HDD upgrade

clonesniper666

clonesniper666

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I am looking to upgrade my hdd in my slim ps3 and was wondering if fellow CAGs could help me pick the hard drive that would work best.

Here are ones I found on Newegg that seem to work for what I want them too:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...52-236^22-152-236-TS,22-148-374^22-148-374-TShttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152236
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148374
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152235
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148446
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148446


If anyone has had one of these or currently has one the comments about them are welcome.
 
Does the harddrive have to be 7200 RPM? From what I've heard, they're going to run hotter and the speed boost isn't very noticeable. I suppose it's all preference, but I'd go with a 5400 RPM drive that has more space on it. They run cooler and space is something I'd prefer over a slightly faster drive. If you need 7200 RPM I'd go with one of the samsung spinpoint drives, as IMO they're more reliable than the seagates. If you can settle with 5400 RPM I'd go with one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...52204&Tpk=samsung spinpoint m7e hm641ji 640gb (I use this one in my current slim ps3)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152290&Tpk=spinpoint 750gb
 
I'm pretty sure the Ps3 requires a 5400 drive unless something has changed. I've used a few of the WD Scorpio Blue Drives (I've put them in 4 different PS3s), and I've had a good experience with them.
 
[quote name='erequena']I'd recommend to stay away from the WD Scorpio ones. The one I used (500 GB) can't run video without being all choppy[/QUOTE]

Yeah, IIRC some of the WD Scorpio drives have problems with headparking which causes stuttering. I haven't had any stuttering issues with the Samsung Spinpoint 640gb which is why I recommended it. However I had to go into safe mode and format it using "Restore PS3 System" for it to recognize the drive.. which baffled me for a while. I didn't read that you had to do that in any tutorials so I'm not sure why I had to. I thought it was supposed to automatically detect it after inserting it, but I got an error along the lines of "the correct hard disk can not be found".
 
Interesting, when I replaced my drive a few years ago, everything I read said not to exceed 5400 because the drive would generate heat and the system would shutdown if it got to hot.
 
[quote name='nbballard']Interesting, when I replaced my drive a few years ago, everything I read said not to exceed 5400 because the drive would generate heat and the system would shutdown if it got to hot.[/QUOTE]
That was then, the progress they've made with HDDs and energy consumption has made them use less energy and generate less heat. 7200's at the time generated a considerable amount of heat compared to being just about dead even now(depending on brand).

As somebody with experience with a 7200 rpm drive with a decent cache, you won't notice it that much unless the HDD is always being accessed. However you will notice the XMB load faster as the firmware is stored on the HDD. Games like Gran Turismo 5 can cut their load times considerably as well. An SSD will speed up GT5 by a whole lot but GT5 constantly accesses the HD, it's one of the few games that really makes good use out of a higher speed drive.

If you install games that take up lots of space it will also speed up the process. The GT5 install is about an hour long with a 5400, 45ish minutes with a 7200 rpm drive.
 
[quote name='erequena']I'd recommend to stay away from the WD Scorpio ones. The one I used (500 GB) can't run video without being all choppy[/QUOTE]

[quote name='sunghost']Yeah, IIRC some of the WD Scorpio drives have problems with headparking which causes stuttering. I haven't had any stuttering issues with the Samsung Spinpoint 640gb which is why I recommended it. However I had to go into safe mode and format it using "Restore PS3 System" for it to recognize the drive.. which baffled me for a while. I didn't read that you had to do that in any tutorials so I'm not sure why I had to. I thought it was supposed to automatically detect it after inserting it, but I got an error along the lines of "the correct hard disk can not be found".[/QUOTE]

I use WD's newest Scorpio and I have zero issues you mentioned, it's a 7400rpm 500gb. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LR1RPK

I did enough research to convince me to get a scorpio and I never heard about the video choppy issue.
 
[quote name='Kyoz']I use WD's newest Scorpio and I have zero issues you mentioned, it's a 7400rpm 500gb. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LR1RPK

I did enough research to convince me to get a scorpio and I never heard about the video choppy issue.[/QUOTE]

It doesn't occur on all Scorpio drives, I think it's just the blue models.. but I could be wrong.
 
[quote name='nbballard']I'm pretty sure the Ps3 requires a 5400 drive unless something has changed. I've used a few of the WD Scorpio Blue Drives (I've put them in 4 different PS3s), and I've had a good experience with them.[/QUOTE]

The PS3 doesn't require the drive to be a 5400 rpm, but I think the ps3 bus is configured for that drive speed. So the only difference you would see between a 5400 and 7200 is that the 7200 runs at what the theoretical max of a 5400 rpm and a 5400 would run at it's actual physical limit (obviously less than 5400).

I put a 5400 in mine because the 500gb 5400 was about the same price as a 350gb 7200 (when I was shopping that is). I decided I'd rather have the extra space than the negligible speed increase.

good luck, hope this helped someone.
 
Putting a 640gb in tonite, recieved mine from newegg today :)

I am making a backup on my external hdd. when i slap new hdd into ps3, i format first then restore from back up right?
 
Was forced to update my HDD today. On Sunday my 80GB HDD's file system corrupted from me switched the power off and on. I took the HDD out of my external hard drive (WD 160GB) and placed it in my PS3, I can honestly say that it works perfectly and it's alot quieter. The only thing I regret is not backing up my old HDD, other than that i'm good. I have to re-download everything but at least I didn't have to buy a new PS3.
 
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[quote name='Big St3ph3n']Putting a 640gb in tonite, recieved mine from newegg today :)

I am making a backup on my external hdd. when i slap new hdd into ps3, i format first then restore from back up right?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it should automatically format it when you swap them, but if it doesn't.. go into safe mode and choose "restore ps3 system". Also keep in mind you need an external drive or memory stick connected to the PS3 with the last firmware your PS3 used on it when installing a new harddrive.
 
Since people have covered the speed thing:

I'd add that the drive height is very important if you want it to fit in the housing tray. ~9.5mm high is what you want as too much more (11-12mm) and you'll have to ditch the tray.

Another thing is to avoid 'Green' drives. They are great in theory but often have weird power issues and poor performance and you do not want to deal with that in a console context.

Also, since you are using NewEgg I'd search the feedback for PS3 and then show only verified owners. (I love NewEgg for that!)
 
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So does restoring the PS3 keep activations correctly allocated? What I mean is do I have to go into each user, deactivate, and then reactivate on the new hard drive? Or does the restore utility take care of all that?
 
It couldn't hurt to de and re activate. It may help PSN+ Sync up to the cloud properly. It took me almost 4 days before my PSN sync'd to the cloud for some game saves.
 
[quote name='randomdud']So does restoring the PS3 keep activations correctly allocated? What I mean is do I have to go into each user, deactivate, and then reactivate on the new hard drive? Or does the restore utility take care of all that?[/QUOTE]

It requires you to reactivate all of your accounts, but you don't have to deactivate. Just sign into each one and activate. It's dumb IMO, the PS3 itself is never deactivated from the accounts, but it requires activation.
 
[quote name='sunghost']It requires you to reactivate all of your accounts, but you don't have to deactivate. Just sign into each one and activate. It's dumb IMO, the PS3 itself is never deactivated from the accounts, but it requires activation.[/QUOTE]

Isn't there going to be a new way of doing this? A website where you can manage activations?

Yeah, found it on the official blog site http://$$$$$$$/J7loH

EDIT:
Damn $$$$$$ fine, here's the long URL! http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/11/04/upcoming-change-to-playstation-3-and-psp-game-content-on-playstation-network/
 
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