Parker Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 It looks as though I'll need to upgrade my PS3's HDD soon. I have 64gb left on my 320gb HDD and with the amount of games coming out in the next few months (Skyrim is going to eat a few gigs I'm sure) I'd rather swap it out now than wait until I have to start deleting game data. I remember a few things about the swap, but I'd like to hear from people who have done it. First, what HDD's are compatible? Does the size (not physical, but storage wise. Can I use a 1tb drive?) matter, how about RPM? And while I'm at it, what are the size specs for an HDD to fit? After I ge the specs of the drive I need I assume everything will be pretty easy. Just get an external drive to back up everything. swap the HDD's out and then transfer everything back over to the new drive via external, right? If I do that will I need to install anymore game data or will it transfer? Thanks for the help, Parker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandererster Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Any laptop HDD is fine as long as they have a 9.5mm in height any more than that won't fit in the ps3 HDD bay. Use Western Digital or Samsung brands. Difference in RPM is in loading times, if you want faster loading use 7200rpm if not 5400rpm is fine as well, you can also use SSD drives if you have the budget. Currently I use a WD scorpio black 500GB 7200RPM, no problems so far. The external HDD where you will backup your ps3 data needs to be formatted to FAT32 first before using it, then swap out the the old HDD with the new one then use restore backup. Everything will be transferred over. One more thing, the more stuff you have in your old HDD the longer it takes to backup. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FurryMcMemes Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Any laptop HDD is fine as long as they have a 9.5mm in height any more than that won't fit in the ps3 HDD bay. Use Western Digital or Samsung brands. Difference in RPM is in loading times, if you want faster loading use 7200rpm if not 5400rpm is fine as well, you can also use SSD drives if you have the budget. Currently I use a WD scorpio black 500GB 7200RPM, no problems so far. The external HDD where you will backup your ps3 data needs to be formatted to FAT32 first before using it, then swap out the the old HDD with the new one then use restore backup. Everything will be transferred over. One more thing, the more stuff you have in your old HDD the longer it takes to backup. Yes but I've heard that HDDs at 7200 RPM can heat up a PS3 faster but I have yet to confirm it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandererster Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Yes but I've heard that HDDs at 7200 RPM can heat up a PS3 faster but I have yet to confirm it. Ambient room temperature may have a factor as well. No problems on my 7200rpm HDD, almost a year in using it. I forgot to mention also to sync trophies first before doing the backup since your trophy collection doesn't get backed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muff Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 ok, i have a question here, i have a 320 gig...as in a slim. And the slim doesnt have what my 80 gig stock PS3 had...a slot to easily access the HDD. im just curious: how would i go about doing that anyway? just in case i decide to upgrade to a bigger size or nee it for anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orenjikitty Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 ok, i have a question here, i have a 320 gig...as in a slim. And the slim doesnt have what my 80 gig stock PS3 had...a slot to easily access the HDD. im just curious: how would i go about doing that anyway? just in case i decide to upgrade to a bigger size or nee it for anything The slim has a small part at the bottom that has a blue screw. If you undid that, you should be able to get the hardrive to slid out no problem. I'm looking to upgrade my HDD sometime this month so I've read a lot about how to do it on my slim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A12 Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 The max GB limit for a PS3 is currently 2TB(on one HDD). Due to FAT32 only going that far. And there is no concern about drive speed, if you have proper ventilation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSXtreme_ Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 It looks as though I'll need to upgrade my PS3's HDD soon. I have 64gb left on my 320gb HDD and with the amount of games coming out in the next few months (Skyrim is going to eat a few gigs I'm sure) I'd rather swap it out now than wait until I have to start deleting game data. I remember a few things about the swap, but I'd like to hear from people who have done it. First, what HDD's are compatible? Does the size (not physical, but storage wise. Can I use a 1tb drive?) matter, how about RPM? And while I'm at it, what are the size specs for an HDD to fit? After I ge the specs of the drive I need I assume everything will be pretty easy. Just get an external drive to back up everything. swap the HDD's out and then transfer everything back over to the new drive via external, right? If I do that will I need to install anymore game data or will it transfer? Thanks for the help, Parker For file transfer info. http://us.playstatio...x.htm?a_id=1524. That's what Sony sent me last night when I called them. I, too, am looking to expand the HDD. I've almost filled up the original 60 gig, so I called Sony last night. They said if you take the CHEC number found on the back of the system into a store like Radio Shack, they'll be able to give you a list of compatible HDD's for your particular PS3. I've found that the Radio Shack people are usually actually knowledgeable about the electronics that they sell and are not just stockpersons (like you'd find in Wal-mart, K-Mart, etc). I've always used them when I have had electronics questions and have never been steered wrong, no matter where in the country I've gone, unlike trips to Circuit City or Best Buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fsck It Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 One thing you'll want to do is ensure that you don't get an advanced format drive as I've seen a lot of reports of stuttering performance when you install one on the PS3. I guess the PS3 OS doesn't support these well. So if you go the Western Digital route, make sure you get one with a model number ending in BEKT rather than BPKT. I recently upgraded my 60gb HD with a WD3200BEKT (Scorpio Black 320gb 7200rpm) and it works great. No issues with overheating for me. Newegg.com frequently has sales on the Western Digital hds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade_VC Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 One thing you'll want to do is ensure that you don't get an advanced format drive as I've seen a lot of reports of stuttering performance when you install one on the PS3. I too have read a lot of reports concerning the same issues when using a advanced formatted drives, and is a bit of information that is both quite useful to know and difficult to find info on if you visit gaming websites that don't include technical sections/FAQ's regarding technical issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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