Anyone Use a VelociRaptor/SSD in PS3? [Archive]

View Full Version : Anyone Use a VelociRaptor/SSD in PS3?

MattNo5ss

03-05-09, 06:26 PM

Just wondering if there is a noticeable difference in load times, and if that difference is worth the price of the faster drive. Thanks.

rainless

03-05-09, 10:58 PM

7,200rpm drives run at 5,400rpm in the PS3. A velociraptor (if they make a 2.5 inch version) would run at the same speed and a SSD probably wouldn't run at all.

ou_phidelt

03-05-09, 11:28 PM

Click me (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2332520,00.asp) First link on a google search.

MattNo5ss

03-06-09, 02:09 AM

7,200rpm drives run at 5,400rpm in the PS3. A velociraptor (if they make a 2.5 inch version) would run at the same speed and a SSD probably wouldn't run at all.

Really? All HDDs are limited to 5400 RPM?

All VelociRaptors are 2.5", they are just in a 3.5" converter for desktops. So, just remove it from the casing and viola, a 2.5" 10000 RPM HDD.

Click me (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2332520,00.asp) First link on a google search.

Nice link, you must have put something different in the search bar...lol.
So, SSDs do help a lot, I just wish they didn't test one of the most expensive ones. I'll try searching around some more...

MattNo5ss

03-06-09, 03:20 AM

I got a reply in the Playstation Forums, which said that all HDDs will work at their rated speeds while in the PS3 (just generate more heat, obviously).

Still nothing comparing 5400 vs 10000 or 7200 vs 10000 though...the search continues...

iaacp

03-06-09, 10:08 AM

I've heard the load times are marginally different.

thideras

03-06-09, 10:13 AM

All VelociRaptors are 2.5", they are just in a 3.5" converter for desktops. So, just remove it from the casing and viola, a 2.5" 10000 RPM HDD.That would also be a VERY VERY bad idea. That "converter" is a huge heatsink for the hard drive, you remove it and you will kill the drive from overheating.

MattNo5ss

03-06-09, 11:31 AM

That would also be a VERY VERY bad idea. That "converter" is a huge heatsink for the hard drive, you remove it and you will kill the drive from overheating.

The IcePack mounting frame's main function is a converter with the added bonus of a heatsink to keep it extra cool while in desktops.

WD made/sells them without the IcePack specifically for "blade servers and other enterprise storage configurations" (which I'm sure you know would include multiple drives very close together) so the IcePack mounting frame shouldn't be necessary. I wouldn't think they could sell them as advertised if they overheated...

thideras

03-06-09, 11:39 AM

The IcePack mounting frame's main function is a converter with the added bonus of a heatsink to keep it extra cool while in desktops.

WD made/sells them without the IcePack specifically for "blade servers and other enterprise storage configurations" (which I'm sure you know would include multiple drives very close together) so the IcePack mounting frame shouldn't be necessary. I wouldn't think they could sell them as advertised if they overheated...They would also have a ton of airflow over the drive in those servers. My point, that drive runs hot, the PS3 has little to no airflow over the hard drive, see the problem?

Don't let me stop you, if you want to do it, go ahead. Just don't come back and complain when the drive fails ;)

MattNo5ss

03-06-09, 12:07 PM

What temp would the drive fail at? All I can find is the operating temp, which is 5C-55C. Would running at 55C really kill the drive?

thideras

03-06-09, 01:03 PM

What temp would the drive fail at? All I can find is the operating temp, which is 5C-55C. Would running at 55C really kill the drive?It will vary from drive to drive, but if there is no where for the heat to go, it is just going to get hotter.

MattNo5ss

03-06-09, 01:17 PM

thideras

03-06-09, 01:22 PM

The only way it'll get hotter is if the PS3 runs hotter than 55C right? Since the HDD can only heat something (the air around it) to it's max temp of 55C, so an enclosed 55C HDD in 55C air can't get hotter than 55C, unless something else causes it.If the drive produced no heat, you would be correct. But it does produce heat. The motor/other parts give off heat, if those don't have anywhere to go (heatsink/airflow) the heat is going to accumulate and temperature will rise; eventually killing the drive.

MattNo5ss

03-06-09, 01:39 PM

thideras

03-06-09, 01:47 PM

Wouldn't that mean the the 5400RPM drive in the PS3 right now, without heatsinks or airflow, would also rise too high and kill the drive?

