I am now an owner of a new PS3!

[remmers33]

Welcome to the PS3 club!!
Best games console on the market and the Blu Ray player is awesome

I think tons of us Brits will get a PS3 this Xmas due to the high street price crashes goning on at the moment

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by ussrelativity

Thank you, but I do not have a high definition TV yet. This will be my only major purchase for a long time. For now, it's back to strict savings.

Also, another reason for the 80GB MGS4 model in particular is because of the 65nm Cell and the lower heat output. I want to take good care of it, so it will last a LONG time. I have never owned a game console ever, and I remember playing many other kinds when I was growing up, including the NES, which was a long time ago.

If you're really interested in prolonging the lifespan of your PS3, get yourself an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for it (also applies to other complex electronics like computers, incidentally).

A decent UPS unit will run you somewhere in the vicinity of $100 delivered, but they're worth their weight in gold. Aside from the safety of knowing your gear is protected from poor power quality (which is a concern almost everywhere), it also saves you frustration - no spontaneously losing game progress during a brownout or power spike, no damage to your saved games if something weird comes down the power lines during a save operation.

My launch 60GB PS3 is still working as perfectly today as it was when I bought it.

[Jonezzee]

Originally Posted by saprano

$499 is to much money for a console are you crazy!

Maybe for you, but not for others. I got my PS3 at launch (UK launch) £425 and worth every penny.

[Tsmith13]

Originally Posted by Angelic Enigma

I got my gift today...an awesome 80GB PS3! I'm so happy. I got 3 games and 3 Blu-ray discs:

Games:
Socom: Confrontation
Heavenly Sword
Bioshock

BDs
The Dark Night
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At Worlds End

COOL MAN congrats on the PS3 + Blus + Games

Have fun with it!

Uncharted, Little Big Planet, Call of Duty world at war, Motorstorm 2 Pacific Rift

those are a couple games i would recommend

The dark knight and pirates are both awesome Blus

Iron man, I am legend, Are a couple Blus i'd recommend

Glad to hear you got a great system and things to go with right off.



Add me to your friends list if you like
My PSN is Tsmith13

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

Originally Posted by ussrelativity

I just ordered an 80GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Pack from Amazon! New @ $499!

There was only 2 left when I ordered, so there's probably only one left now!

Congrats! I guess Amazon releases this bundle from time to time. I didn't hesitate to buy it when a forum member created a thread about the deal. The next day it was sold out. I'm a very happy man since I got the one I wanted.

[rubberghost]

welcome to the club.

[austin126]

Welcome to the Club! you will enjoy the ps3, it has worked out really well for me!

[notoriousmatty]

Originally Posted by Icemage

If you're really interested in prolonging the lifespan of your PS3, get yourself an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for it (also applies to other complex electronics like computers, incidentally).

A decent UPS unit will run you somewhere in the vicinity of $100 delivered, but they're worth their weight in gold. Aside from the safety of knowing your gear is protected from poor power quality (which is a concern almost everywhere), it also saves you frustration - no spontaneously losing game progress during a brownout or power spike, no damage to your saved games if something weird comes down the power lines during a save operation.

My launch 60GB PS3 is still working as perfectly today as it was when I bought it.

Im sorry but those are worthless. Any power strip will do. I have over 30k in equipment and none of those power hoax equipment. Go on avs forum and watch people tear these apart

[PoLskA]

Originally Posted by notoriousmatty

Im sorry but those are worthless. Any power strip will do. I have over 30k in equipment and none of those power hoax equipment. Go on avs forum and watch people tear these apart

+1
i bought two Belkin power strips from Target...

i think they were around $20 apiece... one for my pc stuff and one for my tv/ps3/etc...

both guarantee if anything fails, they cover up to like $15000-20000 each... cant recall...

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by notoriousmatty

Im sorry but those are worthless. Any power strip will do. I have over 30k in equipment and none of those power hoax equipment. Go on avs forum and watch people tear these apart

Power strips don't work for beans on computing equipment (including game consoles). I used to work in the power protection industry, at a company that manufactures a wide variety of surge protection products. I've seen the real test results first-hand, trust me on this.

Most power strips have just a 10kA-20kA metal oxide varistor. It's fine if your only problem is lightning strikes on power lines damaging your refrigerator. What those things don't do is reduce the temporary voltage low enough to prevent damage to your electronic equipment. Most of them will clamp the voltage down to maybe 500v, which is still plenty high enough to fry your PS3/computer/whatever.

More importantly, in the case of a PS3, a lot of games access the hard drive and Bad Things will happen if you get a temporary loss of power during a save operation. At the least you lose some game data - sometimes more.

Now, if you happen to live in an area with very clean, very consistent power (no lightning, reliable electrical service without any brownouts), then sure, go with a strip (but don't overload it). Sadly, there are very, very, very few places anywhere in the world that meet this condition.

A UPS unit will avoid both of these problems handily, letting you finish up and save your progress before turning off your PS3 or computer when the power goes out.

