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[Vae_Victis]

As per title, did anyone change their PS3 HDD in the past with a large one and knows this? I'm finding conflicting information online, some people say it's 1TB, some people say it's 1.5T, some say it's 2T, some say there is no real limit but even if it's really large the PS3 won't recognize and use more than a pre-determined amount of space regardless.

I mean INTERNAL HDD, connected through SATA, not a USB external drive.


I was also curious about HDD speed. Does anybody know at what point the disk speed stops making any difference because there is some other bottleneck in the data transfer? 5,400? 7,200? More?

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

I want answers also

 

[Noboru Wataya]

All I can tell you is that an SSD is a waste of time.

Here is some interesting reading.

Can SSD Upgrades Boost PS3 Performance?

It's impossible to upgrade the in-game performance on your console, right? Every unit is the same, so the gameplay expe…

www.eurogamer.net

Talk:Harddrive - PS3 Developer wiki

Playstation Development Wiki - PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP, Vita Information

www.psdevwiki.com

 

[German Hops]

 

[Vae_Victis]

All I can tell you is that an SSD is a waste of time.

Here is some interesting reading.

Can SSD Upgrades Boost PS3 Performance?

It's impossible to upgrade the in-game performance on your console, right? Every unit is the same, so the gameplay expe…

www.eurogamer.net

Talk:Harddrive - PS3 Developer wiki

Playstation Development Wiki - PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP, Vita Information

www.psdevwiki.com

So basically it works for sure up to 1TB, anything beyond that some people say it works, but at least in some instances it doesn't. That is not as definitive as I would have liked it, but I guess it's a start

As for the speed, yeah, I was not thinking of an SSD, I know it doesn't make that much of a difference for the price.

 

[Skifi28]

I can confirm that 1TB works fine. Unfortunately I can't comment for larger sizes, though it's hard to imagine many scenarios where it's not enough.

 

[Videospel]

I used a 1TB 7200RPM HDD. I didn't make any measurements, but it felt faster than the stock 5400RPM drive.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Personally I never got my 320gb filled up on PS3. Ps3 games aren't that big in general. I knew some guys who had 500gb (this wasn't part of an SKU I think). I hated the PS3 but it did some things very right, like putting in cheap off the shelve HDD's, support for a myriad of USB devices, PS1 support (and Ps2 for early revisions) etc.

I think 7200 was fine and not really different from 5400 which was more stable.

 

[{insert code here}]

1.5tb is what I'm using. I can confirm that a 2tb did not work when I attempted it a few years back.

 

[Quasicat]

1.5tb is what I'm using. I can confirm that a 2tb did not work when I attempted it a few years back.

This is what I ran into. I put in a WD 2 TB 5400 and it wouldn’t even identify it. I popped in a 1 TB 5400, same brand, and it’s still plugging away.

I went completely digital during the PS3 generation (when it was available) and even with 125 PS3 exclusives, 12 PS2, and 55 PS1 games installed, I still have around 75 GB remaining.

 

[ZywyPL]

1TB 7200rpm is the way to go. SSHD is also a good alternative, it's barely more expensive but with results close to if not identical to an SSD.

 

[Vae_Victis]

Thanks for all the inputs. I think I'll buy a 2TB and a 1TB HDD (can't find a 1.5TB for cheap right now around here), I'll try the 2TB and if it doesn't work I'll use the other one.

Whichever drive doesn't end up in the console I guess I'll use as additional cheap external storage for the PC, which I needed anyway.

 

[T-Cake]

Thanks for all the inputs. I think I'll buy a 2TB and a 1TB HDD (can't find a 1.5TB for cheap right now around here), I'll try the 2TB and if it doesn't work I'll use the other one.

Whichever drive doesn't end up in the console I guess I'll use as additional cheap external storage for the PC, which I needed anyway.

There's no point buying 2TB. That is definitely off the cards so don't waste your money.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I have a 2tb installed but it only sees 1.5 of it.

 

[PRiSMiWi]

2’5 inches

100 length
69.85 width
15 or 19 height

xD

 

[chaseroni]

SSD upgrade is not a waste of time. That will last much longer than the Mechanical HDD that the PS3 shipped with.

 

[The Shepard]

How about an external hdd? What's the max on one of those, thinking about storing all my digital games on there if possible.

 

[T-Cake]

How about an external hdd? What's the max on one of those, thinking about storing all my digital games on there if possible.

That feature was only introduced for PS4.

 

[ethomaz]

Internal: 1TB.
Via USB (external): 2TB.

That is at least what is official.
Remember the 2.5" internal HDD has a physical limit... it should be smaller than 9.5mm.

In real cases for internal HDD with 1.5TB will works but 2TB not.
There is a little trick to make the 2TB works as internal... you just need to use a special tool to change the max sector size to 7% less sectors so your 2TB HDD after that will works as ~1.86TB and it will work on PS3.

So the hardware limit seems to be 3633537126 sectors.... anything over that will not work.

BTW you can read more here: https://www.psx-place.com/threads/p...upgrade-formatting-utility.11989/#post-100471

PS. The little trick I believe will work with bigger HDD like 4TB (if there is one lower than 9mm) but is it worth? I mean it will have to be limited to way lower sectors and you will have a 4TB HDD working as 1.86GB.

 

[ManaByte]

Any 2.5” drive should work.

