Need PS3 advice

I think I want to pick up a Playstation 3 to play some racing games. I would go with a 360, but I already have a G25 and Playseat evolution setup and that only works with PS3. I need some way to play games...I have iRacing now but all of the practice time that is required to be competitive is too tough sometimes.

So; are there any good PS3 bundles out there? Anything good coming for Cyber Monday or Black Friday?

What version of the PS3 should I get? Every site I go on seems to have a different one. All different hard drive sizes, some are called Slim....what's that cheapest thing I can get that will play all the games?

Unless you are planning to make it your entertainment hub, I don't see any reason why you'd need anything but the "entry level" model. If you are going to be downloading a bunch of movies, etc, I might spring for one with a bigger hard drive. I shopped for a long time for a "good deal", but it appears Sony controls the pricing, so in the long run, about the best you can do is get a game bundle that comes with a game or two that you want.

After that, pick up GT5 and we'll see you in 3 months when you emerge smelly and unshaven from your basement muttering about how you "can almost afford the F1 Ferrari".

I am pretty sure any new one will be a slim. I would not worry too much about the drive size, it will be way more they you will every use in general unless you load a bunch of movies on it.

Just get the cheapest one you can find. The bundles seem to change all the time and they don't seem to give you much of a deal. For example, they have a GT5 and NBA game bundle on NewEgg, but it is $50 more then a bare one and you can get GT5 for $15 now!

The only thing you really need is a controller, which should come with all of them anyway. Those are pretty unreasonably pricey by themselves.

Check out the GT5 thread when you get setup if you get GT5. We get a pretty good number of racers and it is always fun.

RE: Movies on the PS3

If your PS3 is hardwired on your network (no reason it shouldnt be, WIFI is for chumps and cell phones), just run PS3 Media Server on your local high-horsepower PC and enjoy streaming and on-the-fly transcoding of all the movies your little heart desires.

Plan to take your first 8 hours of ownership updating the damn thing.

It doesn't matter which one you get, as long as you get GT5 and join our online series on Wednesday nights 8)

93gsxturbo wrote: RE: Movies on the PS3 If your PS3 is hardwired on your network (no reason it shouldnt be, WIFI is for chumps and cell phones), just run PS3 Media Server on your local high-horsepower PC and enjoy streaming and on-the-fly transcoding of all the movies your little heart desires.

Works fine over wifi as long as you know how to set it up too...

As far as what PS... Any of them will play all the PS3 games. The bundles should be all about the same, just a different game... and maybe including move.

I though all new PS were the slim one, the fat ones should be older units?

Hard drive space is basically for movies, music & games. Many games require installs, typically 4-6 gig? Some games can be downloaded, that will be a little more room.

But if you just wanna play a few games you likely only need the smallest hard drive and cheapest setup. There may be GT5 bundles around still. otherwise just skip the bundle and buy the small hd .

Spoolpigeon wrote: It doesn't matter which one you get, as long as you get GT5 and *help start a second series* on Wednesday nights 8)

Fixed that for you.

Maybe interest will be down for the next series, but this series got full in a big hurry.

The bundles are always a crap shoot, mine was a black friday bundle two years ago with uncharted and medal of honor.

Whatever you do, just get GT5 and see us on wednesday.

You're better off getting a new PS3 and buying GT5 separately than buying a GT5 bundle. The GT5 bundle is outdated and costs more than a new PS3 and used GT5 game would. The Uncharted 3 bundle has 250GB. It looks like the cheapest option right now on Amazon, even cheaper than the 160GB console alone.

http://www.amazon.com/PS3-250GB-Uncharted-Bundle-PlayStation-3/dp/B009CYJ8SA/ref=dp_ob_title_vg

I have an old fat one that came with the 40GB HDD. I swapped it for a 320GB HDD and used the 40GB as a backup drive for my laptop. I plan on swapping them back around because I've hardly filled the 320GB drive.

BTW, Uncharted is a great action series.

Everyone says they wont fill up the harddrive, until they fill up the harddrive. Splurge on the space, trust me.

That 120 will fill up pretty damn fast if you aren't careful.

