What are the differences with the new slim PS3s?

Dabutcher
Dabutcher Posts: 2,596
edited August 2010 in Video Games
I own an original 60gb PS3 and was interested in purchase of another one for two reasons. Blu ray player for my second HT set up and let my little kids use it for the few games they have with the PS3. Do any of them play ps2 games? Is the only difference the size of the hard drive? Is the picture quality with movies any different than a standalone Sony Blu ray player? As alway thanks Polk community. Darryl
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Post edited by Dabutcher on

Comments

  • GoBigBlue
    GoBigBlue Posts: 212
    edited July 2010
    I have both the slim and the original PS3s. The slim is smaller. They both play some PS2 games if I'm not mistaken. And the picture quality is great IMO. I don't know how they stand up to the other Sony players, though. Sorry.
  • mole'
    mole' Posts: 3,160
    edited July 2010
    the older PS3 60gig will play all of the PS1 and PS2 games among other disk as well.

    some of the newer Slim PS3 wont play all of the older games. i wanna say it was a 120 gig version. not 100% sure tho.
    mole'
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited July 2010
    I wouldn't worry about the PQ with either ps3. Unless you like to freeze movies and go over them pixel by pixel, there just isn't any reason not to buy a ps3 based on picture quality. It remains one of the better players.

    Your 60GB ps3 does do some of the less popular features the new slims do not, such as almost full compatibility with ps2 games and SACD playback for audiophiles.

    But the Slim is the only ps3 that will bitstream blu-ray lossless formats to an AVR for decoding. The 60GB can do lossless by decoding in the player instead of the AVR. But this process is more difficult to dial in properly.
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited July 2010
    If HDD size matters to you for storage, either ps3 accepts generic laptop SATA HDDs. (Very easy to do. Just look up youtube how-to videos.) If you upgrade the drive, it's best to do it when you get the console before you fill up the old drive with stuff that may or may not transfer.
  • tommyboy
    tommyboy Posts: 1,414
    edited July 2010
    GoBigBlue wrote: »
    The slim is smaller. .

    Really? Thats news to me ;)
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  • GoBigBlue
    GoBigBlue Posts: 212
    edited July 2010
    Shocker, right? Haha.
  • mole'
    mole' Posts: 3,160
    edited July 2010
    cheddar wrote: »
    I wouldn't worry about the PQ with either ps3. Unless you like to freeze movies and go over them pixel by pixel, there just isn't any reason not to buy a ps3 based on picture quality. It remains one of the better players.

    Your 60GB ps3 does do some of the less popular features the new slims do not, such as almost full compatibility with ps2 games and SACD playback for audiophiles.

    But the Slim is the only ps3 that will bitstream blu-ray lossless formats to an AVR for decoding. The 60GB can do lossless by decoding in the player instead of the AVR. But this process is more difficult to dial in properly.

    im not sure what all that means, but mt 60gig works awesome for BD movies. i had 3 of them and sold one for $450 cause the guy wanted all the features that it had over the new slims.
    mole'
  • GoBigBlue
    GoBigBlue Posts: 212
    edited July 2010
    Where's this guy at? I have an older PS3 that I wouldn't mind selling for $450...
  • mole'
    mole' Posts: 3,160
    edited July 2010
    GoBigBlue wrote: »
    Where's this guy at? I have an older PS3 that I wouldn't mind selling for $450...

    San Diego

    i have 2 more, but im not selling them.
    mole'
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited July 2010
    mole' wrote: »
    im not sure what all that means, but mt 60gig works awesome for BD movies. i had 3 of them and sold one for $450 cause the guy wanted all the features that it had over the new slims.

    It means exactly what it says. There are three lossless blu-ray audio formats, uncompressed LPCM, TrueHD, and DTS-HD MA. The latter two are 'compressed' to take up less space on the disk, but can be uncompressed back to their original uncompressed PCM form. There are plenty of 'lossy' formats, regular Dolby Digital and plain old DTS (AKA the DTS-HD MA core) being two that are available on blu-rays if you can't listen to the lossless options on your setup.

    With non-slim ps3s, the ps3 is capable of internally decoding (uncompressing) TrueHD and DTS-HD MA and sending this decoded PCM via HDMI to the AVR. But you have to configure the AVR properly to play the PCM (things like the +10db LFE channel boost manually if the AVR doesn't add it automatically).

    With the slim, you can either use the same internal decoding of the older ps3s, or you can send the raw TrueHD or DTS-HD MA bitstream to the AVR and the AVR will decode the bitstream, convert it to PCM, and do all the configurations automatically (like the +10db LFE boost).