Seems like there has to be a max temp a drive will get rise to even if it has no heatsink or airflow, I mean, it obviously won't rise to infinite degrees C by running forever...I guess the drive would fail before it got to that max temp maybe?Exactly, you thought of the other part of the equation. While bolted in its harness, it is going to give off some heat through contact with the surrounding air (there may be a little movement) and any objects that it touches. So yes, there is a "max temp" it will hit since the surroundings are absorbing some of the heat. The problem lies in that it puts out much more heat than the 5400 rpm laptop drives, enough that it will either kill the drive quicker (depends on the temp, which I honestly couldn't tell you how hot it would run) or just kill it out-right if it gets hot enough. What the numbers are would be pure guesses. I wouldn't want to run it over 50c myself, anything more than that and it will probably shorten the lifespan.

Thanks for the help, I hope you're not taking my questions as rude or disrespectful, just trying to get everything perfectly clear.No problem, it is fun answering these types of questions, I just hope I don't come across as rude or short because I very rarely mean to ;). Text is also a very difficult medium for tones/feelings since you can read them differently than I meant to type them.

ou_phidelt

03-06-09, 03:59 PM

The IcePack mounting frame's main function is a converter with the added bonus of a heatsink to keep it extra cool while in desktops.

WD made/sells them without the IcePack specifically for "blade servers and other enterprise storage configurations" (which I'm sure you know would include multiple drives very close together) so the IcePack mounting frame shouldn't be necessary. I wouldn't think they could sell them as advertised if they overheated...

Enterprise servers have huge amounts of airflow. I am not an IT guy by any stretch but have been in some server rooms where you almost need ear plugs. These things have high CFM fans with no regard to noise level, just performance and reliablility. Vastly different than what you get in a home system or PS3, hence why they are sold for enterprise use. Not trying to be rude so I hope it doesn't come out that way.

MattNo5ss

03-06-09, 04:03 PM

I could use "extension cords" to have the VelociRaptor outside of the PS3...

Power cord kinda like this: 15-Pin Power Cable (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812198014)

I'm still looking for a Male-Female SATA cable, they all seem to be Female-Female...

Anyone know where to find cords like this off the top of their head? It would be great if there was a combined extension...

MattNo5ss

03-06-09, 04:48 PM

I found a 22-pin Male to Female SATA Cable (Power/Data) (http://www.cooldrives.com/sainexca22ex.html)...:)

I even found a SAS 29-pin to 22-pin Male SATA Cable (http://www.cpustuff.com/SAS-29-Pin-to-22-Pin-Male-SATA-Cable-29SAS22SATAM05-p-16205.html) so I could even use a 15000RPM HDD like Fujitsu 147GB 15000RPM HDD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822116058).

Now all I need is money...lol

FudgeNuggets

03-06-09, 11:53 PM

Really, I see no reason to use such a drive. The PS3 games are optimized to use the standard equipment and the load times involved are that of being off of the BD not the HDD. If you're thinking of music or videos, it takes milliseconds to load those off the drive. I just don;t know where you;d get any performance gains.

MattNo5ss

03-07-09, 12:42 AM

Well, I'm not sure of the amount of performance gain between different RPM HDDs, I haven't seen any reviews...

SSDs don't significantly decrease install times (Blu-Ray does the work), but they do greatly decrease start and load times by an average of 33%.

Since the SSDs get performance gains, then regular HDDs should also have gains with higher RPMs. When I do eventually get some higher RPM HDDs I'll definitely be testing them.

Hardin

03-07-09, 10:48 AM

But SSDs are so expensive. Is it worth it to drop load times from 20 seconds to 13.4 seconds?

MattNo5ss

03-07-09, 12:00 PM

Yeah, SSDs aren't worth it yet, but I'd like to see if 7200, 10000, or 15000 RPM HDDs are worth it.

shadin

03-07-09, 03:28 PM

Here's a link where someone did a comparison of 5400 vs 7200 on the official Playstation forums awhile back.

http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=2000029&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

The percentages make it all look sexy and fast, but read it thoroughly to note that we're generally talking about a very small actual margin of speed given the total time of the operations recorded.

If that bit of extra speed is your thing and you just have to have a 7200RPM drive for your PS3, I'd probably choose the WD Black 320GB for $89.99.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136280

Personally, though, I care more about space, so I'd probably opt for this one -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136314

MattNo5ss

03-07-09, 07:23 PM

rainless

03-07-09, 10:12 PM

Thanks for the links.