I got one of the GT5 bundles when I bought mine. It was at gamestop for the same price as the cheapest unit I could find. Its currently disagreeing with my isp which is fine because 2month and 2year old make it hard to play.

mndsm wrote: Plan to take your first 8 hours of ownership updating the damn thing.

This. And you will need to update the software weekly, always at the most inconvenient time.

Then you app software will need constant updates as well.

I had GT5, but it kinda sucks compared to PC based sims. More importantly, I got tired of the 10,000 berkeleying menus you need to navigate to get E36 M3 done, and the ridiculous load times. My roommates and I called it "load turismo".

Overall, I like the system, but the updates are a bit annoying. I certainly wouldn't buy one for racing games though. If I HAD to play racing games on a console, I'd look toward the 360. Not because Forza is more realistic or anything, but I simply had more fun (and thats what matters right?) playing it and spent less time waiting on E36 M3 to load.

Couldn't you get another PC sim instead of investing in a whole new system for one mediocre game?

If I was in the market right now, that 500GB Assassin's Creed 3 bundle for 300 bucks would look mighty tempting. Plus, Amazon also has the GT5 XL edition for 18 dollars.

You may be able to wrangle a better deal on black friday, but who wants to deal with those psychos?

Racer1ab wrote: If I was in the market right now, that 500GB Assassin's Creed 3 bundle for 300 bucks would look mighty tempting. Plus, Amazon also has the GT5 XL edition for 18 dollars. You may be able to wrangle a better deal on black friday, but who wants to deal with those psychos?

I showed that to my cousin when he was looking. That's what I paid for my 120gb without any games or anything.

Another vote for not worrying about the size of the HD in the PS3. It is very easy to change and they use a regular laptop drive.

Edit: I suck at spelling.

In reply to Rusted_Busted_Spit:

Do the slims still do that?

I bought mine used from Gamestop at a large discount. No need to buy new when it's going to be obsolete in the near future.

I'm trying to find the ad now, but i swear i saw something for a 250gb with Infamous, Infamous 2, and the entire Uncharted series for $200.

In reply to RossD:

Yes they do.

Found the ad!

https://blackfriday.bestbuy.com/door+busters2/product/6898698/sony++playstation+3+250gb+infamous+collection+limited+edition+bundle

Get on that.

I bought mine, granted, in 2007, I think? But at any rate, dell had some deal where they were giving you $50 off or something, and I think mine was around $300. Mine probably has a tiny HD since its old, but I've never had any issues with hard drive size. That bestbuy black friday deal is the shiznit.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: Another vote for not worrieing about the size of the HD in the PS3. It is very easy to change and they use a regular laptop drive.

Uh huh. And it was so simple to discover that the laptop hd I bought was too big to fit. Other bonus, it takes about 8 hours all said and done to switch everything over and have everything work right.

Buy a big HD off the bat and you wont have to worry about it.

In reply to Grizz:

In what way was it too big? I have replaced mine twice so I am curious.

It did take some time for the process but not 8 hours for me.

Edit: I did find this

It is relatively easy to replace/upgrade the hard drive in your PS3 (any model). Don't waste your money on one of the "PS3 upgrade kits" - they are a SCAM. CNET has an excellent free guide: http://asia.cnet.com/digitalliving/tips/0,3800004921,62032875,00.htm

Step 1: Pick out a 2.5" SATA notebook hard drive. Just about any SATA notebook drive should work - any speed or storage size (capacity). NOTE: The physical size must be a standard 2.5" wide, 9.5mm tall, notebook hard drive. Certain 2.5" hard drives that exceed the standard size will not work.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: In reply to Grizz: In what way was it too big? I have replaced mine twice so I am curious. It did take some time for the process but not 8 hours for me.

Too tall? I guess that's the way to say it. I bought a 1.5 TB, so that was probably my fault. I'm considering pulling the 500 out of my laptop, but I have no idea if the 1.5 would fit in it either.

I backed up a full 120 gig, that took forever and a half to do, formatting the new hd took a while, and restoring the old data onto the new hd would take a few hours as well. 8 hours for everything sounds about right for me.