Help me choose a new HDD - Blu-ray Forum

Blu Blur · 10-17-2007, 02:52 PM

OK, I am ready to upgrade my PS3's HDD and based on what I want to spend I am looking at the 160GB ones. Going for the 5400 drives as the 7200's tend to be too much. Here are the ones I am looking at

Toshiba 160GB

Seagate 160GB

Western Digital 160GB

I just need a bit of input form those who have similar HDD's in theirs. I have read good things about the Tosh. but WD and Seagate are HDD staples, but the customer reviews for some of them is concerning, with many getting DOA drives and going through multiple replacements.

MacHaggis · 10-17-2007, 03:25 PM

I bought a Hitachi 160GB 5400RPM 2.5" drive, mainly because of the 3-year warranty.

Bogdan

babyBlu · 10-17-2007, 03:28 PM

I am about ready to upgrade my PS3 hdd also. Western Digital makes a 250GB hdd, why stop at 160??

That is what I plan on doing.

CptGreedle · 10-17-2007, 03:30 PM

I usually go with Seagate myself.
I plan to do this exact same thing myself later (either the end of this year or beginning of next). I need to room on the PS3!

Stick with the slower speed cause it is a cooler running drive and the same speed the existing drive as (i.e. 5400). All the demos I've seen on it use Seagate but any 2.5" drive should work. Seagate tends to be the cheaper priced ones and I have never had any problems with them.

The one problem I have is backing up my info! I need to make sure it is all put on an external drive so I loose NOTHING when I put the new drive in. Does anyone know what external drive to use for backup? It has to be USB since the PS3 has no Firewire ports.

Blu Blur · 10-17-2007, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babyBlu

I am about ready to upgrade my PS3 hdd also. Western Digital makes a 250GB hdd, why stop at 160??

That is what I plan on doing.

The reason being the 250GB is $200 and the 160 is $89. The Seagate is the most expensive out of the 3 (only by about $10 though) the Tosh. gets really good reviews, but from what I hear WD still makes the best drive, though I hear it has a clicking noise issue/vibration, not sure if that will be a concern on the PS3.

Sonny · 10-17-2007, 03:57 PM

My 250gig Ps3 is a WD not a prob with anything with it . my other 2 PS3's are 120gig hitachi's they are great ,I think I got them for 40$ each mite of been less I cant recall.

Iceman_II · 10-17-2007, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blu Blur

The reason being the 250GB is $200 and the 160 is $89. The Seagate is the most expensive out of the 3 (only by about $10 though) the Tosh. gets really good reviews, but from what I hear WD still makes the best drive, though I hear it has a clicking noise issue/vibration, not sure if that will be a concern on the PS3.

I just installed a 250GB WD drive, check pricewatch, I got mine for 158 with free shipping. If it clicks, I haven't noticed it over the fan noise.

babyBlu · 10-17-2007, 03:59 PM

250GB WD is on sale at BestBuy right now for $144...something to think about

Sonny · 10-17-2007, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iceman_II

I just installed a 250GB WD drive, check pricewatch, I got mine for 158 with free shipping. If it clicks, I haven't noticed it over the fan noise.

Ya my WD was like 160$ & that was back some time ago, and worth every penny, Im in TX also , down in S.A.

ESUNintel · 10-17-2007, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blu Blur

The reason being the 250GB is $200 and the 160 is $89. The Seagate is the most expensive out of the 3 (only by about $10 though) the Tosh. gets really good reviews, but from what I hear WD still makes the best drive, though I hear it has a clicking noise issue/vibration, not sure if that will be a concern on the PS3.

...kind of funny putting a Toshiba drive in a PS3

. My Vaio came with a Toshiba drive, which was weird cause it even has a BD drive built in. I got rid of it though cause it was only 5400rps, so I got a Hitachi 7200RPM.

I know speed matters in a PC, but won't a 5400RPM be to slow on a PS3?

As far as brand, I used to get Seagate, I really just get Hitachi's and Wester Digital now, as they tend to be the quietest and coolest. Samsung's are a bit noisy, but usually priced at reasonable prices, they make good drives.

