PS3: Refurb 60GB or new 80GB?

[Tiresius]

Hey all,

I'm planning to buy a PS3 this weekend & the local Gamespot has a couple of refurb 60GB units for $429. By refurb, they mean GameSpot HQ techs clear HD's, prep them for resale and ship to local store.

Price difference is not really that important, I just want the best unit & wonder if the 60 might actually be it.

The 40GB is not a consideration for me since I want SACD, memory slots for pics, & have some PS2 games I'd like to play on it(GuitarHero 1,2,3 & 80's, & Battlefront II)

So my question is, what do I gain/lose by getting the 60 instead of the 80?

From the Sony website specs, the only difference is HD space. But I know the 60GB will have an advantage with PS2 compatibility because it is done with a chip rather than software emulation.
One advantage with the new 80 for me is that thrill of opening the box and carefully removing each piece from it's plastic bag, etc. Maybe I'm just weird but I get a great deal of satisfaction from that whole "new out of the box" experience.

What I'm not sure about is reported heat/noise/reliability issues with some(older?) 60GB. My impression is that the 80's are a later manufacturing generation.

Should I look for a certain manufacture date or serial number on the 60's to ensure they were not "first off the line" units?
Is there even a way to know the date of manufacture?

Thoughts?