1-2 secs really is marginal, I wonder if the USB bottleneck of his external drive held it back...

I usually don't need capacity, I've never even used more than ~75GB on my computer. I still have over half the space free on my 80GB PS3, so speed is more important than capacity in my applications...

WHAT applications?

If you're running Linux... it's not really going to be any faster. Linux doesn't really use all the cores available on the cell.

If you're talking games... then "faster than what?"

Killzone 2 doesn't even install to the hard drive. Street Fighter IV loads instantly (once installed).

The only place you're likely to see a difference is marginally faster install times (and actually you won't see much difference there do to the PS3's having an O.G. 1st generation Bluray drive.)

So what... exactly... do you think is going to be faster?

AngelfireUk83

03-08-09, 10:03 AM

This gets asked on the Official EU PS3 forums everytime and I have to always give the same answers it's rather pointless really a waste of money just to gain the so called 1-2 secs extra & the PS3 uses a SATA 150 controller chip. I then just suggest a 2.5" Laptop/Notebook HDD with 5,400rpm preferebly with a SATA-150 connection SATA-II will work but the PS3 will just downgrade it to SATA-150.

And there isn't hardly any gain between the 2 anyways some WD Scorpio drives preferably the 320GB SATA-II 7,200rpm have been an issue on the PS3 forums. With getting that "No HDD Found" error message at boot-up there's also the same problems with the Seagate Momentus 7,200rpm drives but using a jumper to force it to SATA-150 fixes it.

I am using a WD Scorpio 160GB 5,400 SATA-150 HDD in mine works without no problems installed formatted and I had 139GB free space with all my stuff I still have 117GB.

MattNo5ss

03-08-09, 02:36 PM

WHAT applications?

If you're running Linux... it's not really going to be any faster. Linux doesn't really use all the cores available on the cell.

If you're talking games... then "faster than what?"

Killzone 2 doesn't even install to the hard drive. Street Fighter IV loads instantly (once installed).

The only place you're likely to see a difference is marginally faster install times (and actually you won't see much difference there do to the PS3's having an O.G. 1st generation Bluray drive.)

So what... exactly... do you think is going to be faster?

By applications, I meant that nothing I do on PS3 requires a lot of space, so a faster HDD would be more beneficial than a spacious HDD.

Install times shouldn't be much faster if at all, b/c, like you said, the Blu-Ray drive.

Start and load times were faster by 2secs just by using a 7200RPM drive. 10K or 15K drives could speed it up a lot faster. That's why when I upgrade my computer HDD to a 10K or 15K drive the first thing I'm going to do is use it on my PS3 for a few days to test the differences.

I'm not saying everything WILL be faster and well worth it. The truth is I don't know, and I want to find out. That's all...

jcw122

03-08-09, 02:47 PM

Click me (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2332520,00.asp) First link on a google search.

That's a pretty cool article! I hope that SSD is put into consoles when the prices come down. Good find.

Surfrider77

03-09-09, 08:25 PM

AngelfireUk83

03-09-09, 08:50 PM

MattNo5ss

03-09-09, 11:07 PM

FudgeNuggets

03-09-09, 11:11 PM

I'm pretty sure there is a limit on the number of times you can re-download purchased add-ons. If not, then only one person would ever need to buy something for everyone in the world to have it (a little exaggeration, but you get the point)...

I think Sony gives you one extra shot. MS is however many you need because the track by your gamertag and the console's serial number.

KNFrH2O

03-30-09, 02:10 AM

Hello! I'm obviously new to these forums, but I've read through this particular thread a couple times now. It's one of the first links to appear when you Google search "SSD in PS3". I checked this site and several others when doing research for the below project and I figured I would post my results here since it currently appears that nobody has tried this and/or posted on it.

My friend and I were talking about the PS3 the other day and the idea of replacing the PS3 hard drive came up. I told him that I wanted to replace mine but I wasn't sure yet what kind of drive I'd put in there.

After a couple hours of research on the net, I figured I'd go with a 7200 rpm drive if not a SSD one. We went to the Japanese computer store and they only had a few hard drives that met our criteria. It MUST be a 2.5" drive that is no taller than 9.5mm. The store had several SSD's and 2 high capacity 7200rpm disk drives. I decided I'd go with the SSD so I bought the only 128GB SSD in stock (good timing, I guess).

