Sony PLAYSTATION 3 Console (80 GB Model)

I'm probably preaching to the converted with this review, but it is an awesome bit of kit. It's a bargain. I know that seems hard to believe, what with the £289 price tag, but for what you get and for what it does, it is amazing. I notice how a lot of the reviews tend to focus on the fact that you don't even have to own a game to get the most from it. And you don't. In fact, you could forget that it plays games at all. Make sure you get yourself a HD viewing source, even if it is just a monitor. There are ways and means of connecting to flat panel monitors, and it worked fine with my Samsung SM226BW with a HDMI to DVI adapter and JVC stereo with phono inputs. I have recently upgraded to a 40" Sony Bravia. You can tell this was the way the developers wanted you to use the console, it is droolworthy. First impressions: lovely, slick looking bit of kit, futuristic "buttons" (they don't depress, I think they work like laptop touchpads) and a slick slot-load disc drive, like your car stereo. It runs very quietly, even with a disc inserted and the lights are in-obtrusive in the dark. It seems to have also come with a dust magnet installed, which can be a nuisance. Most people here have already gone into some of the features, but there are some less well known ones. You can install Linux, so it transforms it into a desktop PC, which works excellently, especially on your big TV in the lounge. I used OpenOffice for something I was using for work and emailed it fine using Firefox. I'm using YDL 6.1. Most peripherals for your PC will work, like some webcams, usb keyboards, mice and USB hubs. The console only comes with 2 ports, but I have upped mine to 8 with no problems at all. Using the internet browser, if you find something you want to print, you can try installing your home printer and printing to it. I have a HP Photosmart 2570 connected via the router, I had no hopes it would work, but it did perfectly. Genius. One thing that doesn't seem to get a mention is the music player that will actually import audio CDs to MP3! But it doesn't stop there. You can then insert any USB pen drive (so long as its not in NTFS format, but in FAT32) and copy it to play on your PC! You can even play it on your XBox. For a company fighting music piracy law suits, it's an extraordinary feature. JPEG quality is amazing and significantly better than the XBox. Even my mum noticed the difference. There is no difference between the two for films, but if I found a movie that wouldn't run on the XBox, it would work fine on the PS3. It also runs downloaded HD content very well, so I can watch HD episodes of Lost on the PS3 after converting them to mpeg, which is no hassle at all (takes 30 seconds with a program I found). XBox refuses to play them. I think some people think that the disk size of 80gb is final, but not so. The disk pops out extremely easily, it is a Sata150 Laptop hard drive, and the new one pops in without a problem. My system is currently 320gb for an extra £30. Also Blu-Ray, web browser, yaddyaddyada. If you have a HD TV in the lounge, get it. People who slate this console usually do because it doesn't play PS2 games, but I don't want to play PS2 games anymore. I have a PS2 for that! Some people are fiercely pro-microsoft for some reason, and for whatever reason don't like the console. I have both systems, and this one is my favourite for the features, games and media I want to play. If you want to only play games, get an XBox. If you want a serious, grown-up bit of kit that also plays games, get a PS3. There is a price difference for a reason, you know...

