Sony Playstation 3 Console (40GB Version)

Having played just the PS2 and Gamecube previously, the step up to a 40GB PS3 is quite a leap in terms of graphics and gameplay possibilities, whether we're talking the 60GB or 40GB version the gameplay and core gaming hardware is the same (tiny nit-picking aside). People kept saying to me "Oooh, you'll want to snap up those 60GB versions, they're so much better blah blah blah", but at £500+ I don't think they're *that* much better.. the games will play just the same, as will Blu-Ray movies, and that's what the console is about after all. You can still load music and photos onto the 40GB one just as you would a computer (via a standard USB port), it still has wi-fi and wired networking, but for me the clinchers are lower power demands which means quieter fan and lower heat output. The fact that it's much quieter means that I can comfortably leave it running Folding@Home in my room at night without it keeping me awake. Folding@Home is included with the 40GB model, or can be downloaded from the Stanford University Folding@Home website. The current price of £279 with a HDMI cable that Amazon are selling at matches anything you're likely to find on the high street, beating most of the chain stores like GAME and GameStation, in fact only HMV came close but their game selection was rubbish at my local store, and I would still have been about £15 out of pocket had I bought from them. I sourced Motor Storm and Resistance Fall of Man on Amazon for roughly £24 each and Oblivion Game of the Year Edition for £33, all brand new. No shops or eBay sellers could match that (in fact those prices are the typical 2nd-hand price for those games on eBay). One thing I would say though is that the 40GB can soon be filled with game data, downloads from PS3 Store, and also demos from the cover of a magazine - just one disc's worth has filled about 20GB, Oblivion uses about 5GB for game data. I have heard that it's possible to easily replace the existing hard drive with a much larger capacity one via a small flap and one screw without voiding the warranty, and dual-boot with PS3 or Linux is officially supported by Sony. The hard drive management utilities are good - there's the capability to format, backup, all sorts. UPDATE: Having had the console for a few months now and really gotten to grips with it, I can say I'm very impressed with the non-gaming features it contains, particularly the photo album presentations and it's capabilities when playing movie files (I use DivX). Motorstorm plays brilliantly online, Oblivion is excellent (but I advise everyone to avoid the Game of the Year Edition as it contains too many glitches) and now I'm just waiting for GTA IV to arrive in the post so that'll be another few months' worth of sheer joy!

OK so i've had a Wii since about Feb this year. It's a great machine with some good games, a few great games and a lot of rubbish. I decided to buy a PS3 to compliment the Wii after a lot of research comparing the PS3 to the Xbox 360. I finally settled on the PS3 for a number of reasons, firstly this deal with fifa08 is great with the free hdmi lead. The machine itself is very quiet you can hear the disc reading and thats about it. It comes with blu-ray so no need to buy a seperate player and playback on blu-ray is great, i've tried it with the movie 300. It's more reliable than a Xbox 360 at least from all the reviews i've read, hardly any mention any PS3 problems and the xbox 360 seems to be hit and miss, I personally know someone who is on to their fourth in a year but equally know someone else who's never had any problems with the Xbox so the build consistency seems suspect and I didn't want a machine that could potentially break down every few months. The PS3 machine itself runs reasonable cool as long as there's decent ventilation, even after a few hours its not hot at all. It's build quality is exceptional, it's solid, you could probably drop it and it would survive. It looks great in the living room. It's going to get DivX support soon. If you need more disk space, you can easily add a new hard disk and replace the existing one without invalidating your warranty. OK it doesn't have as many games as the Xbox 360 and most of the games are ported from the 360, however I think next year we'll see a change. It's got innovation like the Wii with tilt controller for driving games and the new eye cam. It's also cheaper than the Xbox360 if you want to add the Xbox's HD player to the package, plus blu-ray is Disney exclusive so for people with kids this format is probably essential. In conclusion i'm glad I chose the PS3 over the Xbox and it does compliment my Wii as a different gaming experience, Fifa08 on the Wii is terrible but on the PS3 it's great, the Wii is more family fun, whereas the PS3 is great for online and solo play. Both machines are excellent in their own way, but I don't see the point of having a Xbox360 and a PS3 as they are too similar.

Brought this ps3 cause my current ps3 was old and my hdmi was completely broke and I wanted HD for my ps3 games. When arrived it came looking like they just threw it in the box with no care and it came with a completely broke cheap looking plug in controller that did not work, when I went to use it it seemed to work well so I became happy until about 2 months later when I got a red light of death and it completely stopped working tried to fix it but no luck and cause of that I could not return it so I had to bin the whole console, I would not buy from this buyer not very good.

Quick delivery, however I know these are second hand but bought in June and beginning of November the motherboard packed up and told not worth repairing , so now have to replace. Probably better value for money to go for new or elsewhere that offers at least a years guarantee.

