$299 for PS3, major Pro or Con?

My understanding of it is that they cut the price to be more competitive with the Xbox 360 – a battle that they are currently losing, as you may know.

Also, I read here that the price cut is accompanied by a slimer PS3 model. Some of the changes include:

“Koller said the PS3 was made smaller by using a new cooling mechanism, a new power supply and shifting to 45 nanometer chips from the previous 65. The size of the external power block is also reduced, and the system uses a third less power, Koller said.

Sony also did away with the power switch on the back, moving its function to the pause/resume button on the front. I’m just glad they added real buttons for pause and eject; on the previous model you just press lit but undefined spots on the case.”

I think they’ve also removed the ability to install Linux, if that was a selling point for you.

For what it is, it’s fine. As far as new features go, I think the slim PS3 only offers two things the previous ones did not: Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreaming.

Probably nowhere near the driving factor that the new lower price is.

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Still, for me, I’d put my money into a used 60GB fat-body PS3. Being able to play PS2 games is a huge value for those of us with old game titles we still enjoy.

@perplexism I’m not sure what difference the nanometer chip would do, but is that a significant difference? As for the cooling mechanism, that might be bad, since in the beginning of the 360 rein it had horrible heating problems.

@mrentropy lol, that was not an option I was looking for & didn’t even know about. Funny to know though.

@robmandu I wasn’t real big on the reverse compatibility, but I wouldn’t mind seeing how much better the games could look on it. Plus, it was one of the first versions, so I’m sure it had other problems right?

@Axemusica, I’m sure improved reliability was a design consideration is slimming it down. More efficient cooling would be one aspect of that (out of many).

I’m a big fan of reliable, robust hardware. That definitely does carry some weight.

YAY ELECTRONIC COURSES

SINCE, the chips are downsized, but are expected to the the same amount of work, they will be hotter than the original chip set. The bigger chips would have dissipated heat at a higher rate since there is more surface area. Which makes me ask the question; how much better is this new cooling system?

they are approx 31% smaller, thus their heat dissipation will suffer by about 30% ( i believe). Can the new cooling system handle this?

@robmandu Agreed. Reliability is a HUGE in my book of being a consumer. Thus for the reason of my inquiry.

@kibaxcheza Exactly my point. Usually the first thing I look for when building a new PC is a case that can deliver optimum cooling measures. There’s something about using a smaller part for the same amount of work in a smaller area that erks me. It might work with gears, but these produce lots of heat which could create a lot of problems. I understand that they need to compete with the 360, especially since this year they are supposed to be headlining for “exclusives” to be released, but at what cost?

i say they just make up spend the extra $40 per unit and equip them with cheap liquid cooling systems. Problem solved..

@kibaxcheza haha, I don’t know about that. I had a friend with the water cooled system on his ridiculous Frankenstein of a PC and it was a pain to prime, if you need to turn it off for some reason.

Really? I had one on my old desktop, thing ran like a fridge. Who knows, maybe i was just lucky XD

We have the one that @robmandu linked to, and haven’t had any issues. Love it.

@kibaxcheza I had an idea for Freon cooling system, like a fridge, but I guess it’s not a “real” safe idea, lol.

@casheroo yea, but unfortunately a used one is risky business. :/

@Axemusica Oh, they don’t sell them new anymore? I know we got ours new at Best Buy last Christmas.

@casheroo I think they do sell the 60G ones, but they’re no longer reverse compatible. Lol, don’t quote me on that.

nothing like getting an as is system and finding out its fritzy and has a void warranty XD

and yeah Freon can be some stuff if you know what i mean

@Axemusica Ahh, I don’t even know what that means. My husband is the gamer..I just play the easy games lol

@casheroo Reverse compatibility is being able to play past system games. PS1 & PS2 discs. Also, the PS3 is supposed to re-render the elder games making them better, well, the systems that were reverse compatible.

could you imagine ff7 modernly redone? (reverse compat made me think)

@kibaxcheza See, that’s what I mean. Well, I mean I don’t have anymore past PS games, but I’d at least like to see how much the re-rendering GPUs would effect it. Any FF game would be great to see enhanced, or God of War, so many to question.

@kibaxcheza God of War I & II will be coming in a collection for the PS3. Here is a link

@mrentropy ~drooool~ that looks awesome. Haha, now I’m leaning toward the cost being Pro, because of the cost, just so I can play that! I never got to play the 2nd and the 3rd is sounding epic.

i think i might just have to buy a referb when i finally get some money XD

The best thing about the PS3 for us right now is that I can get a refurbished PS2 with a full one-year automatic replacement warranty for $69.

touche….

Aside from backwards you have a good ol’ PS3 to have fun with. It’s a good time to take the plunge.

Actually, today I discovered you can get a new PS3 for $249 in the large box stores as opposed to $299 at places like Game Stop.

Check around before you buy.