The 3 way race between Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony is well and truly underway with the Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 respectively fighting for the trophy of best games console. Having had experience playing the Wii and the Xbox 360 I have to say I wasn't too impressed with the Wii and the controller of the Xbox 360 is, in my opinion, too chunky and doesnt even compare to Sony's brilliant controller. Added the fact that you are forced to pay to play online with the Xbox, buying Sony's masterpiece was a no-brainer. First of all Id like to thank Amazon for a very quick delivery of this item and if you're thinking of buying this console, get it from amazon. The delivery times are excellent and the packaging is top-notch to secure this expensive piece of hardware from damages. The first impressions you'll have with this is how heavy the playstation is. After connecting the cables up and switching the console on for the first time you'll be delighted to know this console is very quiet and after a quick set-up (and I do mean quick, wont take longer than 10 minutes) you're ready to go. The set-up guides you through the basics ie. name etc. including optional (but recommended) extras including internet connection and signing up to the Playstation network. The menu is impressive and if the artwork doesnt take your fancy you can always download new ones (for free) from the playstation network to change the theme of the menu. However, with all the positives this gem of a console offers, some people may be put off by the hour long system upgrade and installation times of games uploaded onto the harddrive. Regardless, the games are top notch and the options on the menu are overwhelming including a system backup, reformatting the harddrive to improve speed and playing and uploading videos and music onto the console. Overall, the Playstation 3 is miles ahead of the competition in my opinion and with an excellent controller made even sweeter by the inclusion of rumble and blue-tooth, meaning you can use it wireless, makes this a must-have console for hardware junkies looking for the next big thing. If anyone's wondering why the Xbox 360 has been reduced to 129.99 this console is the reason why. With xmas just around the corner, PS3 sales are looking to go up which means big trouble for rival companies but with such an impressive console such as this, its worth every penny.

So I ummed and ahhed for some time about buying the PS3. Why? 1. Don't have enough time to play Games (full time teacher and Dad to be) 2. Heard it was very noisy (untrue!) 3. Did I really need it? I have to say since owning it now for some time, it really is a truly remarkable piece of kit. Why? 1. The Blu Ray is fantastic. - Just make sure you buy the Blu Ray remote as it's difficult to convince your other half you haven't just bought a games console when operating the Blu Ray with a joystick! That's £200 saved on buying a decent Blu Ray player then (stand alone players don't upgrade themselves either unlike the PS3). 2. It has integrated wireless so no wires which is dead easy to set up. Make sure you have your WEP handy 3. There is a full media server inside so you can browse all your photos, music, videos via your router and which ever other computers you have in the house. Very important for justifying it to the wife when the wedding pics come up in all their glory on your flatscreen. 4. Use it as a DVD player and it automatically upscales the DVD to make them look even better. 5. It has a good Internet Browser built in and the BBC are shortly bringing the iPlayer to PS3. 6. It is constantly being updated and improved via tried and tested over the air updates. 7. It looks fantastic. All black and shiny like the monoliths from 2001 a Space Odyssey. 8. Noise? What noise?? A barely audible slight, very distant hum on occasion. The XBox360 Elite sounds like one of those small portable vacuum cleaners and is really annoying in comparison. 9. It offers full 1080p playback via my Panasonic flatscreen and looks incredible as a result. 10. The Play TV add on turns it into a full on Personal Video Recorder with upscaling. That's another £150 saved then. 11. Oh -the games. Fantastic. Little Big Planet is beautiful, FIFA '09 is better than watching Spurs (not really an endorsement to buy I suppose :-)) and who needs Lara when you've got Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. 12. If 80GB isn't bug enough then... Google PS3 Hard Drive Upgrade. Undo 6 Philips screws, slide out the old Hard Drive and insert a 320GB Notebook one for £60 from Amazon. Now you can back up everything and all those dodgy 80's Student videos you ripped from VHS to DVD! 13. PlayStation Network is improving and is Free. The new Home is just round the corner... downloadable films etc.. social networking etc..etc.. So buy yourself a PS3 and watch it develop into your all in one entertainment centre!

In order to get the message across I'll tell you a little about myself first. The last console I owned was about 17 years ago when Sega was tops. Since then I have ensured that my PC was high end in order to be able to play the games I wanted to and never ventured into the world of consoles again (except for a brief stint with the PSP). It was with some reluctance then that I read up on the PS3, wondering whether it was time to change my PC / laptop upgrading habits and just spend some money on a good console. I bit the bullet a few weeks ago and got the 80gb model with a couple of games and a movie as part of an Amazon bundle and let me tell you I am extremely pleased so far. The graphics for the two games I got (Motorstorm Pacific Rift & Dead Space) are just phenomenal (on an HD TV) and my main concern about how I would go from working with a mouse and keyboard to a joystick was put to rest within the first few days. It's a refreshing change and actually a lot of fun as it is wireless and I have much more freedom of control than in front of a PC. The fact that it has a blu-ray player integrated in the console makes it a fantastic bonus. The console itself is dead quiet, and just oozes quality. In summary this console is fun, it's pretty (physically and what it produces), and if you're looking for some entertainment to pass away the boring winter nights it's well worth your hard earned cash.