    It works either way, just less fuss for bitstreaming to an AVR that is capable of decoding TrueHD or DTS-HD MA.
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited July 2010
    GoBigBlue wrote: »
    Where's this guy at? I have an older PS3 that I wouldn't mind selling for $450...

    They are paying for things like the ability of almost universal compatibility with older ps2 games and/or SACD playback of the 60GB version. They are not paying for any superior audio playback of blu-rays over the Slim. After the 60GB, they took out part of the ps2 hardware and went to software emulation for ps2 games and took a hit on the number of compatible games. IIRC, they took out all the hardware for ps2 games sometime during the 80GB/40GB run and basically messed up ps2 compatibility on all models since. They also removed SACD playback.

    If you're trying to get top dollar for an older ps3, you'd better know what you have and what it can do before you list it.
  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,596
    edited July 2010
    Thank you all. Any where to get a new one for under 299.99? Darryl
    MIT Magnum MH-750, Monster HTS 5100MKII, Sony 77" Class - A80CJ Series - 4K UHD OLED,PS4, Def Tech 15” sub,LSIM 706c, Sunfire Signature Grand 425 x 4,Parasound hca 120, LSiM 702 x 4, Oppo 103D, SDA SRS 1.2, Pioneer Elite SC63 , Pioneer Elite BDP-05 “Why did you get married if you wanted big speakers?”
  • GoBigBlue
    GoBigBlue Posts: 212
    edited July 2010
    Have you tried Newegg.com?
  • BigMac
    BigMac Posts: 849
    edited July 2010
    Another difference is that the new PS3 cannot do the fan test and blow out all the dust that gets in there over time. When I am testing older PS3s at work to see if I am going to buy it this is one thing I do to see what comes out of the vents. If it sends lots of dust flying out or smells like cigarette smoke I do not buy it, period. Not all older PS3s will do the fan test btw.
  • mole'
    mole' Posts: 3,160
    edited July 2010
    how do you do that FAN test?


    nice SIG BTW
    mole'
  • BigMac
    BigMac Posts: 849
    edited July 2010
    mole' wrote: »
    how do you do that FAN test?


    nice SIG BTW

    Make sure the PS3 is off and the switch on the back is in the off position as well. Put your finger on the eject button (hold there) and then turn on the PS3 with the switch on the back. IF your PS3 will do the fan test once you turn it on you will know. After the fan has started you can remove your finger from the eject button. Test runs for like 8-10 seconds. Your PS3 will sound like it is going to take off.....will not hurt the PS3 doing this. Just a good way to clean all the dust out.:)
  • ledhed
    ledhed Posts: 1,088
    edited July 2010
    The Slim isn't compatible with any PS2 titles but they all play PSOne titles
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  • mole'
    mole' Posts: 3,160
    edited July 2010
    BigMac wrote: »
    Make sure the PS3 is off and the switch on the back is in the off position as well. Put your finger on the eject button (hold there) and then turn on the PS3 with the switch on the back. IF your PS3 will do the fan test once you turn it on you will know. After the fan has started you can remove your finger from the eject button. Test runs for like 8-10 seconds. Your PS3 will sound like it is going to take off.....will not hurt the PS3 doing this. Just a good way to clean all the dust out.:)

    just tried it on my 2 60gigs and it did not work

    :(
    mole'
  • PhantomOG
    PhantomOG Posts: 2,409
    edited August 2010
    the new slims also do HDMI-CEC, which my old 60gb does not.
  • jflail2
    jflail2 Posts: 2,868
    edited August 2010
    Not sure about functionality, but my Slim is MUCH more quiet than my old 60gb original. That thing sounded like an F-16 taking off towards the end of it all...
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  • PhantomOG
    PhantomOG Posts: 2,409
    edited August 2010
    yeah, that's my one biggest complaint with my 60gb. In the winter, as long as I leave the glass door on my entertainment center open, its quiet, however, in the summer I get the jet engines no matter what I do.
  • mutelight
    mutelight Posts: 1,054
    edited August 2010
    It has been recommended by Sony, to not run the fan test. It is better to take some compressed air to clean out the case if you want to get dust out.

    I have the original 60GB PS3 in the living room with a 320GB drive and the advantages to this model are:
    Full Playstation 1 & 2 hardware backwards compatibility
    SACD Playback
    Memory card readers
    HD audio playback via LPCM only
    4x USB ports

    PS3 Slim in the bedroom:
    Only Playstation 1 compatibility (Playstation 2 backwards compatibility has been completely removed)
    Smaller CPU die size which results in less power consumption and runs cooler
    LPCM HD audio transport as well as bitstream to offload decoding to the AVR
    2x USB ports
    Control over HDMI (TVs and receivers can power up and down the unit as well as navigation control etc.)