 

[mutt765]

Not to highjack this thread, but with Sony taking the PS3 store offline in July, I've been looking into installing a bigger HDD too and also homebrew stuff. Does anyone know if I can backup to a bigger drive with a USB adapter than just install that drive into my PS3, skipping the restore step? or do I need to backup to a separate drive and then restore to the new one?

Does anybody here have custom firmware on theirs? Is it worth it?

 

[ethomaz]

Any 2.5” drive should work.

No.

 

[Chiggs]

All I can tell you is that an SSD is a waste of time.

Here is some interesting reading.

Can SSD Upgrades Boost PS3 Performance?

It's impossible to upgrade the in-game performance on your console, right? Every unit is the same, so the gameplay expe…

www.eurogamer.net

Talk:Harddrive - PS3 Developer wiki

Playstation Development Wiki - PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP, Vita Information

www.psdevwiki.com

I completely disagree. Loading times are HUGE improvement in many PS3 games using an SSD. I'll even use that ancient article as proof:

Similarly, Battlefield 3 seemed to be identical - though loading times did appear to be significantly improved. It was the same story with Assassin's Creed: Revelations, which can lag badly on the PlayStation 3 compared to the Xbox 360 version. Concerns that this was down to our 60GB launch drive can be ruled out - the game played identically with the title running from SSD (in common with many Ubisoft titles, a big chunk of the disc gets copied onto hard drive), though the interminable loading times did seem to be improved.

My own personal experience:

• Loading times in Demon's Souls were halved.
• Loading times in Infamous series were halved.
• Final Fantasy XIII and its offshoots load quicker and perform better.
• Skyrim is a night and freaking day difference (even Leadbetter acknowledges quicker loads in the article you posted, but I disagree with his overall assessment).

I would absolutely recommend getting an SSD to put in the PS3, considering that SSDs are substantially cheaper than they were when that Eurogamer article was written, which was 8 years ago.

Some videos:

Last of Us



GTA 5



GT5

 

[YCoCg]

There was also a noticeable improvement with the in-game XMB when using a faster drive, so I'd imagine a cheaper low end SSD would be even better.

 

[squarealex]

All I can tell you is that an SSD is a waste of time.

Here is some interesting reading.

Can SSD Upgrades Boost PS3 Performance?

It's impossible to upgrade the in-game performance on your console, right? Every unit is the same, so the gameplay expe…

www.eurogamer.net

Talk:Harddrive - PS3 Developer wiki

Playstation Development Wiki - PS5, PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP, Vita Information

www.psdevwiki.com

Also... if SSD can stop those random freeze on PS3 XMB...

 

[BlackTron]

I completely disagree. Loading times are HUGE improvement in many PS3 games using an SSD. I'll even use that ancient article as proof:

This post is correct. When I changed from the stock HDD to a SSD in my PS3 many years ago, the difference was immediate and profound. Even starting the system and using the menu was snappier.

Slightly off-topic but the PS4 Pro really did not feel like a Pro the first time I turned it on. It REALLY needed that SSD to feel smooth and modern to use. I wouldn't even consider going back to a standard HDD on either system.

 

[MeatSafeMurderer]

UFS (the PS3's filesystem) in theory supports 16TB. However...as some have pointed out, just because the filesystem supports it it doesn't mean the PS3's OS does.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Biggest bottleneck for PS3 games is going to be a lack of controllers. Impossible to find

 

[Chiggs]

Biggest bottleneck for PS3 games is going to be a lack of controllers. Impossible to find

It's tragic, really. I bought two new red ones from eBay (for $150), but the batteries inside were expanded and ruined. Had to replace those myself.

I have a brand new PS3 Last of Us bundle that is worth $1000, that I've considered cracking open to get the controller from.

 

[Noboru Wataya]

Also... if SSD can stop those random freeze on PS3 XMB...

Why is this being compared to an external HDD?

 

[Noboru Wataya]

I completely disagree. Loading times are HUGE improvement in many PS3 games using an SSD. I'll even use that ancient article as proof:



My own personal experience:

• Loading times in Demon's Souls were halved.
• Loading times in Infamous series were halved.
• Final Fantasy XIII and its offshoots load quicker and perform better.
• Skyrim is a night and freaking day difference (even Leadbetter acknowledges quicker loads in the article you posted, but I disagree with his overall assessment).

I would absolutely recommend getting an SSD to put in the PS3, considering that SSDs are substantially cheaper than they were when that Eurogamer article was written, which was 8 years ago.

Some videos:

Last of Us



GTA 5



GT5

Sure i mean if you want to shave off a couple of seconds? I suppose the eurogamer article was back when prices where much higher for SSD. In real world situations almost nobody without a stopwatch would notice the difference between a 7200rpm and an SSD. But if you have a spare SSD lying around, pop it in. Doesnt make it worse.

 

[Drew1440]

PS3 uses the MBR (Baster Boot Record) partition scheme and is limited to 1.83TB, although seems to have issues formatting over 1TB without an external utility.
I believe custom firmware is able to run games from an external drive.

 

[Rayderism]

I investigated this years ago. The general consensus then was that any drive over 1.5TB might format and pretend to be OK, but would corrupt if you tried to go over 1.5TB of its capacity. 1.5TB drives or smaller should work fine.

I went with a 1TB just to be safe.