Sonny · 10-17-2007, 04:04 PM

Wait I cant remeber what those 120gig HDD's were CRAP ,I think they were Hitachi ,well anyway what ever.

babyBlu · 10-17-2007, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESUNintel

I know speed matters in a PC, but won't a 5400RPM be to slow on a PS3?

I thought that the PS3 was shipped with a hdd @ 5400RPM

CptGreedle · 10-17-2007, 04:16 PM

So what external drive should I use to back up the 60 GB in my PS3?

k20king · 10-17-2007, 04:34 PM

anyone except toshiba's...c'mon man!

=)

Go Blu!

Sonny · 10-17-2007, 04:40 PM

5400rpm HDD is perfect forthe PS3 but it can use up to a 7200rpm HDD.

actionhank · 10-17-2007, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CptGreedle

So what external drive should I use to back up the 60 GB in my PS3?

Any external hard drive will work as long as it's formatted FAT 32, which could be a problem cause most are NTFS. That means you'll have to reformat any external hard drive that you currently have, (and lose all the data you have on it) so the PS3 can recognize it.

If you have 2 externals then you can back up one to the other and format FAT 32 the other.

This is the software you need to reformat to FAT32, it's free and simple.
http://www.download.com/CompuApps-Sw...ml?tag=lst-0-1

But remember all you really need to back up are your game saves, unless you have mp3s or non-PSN videos. You can actually do that on a SD card or usb thumb. Even the PS2 saves can be placed there. All the settings and the your PSN id will be retained.

I think what the back-up feature does on the PS3 is backup everything including the cache and the game demos, maybe even folding@home. But all of that you can download again easily.

As for the original posters question, I would go for Seagate as that model is exactly what I have in my PS3. It works like a charm and has a 5 year warranty. It will come out to 149 GB after formating by the PS3 so don't expect 160.

Oh and if you haven't given any thought to what you will do with the native PS3 hard drive once you replace it, just buy an external inclosure, as cheap as $14 and you'll have a nice small 60 GB external hard drive for whatever.

Blu Blur · 10-17-2007, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babyBlu

I thought that the PS3 was shipped with a hdd @ 5400RPM

The PS3 comes with a 5400 HDD and is more then enough for the PS3 though anyone willing to pay the premium the 7200 HDDs work great in the PS3 and the temp difference between them is only about 3 or 4 deg. (I read a very comprehensive write up about it on the US PS3 boards but I can't link to it from work) the 7200 cut down install and access times but 3 or 4 seconds in most cases.

Yes I know Toshiba is the devil but besides HD-DVD, they make reliable hardware, and it's not like Tosh. is going belly up when HD-DVD fails, so I see no reason not to support a good product. Still I think I may go with the Western Digital, just have to check on the pricing (160 vs 250GB), thanks for the heads up about it!

pizat · 10-17-2007, 05:49 PM

wait....you can do that? how do you change out the hdd on a ps3? is it the same as a computer? what about the software? aaaaahhhhh!!! i wanna do that too!!!!

Iceman_II · 10-17-2007, 05:50 PM

The PS3 does not use the hard drive for running games (at lease I don't think it does very much, not like a swap file on a windows michine) so I think seek times are not as critical.

I used a "nextstor" drive to back up the PS3, and something wierd happened... when I went to restore, it would start the restore, tell me that the PS3 was about to restart, and then the USB drive would shut down, and it would give me an error saying the external media was messed up.

It seems that the PS3 was sending a signal to the drive to spool down when the PS3 shut down, and it wasn't telling it to spool back up... what I ended up doing was timing it so I unplugged the USB drive when the PS3 shut down, and restarted it as the PS3 restarted... and the restore went on without a hitch after that.

Iceman_II · 10-17-2007, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pizat

wait....you can do that? how do you change out the hdd on a ps3? is it the same as a computer? what about the software? aaaaahhhhh!!! i wanna do that too!!!!

remove the cover on the left side of the box that says "HDD" and there it is. It uses a laptop drive. remove the blue screw, and the tray slides to the right, and lifts out. The software is on the chipset, you need to back up and restore you data like videos, music, pictures, and game data

10-17-2007, 02:52 PM	#1
Blu Blur Active Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:USA, greatest country on earth. PSN: TheBanditKing Blu-ray reviews:1	Help me choose a new HDD OK, I am ready to upgrade my PS3's HDD and based on what I want to spend I am looking at the 160GB ones. Going for the 5400 drives as the 7200's tend to be too much. Here are the ones I am looking at Toshiba 160GB Seagate 160GB Western Digital 160GB I just need a bit of input form those who have similar HDD's in theirs. I have read good things about the Tosh. but WD and Seagate are HDD staples, but the customer reviews for some of them is concerning, with many getting DOA drives and going through multiple replacements.