The install was kind of a pain, but it shouldn't have been. You have to back all of your stuff up by using the "backup" option under system settings. My PS3 needed 17GB of free space to be backed up...and I don't actually have all that much on there. My friend let me use his iPOD because my external drive wouldn't work seeing as how it was NTFS and not FAT32 formatted. (I couldn't get it to reformat to FAT32 properly even when using Swiss Knife so I just gave up on it).

Taking the PS3 hard drive out is a pain. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT SIZE SCREWDRIVER. I thought I did, but I was slightly off on depth and it stripped the F##K out of the head of the screw. I had to *DRILL* through the screw to get it out. Yep, I had a power drill drilling into my PS3 to remove a screw that was stripped. That screw is no more. I'm not kidding when I say that this blue retaining screw was like putty. I seriously couldn't believe how easily it stripped. It was like a paste under any moderate pressure. What a poor decision in materials.

Once I got that out, I found the right screwdriver and used it to take the original drive out of the tray. The original drive is a 5400rpm laptop drive (mine was 60GB). The read/write speeds for that drive are estimated at 32MB/s each. The SSD read time is estimated at 155MB/s max and write time at 95MB/s max for SATAII but (as mentioned earlier in this thread) the PS3 is pushing SATA150. Still, I knew this was going to be awesome.

I put the new drive in, formatted as the PS3 requested, and restored all my stuff from my friend's iPOD. The entire process should only take you a couple of hours depending on what you use for a backup device.

Performance - Keep in mind that the SSD is still limited by the PS3's Blu-Ray drive (as someone mentioned earlier). If that thing maxes out, the SSD won't really come into play anyway. However... I noticed:
- a small increase in power up and down times
- a HUGE increase in loading times for games on the hard drive (downloaded games)
- a small increase in loading for games played off of a Blu-Ray disc
- a moderate increase for the write times for everything
- a HUGE increase in navigation throughout the PS3 menus and files on the SSD

This little adventure cost me $250. I'll probably put the original 60GB in my new comp when it gets here and let that be the wifey's special storage drive. :D

zexmarquies01

03-30-09, 06:55 AM

~snip~

Nice information! and a pretty good post for your first time posting here too!

Thanks for all the info, I'm sure all those in this thread will appreciate the fact that you signed up, and told us all about it. Just too bad getting the actual load TIMES would be a PITA ( would need a stop watch, or something of the sort. )

But all in all...

Welcome to the forums!

FudgeNuggets

03-30-09, 08:30 AM

yeah, good job taking the plunge and doing this. Even though none of us have, I've read up on other sites of plenty people doing this and the difference in loading times they were seeing were so negligible that getting a SSD really wasn't worth the price of one. Perhaps another factor is that all the reviews I have read have used the cheaper SSD and supposedly the controller in the more expensive ones makes a big difference. I'll google around later and see if I can find somebody who has put an Intel or Vertex SSD in one. I'm pretty certain that is is as you said though that the BD is slowing it down. Now if they go the way of MS and let you install and play the games directly off of the HDD then hooooo-boy.

shadin

03-30-09, 09:21 AM

I think Sony gives you one extra shot. MS is however many you need because the track by your gamertag and the console's serial number.

Sony is the same as MS, it's tracked with your PSN account. I've owned three different PS3s and have had no issues re-downloading any of the add-ons or PSX games I've purchased, including downloading things multiple times to the same console.

Hello! I'm obviously new to these forums, but I've read through this particular thread a couple times now. It's one of the first links to appear when you Google search "SSD in PS3". I checked this site and several others when doing research for the below project and I figured I would post my results here since it currently appears that nobody has tried this and/or posted on it.

My friend and I were talking about the PS3 the other day and the idea of replacing the PS3 hard drive came up. I told him that I wanted to replace mine but I wasn't sure yet what kind of drive I'd put in there.

After a couple hours of research on the net, I figured I'd go with a 7200 rpm drive if not a SSD one. We went to the Japanese computer store and they only had a few hard drives that met our criteria. It MUST be a 2.5" drive that is no taller than 9.5mm. The store had several SSD's and 2 high capacity 7200rpm disk drives. I decided I'd go with the SSD so I bought the only 128GB SSD in stock (good timing, I guess).

The install was kind of a pain, but it shouldn't have been. You have to back all of your stuff up by using the "backup" option under system settings. My PS3 needed 17GB of free space to be backed up...and I don't actually have all that much on there. My friend let me use his iPOD because my external drive wouldn't work seeing as how it was NTFS and not FAT32 formatted. (I couldn't get it to reformat to FAT32 properly even when using Swiss Knife so I just gave up on it).