Works really well and looks pretty good

I decided to buy a used PS3 instead of a used X360 because the friends I wanted to play games with/against mainly had PS3s. The DS3 works as expected and I had experienced on other PS3s and as expected there is no real backwards compatibility. Plugged in cables, set it to HDMI, did a full reset of the system and set up a PSN account. I then tried to buy Minecraft: PS3 edition on the PSN store, but upon getting onto the game's page it froze. I performed a soft reboot, back into the main start menu, tried again on another game. Still didn't work. I then did some diagnostics and some more resets, but it still doesn't work to this point in time. I installed the updates but to no avail, also. My other friends with fat PS3s aren't experiencing the same or similar problems. However, I've found a workaround to the problem. If you go to [...] you can log on with your PSN account credentials and buy game to download from the part of the store which you don't need to access the broken part of the application from. The only part I haven't reviewed is the blu-ray games, because they are still to arrive (Grand Theft Auto V and Rage: Anarchy Edition). Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the system and would give a 5-star rating were it not for the store crash, which knocks it down to 4. The PlayStation 3 is mainly for gamers, but can be used as an all-purpose entertainment system, kind of like the Xbone. There are installable streaming services that I am yet to try (most are paid subscriptions), but I expect that if I were to try them they would work. Thank you Sony!

Well this PS3 I really wanted this badly, So I sold my Xbox 360 for this PS3, And I'm proud that I Gotten this, Also just to be aware I gotten a FREE Controller too, But Overall it's an Amazing & Fantastic Product You Have To Buy First (About The Console Itself) The first Moment it Arrived by a Woman, I Removed & Unboxed the PS3 Controller & Took The bubble wrap off it, I looked around the PS3 & Checked inside it, I noticed the Memory Drive which was my first time opening those up, I then looked around on the surface if it was Scratched and there was no Marks on it absolutely so the 'Title' was wrong besides gotten a FREE Pad. About The PS3 (Turning On Mode) When I turned it on (Obviously you'll need an HDMI if you had one of those you can use it) I turned the PS3 console on and it just Automatically found the 'Available TV Source' It was fantastic, Although I gotta say Sony has done a brilliant Job, Hope they're proud, I checked the System Firmware & it was up-to-date as usual, Even though when I first started it up somebody was signed in, But I deleted their Name + Password so no worry's about that, I downloaded a couple of thing and it wasn't that fast, It was fast but took 2 minutes on Downloading, I Plugged in the Controller + Charger and it was working great for me. You should definitely buy this, I recommend this product even though I'm going to be buying an Upgraded 500GB Brackets for my PS3, I'd buy it again if I never had an PS3... BRILLIANT :)

I bought a ps3 of these fools for my sons b/day. turned it on fine. rapped it up b/day come round son put it together put a game in fine started playing bf4 take in mind when I bought this system it cost me 116 pound.so my boy finished his game then went to put another in and what do you know the game wouldn't come out WOULD NOT EJECT THE DISK. TOOK ME 4/5 EMAILS TO GET A REPLY only after amazon got in touch with them did I get my money back .and on top of that they would only offer me 10 pound for a 50 quid game brand new when I bought it.AT LEAST REPLACE THE GAME ITS YOUR PRODUCT THAT WAS AT FAULT.SO IN ALL IF YOU WHANT THE PISS TAKEN OUT OF YOU THEN SHOP AT CC MOTHERWELL.