PS3: should I buy the 12GB or 500GB version?

Forums › Gaming › PS3: should I buy the 12GB or 500GB version?

StarBlazer

961 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 218

Trusted

#112406 7-Dec-2012 14:05

As the subject says. Which one and why?

I was in JBHiFi and the answer he gave was that if I wanted to play more than a couple of games at the same time to get the 500. So how many game saves would the 12GB version hold? We are a very casual game user - my daughter plays the most, usually stuff like Sims etc.

Price was around $279 for the 12GB and $499 for the 500GB but there was other differences with the packages that I can't remember like I think the 500GB had two controllers.

The guy also said I could update the HDD at a later stage.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 506

#728564 7-Dec-2012 14:22

The HDD kit for the 12GB PS3 is only $99

vexxxboy

4339 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2077

#728570 7-Dec-2012 14:25

are you sure its 12GB and not 120GB , but most games use on average about 5 GB a game and even more if you play them a lot, so depends how many games you want to play at once.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

lxsw20

3691 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2178

Subscriber

#728577 7-Dec-2012 14:36

I brought the 12GB and a HDD caddy from Mighty Ape as I have a spare SATA drive sitting around I can install on it. But yes the new base PS3 is 12GB (9GB useable)

Davy

200 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 66

#728579 7-Dec-2012 14:37

It IS 12GB, and at that price it's the obvious choice I would think!

StarBlazer

961 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 218

Trusted

#728580 7-Dec-2012 14:37

vexxxboy: are you sure its 12GB and not 120GB , but most games use on average about 5 GB a game and even more if you play them a lot, so depends how many games you want to play at once.

Yup 12GB - it's not much if game saves are 5GB. I see DS are selling the 500GB package for $449 with extra controller and a game. By the time I add the $99 for the HDD plus another $89 for the second controller it makes it a no brainer to get the 500GB version.

Perhaps I should have done the maths first!! Doh :)

Procrastination eventually pays off.

MattEast

277 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 95

Trusted

#728584 7-Dec-2012 14:41

You can pick a 500GB one up from Mighty Ape for less than $499, plus it comes with a bonus game, HDMI cable and extra controller...win!

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/PS3/PlayStation-3-PS3-500GB-M-Chassis/20871181/

Matt East

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Krishant007

1403 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 80

#728611 7-Dec-2012 15:18

are game saves really that much? i was looking at the game save files on my ps3 and i think it was a few mb for a game save...i cant check right now, but this is from memory...i can go back home and confirm..(i play fifa mostly). but then again, mine is the last gen ps3. I upgraded the harddrive myself..not that hard...

you could get the 12gb....get a harddrive caddy in the future from USA or something (20 bucks or something on amazon uk (10 pounds)

So you can get the 12gb ps3, use that..and get a laptop harddrive - 750gb or whatever that pleases you...get the caddy and upgrade yourself if you need the storage space... i would..

vexxxboy

4339 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2077

#728629 7-Dec-2012 15:48

there are 2 files for most games , the data for the game and the saves for the game, the data is usually the 5-6 GB file , the saves not much at all. and there can be a few of them, depends how many characters you are playing.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Krishant007

1403 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 80

#728638 7-Dec-2012 15:58

vexxxboy: there are 2 files for most games , the data for the game and the saves for the game, the data is usually the 5-6 GB file , the saves not much at all. abd there can be a few of them depends how many characters you are playing.

Ya that makes sense.. I havent come across a file on my system which says game data so i wouldnt know much about that - having said that, the base xbox360 model has 4gb memory... would that mean that it doesnt have a data portion of the game saved on the drive?

Either way, reckon its totally dependent on how much gaming you would be doing and how much space those games would take on the drive.. on the face of it, the 279 12gb ps3 seems to be a better deal... but if you want to be safe, and not have the hassle of upgrading in the future or wish to put in videos and other media on the ps3 soon after getting it, might be worth it to look at the 500gb option - highly recommend to negotiate in an additional controller (it can be up to $100 more for just the controller). So take that cost into account

dclegg

2806 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 810

Trusted

#728660 7-Dec-2012 16:36

As a point of reference (and bearing in mind I game quite a bit), my 80GB PS3 ran out of space after about 2 years. It's not just game saves you have to worry about, but game installs (both those you've purchased media for, and downloaded titles)

Thankfully upgrading it was trivial, and I now have a 500GB HDD in it, which should hopefully do me for the life of the console.

StarBlazer

961 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 218

Trusted

#728678 7-Dec-2012 17:18

Some good replies and information - I may see if they do any more deals on the 500 (I like the idea of the extra controller anyway).

Best deal I've see for console, extra controller and 1 game is 449 at DSE. Anyone seen any better?

Procrastination eventually pays off.

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Jaxson

8172 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1332

Trusted

#729520 10-Dec-2012 09:35

12GB could be ok if you're looking to use it as a media streaming device/bluray player only etc but it seems not even big enough for the OS now? Maybe the got a deal on cheap old drives or something?!

Gilco2

1556 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 134

#729524 10-Dec-2012 09:39

I bought the 12GB one and then bought the 250GB HD from Dick Smith for $99. may as well say $380 all up

HTPC Intel Pentium G3258 cpu, Gigabyte H97n-wifi motherboard, , 8GB DDR3 ram, onboard graphics. Hauppuage HVR 5500 tuner, Silverstone LC16M case, Windows 10 pro 64 bit using Nextpvr and Kodi