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10-17-2007, 03:25 PM	#2
MacHaggis Active Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Burbank, CA Blu-ray collection:102	I bought a Hitachi 160GB 5400RPM 2.5" drive, mainly because of the 3-year warranty. Bogdan

10-17-2007, 03:28 PM	#3
babyBlu Active Member Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Redmond...home of the RROD, aka M$	I am about ready to upgrade my PS3 hdd also. Western Digital makes a 250GB hdd, why stop at 160?? That is what I plan on doing.

10-17-2007, 03:30 PM	#4
CptGreedle Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Sworn super-hero now services Atlanta (and suburbs). Blu-ray collection:128 Blu-ray reviews:5	I usually go with Seagate myself. I plan to do this exact same thing myself later (either the end of this year or beginning of next). I need to room on the PS3! Stick with the slower speed cause it is a cooler running drive and the same speed the existing drive as (i.e. 5400). All the demos I've seen on it use Seagate but any 2.5" drive should work. Seagate tends to be the cheaper priced ones and I have never had any problems with them. The one problem I have is backing up my info! I need to make sure it is all put on an external drive so I loose NOTHING when I put the new drive in. Does anyone know what external drive to use for backup? It has to be USB since the PS3 has no Firewire ports.

10-17-2007, 03:57 PM	#6
Sonny Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2007 Home Theater Gallery:8 Blu-ray reviews:6 Trading Score:1	My 250gig Ps3 is a WD not a prob with anything with it . my other 2 PS3's are 120gig hitachi's they are great ,I think I got them for 40$ each mite of been less I cant recall.

10-17-2007, 03:59 PM	#8
babyBlu Active Member Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Redmond...home of the RROD, aka M$	250GB WD is on sale at BestBuy right now for $144...something to think about

10-17-2007, 04:04 PM	#11
Sonny Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2007 Home Theater Gallery:8 Blu-ray reviews:6 Trading Score:1	Wait I cant remeber what those 120gig HDD's were CRAP ,I think they were Hitachi ,well anyway what ever.

10-17-2007, 04:16 PM	#13
CptGreedle Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Sworn super-hero now services Atlanta (and suburbs). Blu-ray collection:128 Blu-ray reviews:5	So what external drive should I use to back up the 60 GB in my PS3?

10-17-2007, 04:34 PM	#14
k20king Senior Member Member since:Feb 2007	anyone except toshiba's...c'mon man! =) Go Blu!

10-17-2007, 04:40 PM	#15
Sonny Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2007 Home Theater Gallery:8 Blu-ray reviews:6 Trading Score:1	5400rpm HDD is perfect forthe PS3 but it can use up to a 7200rpm HDD.

10-17-2007, 05:49 PM	#18
pizat Member Member since:Oct 2007	wait....you can do that? how do you change out the hdd on a ps3? is it the same as a computer? what about the software? aaaaahhhhh!!! i wanna do that too!!!!

10-17-2007, 05:50 PM	#19
Iceman_II Expert Member Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Ft. Worth Home Theater Gallery:2 Blu-ray collection:308 Blu-ray reviews: 4	The PS3 does not use the hard drive for running games (at lease I don't think it does very much, not like a swap file on a windows michine) so I think seek times are not as critical. I used a "nextstor" drive to back up the PS3, and something wierd happened... when I went to restore, it would start the restore, tell me that the PS3 was about to restart, and then the USB drive would shut down, and it would give me an error saying the external media was messed up. It seems that the PS3 was sending a signal to the drive to spool down when the PS3 shut down, and it wasn't telling it to spool back up... what I ended up doing was timing it so I unplugged the USB drive when the PS3 shut down, and restarted it as the PS3 restarted... and the restore went on without a hitch after that.

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