Taking the PS3 hard drive out is a pain. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT SIZE SCREWDRIVER. I thought I did, but I was slightly off on depth and it stripped the F##K out of the head of the screw. I had to *DRILL* through the screw to get it out. Yep, I had a power drill drilling into my PS3 to remove a screw that was stripped. That screw is no more. I'm not kidding when I say that this blue retaining screw was like putty. I seriously couldn't believe how easily it stripped. It was like a paste under any moderate pressure. What a poor decision in materials.

Once I got that out, I found the right screwdriver and used it to take the original drive out of the tray. The original drive is a 5400rpm laptop drive (mine was 60GB). The read/write speeds for that drive are estimated at 32MB/s each. The SSD read time is estimated at 155MB/s max and write time at 95MB/s max for SATAII but (as mentioned earlier in this thread) the PS3 is pushing SATA150. Still, I knew this was going to be awesome.

I put the new drive in, formatted as the PS3 requested, and restored all my stuff from my friend's iPOD. The entire process should only take you a couple of hours depending on what you use for a backup device.

Performance - Keep in mind that the SSD is still limited by the PS3's Blu-Ray drive (as someone mentioned earlier). If that thing maxes out, the SSD won't really come into play anyway. However... I noticed:
- a small increase in power up and down times
- a HUGE increase in loading times for games on the hard drive (downloaded games)
- a small increase in loading for games played off of a Blu-Ray disc
- a moderate increase for the write times for everything
- a HUGE increase in navigation throughout the PS3 menus and files on the SSD

This little adventure cost me $250. I'll probably put the original 60GB in my new comp when it gets here and let that be the wifey's special storage drive.

Thanks for posting the information, and welcome to the forums! I'm actually more interested in heat rather than speed in your experiment. Any indications that the PS3 is running cooler?

MattNo5ss

03-30-09, 12:49 PM

It seems that until Sony allows running the games from the HDD using ISOs or something the best option for running a faster HDD would be to get a SATA Internal Extension Cable (http://www.cooldrives.com/sainexca22ex.html) and connect it to the PS3 and a 10K/15K RPM HDD sitting outside the PS3.

KNFrH2O

03-30-09, 05:34 PM

Thanks for the warm welcome!!! I haven't checked for any changes in heat since I installed the flash drive. I had little concern being that I switched to an SSD and they typically run a lot cooler. Next time I think about it, I can feel around that general area but I'm afraid I'll have little to compare it to. I never actually measure the operating temp of the previous hard drive. Sorry!

As for the Intel beasts, well, they're still SO expensive. I couldn't justify to myself spending $800'ish on a hard drive for my PS3. :) Also, I figured it wouldn't matter seeing as how the PS3 was pushing SATA150. The drive I got was pretty high quality. I didn't really have many options regarding my drive selection. The Japanese computer store I went to (called "Goodwill" oddly enough) sells the all new items and is usually good about keeping the top shelf items stocked. However, the local enthusiasts go nuts out here whenever something new and badass hits the shelves. They had one each of the 32, 64, and 128GB SSD's. The Intel's were sitting there at $800 a pop and they only had 2 each of the two sizes on the shelf (I think 64 and 128GB).

If my friend hasn't upgraded his yet, I'll see if we can get some "before and after" timings. He was with me when I did mine so he got rather excited about the whole thing and said he would upgrade his within a few days. I'm probably already too late!

We *were* joking about upgrading the RAM too, but that doesn't look possible! Oh well.

ratbuddy

03-30-09, 07:33 PM

I think they use a soft material for the blue screw securing the drive because it will transmit less sounds/vibration to the chassis of the system.

Neuromancer

03-30-09, 08:23 PM

Exactly, you thought of the other part of the equation. While bolted in its harness, it is going to give off some heat through contact with the surrounding air (there may be a little movement) and any objects that it touches. So yes, there is a "max temp" it will hit since the surroundings are absorbing some of the heat. The problem lies in that it puts out much more heat than the 5400 rpm laptop drives, enough that it will either kill the drive quicker (depends on the temp, which I honestly couldn't tell you how hot it would run) or just kill it out-right if it gets hot enough. What the numbers are would be pure guesses. I wouldn't want to run it over 50c myself, anything more than that and it will probably shorten the lifespan.