Nice. Was originally out to get myself an Xbox360 (sorry, but it does have a better games library), but after experiencing the amount of noise the machine makes, during gameplay, it would not have been convenient for my small room. Waited for the newer quieter versions to be released, but ended up with a nice ps3 in the end :) The 40GB version was a nice release, for Xmas, as the stripped and modified hardware made the console more affordable. There aren't any real sacrifices when opting for the 40GB model over the 60GB one. 2 USB 2.0 ports instead of 4, no PS2 compatibility (every home has a PS2 already) though PSX is supported, no flash card support. The 40GB machine, however, produces less heat and runs quieter (it's quiet) as a result. I "think" it has one fan less than the 60GB model. The built-in hardware, overall, is exceptional. Included: 2.5" non-proprietary HDD 5400RPM, wireless and wired LAN cards, two front USB 2.0 ports, Blu-Ray 2x drive (software upgradable). It comes with just about everything needed to take full advantage, of your home setup, no matter what your setup is (no need to buy a HDD or LAN adapter) You will need to purchase component/HDMI (non-proprietary) cables for your HDTV/Monitor, though. The PS3 supports HDMI v1.3 . The games.. probably the PS3s weakest area. It's been out for a year now and everyone is aware that the PS3 library is quite lacking, however, the common excuse is that the machine is young. I would say 360 had better quality games within it's first year than the PS3, so that excuse has been defeated. Multi-format PS3/360 games also tend to look slightly more crisp on the 360 (research and compare for yourself, but this is my personal opinion), but by such a small margin that it doesn't matter. In fairness, most are ported from the 360 and, until late, lots of visual online comparisons use inappropriate graphics settings, in the PS3, to make such tests completely fair. The graphics processor of the 360 is technically superior to that of the PS3 but, apparently, the real graphics abilities of the PS3 is dependant on certain combinational uses of it's GPU and CPU complex. Programmers will require time and understanding to take advantage of what the PS3 is capable of, graphic-wise, and we will just have to wait and see what happens. However, PS3 and Wii have a bold line up of titles coming this year. Not bothering to mention Blu-Ray (region free games) or the free online gaming stuff of the PS3. These are nothing but great advantages. As I said earlier, I was actually convinced I would get myself a 360 and, yeah, did underestimate the potential that PS3 does offer for gaming. Considering the amount of default hardware you get in the console, developers never have to worry about filling PS3 games with all that is required to take full advantage of this slender gaming device. Other small negatives: The word "potential" is used a lot when describing what is so great about the PS3. -XMB dashboard is not available in-game yet (eg for in-game messaging). -Default controller has no rumble/shock. -Also, the left/primary analogue stick is not placed where your thumb naturally wants to be (where the 8-way pad is). This design was convenient for the original PSX because it's primary control method was through the 8-way pad. -A lot of 1080p games are falsely advertised (this goes for 360 too). They are usually upscaled 1080p. -Dust magnet exterior. Other small positives: Backup/restore HDD content to/from externals. +Changeable HDD +Sixaxis motion sensing of controller. +Quiet operation. +Linux/other OS capable +Use of non-proprietary headset. +USB (yup, non-proprietary) charged controller via PS3 or computer. +Blu-Ray movie playback. +Optical audio out +Internet Browser +Sleek and shiny design +Folding@Home software for medical research +Fancy on/off/eject buttons :P

Most of the comparisons between the ps3 and the xbox 360 have focused primarily on poor games available for the ps3. I think on the whole this is a fair assessment, at present ps3 has few really decent titles like the 360 has. However we must take into account three vital bits of information. 1: the 360 was released much earlier. 2: the ps3 system is supposedly harder to program for. 3: the launch price of the ps3 was ridiculous. For point 1 there is no way round that, a later launch will inevitably show in a greater 360 install base. As for point 2, developers are already starting to work out how to get things done on the ps3, Drakes uncharted is a good example, especially if you consider this an early ps3 title, the future looks good. Until the release of the 40gb version the price for the console was just too high, I must stress high and not over priced, because i think for some people the blu-ray + ps2 compatibility is worth the ticket price, for me however this was not an option. I think the ps3's future is looking promising, the slow start and coding problems have hindered things but i would have no reservations in recommending this console to others now. All the system really needs now is some kick ass games, so far they have had a few good ones, Burnout Paradise for example is a fab game that runs beautifully on the ps3. MGS4 is said to be spectacular also. One feature few people realize with the 40gb is its power consumption, i dont have the exact specs but the 60gb model was quite the electric hog, the new 40gb really is more streamlined in its energy consumption. Which is good for the environment and ultimately good for your wallet.

The product is good but keeps on crashing & this makes me have to turn of thr consel & start my game again

This is what I emailed to a friend of mine who also has a 360...I think this sums things up nicely. Very impressed with it thus far. The PS3 is so quiet in fact, that you cannot hear it at all, even watching Blu Ray movies. The loudest noise it makes is the modest 'beep' it makes when you switch the darn thing on. No exaggeration. The thunderous noise that emanates from the xbox 360 in HD DVD mode, is simply laughable. As a result of this slightly embarrassing revelation, sadly, it is highly unlikely that I will ever watch an HD movie via the 360. Having to compete with excessive fan noise arguably ruins a good movie. It's totally unacceptable to have to turn up the volume and try and ignore the racket in the corner of my room and I have to ponder on how or why did microsoft manage to make the 360 so rowdy. Different technology needs different cooling requirements, and clearly MS appear to have overlooked this minor yet important detail. I've downloaded the demo for Unchartered: Drakes Fortune and by crikey, the graphics really are up there with the most powerful of PC's. It even makes Far Cry look pants. The jungle detail is simply AMAZING. Not to say that the graphic's on the 360 aren't good...but I'm yet to see anything on the 360 thats THIS good. Even the 360 controller is suddenly looking slightly cumbersome with its great big battery pack going on. The sixaxis controller seems nice, light and adds another element to a game, the same way vibration does....so when the new version comes out with rumble technology the gap between the two consol's will widen further. So to summarise, if it wasn't for the fact that there are still a better range of games available for the 360, I would have it on eBay today. Roger and out.