PS3 Slim Hardware Confirmed

[JPT]

Just to make sure... you're both referring to the 14GB of stuff (97/111) rather than the difference between 120 marketing GB and 111GiB, right?

I might have stumbled upon the reason for the 14GB "missing" per default on my Slim.

I upgraded the HDD in the slim to a 500GB HDD and with the new HDD the Slim was unable to boot, it complained about system software missing on the system partition.
Now when I did the same operation (installed a 250GB a year ago or so) on my older JPN 60GB PSN, it never complained about the new HDD and booted just fine, I had to format the HDD after it booted, but it still booted without a system partition on the HDD.

So my guess is that the FAT units had extra flash space for the system software, which now is stored on the HDD. This might also explain why I had the feeling that the Slim booted slower than the launch 60GB version.

Then again since Shifty got a 40GB it might have changed at that time and not with the Slim.

I also seem to remember reading that the Slim only had 128MB flash instead of 256MB as part of its cost down, but not sure where I saw it.

Anyway the solution was to download the 3.0 firmware and stick it onto a USB stick (PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP) and get the PS3 to boot from that.

Another thing the Slim knew that I had already upgraded to 3.0 because when it asked me to connect a storage medium with the system software on it, it explicitly asked for version 3.00 or later.

After it formated the HDD and added the fw to it, I assume, it was as if the Sim had a reset to factory default done and I had to configure the users and settings again. This was also different from the 60GB launch model.

Update :

With just the default setup and a user added to the system, the Slim is reporting that my Free Space is 412GB / 465GB

Okay, I did a backup of my FAT unit with 250GB HDD in it, it used 2+ hours to do a backup, a restore to the Slim took less than 5 minutes.
But before it started the restore operation it said that since the backup was from another PS3, not all data could be restored. And that is very correct

It only restored about 1GB of data, I had about 40GB free so about 200 is missing?
Some old save data files from Home, R2 beta (Girl with stick) and LBP beta, but not anything else game related.
It also restored my mp3 files and the videos that was stored on the FAT unit.

So I guess, I have to manually move my save games over and then d/l stuff again, I guess the Slim will work hard tonight and tomorrow when I am in the office

End transmission slim day #2, 02092009

 

[AlNom]

Interesting...

But 14GB allocation

 

[patsu]

I think animated theme is a misnomer. Since it's built using a real SDK, it should be able to do more than a render loop. Eric Lempel in his video calls it dynamic theme.

The missing space is probably for security purposes, and perhaps (I don't know) some inefficiency in the file system.

Hey JPT, so the Slim can use your 500Gb HDD ?

EDIT: Okay, I see your edit.

 

[AlNom]

52GB

 

[JPT]

Just to make sure... you're both referring to the 14GB of stuff (97/111) rather than the difference between 120 marketing GB and 111GiB, right?

Interesting...

But 14GB allocation

Its even more on the bigger HDD, must be the cache area they use for games like Uuncharted etc also, if not they got a very nice packer that is able to crunch Gigs of data into 153MB

 

[Rolf N]

Just to make sure... you're both referring to the 14GB of stuff (97/111) rather than the difference between 120 marketing GB and 111GiB, right?

Marketing? 120 billion bytes. What about that is marketing?
The problem isn't with marketing, it's with elitist pricks in IT who think they can bend and pollute the meaning of established, precise terms that predate their own birth by centuries.

 

[AlNom]

Marketing? 120 billion bytes. What about that is marketing?
The problem isn't with marketing, it's with elitist pricks in IT who think they can bend and pollute the meaning of established, precise terms that predate their own birth by centuries.

Ah... ok. Big whoop. Thanks for the derail. I mean, it's represented in software as 111GB vs the 120GB used in marketing. That's it. It was a simple Q&A, not some... um... I don't even know what you're talking about.

Near the coffee maker

....... *cough*

 

[DrJay24]

Then again since Shifty got a 40GB it might have changed at that time and not with the Slim.


Anyway the solution was to download the 3.0 firmware and stick it onto a USB stick (PS3/UPDATE/PS3UPDAT.PUP) and get the PS3 to boot from that.

I had to do the same thing last year with a 80GB. I think they stopped flashing the firmware and started using a program to flash them when it boots for the first time. This way they can ghost the new firmware on drives much later than the PS3 unit itself.

It could also be cost related, but I don't see how it helps them with cost.