No problem, it is fun answering these types of questions, I just hope I don't come across as rude or short because I very rarely mean to ;). Text is also a very difficult medium for tones/feelings since you can read them differently than I meant to type them.

50C is a good max temp.

There was an article a while back thaqt showed longest life of hdds was in the 45C range.

Colder then that actually shortened the life span :S

Normally I would say this is counter intuitive, due to other PC components running better when cooler, however, HDDs are mechanical and electronic devices not just electronic, so while the PCB may operate fine at 20C, the fluids in hte spindle may become to viscuous and not provide the optimal protection level for moving parts.

FudgeNuggets

03-30-09, 09:09 PM

50C is a good max temp.

There was an article a while back thaqt showed longest life of hdds was in the 45C range.

Colder then that actually shortened the life span :S

Normally I would say this is counter intuitive, due to other PC components running better when cooler, however, HDDs are mechanical and electronic devices not just electronic, so while the PCB may operate fine at 20C, the fluids in hte spindle may become to viscuous and not provide the optimal protection level for moving parts.

For real, they'll thicken up that much at 70 degrees? I mean if it's at all like motor oil then it'll not thicken up until well below freezing.

TommyHolly

03-31-09, 10:21 AM

I am very interested in this, but one question:

How about copying over important data if you decide to do the HD upgrade?

To be specific, I have purchased and downloaded quite a bit of music for Rock Band 2. If I install a new HD and let the OS reinstall itself, I assume all of my Rock Band downloads are gone as well? I think I would have to pay to re-download them from the Playstation Store... correct?

Over at the AVS forums there is a step-by-step guide with pictures on how to load a new hard drive into your PS3 and do a backup to ALL your files, (even the ones that are supposed to be copyrighted save files). Arrrgh I can't find that link...

Here is another one that is very good with lots of pictures of every step!! http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/127009/how-to-swap-out-and-upgrade-a-ps3-hard-drive/

I'm not saying everything WILL be faster and well worth it. The truth is I don't know, and I want to find out. That's all...

I've been reading this thread secretly hoping you take the leap and try it out!! haha :beer: I love reading stuff like this on the OC Forums where people mess with everything from increasing battery power in flashlights to installing jet engines in go carts. I love it! At 15,000 RPM I think the data travels back in time and arrives before the PS3 asks for it... ;)

Neuromancer

03-31-09, 07:41 PM

For real, they'll thicken up that much at 70 degrees? I mean if it's at all like motor oil then it'll not thicken up until well below freezing.
I did not remember the specifics but was giving an example (hence the word may)

Found one of the articles...

http://www.pdl.cmu.edu/PDL-FTP/Failure/failure-fast07_abs.html

You can google around a bit and find the study in a few spots.

This article said that USENIX did the study, however the one that I recall was done by google.

They found that despite a short "break in period" Heat did not increase the failure rate on harddrives.

Quite the opposite, was that hard drives that were kept at room temperature had a higher failure rate than average (study was over 100,000 drives, so average means something)

MattNo5ss

04-01-09, 08:22 AM

I've been reading this thread secretly hoping you take the leap and try it out!! haha :beer: I love reading stuff like this on the OC Forums where people mess with everything from increasing battery power in flashlights to installing jet engines in go carts. I love it! At 15,000 RPM I think the data travels back in time and arrives before the PS3 asks for it... ;)

I really wish I could, I'm just a broke college student...:cry:

Maybe this summer I'll get enough extra money for a mobo and HDD upgrade so I can try this out.

MattNo5ss

10-08-09, 03:16 PM

6 month bump here...yes, I'm a thread necromancer :)

Well, I got some extra money and splurged on an Intel X25-M G2 80GB SSD. It should be at my house around the middle of next week. When it arrives I'm going to do some stopwatch testing, Stock HDD vs Intel SSD. KNFrH2O, who actually posted some results, never specified what SSD he used. Since I'll have the one of the "best" maybe it'll make a difference, maybe not.

Any suggestions on other tests/methods? I was just gonna use a stopwatch and go through everything with the HDD and SSD while recording times.

After I'm finished I'll either post results in here, or make a "Intel SSD & PS3 Results" or whatever, type of thread.

Theocnoob

10-09-09, 01:36 AM

The only way it'll get hotter is if the PS3 runs hotter than 55C right? Since the HDD can only heat something (the air around it) to it's max temp of 55C, so an enclosed 55C HDD in 55C air can't get hotter than 55C, unless something else causes it.

