went. Of all the brands, the Western Digital Scorpio Blue series seemed to have the most positive reviews all over with the least amount of reviews stating drive failure, so that's the one I chose.

Installing was extremely easy after backing up my data. The longest part of the whole procedure was backing up and restoring the data. I won't go into details, but I do recommend the app another reviewer used to format an external drive larger than 32GB in the FAT32 file system. It's called "fat32format". It works extremely well and extremely fast (less than 4 seconds for a 120GB external drive). Just follow the directions and you're good. I did this because in order for the PS3 to recognize the external drive it has to be formatted in the FAT32 file system. As for the procedure of upgrading the PS3, just google "upgrade PS3 hard drive" and you'll get tons of tutorials and videos.

Now here's something important: A lot of people who upgraded their PS3's and saw xxx/465 GB free after upgrading are not realizing that this is not the fault of the PS3. You could put the same drive in a laptop and it will have the same 465GB. This is because manufacturers advertise a gigabyte as something different than what windows or the PS3 recognize. Manufacturers see a gigabyte (GB) as 1000 megabytes, and 1 megabyte (MB) as 1000 kilobytes (KB), when in actuality windows sees 1 MB as 1024 KB. So that's where the unaccounted lost space goes.

So as of now, my opinion is that this hard drive is a great choice for PS3 upgrades. If you don't want to drop a bill on the 500GB version they also have the Scorpio Blues in smaller sizes for reduced prices. I like this hard drive so much I may replace my laptop hard drive with one.

[Alloroc]

SATA 2 is fully backward compatible

True, but not necessarily on the PS3. Not scaremongering or anything, but some have reported issues with larger SATA2 drives being recognised by the PS3.

That said, the Scorpio seems like a great drive and I might try one myself. They are cheap enough now.

[Chris D]

Well, I did place the order, so we'll see how it turns out!

[krips]

Really!!! Mine is about 4 meters away and behind a wall. Still, I can hear its nolisy fan during blue-ray play. I sent it to Sony for checking this out but they did not find anything unusual with it. Maybe its time for me to DIY my PS3 :stupidpc: Water-cooling ???

I found that with mine it would get so warm that it would freeze 30 minutes or so into gaming. Standing it upright seemed to help this...I'm assuming that was because of natural convection aiding the cooling. Not sure if this would quiet down your unit, but if it's running cooler it might run the fan slower.

[Alloroc]

Chris, have you had the chance to upgrade yet, or was it "interupted" by all that awful flying you've had to do of late!?

Anyhow, I picked up a brand new 500gb Samsung real cheap earlier today (€50 on clearance from a local store) and am planning to upgrade mine this weekend. I'm just clearing off my portable hard drive first - so I can do the backup.

[Chris D]

Yeah, I'm on my way back from the Indian Ocean, finally. My hard drive has been sitting in my house waiting for me for about 3 weeks. I'll put it in this weekend.

[Alloroc]

Cool. I did mine yesterday and it reminded me that I think I forgot one important thing to tell you. When hooking up an external drive to perform a backup of your PS3, the drive must be 'FAT32'. If it's not, the PS3 won't recognise it. Now, this is easy to do, sort of!

All you have to do is to format the drive and select FAT32 as the file system type. However, Windows won't allow you to format the drive as FAT32 if the drive is bigger than 32GB - and as it probably is, download and use this tool to perform the format.

http://www.compuapps.com/download/Swissknife/swissknife.htm

It's safe and easy enough to use. However, to run it properly on Vista or W7 you must 'Run as Administrator'. it crashed, well for me it does, if you don't.

Put the icon on the desktop, right click on it and select said option. Daft, but there you go. That's windows 'protection' for ya!

That's it so, good luck with the upgrade!