There is also a known bug with backup/restore with multiple logins, you might have hit it. I can;'t find the info now, but you had to log out and do the backup without being logged in, if you login it would skip most stuff.

 

[Gradthrawn]

I thought we've been over all of this before and concluded that the PS3 reserves a percentage of available HDD space, and not a static amount? Unless that's changed from the PS3 Heavy to the Slim.

 

[AlNom]

I thought we've been over all of this before and concluded that the PS3 reserves a percentage of available HDD space, and not a static amount? Unless that's changed from the PS3 Heavy to the Slim.

Ah ok... I missed that.


(*cough* *ahem*... probably pick up a slim sometime this season)

 

[patsu]

I thought we've been over all of this before and concluded that the PS3 reserves a percentage of available HDD space, and not a static amount? Unless that's changed from the PS3 Heavy to the Slim.

Is that figure 10% ?

 

[djskribbles]

Yeah, it's around 10%. I realized this way back when I bought my launch unit (20GB) and compared it to others with 60GB PS3's. Always wondered why they reserved a percentage rather than a specific size.

Anyway, I should be getting my Slim delivered anytime now. I went a month without a PS3 (sold my launch unit). Can't wait! :smile:

 

[patsu]

My guess is they have additional security data for each "block", plus a fixed chunk for working area. The file system is proprietary right ?

 

[grandmaster]

Got my Slim yesterday and love it. The right product at the right time at the right price. Cheaper but still feels like a premium machine with solid build quality. This and Uncharted 2 are going to be one hell of a combo.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

Got my Slim yesterday and love it. The right product at the right time at the right price. Cheaper but still feels like a premium machine with solid build quality. This and Uncharted 2 are going to be one hell of a combo.

I got it yesterday also and Uncharted 2 is pre ordered and payed already

 

[djskribbles]

Just got mine delivered a few minutes ago... updating to 3.00.

Initial comments:
-DS3 feels different than the one I bought
-Still feels solidly built
-Love the look of it, more than my old fat

Restored my old data and it didn't restore any game files. Was kinda expecting that.
All of my game saves except RB2 and KZ2 were restored (stupid copy protection)

It's been on for about 30min now and it's definitely a lot quieter than my launch unit, and it's noticeably quieter than my sister's 80GB (65nm Cell/RSX) PS3. I have it in a pretty tight place vertically (about 2.5" clearance), but the entire back of my TV stand is open so hopefully it's ok. It's definitely pumping out a fair amount of heat.
The drive is noticeably louder than my launch unit but not loud by any means. Haven't played a game so it hasn't read anything from the disc yet though.

 

[djskribbles]

Had my Slim lockup while attempting to install the RB2 patch, but played about 20min of KZ2 and had no problems. :neutral:
Just in case, I've moved my Slim to a larger slot in my TV stand. After playing KZ2, the noise level seems to be about the same as my sister's 80GB. I was hoping it would run a little cooler/quieter, but definitely an improvement over my launch unit.
Oh, and after buying my AVR about 6 months ago, I finally get to see the DTS-HD MSTR and DDTrueHD lights. :smile:

 

[specwarGP2]

Got my Slim yesterday and love it. The right product at the right time at the right price. Cheaper but still feels like a premium machine with solid build quality. This and Uncharted 2 are going to be one hell of a combo.

I just got my Slim and I agree that still looks and feels like a premium machine. I thought the mechanical buttons would be a downgrade, but to my surprise they look quite nice and they're even backlit. I definitely like the looks of the slim over my fat.

 

[djskribbles]

Anyone else's slim get fairly hot on the top-left and bottom (when lying horizontal)? Mine feels pretty hot. I had my PS3 lockup on me when I had it in a fairly small space, but it's been fine ever since I moved it to a larger space in my TV stand (where I had my launch unit).

 

[Crossbar]

I got it yesterday also and Uncharted 2 is pre ordered and payed already

Picked up mine yesterday as well, very solid feel, don´t miss the touch buttons one bit. Putting my old fat one out for sale.

One thing that surprised me when I reinstalled the original 60 GB HDD in my old fat PS3 was that the firmware did not have any problem with popping in a hard drive that had not been throug a firmware upgrade for about a year. It just went through a file database update sequence and then it was ready to rock. I had expected it to crash and burn and requiring me to provide some update files or something. Is no part of the OS updates stored on the hard drive? Does all of it fit within the flash memory or was I just lucky?