I was planning on getting a VelociRaptor for my computer sometime, and at least testing it in the PS3. I just need a temp sensor, I guess I could use my laser thermometer...

you mis-interpret operating temperature.

The device is rated to operate as advertised (be a hard drive, read write, not fail) at temperatures from 5-55 celsius. Outside that range, the device is not rated to operate, in other words, if you operate at over 55, which the device can produce, I assume, you are running the risk of failure.

Your car has a 'green' zone in oil temperature. it is rated to operate, if you will, inside that green zone. You can drive it into the red zone right up until your car dies on the highway-- but the whole time it was in the red zone, it was outside of it's equivalent of your HD's 5-55 range. See what I mean?

MattNo5ss

10-09-09, 10:39 AM

you mis-interpret operating temperature.

The device is rated to operate as advertised (be a hard drive, read write, not fail) at temperatures from 5-55 celsius. Outside that range, the device is not rated to operate, in other words, if you operate at over 55, which the device can produce, I assume, you are running the risk of failure.

Your car has a 'green' zone in oil temperature. it is rated to operate, if you will, inside that green zone. You can drive it into the red zone right up until your car dies on the highway-- but the whole time it was in the red zone, it was outside of it's equivalent of your HD's 5-55 range. See what I mean?

When I posted that, I thought the 55C was the max temp that the drive can get to, I thought it meant the drive cannot get any hotter. I had trouble seeing how the drive could get hotter if 55C was as hot as it could get. But my initial assumption that the 55C was a max temp, in that sense, was erroneous. I worked that out with thideras :rolleyes:

I won't have to worry about heat with the X25-M G2 though :clap:

This 1st gen PS3 gets HOT, and LOUD...Ive been debating on selling it and getting a "Slim" version, but I'll lose PS2 compatibility, and I don't have my PS2 anymore...

rainless

10-09-09, 11:00 AM

When I posted that, I thought the 55C was the max temp that the drive can get to, I thought it meant the drive cannot get any hotter. I had trouble seeing how the drive could get hotter if 55C was as hot as it could get. But my initial assumption that the 55C was a max temp, in that sense, was erroneous. I worked that out with thideras :rolleyes:

I won't have to worry about heat with the X25-M G2 though :clap:

This 1st gen PS3 gets HOT, and LOUD...Ive been debating on selling it and getting a "Slim" version, but I'll lose PS2 compatibility, and I don't have my PS2 anymore...

I would get one of the older... non-slim... third generation systems (originally just the 40gig model but that eventually became the standard.)

First generation were the 60/20gig systems with the PS2 chip built in. Second gen were the 80 gig systems with the software compatibility and the PS2 synth built in (not the emotion chip). And the third gen were the 40 gig systems like the one I've got. This one is much cooler than the 60 gig systems... but yes, you will lost PS2 compatibility.

What I did is I have an old PS2 Fat system that I slapped a hard drive in and backed up ALL my games onto that. Now THAT is the kind of functionality the PS3 can't touch. I don't even have to touch a disc! I don't have to worry about the laser going out on me... nothing. I'm good to go for the life of the hard drive.

You can probably get a used PS2 for like 50 bucks or so. Definitely worth the investment. (JUst remember, with those old systems you'd also need the network adapter for the hard drive to work. It'll take any IDE hard drive.)

You'd be surprised at how small the games are too. I have fifty games that I put onto one drive. (It takes FOREVER to read the discs, but even going five a day it only took me a couple of weeks to save my whole collection forever.)

MattNo5ss

10-09-09, 12:36 PM

What I did is I have an old PS2 Fat system that I slapped a hard drive in and backed up ALL my games onto that. Now THAT is the kind of functionality the PS3 can't touch. I don't even have to touch a disc! I don't have to worry about the laser going out on me... nothing. I'm good to go for the life of the hard drive.

You can probably get a used PS2 for like 50 bucks or so. Definitely worth the investment. (JUst remember, with those old systems you'd also need the network adapter for the hard drive to work. It'll take any IDE hard drive.)

You'd be surprised at how small the games are too. I have fifty games that I put onto one drive. (It takes FOREVER to read the discs, but even going five a day it only took me a couple of weeks to save my whole collection forever.)

Thanks for info, good stuff.

I haven't heard of that, I had no idea you could install PS2 games directly to a HDD and not need a disk check or something...what's this network adapter you're referring to?