Posted Jul 21, 2008 at 02:42PM by Victor B. Listed in: News Tags: Sony, SCEE, Kazuo Hirai
Ó

Kaz Hirai reassures 40GB PS3 buyers - Image 1In light of Sony Europe's recent announcement of an 80GB PS3 that'll replace the 40GB model in the region, Sony Computer Entertainment's CEO and president Kaz Hirai reassured those owners of the latter model that they're still getting a "very powerful machine."

Hirai noted that the SKU upgrade was proof of the PS3's ability to evolve. At the same time, he didn't discount the power of the 40GB model. Said Hirai,

The PS3 is a console that evolves and specifications will change over time. Ultimately, if the consumers require a higher capacity hard drive, the ability to do that is there.


40GB is obviously less than 80GB, but it’s still a high number and a very powerful machine. We strive to evolve and offer the most compelling value we can at any point in time. If consumers require extra hard drive, they can just swap it out.


Hirai mentioned that they brought in the 80GB at E3 to ensure that Sony continued offering a valuable product to consumers "in the true fashion of PlayStation." If Hirai's earlier analogy of this generation's console war being a marathon holds true, then this SKU upgrade might be indicative of the strategy Sony has to keep ahead of the competition.



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17 Comments


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   by 93pauott - 2008-07-21
 » ...

if you need bigger HDD's, just buy a 720gig!


   Re: keengsnake - 2008-07-21
 » last I remember

It could only handle up to 320 , no ?? C'mon man.

   Re: GW2 - 2008-07-21
 » no

i know people with 750 in theres.
   by Apeaggedon - 2008-07-21
 » its probably

external though man,cuz i dont think youll find anywere (yet) a 750gb sata internal laptop HDD.. and if you do you better save up cuz its gunna be exspensive... but IMO i think with the ps3's power and potential,it can hold ANY size HDD.. (external most liklley though).


   Re: Sembazuru - 2008-07-21
 » HDDs and the PS3

I've heard of people putting a 3.5" HDD next to the PS3 with an external power supply on the 3.5 and connecting the SATA to the internal HDD SATA of the PS3. The largest I've heard for this arrangement is 750GB, but I'm no expert on this type of mod. (I remember soon after the PS3 came out someone planning a side-car that would have the power supply and rails for a 3.5" drive and a "wand" to connect to the internal SATA connector that would match the PS3 case style. Unfortunately, I haven't heard it come to fruition.)

For 2.5" SATA drives, the other night (just confirmed they are still there) I saw a 500GB 5400rpm 300-SATA drive on Tiger (for $230 where the 320GB 5400rpm 150-SATA is $110). Just checked NewEgg and while they don't have the 500gb (should soon as they have the 320 of the same Hitachi 5Kxxx series), they have five 320 models but for slightly higher price than Tiger.

   Re: mr.x256 - 2008-07-22
 » -

There are some videos on YouTube of 1TB on PS3 not sure if it was 2.5 or 3.5.

   Re: Sembazuru - 2008-07-22
 » 3.5" HDD as PS3 internal

I did some digging in the archives here and found what I was looking for. Seems the side-car design was scrapped and they just make an extender module that brings the 7-pin SATA connector cleanly to the outside of the PS3 case. You have to provide power and/or your own external HDD case. Here are the links to the archived articles:
http://ps3.qj.net/Team-Xecuter-s-PS3-HDXT/pg/49/aid/91585
http://ps3.qj.net/Pics-and-a-vid-of-Team-Xexcuter-s-HDXT/pg/49/aid/90103
http://ps3.qj.net/Team-Xecuter-s-PS3-Hard-Drive-Xtender/pg/49/aid/84760

I didn't find their product (the HDXT) at Divineo as mentioned in the first link above, but I did find it at a canadian retailer at:
http://www.consolesource.com/ecomm/catalog/Xecuter-HDXT-PS3-Hard-Drive-Xtender-p-2593.html

Check out Team Xecuter's web site http://www.team-xecuter.com/ for a listing of vendors who carry their products around the world, and check the vendors for stock if ordering from Canada is not practical for you.

One thing to note. I don't have any verification of this, but I saw someone post a question on the Team Xecuter form mentioning that their PS3 has the HDD oriented differently than the original. So, as always, YMMV.
   by chessboxer - 2008-07-22
 » Currently

The biggest available 2.5" SATA which will fit inside a PS3 is 320GB. There are 400GB & 500GB 2.5" SATA's but they are 12.5mm thick, whereas the PS3 requires a 9mm thick HDD.

You should be able to attach a 2TB external drive to a PS3 but all external drives have to be formatted as FAT32. I'm hoping that a firmware change will allow NTFS or some other file system as FAT32 is annoying with it's 4GB file size limit.


   Re: mr.x256 - 2008-07-22
 » -

Does PS3 use FAT32 or a modified version of FAT32? The original Xbox has 'FATX' or 'XFAT' something like that.
If 40GB isn't enough they could alway buy a new HD, Sony made it real easy to change all you need is a Philips screw driver and a thumbnail plus its easier that 360 which requires a star end screw driver.

   Re: Sembazuru - 2008-07-22
 » HDD thickness

Hey, thanx for the heads-up. I had totally forgotten to look at the thickness specification. Good catch.
   by izkjon - 2008-07-22
 » How do I remove the HD?

I have a question for the PS3 fanboys out the in cyberworld, is it safe to remove the HD by your self and if so, does thisnul-n -void my warrenty for the Ps3, or does SONY have a store where I can get this done.


   Re: st4r5cr34m - 2008-07-22
 » Yeah

It's safe. It's just like changing the memory stick on a PSP. It doesn't void the warranty either. If you don't feel confident changing the hard drive yourself I guess yo could take it to a Sony store and they could do it, but it's much easier to do it yourself. You just unscrew the blue screw and slid out the drive, and replace it with your own drive and slide it back in.

   Re: Mister Common Sense - 2008-07-22
 » Come on!

It tells you how to replace the HDD in the manual, noob.

   Re: izkjon - 2008-07-22
 » What manual?

I own a PAL PS3. What this means is that I get what ever the Europeans get, except for the English manual. Why you may ask? its because I live South Africa and its a PAL Region and that's why I had to ask this question. Asking question doen't a person dumb.

Peace out!!

   Re: Sembazuru - 2008-07-22
 » Directions for changing HDD in PS3

There are several places on the net for instructions should your PS3 not come with a manual. Here on QJ.net check out:
http://ps3.qj.net/DIY-tutorial-increase-your-PS3-s-harddisk-capacity-by-replacing-it/pg/49/aid/110608

And if you are worried about warranty, this should explain it:
http://ps3.qj.net/Clearing-up-the-PS3-s-HDD-swap-warranty-issues/pg/49/aid/72554

   Re: mr.x256 - 2008-07-23
 » -

There are plenty of videos for this on YouTube.
   by Mister Common Sense - 2008-07-22
 » .

There's nothing wrong with the 40gb PS3.
The new 80gb is the same, just the hard drive is twice the size.



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