Extended Warrantee on PS3

McLoki · April 2008

I was thinking of getting a PS3 to use mainly (almost exclusively) as a blue ray player. Based on this I have just a couple of questions from the PS3 experienced polkies out there.....

1 - is the base $399 40gig model sufficent if its main purpose in life is going to be blue ray movies?

2 - If it is mainly used to play movies, can this cause any overheating issues that would make an extended warrantee a worthy purchase? (i.e. - has there been many common issues with the PS3 when used mainly has a blue ray player?)

3 - Is this something that it is worth waiting to try and find used, or is the used price typically close enough to new that it is not worth the risk of a used purchase?

Thanks for all your help,

Michael (console game noobie...)

Imperitor · April 2008

McLoki wrote: »

1 - is the base $399 40gig model sufficent if its main purpose in life is going to be blue ray movies?

The 40 GB version has 2 USB ports (80 GB has 4), a 40 GB HDD, and no multimedia slots. It's backwards compatible with original PlayStation titles, but is not backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 titles. I also believe it doesn't play SACD's and the 80GB does. Everything else is the same as the 80 GB. So, yes. The 40 GB should be all you need.

McLoki wrote: »

2 - If it is mainly used to play movies, can this cause any overheating issues that would make an extended warrantee a worthy purchase? (i.e. - has there been many common issues with the PS3 when used mainly has a blue ray player?)

Overheating shouldn't be a problem if you keep it ventilated. Sony will replace your PS3 of it overheats within its one year warrantee. You can get it if you want, but I didn't and I've never had a problem.

McLoki wrote: »

3 - Is this something that it is worth waiting to try and find used, or is the used price typically close enough to new that it is not worth the risk of a used purchase?

You could probably save $100 getting it used from a local game store.

cheddar · April 2008

McLoki wrote: »

1 - is the base $399 40gig model sufficent if its main purpose in life is going to be blue ray movies?

The 40gig is great for playing blu-ray. There is a firmware update coming out next week that will mean full internal decoding support for all the lossless audio formats, LPCM, TrueHD, DTS-HD MA making the ps3 the most capable blu-ray player currently available. It already has full up to profile 2.0 support meaning it has BonusView and BD Live (PIP commentary and internet connectivity features.) I wouldn't get the higher model for the extra drive space, but SACD playback might be worth it if you want it.

McLoki wrote: »

2 - If it is mainly used to play movies, can this cause any overheating issues that would make an extended warrantee a worthy purchase? (i.e. - has there been many common issues with the PS3 when used mainly has a blue ray player?)

It's been my experience that blu-ray playback is one of the least taxing things you can do with the player since it's just pumping out the 1080p encoded on the disk. Playing regular DVDs can make the player run warmer 'cause of the upscaling it has to do and there are many more calculations it has to perform depending on the game played. But even with people keeping the darn thing on 24/7 for the Stanford Folding@Home project, there aren't reports of the console having heat issues and a surge in warranty service because of heat problems. Keep it well ventilated as with any other piece of A/V equipment.

McLoki wrote: »

3 - Is this something that it is worth waiting to try and find used, or is the used price typically close enough to new that it is not worth the risk of a used purchase?

This is already a pretty cheap piece of A/V equipment. But it's also a very complex computing device (processor, memory, hard drive, networking). For the price, I think a retail warranty is well worth a slightly higher price. But if you're getting it new, the ps3 doesn't need an extended warranty any more than other A/V equipment.

shimey013 · April 2008

rarely do i buy warranty on anything, rarely do i have an issue....I dunno, so far with my gaming consoles, ive owned every console except sega and i will give you a break down of how long they lived

Atarti 2600 - Still works
NES - Still works
SNES - Still works
N64 - Still works
Gamecube - still works
Wii - Had for a year + and going strong
Playstation - lasted 5 years until i sold it for a ps2
Playstation 2*big box* - lasted a good 6 yrs
Plastation slim - 4 years later and still going strong
Xbox - lasted 6 years
Xbox 360 - release date console died Aug last year, replacement still running strong
Halo 3 Xbox - still running strong
Game boy - Still works
Game boy color - working strong
DS - 3 years and still going strong
Game Gear - lasted a good 5 years and then sold it *I regret that move*

and I just bought a 40GB Ps3, i wont be buying a warranty for it, since alot of the bugs were worked out and i havent had an issue really with consoles and i call myself hardcore gamer.

So i hope my experience with consoles and handhelds help you decide it a warranty is worth it or not...Warranty does give you a piece of mind, i have it on my TV just for piece of mind..anyway, over all usually game consoles will die after the warranty expires..but if you take care of them, leave them ventilated so they can breath, you shall be fine..make sure you connect them to some type of surge protector too ...

But yea, if you if you want a piece of mind so you can sleep at night, go ahead and buy a warranty.

Extended Warrantee on PS3

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