Before sony dropped the price of the ps3 with the introduction of the slim my used 20gb ps3 had actually gone up 30 dollars. I purchased in Feb 08 for $350 in Feb 09 they were selling the 20gb for $380. Now that sony dropped the price of the new consoles both the used 20GB and 60GB have come down in price about a hundred dollars.

To install linux on the ps3 you need to first do a custom format and create a partition for linux. doing this deletes all the save files and downloaded data on your ps3. If you want to preserve this information then you must back it up to either an external harddrive or a thumbdrive. I will alsoaddthat you might have a slightly less stressing expericnce by using Yellow Dog Linux instead of Ubuntu on the ps3.

A couple of my friends have had the 60GB since launch and have had no issues with it. Heat plays a part in system failure and its presumed that since the slim runs cooler that it is going to have a lower failure rate. However the phats were renowned for their solid hardware and low failure rate. In fact it was stressed tested in a sauna and it still survived (source). The ps3 has been out for 3 years and has sold over 30 million consoles worldwide most of thoughs 30 million are phats. The slim has not been not really been out on the market long enough to give an indication as to how sound the redesign is. I still say get the 60GB over the slim.

You can get an extended warranty on used models from some retailers. I bought my 20GB PS3 used from gamestop and was able to secure an extended warranty for $50. All together it cost me $350.00 back in february 08. I was able to recoup a nice portion of the purchase by selling my ps2 on ebay since the 20GB plays ps2 games as well.

60GB with an extended warranty. The features that the 60GB has over the slim are numerous. The 60GB has backwards compatibility with ps2 while the slim does not, the 60GB has 4 USB ports vs the slim with only 2 USB ports, the 60GB has memory card readers anoter thing the slim does not, and finally the 60GB has other os support (see signature) the slim does not. The 60GB is like the luxury edition of the ps3 while the slim is a striped down base model.

I prefer the original in almost every aspect except the size and power consumption. I found the loss of the other os feature in the slim particularly disappointing. Even the loss of ps2 backwards compatability and 2 usb ports was unfortunate in the later phat models. So IMO the best were the original phats, followed by the revised phats, and last the slim. As the Slim being the most cut down model designed to appeal to the masses and save sony money.

The more demanding the game the more it taxes the hardware and consequently considerable heat is produced. Heat is what wears down a console. Gradually warping the circuit board and weakening solder points. This is more an issue in the launch models. I have a 20GB ps3 that has failed twice. 1st time after an uncharted session followed by a blu ray movie the 2nd time playing though far cry. Fortunately I purchased an extended warranty and both instances I got another 20GB ps3. Its not a matter of ventilation either as my ps3 sits alone on a shelf with about a foot on each side of the system.

Kinda depends on which old one you are talking about. If you are talking about the original 60GB or 80GB models then I would say defiantly go for the "old one". However if you are referencing the more recent phat models then it comes down to ascetics and if you have any interest in the other os feature. If you want to know more about what advantages can be gained through the use of the other os feature click my sig. The slim is smaller, quieter, and consumes less energy. If you do not care about the other os feature and do not dislike the redesign appearance then go with the slim. Want to play a number of legacy consoles on your ps3 then get the phat.

[QUOTE="Gen007"]

[QUOTE="coasterguy65"]

What's funny is you can set up a virtual PS2 Memory card on the Hard Drive, even though you can't play PS2 games on a slim. I'm sure it has to do with all the PS3s getting the same firmware updates, but I don't know.

I still think as soon as the PS2's "10 Year Life Cycle" comes to an end backwards compatibility will be returned to the PS3.

I don't care what Sony says the software BC emulation didn't cost them a thing to keep installing on the PS3s. It was just loaded onto the ROM just like any other instruction. The only reason they took it out was to keep milking out the PS2 for a few more years. Why buy a $149 PS2 ($99 now) if you can get a PS3 and play your games on it.

coasterguy65

well it wasnt emulation older ps3s actually had parts from the ps2 in it. I still feel they should implement emulation though if the 360 can have it so can the ps3 i dont expect full bc but they could get a good amount .

I know the older 60GBs had the actual chips in them but the 80GBs had the software BC emulation, which is what Sony was using before the got rid of the BC on the 40GBs. The argument was that the software emulation was used to eliminate the cost of installing the BC chips.

My point was that once the software was written it didn't cost Sony anything to put it onto the PS3s (or it cost very little) so the argument of getting rid of BC because of cost was stupid.

What also makes it suspicious is that the BC for PS1 games was left alone. Of course Sony was not selling anymore PS1s at that point.

The 80GB had partial software emulation. The 80GB still had the PS2 GPU chip they used software to emulate just the CPU. Even when they were just emulating the CPU of the ps2 backwards compatibility took a big hit. There has never been any full software emulation of the ps2 on the ps3 released by sony nor is there any planed.

What's funny is you can set up a virtual PS2 Memory card on the Hard Drive, even though you can't play PS2 games on a slim. I'm sure it has to do with all the PS3s getting the same firmware updates, but I don't know.

I still think as soon as the PS2's "10 Year Life Cycle" comes to an end backwards compatibility will be returned to the PS3.

I don't care what Sony says the software BC emulation didn't cost them a thing to keep installing on the PS3s. It was just loaded onto the ROM just like any other instruction. The only reason they took it out was to keep milking out the PS2 for a few more years. Why buy a $149 PS2 ($99 now) if you can get a PS3 and play your games on it.

coasterguy65

The virtual ps2 memory card feature is legacy that exists in both models with and with out backwards compatibilitiy. Its not an indicator of whats to come but rather what was. PS2 Backwards compatibility in the ps3 required ps2 hardware and thus cost sony money to implement and saved sony money to remove.