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[jimbor]

Installed mine yesterday. The only slight hiccup was that I had to put the firmware on a flash drive, the guide I followed said that I could do that after but that wasn't the case.

Also, for phat owners: use a posidrive screwdriver for the blue enclosure screw and a Philips for the other 4.

 

[PaulLFC]

Is the stock 250gb HDD in the PS3 Slim a 5400rpm drive?

I guess so, but just checking as that's the rpm of the replacement drive, and while I'm happy with the load times on the current drive, I probably wouldn't want a speed decrease.

 

[wizzbang]

Before investing in an SSD for PS3, this is a good article to read http://www.gamespot.com/features/playstation-3-solid-state-drive-upgrade-report-updated-6192258/

Don't expect miracles, the PS3 is limited to sub SATA2 speeds, so a fast mechanical drive is going to be on par in most instances with a lot more storage.

Depends on the game, random access on a hdd vs ssd aren't even comparable.
If you play GT5, huge difference, other games - sadly not so much. Still to this day wish we could load on to the HDD like the 360.

 

[PaulLFC]

I see from reading around one of the required steps after installing the new drive is updating the firmware off memory stick - I've downloaded 4.41 off the website (4.45 isn't up yet but with the reports I'm not sure I'd risk it just yet anyway).

Is it as simple as plugging in the memory stick when the new HDD has been installed and holding Start & Select on the controller as you power on the PS3? Those were the steps in the guide I found, but looking in the instruction manual for the Slim it doesn't mention any steps, just "update the firmware off a storage device".

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

Sorry for bumping this thread, but I have a question and I might as well do it here, instead of creating a new thread.

I'm not clear on how the PSN and PS+ stuff is handled when replacing the HDD. If I don't do a backup, what happens to free games I have already downloaded, but are no longer offered in the store?

 

[Lunzio]

Watch out for 7200RPM as they may spin too fast for the system and make them run a little hot (too hot for my personal comfort).

This is the model I put into mine:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003D18DM0/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Sorry for bumping this thread, but I have a question and I might as well do it here, instead of creating a new thread.

I'm not clear on how the PSN and PS+ stuff is handled when replacing the HDD. If I don't do a backup, what happens to free games I have already downloaded, but are no longer offered in the store?

You can easily access all the games you've downloaded right from the PSN store if you don't back them up. Everything you've downloaded before counts towards this, even if it's from PSN+.

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

Thanks, Lunzio. So pretty much all I would have to worry about is make sure all my saved games are on the cloud and I can just go ahead and replace the drive and start downloading everything again, right?

 

[bozeman]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I9J5OG/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I put this one in mine and it bricked in less than a month. I put the old 120 stock drive in and the PS3 worked fine. Just a heads up.

I'm a bit gun shy about getting a bigger drive right now. But I really want to in order to have all my digital purchases/PS+ games on the system when the inevitable PS3 server shutdown happens (yes I know I probably have many years before that happens).

 

[jimbor]

I see from reading around one of the required steps after installing the new drive is updating the firmware off memory stick - I've downloaded 4.41 off the website (4.45 isn't up yet but with the reports I'm not sure I'd risk it just yet anyway).

Is it as simple as plugging in the memory stick when the new HDD has been installed and holding Start & Select on the controller as you power on the PS3? Those were the steps in the guide I found, but looking in the instruction manual for the Slim it doesn't mention any steps, just "update the firmware off a storage device".

I don't think you have to hold the buttons down as you turn it on, you can do it once it's been turned on. That's what I did anyway.

 

[Lunzio]

Thanks, Lunzio. So pretty much all I would have to worry about is make sure all my saved games are on the cloud and I can just go ahead and replace the drive and start downloading everything again, right?

Yep. Just make sure those games saves are safe and you'll be fine.

At least when I did the switch 2 weeks ago, I didn't even need a usb stick with the OS on it. I just swapped the drives, reformatted, and began downloading.

 

[ElTorro]

Watch out for 7200RPM as they may spin too fast for the system and make them run a little hot (too hot for my personal comfort).

I transfered 120 GB yesterday onto an external USB3-2,5-HDD with 7200rpm, and the case was still cool. I am also running a 7200rpm hdd in my PS3 and have no problems with it.

 

[Lan_97]

I just recently installed a 7200RPM drive into an 80gb fat ps3, so we'll see how that goes. I also dismantled the system to dust (lots of it inside) and to redo the thermal paste.

 

[juxtapose]

Before saying anything about performance read these!

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-ps3-hard-drive-upgrade-guide
7200RPM makes it a tiny bit faster

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-can-ssd-upgrades-boost-ps3-performance
SSD is not worth it.
Well maybe if you only play GT5

I swapped my 320GB to a 750GB.

I bought this
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I9J5OG/?tag=neogaf0e-20

7200RPM and more cache makes the system a bit faster, but if its space you need get the 1TB. That was not avilable when I got mine.

Also its not 1TB its 900GB something due to how its calculated and the PS3 OS is going to reserve a certain ammount of space.
For excample my 750GB drive had 600-ishGB space left when booting up for the first time.

1. Delete all game/install data, you can install it again later
2. Run backup utility, took a few hours for me, saves almost everything, even Users and PSN logins
3. Insert new HDD, just find guides on youtube for the type of PS3 you have. It can be a bit tricky I thought and Im used to hardware
4. Get a USB stick with the latest FW update. Folders PS3 -> UPDATE
http://us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/ps3/pc_update/index.htm
5. Plug in USB, turn on system, follow instructions
6. Run backuputility
7. Install the games again

Enjoy!

Compiling all people's comments (especially Erasus) and my own experience, I've posted a step-by-step guide here. This gives a little more detail into the minutiae of the upgrade. I'm happy to post here...but it's sorta long.

 

[Lemmy Caution]

Hey,

So i've been frustrated for a while with a lack of PS3 HD space.

I had upgraded the HD on my old Metal Gear backwards compatible edition PS3 to a 500GB drive, and bought an extra external drive to back my entire system on to. That PS3 was later stolen and the external HD is now full of video projects.

My replacement 320GB slim is basically dead. I can get it to power on for a bit then it switches off, I think the fan is dead and it lasts till it overheats.

I picked up a newish 160GB slim from a friend on the cheap, and figure I may as well add the biggest/best HD I can. I'd also like to avoid redownloading everything and losing some saves that aren't in the cloud.

So, can I swap out the HD in my new PS3 and format it to basically start from scratch. Then if I can use the hairdryer or some such trick to keep my old system on long enough, transfer its contents directly to my new PS3 with the extra large drive?

also, as my current system is overheating and I may have some dust issues in my place, should I avoid a 7200RPM drive to be safe? Or are there any performance benefits. I'm mostly gearing up for GTAV.