Upgrade Concerns

I am hoping to get a new, bigger hard drive for Christmas (either 320 or 500 GB) because I want to put some movies on my PS3, and I don't want to worry about how many games I download either. I have a few questions:

1) Is there a certain place that has cheaper prices on hard drives than others? (I have never upgraded a PC or anything)

2) Should I get 5400 rpm with 8 MB cache or 7200 rpm with 16 MB cache? I didn't know if PS3 accepted both or not.

3) When/if I do get one, do I also have to have an external hard drive to transfer everything over?

4) Are there any concerns/reservations I should have about doing this? (aka precautions to take, loss of data, performance issues, etc)

If someone could answer any/all of these I would really appreciate it.

2) 5400 rpm is the best because 7200 generate 5& - 10% more heat and that could shorten the life of your console.

looking for a nice cheap 500 GB HDD here it is.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152114  

3) Get a cheap 50GB HDD External, just to back up any and everything you would like to keep on you PS3.

And It Backs up Everything. Well So I have heard.

I upgraded my HD from a 20Gb to a 250GB. I am so glad I did too, no regrets whatsoever. When you buy, make sure you get the 2.5"SATA, and the PS3 will accept both 5400RPM or 7200RPM, some say the 7200 is louder and hotter, but that is a matter of opinion if you care about that, you won't melt your PS3. Newegg.com is the place to go, that is where I got all the parts to build my computer; they are the cheapest, fastest, and best place to go. Just make sure when you switch out the old with the new, don't bother with a screwdriver on the screws for the HD compartment, I just used a pair of needle-nosed plyers (after stripping my screws with a screwdriver, of course :roll:). The only problem I experienced (after putting all my files on a flash drive) was that when I put my files back on, my oblivion saves were corrupted. This kind of sucked considering I had beat the game and was waiting for something special you get when you beat the game (don't want to spoil anything). So I had to start all over, but I didn't care too much, it's a great game. I doubt that data corruption happens a lot, probably just an anomaly with my experience. But you will not regret upgrading, it was a huge relief for me considering I had about one gig left on my 20 gb.Erik729

Erik is right about the other part. It maybe hotter, but IT IS NOT going to warp your PS3 inside out from heat. it's just a matter console security.

I would go with the cooler drive.

uldhttp://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/3516598/Western-Digital-Scorpio-WD3200BEVT-320GB-2-5-Internal-SATA-Hard-Drive-Sony-Playstation-PS3-Compatible/Product.html

I would just get this as it says it ps3 compatible so it must be safe too install no overheating or anything