Considering a PS3 HDD Upgrade

[Slash]

So my good 'ol 160GB slim has about 35 gigs left on it. I have a nasty feeling it will be gone soon. I know about Sata's and 7200 RPM etc. I plan on going big, like 2-3tb of space if not more. I've got a bit of an idea what to do, but I'm afraid of losing some stuff. I know DLC and games/updates can be redownloaded, but what about copy protected saves? That is my biggest thing right now.

 

[sesselpupser]

Use the back up feature to an external USB drive and then restore the new drive from the backup, as far as I'm aware that's the only way to copy protected saves.

 

[nick09]

The maximum size you can get for a 2.5" SATA drive is a 1TB drive. Though there is one thing you have to keep in mind. The drive needs to be 9.5mm thick. Such as this one. If the price is too much then look into a 750GB drive.

 

[Sanji Himura]

I'm more concerned about the amount of space he is planning on putting in there. As far as I know, and it is more based on fact, PS3s can only support HDDs of 9.5mm thick, and the only HDD that is in the TB range that will fit is a Samsung, and even then, it is only 1TB. I'm sorry to say that unless you run an extension cable, or mod your console, you will not get over a 1TB HDD or, being reasonable here, a 750 GB HDD in that thing.

 

[Slash]

The maximum size you can get for a 2.5" SATA drive is a 1TB drive. Though there is one thing you have to keep in mind. The drive needs to be 9.5mm thick. Such as this one. If the price is too much then look into a 750GB drive.

I've read that there is no limit. However I can suffice with 1tb.

 

[Conza]

I've read that there is no limit. However I can suffice with 1tb.

In all honesty, I had a 250GB 5400rpm (the original top-of-the-line slim) and now its a 320GB 7200rpm, but if I could've saved money on a 250GB version of the same faster drive, I would have, but it wasn't available, so for $84AUD delivered, the drive I chose was a good option.

There are conflicting reports about SSD vs Sata II 7200rpm, people say that the SSDs are better at reading many smaller files, but then there's the bandwith max that the 7200 seems to be at, and most of the time its a dead heat between the SSD and the 7200, meaning both are beyond the speed of the PS3, which is the buffer.

750GB really? The amount of extra space would be wasted; sure, you could always use the drive later one when the PS3 is used less, but chances are you won't considering 750GB won't be that big shortly. You currently occupy 125GB (160-35?), you will now have 625GB extra space. Do what you will, but I think a 320 is massive for the requirements of the PS3, even if you're using PlayTV or something else in a 'media centre' type way, 500GB is ginormous.

Honestly though, being an avid GT5 player, the speed upgrade is noticable, and even if the SSD is a tad faster, which I personally doubt (on the PS3, not on PC, different story), it'll cost so much more for a micron of the space (you'd pick the 256, since its more than 160, but it'll cost WAAY more than a 7200 2.5), so, let us know what you pick, but I don't see why you wouldn't select 320 or at the most 500.

 

[Sanji Himura]

I hate to disagree with you, but I do have a 500 GB HDD on my PS3, and it is half way full with game content, videos that I purchased off PSN, and music for a combined total of 228 GB on my HDD with 237 GB free. That space, if you are constantly getting content, will shrink very fast, so I am about due for a HDD upgrade.

 

[Conza]

Hmm, its not exactly disagreeing with me, we just use our PS3s differently, where I record television, install a game or two, use it for saves, ect, you obviously use the videos from the PSN, ect ect, but to be honest, from what you've said, if you had a 320GB like mine, you'd stilll be pretty right, I mean 98GBs is a fair buffer, I've only used 60-70GBs (or that's about how big my backup was), so 320GB is clearly more than enough 'for me', I would say that 500GBs is enough 'for you' but if you feel you need a bigger one, by all means. Btw, you running 5400 or 7200 rpm? I'm guessing you'd be going for a 750GB of either speed shortly?