    The BD playback quality is almost indiscernible between the two and you would really have to go out of your way to tell any difference. Comparing the PS3 BD playback against stand alones, it ranks along the best. You would have to buy a higher end BD player ($400+) to see any gains.
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  • audio_alan
    audio_alan Posts: 770
    edited August 2010
    Great advice guys, but allow me to summarize (as I have both, as several of you do):

    Non-slim (Phat) - The 60 GB is the last model to support (100%?) of the PS2 games. The 80 GB ripped out the PS2 guts. The 60 GB also supports SACD and decodes the HD codecs. Unfortunately, your receiver won't light up your DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD lights.

    Slim - Software emulation of PS2 games (not close to 100%)! No SACD! However, it will pass the encoded Blu-ray audio streams to your receiver, allowing it to do the decoding and display the pretty DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD lights. They also have more storage for storing games, audio, video, etc. Much quiter than their PHAT counterparts as well...

    I know, it was covered before, but thought I'd rehash it. This seems to be a very complicated subject...

    P.S. It sucks to have to bring your PS3 phat downstairs (where you already have a slim) to your better system, just to listen to an SACD, then take it back upstairs when you're done.
    P.S.S PS3's are still one of the TOP blu-ray players! Fast and reliable.
  • audio_alan
    audio_alan Posts: 770
    edited August 2010
    To be honest, there is not much differences .... <snip>

    Have you been reading this thread? There are several differences. If a person doesn't understand those differences, they might be disappointed with the model that they buy. SACD playback, actual PS2 hardware inside the box (instead of software emulation), and proper pass-through of the Blu-Ray HD audio (so your receiver will show which audio stream it is playing). You call that "not much differences"!? :eek:
  • JoshParsons84
    JoshParsons84 Posts: 565
    edited August 2010
    Really wanting to get a PS3 and CAN swing it, however, ONLY on layaway (sad I know). So it'd be the 250 gig slim I'm debating on getting. Are any of the slim's ever gonna be backwards compatible or like have a download for it (dunno how it works)? I really would like to keep on playing some of my old PS2 games. Not a lot of them but some and dunno really if getting an older 60 gig is worth the money. How hard is it to take out the hard drive and put a bigger one in? I've still got some thinking to do. I know I'm dying to have my video games back (been a few years) and I'd love to get the new Resident Evil. Back in the day I was a RE freak - all the games, strategy guides and even all the novels lol. BUT actually my fav ones was 1,2 and Nemesis for the PS1 but then ya know there was the GTA's for PS2 and Need For Speed's plus Scarface I loved a lot. DAMN!!!!! What a decision
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited August 2010
    audio_alan wrote: »
    Have you been reading this thread...

    Reported for signature spam. Feel free to ignore brettb... He's not really commenting on the thread...
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited August 2010
    Really wanting to get a PS3 and CAN swing it, however, ONLY on layaway (sad I know). So it'd be the 250 gig slim I'm debating on getting. Are any of the slim's ever gonna be backwards compatible or like have a download for it (dunno how it works)? I really would like to keep on playing some of my old PS2 games. Not a lot of them but some and dunno really if getting an older 60 gig is worth the money. How hard is it to take out the hard drive and put a bigger one in? I've still got some thinking to do. I know I'm dying to have my video games back (been a few years) and I'd love to get the new Resident Evil. Back in the day I was a RE freak - all the games, strategy guides and even all the novels lol. BUT actually my fav ones was 1,2 and Nemesis for the PS1 but then ya know there was the GTA's for PS2 and Need For Speed's plus Scarface I loved a lot. DAMN!!!!! What a decision

    Although the ps3 hard drive is very easy to change out for a larger generic laptop SATA drive (check youtube for howto vids), I really wouldn't take a chance on a used 60gig at this point. If you don't know the usage history, they're just getting too old with the possibility of getting a bad one.

    And since they took out the ps2 hardware to simplify and lower the costs for mass production, I doubt sony will put the hardware back into the slim at this point.
  • JoshParsons84
    JoshParsons84 Posts: 565
    edited August 2010
    cheddar wrote: »
    And since they took out the ps2 hardware to simplify and lower the costs for mass production, I doubt sony will put the hardware back into the slim at this point.

    Yeah see that's what I feared about the new Slims which is why I was wanting to get an older one. But they're still compatible with PS1 games though right? Oh well then, my fav RE games was for the PS1 plus Tomb Raider. I'm still happy with that then...apples to oranges. If it bothers me that bad to play PS2 games then I'll go to the pawn shop and get one for 25 bucks ya know? No biggie :D
  • Sinister184
    Sinister184 Posts: 14
    edited August 2010
    slim is nice but lacks the attention to detail like the original