P.S. While I have great respect for the folks at AVS Forum regarding A/V hardware, their collective knowledge about power protection leaves much to be desired.

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by PolskAltima

+1
i bought two Belkin power strips from Target...

i think they were around $20 apiece... one for my pc stuff and one for my tv/ps3/etc...

both guarantee if anything fails, they cover up to like $15000-20000 each... cant recall...

I wouldn't trust a Belkin product any farther than I could throw it. They have the worst QC in the industry.

[XundeadhunterX]

Originally Posted by Icemage

Power strips don't work for beans on computing equipment (including game consoles). I used to work in the power protection industry, at a company that manufactures a wide variety of surge protection products. I've seen the real test results first-hand, trust me on this.

Most power strips have just a 10kA-20kA metal oxide varistor. It's fine if your only problem is lightning strikes on power lines damaging your refrigerator. What those things don't do is reduce the temporary voltage low enough to prevent damage to your electronic equipment. Most of them will clamp the voltage down to maybe 500v, which is still plenty high enough to fry your PS3/computer/whatever.

More importantly, in the case of a PS3, a lot of games access the hard drive and Bad Things will happen if you get a temporary loss of power during a save operation. At the least you lose some game data - sometimes more.

Now, if you happen to live in an area with very clean, very consistent power (no lightning, reliable electrical service without any brownouts), then sure, go with a strip (but don't overload it). Sadly, there are very, very, very few places anywhere in the world that meet this condition.

A UPS unit will avoid both of these problems handily, letting you finish up and save your progress before turning off your PS3 or computer when the power goes out.

P.S. While I have great respect for the folks at AVS Forum regarding A/V hardware, their collective knowledge about power protection leaves much to be desired.

well the good news is most major cities have constant power with very very minimal power interuption (i.e. San Francisco, New York City and Chicago) you dont need to worry.

[BluRay2344]

awesome my friend enjoy it!

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by XundeadhunterX

well the good news is most major cities have constant power with very very minimal power interuption (i.e. San Francisco, New York City and Chicago) you dont need to worry.

Even in areas with few power interruptions, the power QUALITY is rarely good, in fact it only differs from other regions in the type of problems encountered.

What many people think of as a power quality problem a total outage or a power spike. The former is caused by things like downed power lines, blown transformers, etc. The latter is caused by things like improper maintenance and (especially) storms - not just lightning, but cold weather can also cause all kinds of spikes.

The problem is that those aren't the only problems that cause damage to your equipment. The stuff that isn't readily visible are things like voltage sags (short bursts of undervoltage), brownouts (long periods of undervoltage that can last for days), or mild overvoltage. These issues are VERY common in almost all areas, and they are especially common in heavily populated areas, where there tend to be large bursts of power consumption. Hot weather causing many air conditioning units to kick in simultaneously, cold weather doing the same for central heating, anyone living near a manufacturing area is at risk of power quality problems because those facilities often draw large and sudden bursts of power to run heavy equipment.

Your equipment (usually) continues to function under these circumstances, but they all cause incremental damage to the delicate circuitry in modern electronics. A lot of people seem to think their electronics are just "wearing out", but that's rarely the case - much of it is caused by this frequent wear and tear caused by fluctuations in the power lines.

Unless you live in an environment which basically has independent power (say, a military base), I can pretty much guarantee that your power quality isn't nearly as good as you think it is.

[zweet77]

Congrats to the op and happy holidays!See ya in Home.

[andyman1970]

Originally Posted by Icemage

I wouldn't trust a Belkin product any farther than I could throw it. They have the worst QC in the industry.

AMEN to that!!! + 1000.

[ussrelativity]

My bank screwed me!!!!!!!!!!

I got a message from Amazon indicating that my bank refused to verify the billing information! They screwed me!!!!

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by ussrelativity

My bank screwed me!!!!!!!!!!

I got a message from Amazon indicating that my bank refused to verify the billing information! They screwed me!!!!

You might have a day or two to secure an additional method of payment. Check to see if the order was cancelled or if it is pending. If it is pending look into purchasing a pre-paid Visa credit card or something that so you can use that online. Either that or talk to the bank and get them to verify the information.

[ussrelativity]

They cancelled the order on me. The second e-mail came about 12 hours after I got my order confirmation.

I hope that it pops up again for $499 on Amazon, which is what the original price was. Not the $650-700+ that some people are trying to get away with.

I'm guessing some buy them just to offload them at a higher price.

I'm currently keeping an eye on Amazon right now.

[Angelic Enigma]

Thank you all! I am very pleased with the PS3. I have all the next-gen systems now, and PS3 is, by far, the greatest. I got some new games and a new BD...

Games: Oblivion, NHL 2K7, and NHL 2K8

BD: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

I plan on getting Band of Brothers, Pineapple Express, Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Tomb Raider Underworld, and Uncharted soon.

God bless